When looking for a special grade two chapter book, you can’t go wrong with Nate the Great

Nate the Great written by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and illustrated by Marc Simont
Published by Yearling

Nate likes pancakes and syrup almost as much as he enjoys solving a perplexing mystery. Nate and his canine sidekick, Sludge, are called upon to solve all sorts of cases; locating lost paintings, disappearing dogs and, in one case, a missing key.

With an appearance that is often reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes, Nate is all business – except if pancakes are on the menu. Along with Annie and Rosamond, our hero cracks each case with solid detective work.

Nate the Great is a series that has been delighting young readers for more than thirty years. Suitable for children who are reading at about a grade two level, some of the stories are divided into chapters. Generously illustrated, the text is perfect for young readers who are ready to take on a meatier story (than typically found in easy readers).

Series like these are great because beginning readers often decide they want to read every single one of the Nate the Great books. This is just what we want, a child who is motivated to read by fun stories and a delightful cast of characters.

Nate the Great at Random House includes printable activities plus author information.

TeacherVision Nate the Great summarizing activity

Nate the Great at Amazon.com

Nate the Great at Amazon.ca

When it comes to rhyming picture books, I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More! is a masterpiece

I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s and I remember, with great fondness, listening to my dad play the piano. It was one of his favourite leisure activities and we’d often sing along. One of the tunes he played was It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More.

I suppose my nostalgia is part of my joy in discovering I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More, written by Karen Beaumont and illustrated by David Catrow. Without hesitation, it makes my Top Ten list for preschool-aged children. It might even make my Top Five list.

With delightful, exuberant illustrations and equally fun text, you and your child will thoroughly enjoy this irresistible romp. Watch and sing along as a young child paints himself (and much of his home) from top to bottom.

If you’re not familiar with the tune, follow the link (above).

So I take some red
and I paint my…
Head!
Now I ain’t gonna paint no more.

Aw, what the heck!
Gonna paint my…
Neck!
Now I ain’t gonna paint no more.

The bonus with this terrific rhyming picture book is the wordplay; your youngster will be thinking of rhymes and anticipating the next word with no effort at all – just do yourself a favor and hide the paints and brushes in case your child is “inspired” to do a little painting herself!

Helping your child to gain phonemic awareness and preparing for formal reading instruction has never been more fun!

I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More at Amazon.com

I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More! at Amazon.ca

You won’t regret using wordplay to support your child’s phonemic awareness – good phonemic awareness will help a young child with reading readiness and spelling.

At one of my Parent Education programs at a preschool last Fall, I talked about the importance of helping children to develop phonemic awareness. I explained that, together with alphabet recognition, good phonemic awareness is critically important for young learners. We want children to understand that words are made up of sounds and we’d like them to learn to play with the sounds in words. Developing a good understanding of rhyming is one element of this. Children who ‘get’ the concept of rhyming are gaining phonemic awareness.

After my presentation, one of the moms in the audience told me that she’s been playing, “How’s Your Nose, Rose?” with her young son. The game begins with one of them asking, “How’s Your Nose, Rose?”   The other replies with, “How’s Your Back, Jack?”  and the game continues until every possible body part rhyme has been exploited;  “How’s your toe, Joe?”,  “”How’s your arm, Parm?”,  “How’s your leg, Peg?”, “How’s your brain, Jane?” etc.

What great fun and what a marvelous learning opportunity; it doesn’t cost a penny, it can be done anywhere, and asking, “How’s your nose, Rose?” just might make waiting in a long line a tiny bit easier.    If you have a great idea for an inexpensive, portable reading lesson, I hope you’ll share it with us.

So, how’s your tummy, Mommy?

Be sure to click to visit our Phonemic Awareness page and learn more about this important indicator of readiness for reading and writing

For more information, visit our page about phonemic awareness.

There are many, many ways to support young readers with these free, printable sight words. Homeschoolers, classroom teachers and parents will love using them with beginning readers.

We want all readers to aquire the skills they need to decode unfamiliar words so that most words become sight words. This aspect of learning to read is also referred to as aquiring ‘Instant’, ‘Whole’, ‘Look & Say’, ‘Dolch’, &/or ‘High Frequency’ words.

We know readers with large sight word vocabularies read more rapidly and more fluently than readers whose sight word vocabularies are small. It is logical that a reader who is able to ‘instantly’ recognize and understand the words he or she reads, will be faster and more fluent than a reader who must often pause in order to decode unfamiliar words.

We also know that some English words are not appropriate for ‘sounding out’ – they occur much too often and are not necessarily phonetic (for example ‘there’ does not sound anything like /t/+/h/+/e/+/r/+/e/).

Our free early literacy printables, including our sight word printables are in PDF format, if you don’t already have Adobe Reader, you will need to download it to access the printable sight words.

You will find our entire selection of free printable alphabets here and all of our early literacy printables here.

On our “Printables” page you will find links to printable sight words, that is, lists of high frequency words. We also refer to these as whole words. We have organized the sight words in groups of ten (per page) and a total of sixty sight words per link. (#1-60, 61-120, 121-180 & 181-240). Here is a shortcut…

  Sight Words 1 to 60

Download and print these high-frequency sight word flashcards for beginning readers to learn. This is the first set.

  Sight Words 61 - 120

Download and print these high-frequency sight word flashcards for beginning readers to learn. This is the second set.

  Sight Words 121 - 180

Download and print these high-frequency sight word flashcards for beginning readers to learn. This is the third set.

  Sight Words 181 - 240

Download and print these high-frequency sight word flashcards for beginning readers to learn. This is the fourth set.

The printable lists can be used for flash cards (I don’t call them ‘flash cards’ with children. I prefer something a bit zippier) but the real fun is in finding creating ways to introduce these words and make them ‘instant.’

There are dozens of ways to make learning sight words fun – especially if you have access to colored paper, attractive stickers, cardstock and/or file folders. Adding authentic game pieces (like dice, markers, spinners, and penalties (for example “go back two”) will help to engage your child in the activities. In all likelihood, he or she will be glad to help you create board games, memory games, special tic tac toe squares or bingo cards.

Note, we also have sight word dominoes, practice sentences and special PDFs (i.e. seasonal, vehicles, and activity-related sight words) that include words and pictures.

  Sight Word Domino Game Part 1

Download and print Part 1 of our Sight Word Domino game for beginning readers. This can be used to help new readers to read high-frequency sight words confidently and fluently.

  Sight Word Domino Game Part 2

Download and print Part 2 of our Sight Word Domino game for beginning readers. This can be used to help new readers to read high-frequency sight words confidently and fluently.

  Sight Word Domino Game Part 3

Download and print Part 3 of our Sight Word Domino game for beginning readers. This can be used to help new readers to read high-frequency sight words confidently and fluently.

Important Note: Please limit the number of sight words you introduce at any one time – five or ten at most.

You will be interested in our Sight Word board on Pinterest

Learning to Read Fun with Rebus Chants!

The rebus chants are usually poems where several words are replaced with hand-drawn pictures. They are great for emergent readers because they usually include frequently repeated, predictable text AND rhyming words. The young child does not have to decode all the words – the rebus pictures fill-in-the-blanks.

In addition to giving children the satisfaction of “reading” (both text and illustrations), the poems will also support the development of phonemic awareness.

There are many sources of rebus chants. This is one that I created for you to download for free

  Counting Snowmen Rebus

Whether you checkout the Canadian Rainbow Horizons Publishing website or the American website, you’ll find free teaching units and detailed information including previews of the chant books.

Mama’s Book of Tricks by Lynn Brunelle
Motherhood book published by Chronicle Books

When my two boys were very young, I often told them that I was amazing! I always said it in a laughing way. I was not trying to be arrogant but rather thought that sooner or later they would both decide I was an idiot so perhaps if I referred to myself as ‘amazing‘ I could delay the almost inevitable ‘my mom is an idiot‘ phase for a month or two.

Actually, so far, my strategy has worked quite well. Now, I rarely have to remind my family that I’m amazing. Instead, when I find something that was assumed lost or if I manage to do something notable, it is not at all unusual to have one of the boys or my husband refer to me as, Mommy Amazing. Not bad, eh? My devious plan appears to be working.

Imagine my surprise last night when I discovered, Mama’s Little Book of Tricks by Lynn Brunelle. She’s put together, ‘fun games, cool feats, & nifty knowledge’ to ‘keep the kids entertained’ and make motherhood fun.

The publisher thinks it will work for kids ages 2-7 but I’m pretty sure there is more than one idea that will impress preteens.

At midnight last night, much to my husband’s chagrin, I was quoting the Nine Cool Bug Facts and contemplating the Four Impossible Kid Challenges. This book is great fun and might just lengthen my ‘Mommy Amazing’ status for awhile longer. Who could ask for more than that?

Lynn Brunelle’s Website: Tabletop Science

Mama’s Little Book of Tricks at Amazon.com

Mama’s Little Book of Tricks at Amazon.ca

Whether heading off on a camping trip, a ski weekend or a family vacation, we recommend putting small format picture books at the top of the packing list. Wherever we’re going or whatever we’ll be doing while we’re away, we should be able to find reading material to share with children

Keep in mind that when you choose to read daytime or bedtime stories while on holiday, you are giving your child very positive messages about reading. You are saying, “Books are so special, we always make a place for them in our suitcase. We get to have extra stories when we’re on holiday because holidays are a time to enjoy treats like stories!”

If, on the other hand, we skip reading when we go on a holiday, our children might decide,‘reading is work’ and to be avoided when we are relaxing on a holiday.

My guess is, once you discover small format picture books, you will be as excited as I am about them. Most cost less than $5.00 and can be tucked into a birthday card, Christmas stocking or your own handbag or suitcase with ease.

We recommend Red Fox Mini Treasure Series, Annikins Series, Little Miss Books, Mr Men Books and Mole Sisters.

Now, back to thinking about vacations. My experience has been that the stories we share while on holiday become intertwined with the happy memories and part of a family history. I hope that this happens with you too.

Check out this series for emergent readers

I spent a fair amount of time in a dentist’s chair today and was reflecting on my recent experience with a grade one student. I’ve been working with him for a while. His older brothers have had some difficulty with reading so I spend half an hour, once a week with this youngster. Yesterday he read from the Oxford University Press Read at Home series. He is familiar with these books and knows the characters; Floppy, Chip, Kipper and Biff.

During our session, I suggested he try one of the Level 4 stories. He eagerly selected, Trapped! text by Cynthia Rider, illustrations by Alex Brychta. It was delightful to hear him read confidently but what was even more special was his reaction to the book. Clearly, he saw this story as different from others he has read independently. There was more text – about three sentences per page. There were letters and hidden keys to locate within the illustrations. But, most surprising, there was drama – when Grandma was briefly trapped in a castle – and mystery – why was there face at the castle window?

My emergent reader was thrilled to read Trapped – he likened it to the kind of books his older brothers read. He felt competent, confident and intrigued. If only all books for young readers could replicate this winning combination.

The Oxford University Press Read at Home series is excellent from beginning to end and includes dozens of great titles for emergent readers.

Read at Home: More Level 4c: Trapped! at Amazon.com

Read at Home: More Level 4c Trapped! at Amazon.ca

Read at Home: Level 4, Pack of 6 at Amazon.ca

What is your favorite series for readers at this level? Please share your ideas and suggestions.

Literacy-Building Booklets: A Big Collection of Interactive Mini-Books by Suzanne Moore
Professional Teaching Resource published by Scholastic

Scholastic’s kindergarten teacher resource Literacy-Building Booklets: A Big Collection of Interactive Mini-Books… is a collection of reproducible mini booklets for PreK and Kindergarten. Grouped into ‘Fall’ Booklets, ‘Winter’ Booklets and ‘Spring’ Booklets, topics include colors, opposites, positional words, size, sequencing and much more.

Booklet formats are fun: shape books, flip books and, like the What’s in My Lunch Bag? booklet, some are 3D.

I particularly like the suggestions for extending the lessons and the variety in the booklet formats.

Literacy-Building Booklets: A Big Collection of Interactive Mini-Books That Help Children Explore Concepts of Print, Build Vocabulary, and Tie Into the Topics You Teach-All Year Long! at Amazon.com

Literacy-Building Booklets: A Big Collection of Interactive Mini-Books That Help Children Explore Concepts of Print, Build Vocabulary, and Tie Into the Topics You Teach-—All Year Long! at Amazon.ca

Do you have a professional resource that you would like to share?

It is rare to find a parent or child who does not feel overscheduled. Balancing (school)work, chores, sports activities and lessons seems to be a national pasttime. In our household we are enjoying a bit of a ‘breather’ from sports this week. Usually we are racing from school to gym to hockey rink to home. I always joke that my boys never ate in the car when they were toddlers or preschool age but these days I frequently load up a tray and wait to refuel one or both of them. If only I could clone myself… or my husband. Life would be so much better – or would it?

So Few of Me
Written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Picture book published by Candlewick Press

Orverscheduled Leo’s ‘To Do’ list is growing by the minute. One day it occurs to him that if there were two of him, all those jobs might be manageable. It is not long before one Leo becomes two and two becomes three. Soon there are nine extra Leos busily working, rushing, delivering, organizing, carrying and making To Do lists…

Leo awoke to nine other Leos ataring at him. “What were you doing?” they demanded.
I was dreaming.” Leo said softly.
“Dreaming was NOT on the list!” they roared.

Leo discovers that adding more Leos to his world doesn’t solve his problem. He learns that, even when one feels over scheduled, making time to dream can make all the difference. Leo decides to do less but do his best.

Peter H. Reynolds illustrations and message are a joy. Be sure to make time to enjoy this contemporary fable with your family and friends.

Peter H. Reynolds suggestions for sparking creativity

I would love to hear about your favorite Peter H Reynolds book. I am thinking The Dot but Ish is also an inspiration… oh my, I’m not sure I can pick just one.

So Few of Me at Amazon.com

So Few of Me at Amazon.ca

A retro picture book celebration of words and design

Sparkle and Spin
Written by Ann and Paul Rand
Picture book published by Chronicle Books

A picture book that was originally published in 1957, this new edition of Sparkle and Spin: A Book About Words is a great introduction to what words are. Combining bold, bright graphic illustrations with a text that begs to be read aloud:

Some words are gay and bright and full of light like tinsel and silver and sparkle.

Sparkle and Spin highlights rhyming, onomatopoeia and homonyms. Although the striking illustrations and wordplay will be enjoyed by very young children, there is much here for older children and adults to appreciate.

About Paul Rand, graphic designer

Sparkle and Spin at Amazon.com

Sparkle and Spin at Amazon.ca

Beginning to Read Day 5 included a delightful, rhyming picture book How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? written by Jane Yolen and illustrated by Mark Teague. The children enjoyed lots of laughs as they watched dinosaurs join a carpool, race through a school hallway, have fun at recess and try to behave properly in a classroom. This is a great book to read at this time of year. It provides gentle reminders about appropriate (and inappropriate) classroom behavior. Children love to watch enormous dinosaurs struggle to manage their manners – just as some children struggle in a classroom/school setting.

Day 5 also introduced the “Ot” word family – cot, dot, got, hot, lot, not, pot, rot plus three “tricky words” spot, slot and knot. Our Bingo game today reviewed all of the word families we’ve looked at this week.

How Do Dinosaurs Go to School at Amazon.com

How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? at Amazon.ca

Highlighting our Fall Printables…

We have all sorts of goodies lined up for September but thought we would give you a taste today. Our Fall printables include interlined paper (Back to School and Fall themes), a special alphabet, “school” vocabulary and some “Squirrel” goodies.

We are currently pulling together our favourite picture books for autumn – colourful leaves, and crisp, cool days are not far away.

Our early literacy printables, including our Fall printables are in PDF format, if you don’t already used Adobe Reader, you will need to use it to access the downloads.

Please note: some of our early literacy printables are available to Storytime Standouts members only. To become a member of the website (without cost or obligation), please click on the “Members” tab and register as a user.

You will find our selection of free printable alphabets here and all of our early literacy printables here.

If you appreciate our free early literacy printables,
including these Fall-theme early learning materials,
please support this site by visiting and purchasing from Amazon.com or Amazon.ca.

Enjoy these Fall printables and be sure to let your friends and colleagues know about Storytime Standouts.

  A Fall Leaves Alphabet

Attractive free alphabet printable features multi coloured Fall leaves

  School Picture Dictionary

Free printable school picture dictionary for readers and writers in kindergarten and grade one. Also a great resource for ELL / ESL

  Brown Squirrel

An action rhyme celebrating squirrels

  Five Little Squirrels

Use Five Little Squirrels as a fingerplay or a felt board story (or both)

  I'm A Little Acorn Brown

A fun addition to a squirrel circle time

  Writing paper for kids - Back to School

Free printable Back to school theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

  Writing paper for kids - Fall Theme incl. Tire Swing

Fall theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

  Writing paper for kids - Remembrance Day Poppy

Remembrance Day theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

  Fall Picture Dictionary

Free printable Fall picture dictionary for readers and writers in kindergarten and grade one.

Alphabet books come in an amazing array of themes and formats. Whether your child loves rescue vehicles, solving puzzles, cooking or nonsense rhymes, there are alphabets books to explore and enjoy.

Note: For printable alphabets, The Alphabet Song and activities to help your child learn the alphabet. be sure to check out our Alphabet Recognition page and our Printable Alphabets page.

Alphabet Explosion! Search and Count from Alien to Zebra by John Nickle

Alphabet Explosion presents 26 challenging visual puzzles that will appeal to both youngsters and adults. With a full-page illustration and the number of things to ‘spy’ for each letter, you and your child(ren) could spend hours with this book. On the page for ‘S’, we are told to look for 47 things that begin with ‘S’. You might expect a snake – but would you recognize ‘slithering’ as well? Good luck!

Alphabet Explosion!: Search and Count from Alien to Zebra at Amazon.com

Alphabet Explosion!: Search and Count from Alien to Zebra at Amazon.ca

Alphabet Rescue – written by Audrey Wood, illustrated by Bruce Wood

Fans of Audrey and Bruce Wood’s Alphabet Adventure and Alphabet Mystery will be delighted to know about this new concept book. The creators could not have picked a more appealing storyline than to have the ‘little letters’ build their own fire truck. When the ‘big’ fire truck breaks down, it is up to the ‘little letters’ to come to the rescue and put out a fire in the letter-making factory. Beautiful illustrations have so much to offer those learning the alphabet.

Alphabet Rescue at Amazon.com

Alphabet Rescue at Amazon.ca

Eating the Alphabet Fruits and Vegetables from A to Z By Lois Ehlert

Here’s a serving of veggies that will appeal to even the pickiest eater. Big, bold illustrations of familiar (apple) and not-so-familiar (jicama) fruits and vegetables make for a delightful alphabet book. Reading it might convince your child to sample something new and vitamin-rich, possibly the whole alphabet!

Eating the Alphabet: Fruits & Vegetables from A to Z at Amazon.com

Eating The Alphabet at Amazon.ca

G is for One Gzonk! An Alpha-Number-Bet Book written and illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi (a.k.a. Tiny Diterlizzi)

In the Style of Dr. Seuss, here we meet Tiny DiTerlooney. He warns us that we ought to “say good-bye to boring books where bears can bounce a ball.” Instead, he uses delightful watercolor illustrations to introduce twenty-six highly original ‘Creachlings.’ Lots of fun – especially for older children who will relish an all-new take on the alphabet.

G Is for One Gzonk!: An Alpha-number-bet Book at Amazon.com

G Is for One Gzonk!: An Alpha-number-bet Book at Amazon.ca

Read Sing Play ABC Sing-Along – written by Teddy Slater, illustrated by Liisa Chauncy Guida

Twenty-six sing-along songs, with mostly familiar tunes offer a fun introduction to letter sounds and rhyming. Fun illustrations (including ten touch and feel textures & four pull-tabs) together with a pleasing CD make this a great resource for families and classrooms.

Abc Sing-along at Amazon.com

ABC Sing-Along at Amazon.ca

More excellent picture books you will want to check out!

If you are helping a child learn to read, this simple trick might be the easiest way to decide if the chapter book is a good match for his or her reading level

Ask your child to read a page aloud. Each time he struggles with a word, he should raise one finger. If he raises five or more fingers per page, the book is too difficult. However, if he raises fewer than five fingers, the book is probably a good choice.

Ideally, we would like our children to choose books the same way Goldilocks would; we’d like them to select books that are ‘just right’ rather than ‘too difficult’ or ‘too easy.’ Having said that, ‘easy’ can be relaxing – a bit like browsing through a magazine – something we all enjoy doing from time to time.

Remember, if a chapter book is too difficult for your child to read independently, it might be a perfect choice for you to read aloud to your child.

When your child gets stuck on an unfamiliar word, here are some strategies we’d like her to use…

 Begin by using the first letter(s) as a clue, then move further into the unfamiliar word. Try to “sound out” the word and then blend the sounds together.
 Look at the pictures for clues. Especially in books for early readers, the pictures are intended to help tell the story.
 Look at the “chunks” within the unfamiliar word. Perhaps part of the word is known and can act as a clue.
 Consider what is happening in the story and what decide what might make sense.
 Go back and read the sentence (or even the paragraph) from the beginning. Think about the story and what decide what might fit.
 Listen to the words and decide if they sound ‘right.’

If you are helping someone learn to read, you may also be interested in our Beginning to Read page

Today we’ll look at three special picture books to enjoy with young children

A Sack Full of Feathers
Written by Debby Waldman and illustrated by Cindy Revell
Picture book that explores social responsibility published by Orca Book Publishers

Young Yankel is a storyteller. He overhears bits of news at his father’s store and excitedly shares the gossip throughout the village.

One day a wise rabbi gives Yankel a job; he is to put one feather on each doorstep in the village. Puzzled, Yankel willingly distributes the feathers even as gusts of wind send some flying.

When the rabbi subsequently asks Yankel to collect all the feathers and return them to the sack, Yankel comes to understand the danger of gossip.

A delightful folktale is retold in A Sack Full of Feathers with engaging illustrations and warmth.

A Sack Full of Feathers at Amazon.com

Sack Full of Feathers at Amazon.ca

Heave Ho!
Written by Heinz Janisch and illustrated by Carola Holland
Imagine, a refreshing and surprising story told in just twelve sentences! Engaging illustrations introduce a cat, a dog and a trio of mice. Together, they take on a tricky job and discover they are ‘up’ to the challenge. Good fun.

Heave Ho! at Amazon.com

Heave Ho! at Amazon.ca

Dooby Dooby Moo
Written by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Betsy Lewin

I hope you have discovered the not-to-be missed Caldecott Honor book, Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type. In Dooby Dooby Moo we once again encounter Farmer Brown and his irrepressible animals. With good cause, Farmer Brown is suspicious that something is going on behind the barn door. In fact, Duck is determined to win a trampoline in the upcoming Talent Show. He is busy organizing rehearsals of “Home on the Range” and “Born to be Wild.” This book’s a sure ‘winner.’

Dooby Dooby Moo at Amazon.com

Dooby Dooby Moo at Amazon.ca

The Tale of Despereaux written by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering
Chapter book for middle grades published by Candlewick Press

I first discovered Kate DiCamillo when I read (and thoroughly enjoyed) Because of Winn-Dixie. Very late last night, I closed the cover on The Tale of Despereaux, a great read aloud chapter book. Winner of the John Newbery Medal, this is a wonderful tale. Throughout we are reminded that, ‘nothing is sweeter in this sad world than the sound of someone you love calling your name.‘ A delight from cover to cover, read it yourself or share it with children eight years and older. There are some decidedly dark scenes that could disturb younger children.

Candlewick Press Teaching Guide (in PDF form)

National Education Association – “Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children”
School Library Journal “Top 100 Chapter Books” of all time

The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread at Amazon.com

The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread at Amazon.ca

Finding great books for 7 – 10 year olds to enjoy can be enormously rewarding. The initial learn–to-read phase is complete and we hope our children will chose to read for pleasure. When, as parents, we check to see why things are so quiet and discover our children with a book, it is indeed a special ‘a-ha’ moment.

Just as reading picture books aloud is important to very young children, it is vital that mom and/or dad continues to read aloud to emergent readers. Long after your child reads independently there are books worth exploring together. Sharing wonderful chapter books with your child will motivate him to read more challenging books. There are marvelous fantasies, legends, and mysteries for you and your child to discover.

A grade two teacher recently wrote to me, hoping for some read aloud recommendations. She had already shared James and the Giant Peach
by Roald Dahl, Freckle Juice by Judy Blume and Charlotte’s Web
by E.B. White with her class. I replied to her and shared these suggestions – I have personally tested each and every one with a difficult-to-please eight year old boy.

Here are some of my suggested read alouds for 7-10 year olds

Follow this link for many more chapter book suggestions for 7-10 year olds

A Mouse Called Wolf written by Dick King Smith
Chapter book for 7-10 year olds published by Yearling, an imprint of Random House

When looking for books to share with this age group, I would encourage you to take a look at Dick King-Smith’s books. King-Smith wrote Babe: The Gallant Pig and Ace: A Very Important Pig and numerous other wonderful animal stories. A Mouse Called Wolf is one of my favourites. It explores the love of music and also the loneliness that sometimes accompanies old age.

Reading one of Dick King-Smith’s books might launch a reader into his entire booklist.

A Mouse Called Wolf at Amazon.com

A Mouse Called Wolf at Amazon.ca

The Legend of Spud Murphy written by Eoin Colfer and illustrated by Glenn McCoy
Chapter book for 7-10 year olds published by Miramax

My 8 year old and I enjoyed Eoin Colfer’s Legend of Spud Murphy and Eoin Colfer’s Captain Crow’s Teeth together. Both were good fun and will be enjoyed by 7-10 year olds. The Legend of Spud Murphy has a very good message about reading and books therefore, I chose it as my favourite. Eoin Colfer is the author of the Artemis Fowl series (for older children).

Eoin Colfer’s Legend of Spud Murphy at Amazon.com

Eoin Colfer’s The Legend of Spud Murphy at Amazon.ca

The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs written by Betty G. Birney and illustrated by Matt Phelan
Chapter book for 7-10 year olds published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

For something completely different, I like The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs . Here we have a young boy who reads about the Seven Wonders of the World and longs to explore the world outside his hometown. His dad agrees to send him on a trip but first he must find The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs.
There are all sorts of opportunities for extention activities, possibly building an entire unit around this book. Perhaps your students could be encouraged to find a ‘wonder’ all their own.

The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs at Amazon.com

The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs at Amazon.ca

Truly Winnie – written by Jennifer Richard Jacobson and illustrated by Alissa Imre Geis
Chapter book for 7-10 year olds published by Sandpiper

Winnie, Vanessa and Zoe are off to their first overnight camp! They’ll be away from home for two weeks – swimming, climbing, boating and making new friends. Winnie, whose mother died after she was born, knows all too well that she is different from other girls. When she is assigned to a tent away from her closest friends, she is forced to make new friends. When getting to know her fellow campers, Winnie tells of her mother’s many accomplishments and before long is caught in a web of deception.

I read Truly Winnie aloud to my eight-year-old son. When I suggested we give it a try, I thought he might resist because the main characters are all girls (imagine!) In fact, the camp theme and compelling story made the Truly Winnie a good choice for both boys and girls. Nominated for the 2004 Rhode Island Children’s Book Award and chosen by the School Library Journal for their annual Children’s Curriculum, Truly Winnie offers many opportunities for discussion including

How it feels to a be a ‘third wheel”
How being away from home changes the campers and
Why Winnie feels she must invent a mother

Truly Winnie at Amazon.com

Truly Winnie at Amazon.ca

The Boy with Lightning Feet – written by Sally Gardner and illustrated by Lydia Corry
Chapter book for 7-10 year olds published by Orion Children’s Books

Timmy Twinkle has lived with his grandfather since his mom left the family and moved to Spain. The loss of his mom leaves Timmy feeling empty. He tries to fill the void with food and before long he is chubby, friendless and a target for bullies.

Timmy dreams of playing football (soccer), but his weight problem renders him clumsy at sports.

When a friend comes to stay with Timmy and his grandfather, she shares her passion for physical fitness. Before long Timmy is lean and ready to discover the magic in his toes.

Part of Ms. Gardner’s Magical Children series, The Boy with Lightning Feet will hold a special appeal for football (soccer) players and children who lack confidence in their own magical qualities. It was a definite winner in our household.

The Boy with the Lightning Feet at Amazon.com

The Boy with the Lightning Feet at Amazon.ca

Sir Gadabout Goes Barking Mad – written by Martyn Beardsley and illustrated by Tony Ross

Sir Gadabout holds the dubious title of Worst Knight in the World. When King Arthur dispatches him to collect Merlin and deliver him in time for the Magic World Cup, Gadabout and company encounter Demelza and Morag, two decidedly wicked witches. Before long, Gadabout is convinced that the witches have turned Merlin – reining world champion wizard – into a talking dog.

Great fun here for young readers and their parents to enjoy together. Read it aloud and enjoy the inside jokes.

Sir Gadabout Goes Barking Mad at Amazon.com

Sir Gadabout Goes Barking Mad at Amazon.ca

Wordless picture books are great for encouraging language development in young children. These books usually tell a story, clearly depicting a series of events. Before attempting to tell a ’story’, children should be encouraged to look through the entire book and get a sense of what is about to happen and how the story ends. Many children delight in the discovery that there are no words to ‘read.’ This can make for an exciting role reversal as young children have an opportunity to ‘read’ the pictures and ‘tell’ the story to an adult or another child.

Our page about Wordless and Almost Wordless Picture Books

I am happy to introduce two new special wordless picture books…
Once Upon a Banana written by Jennifer Armstrong and illustrated by David Small
Almost Wordless Picture Book published by Simon and Schuster

In this (almost) wordless picture book, hilarious events are set in motion when a small monkey tosses a banana peel onto a sidewalk. Before long it would appear that the entire town is upset – dogs break loose, a cyclist goes flying, a grocery cart is upended and, oh no, look at that baby carriage! Terrific fun.

Once Upon a Banana at Amazon.com

Once Upon a Banana at Amazon.ca

Flotsam created by David Wiesner
Wordless Picture Book published by Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Here, we join a boy and his family as they spend a day at the beach. Clearly an enthusiastic scientist, he arrives equipped with binoculars, a magnifying glass and a microscope. As he searches for interesting ‘flotsam’, a huge wave crashes over him and leaves an old underwater camera just above the waterline. The boy races to a nearby shop and waits as the film is developed. When handed the photos, he can’t believe what they reveal. Flotsam is truly a ‘treasure chest’ of visual delights.

Flotsam (Caldecott Medal Book)at Amazon.com

Flotsam at Amazon.ca

Storytime Standouts offers dozens of early literacy printables, All of the printables are in PDF format. Here is a sampling of our beach-related printables. Check the tab above for more resources.

  Beach Picture Dictionary

Free printable picture dictionary for readers and writers in kindergarten and grade one.

  Writing paper for kids - Sandcastle

Beach theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

In today’s Beginning to Read class, we spent some time exploring rhyming. Some of the children have a good concept of rhyming while others are just beginning to understand. We began with eight pictures (king, ring, tree, bee, house, mouse, etc.). The children looked at the pictures and matched the rhymes. We later played an active game and they listened in order to determine whether two words rhymed.

Hearing rhyming and developing phonemic awareness is a key to reading success. If you would like to print some pictures of rhyming words, follow this link to Storytime Standouts’ free printable rhyming words. For additional information about rhyming and phonemic awareness, click here to check out our Phonemic Awareness page.

We also played a fun game that served as a review of this week’s word families. The children were given three or four cards, each a different color (red, green, etc.). Then, each of the children with a red card stood at the front of the group. The children held the cards up and we ‘read’ the words. Occasionally the children positioned themselves correctly and the three letters formed a word. More often, the children had to rearrange themselves in order to spell a word. In some cases, the letters could be used to spell more than one word (tip,pit / rat,art). The children had lots of laughs with this activity because they ‘read’ silly words before finding the correct word. “TPA” became “PTA” and perhaps “APT” before “PAT” was revealed.

This activity was a review of each of the word families we studied this week. If you would like to print out some word family resources, follow this link to Storytime Standouts’ free word family printables .

Today’s story was The Gaggle Sisters’ River Tour written and illustrated by Chris Jackson. This was a challenging story for some of the children because it includes some relatively difficult vocabulary (hauled, sobbed) and there is a considerable amount of text. I am happy to say that all three groups remained engaged and interested throughout the story.

The Gaggle Sisters River Tour at Amazon.ca

The Gaggle Sisters River Tour at Amazon.com