Book recommendations for 6yo, with formatting snowflakes!
March 1, 2017 8:18 AM Subscribe
6yo is working through some vision problems, but his vision has improved enough that suddenly he wants to read everything he can get his hands on. We need recommendations for books that have sufficiently large and well-spaced print, but are also fun and interesting and have reasonably complex vocabulary.
We've had fun poking through the early chapter books in the library's children's section. The problem we're running into is that many of the books with relatively large print and spacing read like... beginning readers. Like, I have nothing against Frog and Toad, but it *feels* like a learn-to-read book. Henry and Mudge are sweet, but we're looking for more adventure. Micropanda likes Fly Guy (and we'll continue to borrow them!!) but it's too easy. Unfortunately, as the books become less reader-like and more book-like, the print gets crowded in a hurry. He has an excellent vocabulary and reading fluency, so I'm not worried about books being too hard for him as long as he can follow the actual print. (And if they are too hard, he'll tell us and we'll try something else.)
Recent hits have been: The Urgency Emergency series (btw, these are awesome and I highly recommend them), and the Princess in Black and its sequels. The things these books have in common are: not overly limited vocabulary, some humor and/or adventure, double-spaced print, not too many lines per page, and not too many words per line. We tried the Bunnicula and Friends readers, but when he read parts aloud to me, he was skipping words and when we showed it to the vision therapist she said it was too crowded and we should hold off for a bit.
I realize this is a fairly small niche, as kids' ability to read small print generally develops along with their ability to read complex stories. But if you know of any gems (especially series), please share! No specific need for it to be chapter books - we still love picture books - as long as it's interesting and fits our print and format needs.
I do own a kindle, but for now I'd like to stick to real books with real pages and pictures, to the extent possible. I've asked at the library about large-print books, but they really only seem to carry those for teen-and-up level books. I feel like the books we're looking for are certainly out there, we just need help identifying them without pulling every single book off the shelf and examining it.
Thanks so much! We love books, we love the library, and I can't wait to bring Micropanda piles of your best recommendations.
We've had fun poking through the early chapter books in the library's children's section. The problem we're running into is that many of the books with relatively large print and spacing read like... beginning readers. Like, I have nothing against Frog and Toad, but it *feels* like a learn-to-read book. Henry and Mudge are sweet, but we're looking for more adventure. Micropanda likes Fly Guy (and we'll continue to borrow them!!) but it's too easy. Unfortunately, as the books become less reader-like and more book-like, the print gets crowded in a hurry. He has an excellent vocabulary and reading fluency, so I'm not worried about books being too hard for him as long as he can follow the actual print. (And if they are too hard, he'll tell us and we'll try something else.)
Recent hits have been: The Urgency Emergency series (btw, these are awesome and I highly recommend them), and the Princess in Black and its sequels. The things these books have in common are: not overly limited vocabulary, some humor and/or adventure, double-spaced print, not too many lines per page, and not too many words per line. We tried the Bunnicula and Friends readers, but when he read parts aloud to me, he was skipping words and when we showed it to the vision therapist she said it was too crowded and we should hold off for a bit.
I realize this is a fairly small niche, as kids' ability to read small print generally develops along with their ability to read complex stories. But if you know of any gems (especially series), please share! No specific need for it to be chapter books - we still love picture books - as long as it's interesting and fits our print and format needs.
I do own a kindle, but for now I'd like to stick to real books with real pages and pictures, to the extent possible. I've asked at the library about large-print books, but they really only seem to carry those for teen-and-up level books. I feel like the books we're looking for are certainly out there, we just need help identifying them without pulling every single book off the shelf and examining it.
Thanks so much! We love books, we love the library, and I can't wait to bring Micropanda piles of your best recommendations.
Dude I wish I was 6 again so I could re-read Bunnicula by James Howe. They are hilarious, and the first book is really sort and sweet, with the others getting longer. I LOOOOVED "Howliday Inn" specifically.
posted by Dressed to Kill at 8:27 AM on March 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Dressed to Kill at 8:27 AM on March 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: monju_bosatsu Do the books your son reads in the Kindle app on the iPad have the illustrations? That's one reason we haven't tried out my regular Kindle. We could give it a shot.
That said, if Micropanda has the iPad, he's likely to complain that he'd rather play games on it; and his 3yo sister is definitely going to come tearing across the room and rip it out of his hands. So, there's a plus for paper books ;) If he has a paper book, Nanopanda will grab her own book and sit quietly beside him.
posted by telepanda at 8:38 AM on March 1, 2017
That said, if Micropanda has the iPad, he's likely to complain that he'd rather play games on it; and his 3yo sister is definitely going to come tearing across the room and rip it out of his hands. So, there's a plus for paper books ;) If he has a paper book, Nanopanda will grab her own book and sit quietly beside him.
posted by telepanda at 8:38 AM on March 1, 2017
Mercy Watson is a good series, and there is a spin off of it too now- both by Kate DiCamillo.
The Branches imprint from Scholastic has a lot of white space in their books, and lots of picture- there are a bunch of different series within it but the ones my students love especially are Kung-Pow Chicken and Lotus Lane.
Don't rule out picture books- there are a ton of picture books that are more complex and leave a lot of room for re-reading and good discussions. I just read about Jeannette and Jonah Winter's new book-The Secret Project, all about the creation of the Atomic Bomb. They are a Mother/Son pair that have both had success separately as non-fiction children book author/illustrators.
Finally, the publisher Capstone has a lot of books that would work for your child- Jake Maddox is one.
posted by momochan at 8:44 AM on March 1, 2017
The Branches imprint from Scholastic has a lot of white space in their books, and lots of picture- there are a bunch of different series within it but the ones my students love especially are Kung-Pow Chicken and Lotus Lane.
Don't rule out picture books- there are a ton of picture books that are more complex and leave a lot of room for re-reading and good discussions. I just read about Jeannette and Jonah Winter's new book-The Secret Project, all about the creation of the Atomic Bomb. They are a Mother/Son pair that have both had success separately as non-fiction children book author/illustrators.
Finally, the publisher Capstone has a lot of books that would work for your child- Jake Maddox is one.
posted by momochan at 8:44 AM on March 1, 2017
The Geronimo Stilton books might work; they have lots of varied text sizes.
posted by bq at 9:12 AM on March 1, 2017
posted by bq at 9:12 AM on March 1, 2017
I'm seconding the recommendations for Mercy Watson & Geronimo Stilton (and the multiple spinoff series). (It's possible the multiple "fun" fonts in Geronimo Stilton could be hard to read, so you'd just need to try and see if he complains.)
posted by belladonna at 9:18 AM on March 1, 2017
posted by belladonna at 9:18 AM on March 1, 2017
I'm trying to look this up, but if I remember correctly, the Magic Tree House books get to be smaller print in later books, but start out fairly large. Bonus is that I think they are at a good level info-wise for a younger reader. The problem with chapter books quickly becomes the material not being relatable for the younger set.
As momochan suggested picture books, I will note that many Dr. Seuss books are actually quite long.
posted by freezer cake at 10:18 AM on March 1, 2017
As momochan suggested picture books, I will note that many Dr. Seuss books are actually quite long.
posted by freezer cake at 10:18 AM on March 1, 2017
Brad Meltzer’s Ordinary People books (I Am Jackie Robinson, I Am Helen Keller, I Am Amelia Earhart, etc.) are terrific, simple without feeling too much like learning-to-read books. (Warning: You may get choked up in some! I expect to bawl when I read the Jim Henson one, which was just published.)
Another favorite string of picture books (with trippy 1970s pictures but large & straightforward type) is Mercer Mayer’s monster books (*not* the Little Critter books, which are didactic & pitched younger). One Monster After Another, The Wizard Comes to Town, Professor Wormbog in Search of the Zipperump-a-zoo, etc.
posted by miles per flower at 11:03 AM on March 1, 2017
Another favorite string of picture books (with trippy 1970s pictures but large & straightforward type) is Mercer Mayer’s monster books (*not* the Little Critter books, which are didactic & pitched younger). One Monster After Another, The Wizard Comes to Town, Professor Wormbog in Search of the Zipperump-a-zoo, etc.
posted by miles per flower at 11:03 AM on March 1, 2017
When you checked at the library, did you ask about NLS services? This is the "National Library Services" network organized by the Library of Congress to provide accessible reading materials to people who can't read typical print books. The services are free.
posted by Jesse the K at 12:03 PM on March 1, 2017
posted by Jesse the K at 12:03 PM on March 1, 2017
Telepanda -- I know at least some of the ebooks have color illustrations in the Kindle iOS apps. He's also read some graphic novels on there with no trouble (the Nate the Great series, I think?).
posted by monju_bosatsu at 1:14 PM on March 1, 2017
posted by monju_bosatsu at 1:14 PM on March 1, 2017
Has he read the Flat Stanley books yet? They have fairly large text and lots of pictures.
posted by belladonna at 1:31 PM on March 1, 2017
posted by belladonna at 1:31 PM on March 1, 2017
Elephant and Piggie was the first thing that came to mind with "large type" but they'll definitely be too easy. Still really fun though!
Graphic novels with large print: Dog Man and Bad Guys are both series he might like. Maybe too easy though?
The original Nate the Great books have 2-3 lines per page, although average sized text.
Other newer series: The Chicken Squad, Digby O'Day,
I wonder if he would be interested in Reddy Freddy, Roscoe Riley Rules, Andy Shane, or Stink - all tried and true series that seemed to fit the text-on-a-page requirements, I think.
Thirding Mercy Watson, and also Bink and Gollie.
posted by raspberrE at 2:53 PM on March 1, 2017
Graphic novels with large print: Dog Man and Bad Guys are both series he might like. Maybe too easy though?
The original Nate the Great books have 2-3 lines per page, although average sized text.
Other newer series: The Chicken Squad, Digby O'Day,
I wonder if he would be interested in Reddy Freddy, Roscoe Riley Rules, Andy Shane, or Stink - all tried and true series that seemed to fit the text-on-a-page requirements, I think.
Thirding Mercy Watson, and also Bink and Gollie.
posted by raspberrE at 2:53 PM on March 1, 2017
My 6 year old was recently reading Rabbit and Robot: The Sleepover. It might fit your requirements. I see there is also another one by the same author called Rabbit and Robot and Ribbit that I need to add to my own list!
posted by rozee at 9:30 PM on March 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by rozee at 9:30 PM on March 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
Take a look at the Dragonbreath books by Ursula Vernon. They're at just the right age level, the font is fairly bit, and they're broken up by a lot of illustrations. I'm not sure if the text is exactly what you're looking for, but they're such great books, it's worth a shot.
posted by gideonfrog at 9:14 AM on March 7, 2017
posted by gideonfrog at 9:14 AM on March 7, 2017
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posted by monju_bosatsu at 8:23 AM on March 1, 2017 [2 favorites]