Gift Guide: Easy Reader Books (Fiction)

Here are some more teasers from Melody about easy reader books. Some of them may be not-so-easy, depending on your kiddo’s reading skills, but I think anything that has the Levels or Steps listed on the books are fairly good books for those are starting to read.

Henry and Mudge – These books are about a boy named Henry and his dog Mudge having adventures together. They are like best buddies. Even though some people don’t like Mudge at all, Henry still loves his dog, no matter what.

Annie and Snowball – Henry’s cousin Annie loves fancy things.She also lives next door to Henry, which makes it easy to play together and having fun. But wherever adventure is, so is Annie!

Amelia Bedelia – Amelia Bedelia, a funny girl who mixes up her words quite often, makes readers laugh with her comedy stories. She doesn’t mean to mess things up, but wherever and whatever she does, she’s Amelia Bedelia. There are also a series of Young Amelia Bedelia books.

Mercy Watson – Mercy Watson is a pig that lives as part of the Watson family. She follows the Watsons everywhere. Even though trouble follows her everywhere, the Watsons still accept that Mercy is their pet, even though it brings attention to their door.

Frog and Toad – Frog and his friend Toad love playing and making friends together, every day. They are always there for each other, no matter what. But no matter what the problem, it always turns out good in the end.

Katie Woo – Katie Woo is about her living her life.

Fancy Nancy – Fancy Nancy sure LOVES being fancy! No matter what event she goes to, or which problem she faces, she always does it in her very own way. Always.

Young Cam Jansen –  Cam Jansen and her friend Eric are known for solving mysteries everywhere they go because Cam has a fantastic memory in her head. But the real reason they solve mysteries is because of teamwork and friendship.

Lotus Lane – The Lotus Lane girls – Kiki, Coco, Lulu, and the new girl on the block they’re not so sure about – Mika, each have their very own traits to use in a very special way. They each have their own diary including their stories.

Missy’s Super Duper Royal Deluxe – Missy loves doing things her own way – the super duper royal deluxe way. Whether it’s meeting the president or getting her own pet, she always puts it up with her fashion sense.

I was going to share some other easy reader books, but I think there may be too many to list. Step Into Reading has some great ones that will draw kids in since some of their books are from popular shows and movies like Paw Patrol, Wild Kratts, Inside Out, and Frozen. I Can Read! books are similar, but I think they do not have as many that are from shows and movies. Berenstain Bears and Paddington are ones young kids will recognize. Scholastic also has Leveled Reader books. Clifford and Magic School Bus are some fun ones that they have. DK Readers are popular as well. This the route if you have Star Wars, superheroes, Chima, or Lego Friends fans in your house. I can probably go on, but we’ll stop there for now.

Read more about easy readers here:

• Step Into Reading
• I Can Read!
• Scholastic Leveled Readers

Coming soon will be a gift guide for non-fiction books, picture books, Christmas books, and books on our to-read list! I already shared the books I have enjoyed reading each month (although I still need to give an update for this month), so check out the complete book list HERE and some of the monthly updates HERE.

What easy reader books do your children enjoy reading? What did you enjoy when you were first starting to read?

Other Gift Guide Posts:
– Series Chapter Books (Fiction)
– Chapter Books (Fiction)
More to come!

Gift Guide: Series Chapter Books (Fiction)

As you all know, we are bookworms around here. While there are lots of great books the girls have read here and there, these are some of the series books they keep going back to time and time again. It could be an unending list if I let it keep going, but we’ll stop at the top 10 plus a few others. After I typed it up, I realized many of them are geared toward girls. Boys can certainly read and enjoy them as well, but since I have two girlie girls, that is what I know best for now. Later on, I may ask my nephew or some boy friends what they enjoy reading.

The Little House – I have never read this series when I was younger, but I ordered it for Melody when she was starting Kindergarten, and she has probably read it at least a dozen times since then.

The Magic Tree House – The girls have picked up so much history (and science!) knowledge from these books. I am very impressed by the free curriculum and games they have on their website. There are also some non-fiction books that are useful for research. I’ll share about them in a different post.

American Girl books – I can’t keep up with which dolls are going to be archived and all of that, but we do love reading the American Girl books around here. I blogged about some of that HERE. We are slowly but surely finishing up the Kaya series and hoping to start the Grace series in the new year. We have watched all the movies that have come out, except Grace since she is a newer Girl.

The Boxcar Children – I never got into The Boxcar Children as a little girl. I was more of a Baby-Sitters Club and Baby-Sitter’s Little Sister reader. Someone recommended this series to us when Melody was about four because even though the books are quite lengthy, they only had a certain number of words used in every book. So she didn’t need a large vocabulary to read the stories. The girls also really enjoy THE MOVIE.

Ramona books and most other Beverly Cleary books – We had a reluctant start to this series even though I told the girls I had read these books when I was a little girl. We ended up checking out the Ramona and Beezus DVD from the library and they liked it, so we read some more of the books. 🙂 I think the girls like identifying with Ramona during the different stages of her life in each of the books. And of course, some of the Henry books are great, and what’s not to like about Ralph S. Mouse.

Nancy Clancy books – The girls read the Fancy Nancy books when they were younger, so they naturally grew into read these chapter books. We loved learning fancy French words from the books. Nancy is a third grader who solves mysteries. You can probably already tell the girls really enjoy mysteries as most of the books on this list are mysteries. :p

Thea Stilton and Geronimo Stilton – These book series are originally from Italy. They are definitely different from your typical book. There are lots of fun lettering and bold photos in these books. Besides the Thea and Geronimo books, there are a few other mystical and mystery books. There are also DVDs as well, but it turns out the girls aren’t as big of fans as they are of the book.

Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew and Nancy Drew Diaries – I have been trying to get Melody to read the Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew books for a long time. I actually read one of the regular books when I was in 4th or 5th grade, and oh boy, it was scary! I never read another book after that even though I keep hearing about them from friends. :p They didn’t have the Clue Crew books for younger kids back then.
 

Cam Jansen – Jennifer Jansen is a girl with a photographic memory, thus her nickname – Cam! This is an oldie but a goodie. These books first came out when I was born, but have been reissued in the last decade. There are some book study guides on their website and there is also a series for younger kids as well.

Judy Moody – Judy is always in a mood. She’s just a girl with a little brother. She loves to collect things like Band-Aids. It is always an adventure wherever she goes.

A few other series chapter books that are read around here are: The Chronicles of Narnia, I Survived, Magic School Bus Chapter Books, Amelia Bedelia, Rainbow Magic, Princess Posey, Sophie books, Just Grace, Ivy & Bean, Benjamin Pratt & Keepers of the School, and Critter Club.

Coming soon will be a gift guide for more chapter books (not a part of a series), non-fiction books, early readers and picture books, Christmas books, and books on our to-read list! I already share the books I have enjoyed reading each month (although I still need to give an update for this month), so check out the complete book list HERE and some of the monthly updates HERE.

What series chapter books do your children enjoy reading? What did you enjoy when you were in elementary school?

Tyndale Rewards

Have you heard of Tyndale Rewards? Check it out if you are a book-lover like me!

Watch this video to find out more, even if you aren’t interested in joining. “We’re giving you points for just being born! What are you waiting for?” :p

About Tyndale Rewards
The Tyndale Rewards program will provide you with opportunities to get books and Bibles for zero dollars. That’s right—F. R. E. E. As a member of the Tyndale Rewards program, you’ll have access to inspiring literature, Bibles, special promotional offers, and much more. There’s also great incentives like a free gift on your birthday and lots of opportunities to share your own recommendations and feedback about Tyndale products.

The Tyndale Rewards program is a great way to get free books and Bibles that you can keep for yourself or give to friends and family. Your journey to earning free faith-based products is here!

Earning Points…
To refer your friends and earn points, first you sign up  for free. Then click the “Earn Points” tab get your code from the “Invite a Friend to Join” section. There is no cap on the amount of points you can generate through referring friends to signup.

Redeeming Points…
Log in to your account on TyndaleRewards.com to see how many points you have collected in your account. Next, browse the product available for redemption. If you find a product you like and you have accumulated enough points, click the “Redeem” button. Your Points will never expire!

You get free stuff and Tyndale gets your feedback on how they can improve or continue with their products. That sounds like a win-win to me.

Are you a book-lover like me? Do you prefer physical books, ebooks, or audiobooks?

Here are some of the products you can choose from when you redeem your points.

Sites We Love: Totally Tots

Lots of ideas to interact with your toddler. Crafts. Books. Devotionals. Meals. Websites. Activities. All suitable for 12-47 month olds (1-3 year olds). And you can show off your tot during the month of their birthday, as a Cute Tot, or as a featured tot.

Check out more Sites We Love!

Sites We Love: Shelfari and Goodreads

I can’t remember how I found these two websites, but because I am a bookworm I use them quite frequently. You can use these to keep track of books you have read, and see what your friends are reading. There are book reviews and suggestions of books similar to the ones you read. Shelfari is more visually appealing than Goodreads.

Check out more Sites We Love!