Hey everyone, I am typing this here as an offshoot of the "fluff" reading thread where people had a list of books for 7 yr olds for example. Didn't want to hijack that thread.
OK, I try not to compare my kids to others, but a tIIiiiiny part of me felt a pang because there is NO WAY my dd at 7 could sit through some of the "good books for 7 yr olds" that have been posted on the board here in the past. She is more at the level of the Henry and Mudge books by Cynthia Rylant, Mr Popper's Penguins, the original Little Bear Series illustrated by Maurice Sendak, stuff like that with an illustration on each page or two, or what would be a labelled a level 2 or 3 reader....that is just a sample of the 40 books in our library basket right now! We go and get a pile of books every 10 days or so so at least she loves reading. I did find a series of illustrated Little House on the Prarie books (about 30 pages each, 2 paragraphs or so on each page) that she liked. These are the types of books she can read (with a little help with decoding the larger words) when we read aloud together.
However, when I hear people on this board talk about what their kids are being read to by yourselves at this age, it makes my heard spin. Yikes, are we talking reading out of a book like this for half an hour or something? I am talking about stuff like the Boxcar Children, Ramona the Brave, or something.
Dd could not pay attention to something like this if no illustration is in front of her. In looking at our basket of library books right now I am realizing I have all illustrated books now. She is a very visual person, and has a diagnosis of auditory processing disorder, so I am wondering if this is a contributing factor. She does listen to books on tape on occasion when doing crafts or in the car or something, but short stuff like Robert Munsch or Jay O'Callahan....not a complete book. I found a Little House series that had small books of about 100 pages each (actually had 3 or 4 chapters from the originals, simplified a bit) that she enjoyed somewhat because she likes "pioneeer days" but it was slow slogging, and she lost interest after a chapter.
Is this a developmental thing? Did I do something wrong and not introduce more "difficult" books at an earlier age or something? FWIW her 4 yr old brother is quite interested in her books that I have described above like the Henry and Mudge books if I ask him lots of questions while we are reading, or give him lots of "oooh, look's..." with the pictures. O, as far as my opinion on "fluff", I personally avoid Disney, anything tied to a product (although ds loves Bob the Builder books) except in small doses as I have a hard time stomaching them, and I am not a fiction reader...I have not read a novel since high school, and read nonfiction instead.
Experiences anyone? I am thinking maybe we are not "intellectual" enough or something if that makes sense...
OK, I try not to compare my kids to others, but a tIIiiiiny part of me felt a pang because there is NO WAY my dd at 7 could sit through some of the "good books for 7 yr olds" that have been posted on the board here in the past. She is more at the level of the Henry and Mudge books by Cynthia Rylant, Mr Popper's Penguins, the original Little Bear Series illustrated by Maurice Sendak, stuff like that with an illustration on each page or two, or what would be a labelled a level 2 or 3 reader....that is just a sample of the 40 books in our library basket right now! We go and get a pile of books every 10 days or so so at least she loves reading. I did find a series of illustrated Little House on the Prarie books (about 30 pages each, 2 paragraphs or so on each page) that she liked. These are the types of books she can read (with a little help with decoding the larger words) when we read aloud together.
However, when I hear people on this board talk about what their kids are being read to by yourselves at this age, it makes my heard spin. Yikes, are we talking reading out of a book like this for half an hour or something? I am talking about stuff like the Boxcar Children, Ramona the Brave, or something.
Dd could not pay attention to something like this if no illustration is in front of her. In looking at our basket of library books right now I am realizing I have all illustrated books now. She is a very visual person, and has a diagnosis of auditory processing disorder, so I am wondering if this is a contributing factor. She does listen to books on tape on occasion when doing crafts or in the car or something, but short stuff like Robert Munsch or Jay O'Callahan....not a complete book. I found a Little House series that had small books of about 100 pages each (actually had 3 or 4 chapters from the originals, simplified a bit) that she enjoyed somewhat because she likes "pioneeer days" but it was slow slogging, and she lost interest after a chapter.
Is this a developmental thing? Did I do something wrong and not introduce more "difficult" books at an earlier age or something? FWIW her 4 yr old brother is quite interested in her books that I have described above like the Henry and Mudge books if I ask him lots of questions while we are reading, or give him lots of "oooh, look's..." with the pictures. O, as far as my opinion on "fluff", I personally avoid Disney, anything tied to a product (although ds loves Bob the Builder books) except in small doses as I have a hard time stomaching them, and I am not a fiction reader...I have not read a novel since high school, and read nonfiction instead.
Experiences anyone? I am thinking maybe we are not "intellectual" enough or something if that makes sense...
Lillian
But, my current 7 y/o likes pictures and wouldn't pay attention to longer chapter books, so we still read a lot of picture books.
, I read a chapter as a bedtime story. She's much more likely to sit still because a story at bedtime is ritual, and she actually listens and absorbs what is being read.
