The Chronicles of Narnia - what is the reading level?

[amcal]

My DD is in 1st grade and is flying through the Rainbow Magic and Nancy Drew Notebooks books. They are getting easy for her. She's a strong reader but, not significantly above grade level.

I'm wondering what reading level the Chronicles of Narnia are? I was thinking about Christmas but, I'm wondering if they're still beyond her ability?

[dancindoula]

IMHO, if she can read Nancy Drew she can probably read TCoN. She may need help with some of the names, but the stories were written for children in the first place so the language is at a level that seems fairly readable for them too.

[zinemama]

It's really hard to say. Each kid is different. It sounds as if your dd is reading formula series fiction, which is pretty simple in vocab and concepts. CoN is more complex in both respects.

Personally, I think these are excellent read-aloud books for a first grader. You could certainly get her the series for Christmas with the idea that these are books you'll read to her and then - if she loves them as much as my kid did when I read them to him at that age - she will eventually read them over and over on her own.

[journeymom]

This is a really interesting tool. Enter the title of the book and it will tell you what its 'lexile' score is. Books are scored between 200 for beginning readers and 1700 for advanced (adult) level readers. Some schools give students a lexile test. If your child scores a 400 then you can check a list of recommended books that are in the 400s.

For example The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has a lexile score of 940. Nancy Drew's Secret of the Old Clock scores a 760. Junie B. Jones and the Stupid, Smelly Bus rates a 380.

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I forgot to mention, when my daughter was in 1st grade she didn't have the patience to read Chronicles of Narnia to herself, so I read it to her. She loved it. I've done that with both my kids: read books to them that are a little harder than they can read to themselves.

[Thalia the Muse]

The Nancy Drew Notebooks are a different series, for younger readers, and much easier than the actual Nancy Drew series, FWIW.

I think the Narnia series is significantly more challenging than what she has been reading, but if she finds the books compelling, she can probably get through them. Nothing improves your reading like stretching a little! And she can always ask for help.

I think Christmas gifts are a great time to give a book that is maybe a little beyond what they're reading now -- it can always wait in the bookcase for when she's ready, if it turns out to be too hard now, and those books also make great read-alouds.

[Drummer's Wife]

my DD enjoyed chronicles when she was in first grade but then she still likes to read Junie B. Jones as a 2nd grader I agree that there's no reason you can't get books for her for christmas even if they might seem advanced. She may read parts of it or not be interested in a while but at least the books are available when she's ready.

Spiderwick is a good series, too! We read most of them together taking turns but the reading level is probably similar to narnia.

[Devaskyla]

We studied 'The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe' in grade 5, if that helps you at all.

[journeymom]

Originally Posted by Devaskyla

We studied 'The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe' in grade 5, if that helps you at all.

That makes sense. A child might be capable of reading it at a younger age but 10 and 11 years old is a good time to be analyzing it for plot structure and the like.