Over the years we’ve read just about every Junie B. Jones book there is.  Another fun series is Ivy + Bean.  We just finished Doomed to Dance where Ivy and Bean decide they want to take ballet lessons.  They have seen a video of a gorgeous ballet with a thrilling fight scene.  Ivy and Bean are dying to take ballet lessons.  Ballet lessons would absolutely be the perfect thing. 

Both of their mothers remind the girls of all the activities they have started and then quit.  If they decide to do ballet they will have to STICK WITH IT–all the way through to the recital.

Ivy and Bean go to their first ballet practice and discover–shock!–ballet lessons are REALLY boring.  Mostly standing around pointing toes and an occasional hop.  Worst of all, Ivy and Bean are chosen to be squids for the ballet recital.  How horrible!  Can they solve this disaster?

With two fun characters that kids can relate to, Ivy and Bean books are great for kids who have moved onto chapter books and love to follow their favorite characters through book after book of a series.  I got my daughter three more Ivy and Bean books from the library just last night, and she’s already devoured one.  Ivy and Bean books are great for kiddos who are beyond beginning readers but still struggle with some of the unfamiliar terms in other series like The Magic Tree House or A to Z Mysteries.

In an ideal world, we’d all have hours to sit on the couch reading books to our children.  In an ideal world, we’d also have children who are always cheerful and obedient and never have problems with sleeping through the night, toilet-training, wrecking the car, or getting a full-ride scholarship to college either.  But since we don’t live in an ideal world (it sounds a bit Orwellian anyway), here’s a website I just discovered.  It might be a good option for those times you can’t–or don’t want (perhaps because you are engrossed in a novel of your own?!?)–to sit and read with your kiddos.

www.speakaboos.com is a website that has read-aloud books for kids.  You can listen to the books for free or buy and download them, just like Itunes, for 99 cents a piece.  Stories are read by “celebrity” authors like Kelly Ripa (sorry, no Zac Ephron yet).  The words are printed at the bottom of each page,  so kids can follow along as the story is read.  Great for those who are learning how to read. 

The website has several Arthur books, including one read by author Marc Brown, folk and fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and holiday stories.  They add new material regularly.  The site also has a fun feature where you can record your voice reading the story.  Voila!  Mom and Dad are now celebrities too.  Just think of yourselves as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.

Check it out and let us know what you think . . .

There is something magical about a child learning to read.  It’s like that first smile, those first words, those first steps.  A child can’t read at all and then one day . . . some of the words make sense.  And then a few more.  And then a few more.  And next thing you know, the kid can read!    

Author Mo Willems is probably best known for his “Pigeon” books.  Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus was a 2004 Caldecott Honor Book.  But the author/illustrator also has a great beginning reader series—his “Elephant and Piggie” books.  There are seven books so far in the series starring . . . as you may have guessed, Elephant and Piggie (although rambunctious little squirrels pop up here and there as well). 

I just finished I Love My New Toy and I Will Surprise My Friend.  These books have just a few words per page, lots of word repetition and

dramatic fonts!! 

to show when a character is really angry or wildly happy or just about ready to explode with emotion!!  (as children often are, I might add).   Great for learning to read.

Mo’s beginning readers tells about everyday experiences like broken toys, hide-and-seek, sharing, and other injustices.  But what I love best about these books are the characters’ facial expressions and body language: an angry tornado smudged above Piggie’s head, a zombie-stunned look of surprise, two friends who cling to each other as they cry ”WHAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”  Mo’s ability to create nuanced emotion with such simple drawings is really impressive. 

Any other beginning reader suggestions?   Post a comment.