Reading chapter books to your 3-8 year olds is a great way to get them to use their imaginations and to increase their vocabulary. But with the advanced vocabulary, comes advanced content (sorry…I am not interested in emotionally scarring my 4 year olds by reading about vampires) or they simply have plots that can’t capture the attention of younger kids.
I have learned to never underestimate the reading comprehension of your children! When my oldest son turned 4, reading wasn’t on his radar at all. But I remember the night we introduced him to Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder… he was completely hooked! He even went to dress for the part of the hunter boys to get in the mood. I watched his eyes widen as he listened (there weren’t any pictures to look at) and felt like I was catching a magical moment where he was making the connection between the words and the images in his own mind. Pure Magic!
CHAPTER BOOKS FOR AGES 3-8
This list is meant to fill the gap for early readers who are reading on their own but still need age appropriate content, or for parents to read to their children and want to make sure it will be engaging!
