In a sort of semi-continuation from my 2nd quarter post about books versus technology in children’s education, this week I’ll be giving book recommendations for new readers. If any of you have younger siblings who hate reading, they might be convinced to give it another shot after reading these!
A couple obvious recommendations are classic early-reader series like Geronimo/Thea Stilton or the Magic Treehouse series. Books like this are action-packed and have lots of images, with each installment being relatively short. While older readers will find them very annoying due to their repetitive plotlines, such series are riveting and captivating to younger readers. They have a good mix of realistic and imaginative elements, which I think makes readers believe that these crazy things just might have a slight grain of truth in them. For beginners who may not be able to stomach complicated concepts and plotlines, this is a perfect formula to start out with.
Another series I remember loving was the Rainbow Fairies. This series really plays into the imagination and fantasies of young children; I, personally, was thrilled whenever they described their glittering wings, beautiful dresses, and instruments. The short length of the books in the series also makes it suitable for young readers. While the plot is undeniably the same each time (this might not be good if your siblings are unusually perceptive and will call the series out), the pure adrenaline rush of reading about beautiful things and a simple plot that is over in a sixteenth-inch of book keeps readers addicted. Like in the previously mentioned series, authors of this series have figured out a formula to keep children reading. This makes all of them an excellent choice to get children motivated and excited to read, as well as the sense of accomplishment that comes with finishing a book or an entire stack.
The last one and my personal favorite is for your philosopher sibling who is bad with words but seems to understand everything else. Owly by Andy Runton is a wonderful series about an owl and its friends. The books deal with very applicable and complex ideas like friendship, worry, hard work, and disappointment. By describing the lives of these animals, the author portrays these ideas in an interesting and touching way. Part of the charm of this book is that it does not use narration or dialogue. Even in the rare text box, there will only be symbols such as arrows or magnets. While this contributes to the thematic atmosphere of the book and makes it accessible to all ages, it can also be viewed as a drawback. While I personally think having no difficult or “cringey” dialogue makes it worth reading for people of all ages, some may be discouraged from having their children read this because they aren’t really learning to read. Because of this, Owly is more of an interest-building series and a way to get children familiar with flipping the pages of a book than something to learn reading and words through.
I hope any younger family or friends enjoy these recommendations!
I really enjoyed the Thea Stilton series and the Rainbow Fairies series! The plot lines were similar but there were different settings every time and I remember really enjoying reading about them! I also agree with you that younger readers could be excited by the descriptions of the fairies! I've never heard of Owly but it sounds really interesting! I think it's cool that it manages to convey such important themes and ideas without including narration or dialogue! I'm curious to see what the book is like!
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