Adventure books for a 5 y/o girl

[ShannonCC]

There was a thread awhile back on books for homeschoolers. Books that either featured homeschoolers or at least didn't feature school. Someone (or multiple someones) suggested Nim's Island. Well, thank you to that someone! I finally got it and my dd is simply adoring this book! We are reading 2 or 3 chapters a night and she gets really ticked off when it's time for bed We're up to chapter 8. She hid under the covers tonight when I was reading Jack's letter about the sharks :LOL

Anyway, at the rate we are going, we have another week I'd say til we finish it. Does anyone have any suggestions of more adventure books for us? She specifically says she likes islands and jungles. I think she likes the way the author talks about Nim's life on the island and how she has to do all sorts of things for herself while she's alone. But it's still a very light hearted book, not too much for an occasionally sensitive 5 year old (I skimmed the whole thing and it gets a bit tense, but not too scary). And it features a girl, which is always great IMO

So, any adventure books suitable for 5 year olds and involving islands, jungles, girls or any combination of the above? I already have the first book in the Swallows and Amazons series so maybe we'll give that a whirl (it's a favorite series of mine so I hope she likes it! - no pressure :LOL).

[beaner&tiegs]

Have you tried Pippi Longstocking? I know at least one of her books takes place in the South Seas....my daughter is only three, and she is totally captivated by some of the old videos! I'm looking forward to hearing some of the other replies!

[Cloverlove]

What about Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell? I haven't read it for a long time, but it was quite formative for me. I was just thinking about getting it for ds.

[Cloverlove]

I just want to add that I am not sure if it is entirely appropriate for a 5 yo. Sorry about that.

[TiredX2]

DD (5 on Friday!!!) has been reading the Magic Treehouse books by herself lately. She has been enjoying them a lot and it is about a brother and sister (Jack & Annie) that go in different times and find out all about stuff.

I haven't read one myself (well, I've had one SCREAMED at me from the back seat if that counts) and all I know for sure is that Jack wears glasses (because DD had DS put on glasses while we were at the glasses store and they played Jack & Annie) but they seem pretty cool, but probably a bit young for what you are looking for.

[hotmamacita]

We read the first book of CS LEWIS' Chronicles of Narnia to DD when she was four and she LOVED it and grasped it. We are going to continue with the second book next month.

[ShannonCC]

Thanks for the suggestions! Yeah, i think Blue Dolphins is not her speed just yet. I really want to read it for myself, but after finding out the brother gets killed by wild dogs, I think it would be a bit too much for Bridget.

I will look into Pippi Longstocking too. I think I liked the Narnia books as a kid, but I don't think she wants fantasy. She seems to want to stay in the same adventure vein as Nim's Island right now.

And I don't think Magic Treehouse would be too young. She sits happily for picture books I noticed one of the Magic Treehouse books takes place on an island so maybe I'll look into that one.

I searched through Amazon.com the other night and found some others I might look into. Does anyone remember Misty of Chincoteague and those books? I remember I loved them but don't remember much else. The description sounds adventur-y so I'm going to check them out.

I also found a book called Baby Island by Carol Ryrie Brink. It's about 2 teens who get shipwrecked with 3 or 4 toddlers.

Meanwhile, we will finish Nim's Island tonight! Now my dd gets to experience the post book letdown that comes with chapter books, :LOL. Who wants to bet she just asks me to read it again

[TiredX2]

We read the first book of CS LEWIS' Chronicles of Narnia to DD when she was four and she LOVED it and grasped it. We are going to continue with the second book next month.

Good idea! Maybe we'll try that again. Its been over a year since we tried it last and it did NOT go over well. DD is really into books with younger kids (Ramona, Fudge, etc...) so I'm not sure it will go over well.

Keep the suggestions coming--- we can always read another book!

[hotmamacita]

Oh, I think that it my son will not be into the Chronicles so early. His interests lie elsewhere. So I am lurking here getting ideas for him.

[TiredX2]

Dh started "The Lion, the Witch & The Wardrobe" with DD tonight. It didn't seem to go over great (there was a lot of "but how did they get out of the wardrobe" and "why is the faun called a fawn if its not a baby deer") but we'll see

[rsps]

Try the Swallows and Amazon books by Arthur Ransome

There sort of "real-life" adventure stories. The children camp out on a small island close to home and sail boats around the lake exploring, find treasure, etc. Lots of fun for boys and girls. The main characters in the first couple of books are a family of four (2 boys and two girls) and 2 sisters (the wild amazon pirates!)


After typing this I noticed you already have it, so I'll just add that my 5 year old son loves it.

[mammastar]

I remember Misty of Chincoteague! I wasn't into horse stories at all as a girl, but I had a treasury with that one and some others by Marguerite Henry, and I really enjoyed it. I was definitely older than your daughter, but they could be good read-alouds.

I loved a series called The Boxcar Children about some orphaned children who I think live in a boxcar in the woods and have adventures. I loved orphan books way too much as a kid :

Maybe also The Littles or The Borrowers

[bestjob]

As a 5 yo, my dd liked The Little House in the Big Woods. Laura is 5 in that book, I think. She also really enjoyed fairy tales and myths. Geraldine MacCaughrean has some wonderful collections of myths and legends. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is also an exciting and fun book to read and discuss. Dick King-Smith writes about animals in a fun and clever way.

Magic Tree House books are good. Jack and Annie do go to school, but I don't think it's part of the narrative in any of the books, except for the tornado book, maybe. The only thing I would say about MTH and other series is that they aren't really great literature. You can leave them for her to read to herself later and find better things to read (and discuss) yourself.

My ds is 5 and he really enjoys Usborne Guides and Encyclopedias. If she has a particular interest, that might be a way to introduce her to non-fiction literature.

[ShannonCC]

I think we'll be starting Swallows and Amazons tomorrow I hope she likes them as much as I did when I was a kid.

We did get a bunch of Magic Treehouse books. I agree, they are not great literature : (does she have something against pronouns?) but I like the stories. They are pretty fun and exciting, not too scary and are good for sparking conversation. And they are quick reads. I've been reading them at bedtime and we've gone through one a night so far. I just do some quick editing when I'm reading to make the writing flow a bit better. Oh, and I also really like that Jack and Annie actually get along and Annnie is such a strong character!

[moominmamma]

I love these threads. I was one of those who suggested "Nim's Island", and I'm glad to hear your dd is enjoying it. A few more thoughts to add to some great suggestions above.

"Three Tales of My Father's Dragon" by Ruth Stiles Gannett is a terrific readaloud. It's suitable for really young children, with the peak appeal in my family being around age 5 or so. There are islands in here, and gently scary suspense and silliness and fable-like outwitting of animals and plenty of adventure. The hero is a boy, not a girl, but my girls certainly identified with him.

"Sophie's Snail," "Sophie's Tom" and "Sophie's Lucky" are great. They're by Dick King-Smith, a British writer. The heroine is small, bright and very determined. She's four in the first book, five in the next and then six. She wants to be a farmer and starts out farming ants and snails, gradually working her way up to a stray cat, etc.. The stories are told with great affection but no romanticization or paternalism. I love them. King-Smith has some other terrific animal stories. I like "Harriet's Hare", about an alien in rabbit form adopted by a young girl. "Babe, the Sheep Pig" upon which the movie "Babe" was based is also one of King-Smith's stories.

"All-of-a-Kind Family" by Sydney Taylor is about the farthest thing from a jungle story that you can imagine, but it captivated both my girls at 5 when they were mostly into a diet of fantasy. It's about an orthodox Jewish family of five girls growing up in NYC at the turn of the (last) century. It's a classic for good reason.

"Half Magic" and all the others in this linked group of books by Edward Eager would, I think, appeal to the same kind of child as "Nim's Island". They were written in the 50's, I think and involve magic artifacts that whisk a family of children away to islands, deserts, medieval Britain, etc.. The girls are very strong characters.

Absolutely go for Pippi. "Ronia the Robber's Daughter" is another great one by Astrid Lindgren. It's a little denser than Pippi. But what a great story! Plenty of adventure here, and a very strong heroine.

And another 5yo girl favourite here was "BFG" by Roald Dahl. Spunky, funny girl character. Wacky humour. Great fun to read aloud because of the character voices you can put on.

Wish I could think of more island/jungle stuff. Eva Ibbottson's "Journey to the River Sea" is an amazing jungle adventure story starring a girl but I think it might be a little too long and dense for a 5yo. Still, if she's ready for Swallows and Amazons, she might be ready for this. I highly recommend this book... it's very good literature. It's also unschooling-friendly. It spans two continents and two generations and two cultures and a variety of attempts to bridge culture and geography.

Hope that helps!

Miranda