Chapter books for emerging readers (Preschool years)

*UPDATED*

Ever since Doll has learnt to read comfortably, I've been in search for chapter books for her. Yes, I'm very eager for her to start diving her nose into chapter books. I don't insist my children to read so that they can improve English grade, I'm eager because I want them to discover the pleasure of reading. I love to read and I enjoy being yank into another world that I otherwise would never know nor experience. I don't read to better my English and I don't think my English is that great. I just think reading is so pleasurable, relaxing and enjoyable that I want my children to experience themselves as soon as possible! Nothing pleases me more than seeing my kids bury their faces deep into their books. Whatever comes after that (improve their English) is of course a bonus but it's not my primary focus. 

I've managed to find a few chapter books - with much difficulty. I generally scour through the library and the various bookshop shelves one after another just to look for chapter books for Doll's level. I'm looking for chapter books that are relatively thin, with easy to understand context and a storyline that appeals the girl. Yes, i suppose with those criteria, it makes it difficult to find the right one. Still I'm very pleased that I managed to find quite a few, I am even more ecstatic that these books come in a series! Yay, that helps to lighten my search load! I'm listing them here for sharing. I won't put an age category to these books because it very much depends on which level is the reader. But in general, if the child can read Peter and Jane books at level 9 and above, these books should be perfect for them. 

1) Katie Woo by Fran Manushkin

 

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This series is all about moral values and everyday life. Great pick for parents who want their daughters to read and get some moral education. The words are relatively easy to read and understand. Doll can read almost the entire book all by herself. This is one book that I need not read to her.

 

2) My freaky family, Rude Ruby

 

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Don't be fooled by the title of the book. It is nothing immoral or mischievous about this series. I love this set because the stories are simply twisted in a funny way. It is so ridiculous but really entertaining.

3) Amber Brown

 

 

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This is a book about a girl and her best friend, Justin. There are aplenty of puns in this book that can be hard for a 5 year old to understand. But still, Doll loves this book as she found some parts funny.

4) Early readers, various authors

 

 

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This book tickled Doll funny bones. The words are also easy to read and understand. Doll didn't need much help reading this book. Personally, any book that Tony Ross writes or illustrates is always funny and entertaining!

There are many other titles under this series, we have read Rainbow Magic, Emily Mouse's Birthday Party etc.

 
5) Cowgirl and Cocoa, Betsy Lewin

 

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This is a book I just picked out from the library. Doll has yet to read it but I've browsed through the content and I am certain that she will love this series too. It is about the friendship about a girl and her horse and their adventures together.

 

6) The Gaskitt stories, Allan Ahlberg

 

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This series is a tad difficult for the 5 year old in my opinion. It is not that the words used are bombastic or anything but there are multiple storyline going on simultaneously which eventually converged as one. For instance, one chapter focus on the mom, another on dad, then another on the kids and the last on the cat, the cycle gets repeated until they all merged into one ending. It can be quite hard for the young minds to keep up. But Doll likes this series, I suppose the stories are pretty interesting.

 

7) A Faraway Tree Adventure, Enid Blyton

 

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I read this title written by Enid Blyton when I was a little girl. I remember being totally drawn in by the enchanting story and yet not entirely comprehending the magical content. But I know I enjoyed it thoroughly. I was eager for Sonshine to try but hesitant because I don't know if he likes it. So I was ecstatic when I found out that the story is being made it into a simpler version. This means Doll can read it too! And as expected, like the little girl that I was, she too got drawn in by the magic of this book. I am a happy mother seeing my own daughter enjoying the same story that I had once loved.

 

 

Most of the above books come in a series. I love books in a series because it makes the search for similar chapter books easier. I may return back to this site and add on to this list.

Add On



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A book about a girl, cat or is it a cat-girl and her relationship with her friends. Its all about friendship and all the drama that comes with it. It is a great book as the girls get to learn how to cope when friends disappoint, fail, hurt etc them.




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Oh my goodness! This series is HILARIOUS to the MAX! Even my 10 year old enjoys it even though it is way too simple for him. The book depicts the strange activities of a group of students and their teacher and her big, wobbly, jiggly erm, bum. Too bad, there are only 4-5 (I cannot recall) titles under this series. I wish there was more!


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When I set my eyes on the Rainbow Magic series, my heart leaped with joy. I told myself I must expose the daughter to this series. Have you seen the number of titles in this series? It is MASSIVE! The Popular bookshop at Bras Basah dedicated an entire row of shelf to this particular series! As I said, I love books that comes in a series because it saves me from looking out for books for the kids (lazy mama here). I started letting Doll read this series under the Early reader books. After reading two books, she asked to read the intermediate level (those three stories in one books). I really hesitated but I decided to let her have a try. She has indeed proven herself. And that is when I realised she is ready to move on to thicker chapter books.  So, I'll be going in search for such books for her. Here we go!


 

How I teach mandarin at home

Most, if not all, of Doll's kindergarten friends are attending tuition such as reading, mandarin and math classes. But Doll has none of that. Occasionally, I do get a bit jittery, wondering if she is missing out. Yet at the same time, I refuse to start her so early on tuition, it's just not right for me. I also refuse to allow all those tuition centers to capitialise on my fears and suck my money out from me.

But truth be told, I did try her out for a trial at a popular Chinese tuition center. I have  heard raving reviews of the center and never once heard of any kid who dislike the school. I was confident that Doll would love it there, even more so when I saw her skipping to the class with excitement. Who knew, she came out bawling and later resisted any suggestions to attend such classes. It's not the center's fault. She cried because she felt she couldn't keep up and got worried. 

 

It seems that all signs are pointing toward no tuition for her. Hence I try to do what I can with her at home to help her keep at pace with her peers. I don't aim for her to be advance, I just want her to be prepared enough for primary school. Neither do I have hour long lessons with her at home. We are usually done within 15 minutes- almost daily, well I try daily. 

One of the obvious aspect is for her to read in both languages. As with my earlier post, she's well into reading and I don't need to worry about that anymore. But mandarin is a challenge because we aren't fluent in mandarin. My husband speaks no mandarin. And I speak, ok but not -rich-in-vocabulary mandarin. So yeah, we are in trouble. Yet, I refuse to send her for Chinese tuition- yet. Like getting her on the road to reading English using Peter and Jane series, I got her to learn to read Mandarin using books published by Berries tuition center. 

These books are meant for students attending the courses by Berries. But non students like me, can get hold of these books second hand. I bought mine from another mummy but I noticed the second hand book shops at Bras Basah sells a ton of them too! It's easily available. 

 

Like Peter and Jane books, I task Doll to read the berries books aloud everyday. Whilst she reads a page a day from Peter and Jane books, she is to read a chapter repeatedly everyday from Berries book. Once she is proficient in that chapter we move on to the next chapter. We have now completed book 2 of k1 level (mine are the old version) and are now on to book 3 ( there are 4 books in all). 

Now there are many many Chinese readers resources out there but Berries books are my number one choice. Like Peter and Jane books, the words are repeatitive and new words are introduced at a gradual pace. It aims to build the child's vocabulary slowly, one chapter at a time. Over time, the child would accumulate enough words to read a simple Chinese book by herself. 

As she recognizes more words, it is also easier to communicate with her in mandarin. At least now she has a bank of mandarin words in her brain and she can understand alittle. I can't say she can understand a lot (she complains that she doesn't understand her Chinese teacher at school) but we will get there- I hope (gulp). 

I don't just get her to read the books. I know over time she may be just memorizing the words. So I made our own flashcards. I made sure she knows each and every individual word. I would even ask her what the word means and what other words can it be paired up with  i.e she reads "生" and she's expected to say "生日的生"。

 

 

That's not the end. I even came up with my own worksheet according to her reading. I want her to be very sure in what she reads in the book before moving on. In the worksheet I created, I set questions to test her words recognition. I deliberately put words that look similar and test her to see if she can distinguish the two. 

 

I also set word order questions where she has to rearrange the words in the correct sentence structure. 

 

 

And also, comprehension passages. All the words in the passage are words that she has learn to read and understand from the book. 

I seriously think it's more stressful for her to be taught under me than going to the centers. Yet, she refuses to budge and wants me to teach her instead. Oh well. 

 

Peter and Jane, mama's best friends

So Doll has just completed Peter and Jane book 8A, now moving on to 9A. Yes the supposedly dry and boring Perer and Jane books that are sold at Popular book shops. I've to say, I'm pretty surprise myself that she managed to plough through each and every page and books from 2a all the way to 8A.

Peter and Jane books can be very dull for preschoolers. Quite evidently, many parents bought the entire series wanting and hoping their kids will learn to read but failed in doing so. I would think the primary reason is that the content in this series can come across as uninteresting as oppose to Julia Doanladson, Dr Seuss , Eric Carle etc books. I'm quite certain if I had tried this series on my son, it would not have succeeded. He would have hated the repetitive words and unappealing storyline.

Yet, it's precisely the repetitive page after page that got my Doll on a roll to reading. Truth be told, I think reading this series enabled her to read comfortably now. She feels so empowered by her new found skill that she has started to pick up books and read aloud to herself word for word without my assistance. She can now read Amber Brown series mostly on her own. No, she doesn't attend any phonics or reading classes by the way. I owe it all to Peter and Jane. Thanks kids! 

She started with book 2A, skipping 1A because it was too easy for her then. I only bought one book at a time as I was quite prepared that she would give it up by 4-5A. But she took me by surprise by religiously reading the books, one page a day. So I journey on with her and got just one more book which begets another 'just one more book' and another 'just one more' until now.

But before you rush out of the door to get the series, know this first. Peter and Jane series is not suited for every kid. As I mentioned most kids find it rather flat. And when the content is unattractive to them, it is likely they will put up a wall on your attempts to get them to to read the books. One probably needs to get hold of more vibrant reading resources instead. 

It's not easy to tell if your kids would like Peter and Jane series. Between my kids, I would have thought that Doll would have a stronger resistance to it. Her personality is that of an extrovert, she needs loud, colorful and attractive things to hold her attention. Peter and Jane series would have been the last of my expectations to teach her how to read. But look now, I was utterly wrong. On the hindsight, my son would have abhor it because he hates to learn by repetition.

So I am incline to think children who hates to learn by repetition will not like the series. If I've to point a finger to it. I think Doll took it very well because it systemacally taught her to read. 

If you are not in the know, Peter and Jane books are written in such a way that (1-3, depending on the level) new words would be introduced in each page. And each new word is peppered all over the books repeatedly, making it harder for the kids to forget the words. This slowly gives the child confidence in reading. I suppose with each page 'conquered' Doll felt more at ease in reading. With that confidence, it propelled her to read other books which gave her greater confidence knowing that she could actually read any book! 

Also I think Doll progressed relatively fast because she reads it aloud everyday. The more regularly she sees the words, the more she remembers them effortlessly.

So if you're itching to try it, I suggest that you buy one book at a time to test the waters first. It may seem more economical to buy the entire set but you would lose more if your child decides she won't have any of the books. Instead of buying brand new ones, get second hand books. You can easily find Peter and Jane books at the second hand book stores at Bras Basah. It cost only $1 per book. The books condition aren't too shabby either. So what's there to consider? I've been going there to buy the books, one at a time, and I've to say I barely have any difficulty finding the levels I want. 

If Peter and Jane series don't work for you then keep on hunting. There are many resources out there that are equally effective. Some may learn better the phonics way. It's more important to find one that fits your child. For some kids, like my son, you don't even need any resources or tuition. You just need to read aloud to them everday and they will naturally pick up from there. Don't give up, keep on swimming, I mean finding! 

Puzzle craft

Waiting for the brother to end his tuition class can be dreadfully boring for a 5 year old. In order to kill that 1.5 hours of wait, I would often bring stuff out to entertain her. From books to coloring to worksheets, anything and everything!

 

Yesterday, we did something quite different and fun. Doll dug out my old purchase from Daiso and begged me to let her have a go at it. And I thought why not? We needed to entertain ourselves anyway.

 

 

 

If you have been to Daiso, you may have seen this peculiar looking product. It is usually located where the children items are.

 

It is actually a blank 25-pieces puzzle. We can personalised the puzzle by drawing our own pictures on it. I actually bought this puzzle long ago for my numbering sequence activity. (Yes, I was being overly eager. I bought one too many :P)

 

 

I numbered each puzzle for Doll who was 2 then, to learn her number sequencing. She just had to connect the puzzles in numerical order. More about this activity at this link.

 

 

Well, it was a good thing I bought extra because we had quite an enjoyable mother-daughter time. Each set comes with two puzzles (what a steal isn't it? For just SGD$2!). So, she drew on one and I drew on the other. This mama also needs to kill time you know?

 

She drew a picture of herself and me. I apparently have a yellow face. :I

She made a mistake with the green marker and I told her she could use her imagination to try to correct her mistake. She doodled and finally drew up a table (looks more like a cradle to me). But. I am happy she learnt that she could recreate something else over her initial mistake.

 

And ta-da! My cute penguin drawn by yours truly :D.

 

After ink dried, she took it out and tried to build the puzzles with her friend.

 

Now make a guess which of the two was the harder puzzle to piece up?

The teens and the tens

It is time!

 

It is time to take out my Montessori sets before it turn into dust and before Doll has no use for it! :D

 

I decided to teach Doll all about teens and the tens.

 

Actually I sort of already taught her before but this is just to reinforce her learning.

 

Note, I may not necessarily follow the authentic Montessori way in presenting but it works anyway.

 

 

 

First, we take out our tens beads. Doll determines that there are ten yellow beads strung together in a set.

 

 

Then we lay out the ten beads beside our teen board accordingly.

 

 

Next, we determine the number of beads in each colour set. For instance, the red set has just one bead, the green set, 2 beads, the pink, 3 beads and so on.

 

 

 

With our attention back to our teen board, we slide the '1' on the '10'. Here's where I tell Doll that 10 and 1 makes 11. I show her the 'magic' as I place the '1' on top of the '10'.

 

I also place a red bead, representing one, below the ten yellow beads. I counted them and determined that there 11 beads altogether. And again I told her that 10 (point to the yellow beads) and 1 (point to the red bead) makes 11. I do the same for 12 and the rest of the teens.

 

 

And we continue with the rest (here I only show up to 15).

 

At the end of the session, I randomly queried her how many does 10 and 3 makes or 10 and 5 makes etc, just to check if she understood what was presented. Sometimes, during our day to day I will also throw these questions at her just to reinforce what she learnt.

 

 

Also, I taught her what it means by counting by tens. I used my trustee ten boards. I showed that one ten makes ten, two ten makes twenty (and I counted each bead to show her that) and so on.

 

As with the teens lesson, I would ask her how many does 5 tens make or 7 tens make etc.

 

 

Next, as with the teen boards, I showed her that 40 and 3 makes 43. First we lay out 4 tens yellow beads and a 3 beads set.

 

 

I slide the 3 over the 40 and showed her that 40 and 3 makes 43. We counted the beads and determine that indeed 4 tens and 3 bead makes 43 and so on.

 

These activities are great for the child to learn place value. With these visual aids, it would be easier for the child to understand the place values later on.

 

And here's how I taught my pre-schooler all about the tens and the teens. :)

 

If you would like to know more here's a link on the know-hows and even how to DIY.

 

http://livingmontessorinow.com/2013/09/02/montessori-monday-diy-montessori-teen-and-ten-boards/

 

 

Learning to speak in Mandarin

I have been contemplating to send Doll for Chinese enrichment classes. It doesn't help that all of her group of friends are already attending Chinese classes and she is the only who isn't.

 

Yes, I feel the stress.

 

Yet, I am hesitating. As it is already, she has 3 leisure classes on her plate, piano, art and ballet- all of which she asked for. To add another class onto her schedule, just doesn't sit well with me. Somehow or rather, I just don't feel good packing her off to academic learning classes.

 

I have not quite made up my mind yet, but as of this school term, I have decided not to send her. I may send her in the next term or the next or maybe next year. We shall see.

 

In the meantime, I am doing what I can to get her to pick up mandarin.

 

I am happy that she can already recognise a sizable number of mandarin words. She can read simple sentences. I am grateful that she picks up mandarin words relatively easily and makes my job a lot more simpler.

 

Her teacher says she is one of the quickest when it comes to reading the words but we have to brush up on her spoken mandarin.

 

So, my next task is to get her to speak in Mandarin. I try to speak to her at home but I mostly have to do an immediate translation in English. Sheesh.

 

What do I do?

 

Since she already knows quite a few words from her reading, I decided to use what she knows to get her speak in Mandarin.

 

 

 

For instance, She can read the above sentences. So in my day to day I would ask her "你会读吗" (Do you know how to read?) and she would answer " 我会读". Or I would ask her " 你会飞吗" and she would say " 我 不会飞"。

 

 

Since she already knows the word "爱" and "吃", I would spontaneously ask her "你爱吃菜吗" or " 你爱吃面包吗" to which she replies "我不爱吃菜" or " 我不爱吃面包"。

 

 

Another set of words she knows, so again I'd ask her "你有书包吗" she would say "我有书包".

 

 

Or "你喜欢红色吗" and her response would be " 我不喜欢红色".

 

I don't dictate her answers, she does it  on her own based on the words she already knows.

 

There are more words she knows and I would use those words whenever I can.

 

I know it is relatively simple. She cannot speak anything more than outside the text she has learnt. Still, it is a step forward, I will take this better than nothing!

 

A step at a time, we shall get there!