For some children reading comes naturally and they are book heads from the start. Other kids could not care less about reading. Reading opens up the world to children, there is something wondrous about being able to escape into a different world and immerse yourself in that life. My mother used to read to me every night and for hours after church on Sundays…until she fell asleep. It was there that my love of reading was ignited. I remember as a child spending hours upon hours reading Babysitters Club books.
I have had the same experience with my own children. My oldest child Auron loved to be read to and he was desperate to learn to read but he struggled immensely with it. Mainly because he wanted to read buy he didn’t want to put in the work to learn how. This all changed once I began reading the Magic Treehouse books to the kids. I would read a chapter a night and soon the anticipation to know what was going to happen next was too much to handle. One night I heard his sister climb into bed with him while he painstakingly read the next chapter aloud to her. Before long he was doing all the reading for us each night. Once we finished all the Magic Treehouse books he moved onto all the other books he had been dying to read like Harry Potter and the Percy Jackson series.
Over this week I consulted with 40 other homeschooling parents about their children’s favourite book series and have complied a list just for your reading pleasure. Book set are always a fantastic gift for birthdays or Christmases too.
The Magic Treehouse
These are my all time favourite books for emerging readers. They are the books that got each of my new readers hooked on reading for themselves. They follow a brother and sister who discover a magic treehouse full of books. Each book takes them on and adventure from one of the books they have in the treehouse.
The books are 10 chapters long, with large print. The vocabulary used is simple and easy for young readers to read fluently. My children have really loved these books because they feel like they are being a bit grown up because they are reading chapter books. It gives them such a boost in confidence.
There are over 100 books in the series but you can buy them either individually or in boxsets. I would recommend buying a box set, usually in 4-25 books because your kids will get annoyed if you don’t have the next book ready to go, trust me I know from experience!
The Magic School Bus
Definitely a winner with the younger grades. If your children love watching the Magic School Bus there is no doubt they will love these books. I didn’t even know they existed until a few months ago! I thought there were only the picture books. But there are these amazing chapter books perfect for 7+ year olds.
Let Miss Frizzle take you on an adventure and learn all about the world around us. These books mix both adventure and education together seamlessly.
These would be a wonderful addition to any homeschool library that could be used along side a multitude of different science units and lessons.
Anything by Enid Blyton
These are also some of my children’s favourite books.Enid Blyton writes incredible books an they are true classics. I love the sophisticated language she uses which was likely quite common at the time of writing.
You will definitely want to look at all of her series such as The Wishing Chair, The Famous Five and The Faraway Tree.All incredible and engaging books for your youngest readers. These are the books that are perfect for when you children are ready to move on from simple readers. They are easy and manageable to read and create such confidence in the children that their love for reading just blossoms.
Our personal favourite though is the Famous Five. This series is about a bunch of siblings and their cousin who go off on adventures. They get themselves into all sorts of sticky situations but with a bit of team work and ingenuity they figure things out in the end. Whenever we finish on of these books the kids are wanting to go out and be adventurers like these kids are.
These types of books are classic that your children will read time and time again and then they will read them to their children and the excitement is always the same.
Harry Potter
I feel that I have accomplished one of my goals in life now that my kids are in love with Harry Potter. They are classic books that you can read and reread over and over again. Children become so immersed in the world of Harry Potter that they can’t put the books down. That is what you want.
The books teach some good morals such as perseverance, loyalty and strength in the face of adversity.
These books can get a bit too much for younger children. So although they maybe capable of reading them I would exercise caution as they head to the latter books and reserve them for older children.
Land of Stories
I have just purchased this to read aloud to the kids at night. There are six books in the series so far. The stories follow twins Connor and Alex as they find their way into fairy tale land. They are suddenly a part of a world they had only ever read about.
Children will love these books because they incorporate many of the well known fairy tales they have grown up with. It just makes it all that more exciting when you can relate a bit more to the characters and stories.
I have found that the idea behind these books is quite similar to the Magic Treehouse books but aimed at a much older audience. I would say this series would be suitable for ages nine and up or younger if you were going to read it to them or purchase it to have as an audiobook.
Anything By Rick Riordan
Rick Riordan is the author of the well known and much loved Percy Jackson Series. He has however also written a number of other series.
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians
This is Riordan’s first series. It follows a demi-god Percy as he discovers his true identity and adapts to being a part of this new world of Greek Gods. This is actually a great way to learn about the Greek gods! It is how my kids learnt for sure. These books are easy reads and would be good for around ages 8+ I would expect. - The Kane Chronicles
This series is our current audiobook binge. The series also follows a sibling duo Sadie and Carter. who need to fight to set things right after the ancient Egyptian Gods are unleashed. It is full of excitement and it is really difficult to put down. We have spent a lot of time sitting in our driveway and in parking lots waiting for a good place to stop the audiobook! - The Heroes of Olympus
A new series that is a carry on from the Percy Jackson series. You able to fall in love with all your favourite characters again as they embark on some of their most dangerous missions to date. - Magnus Chase
Continuing on with the ancient mythology theme, this time it is Norse mythology. Magnus Chase is a homeless boy from Boston who embarks on incredible adventures full of self discovery and excitement. - The Trials of Apollo
Disgraced God Apollo is punished by his father Zeus by being thrown out of Olympus and sent to New York to live as a mortal teenager. This is a bit of a flip from the usual path Riordan takes where normal people find out they are powerful Gods or the like. This time Apollo needs to learn how to function and adapt to being mortal.
Wings of Fire
This series was mentioned several times. It is a a fantasy series based on dragons. There are no humans in this series at all. The books revolve around prophesies of wars among the different dragon tribes.
Children seem to love this series with a passion with many parents saying it was what got their children to move on from comic books and mind numbing material into something that really got their brains working.
The ideal age for these books is middle school grades and up. Both boys and girls have throughly enjoyed these books and what is fantastic is that it is a huge series with 12 books so far.
Fablehaven
This series is another classic that just pulls kids in. It is well written and stretches the mind with sophisticated language.
Yet again another brother/sister duo is about to find themselves on and adventure into the unknown whilst visiting their grandparents farm. Their grandpa sets up a series of tasks and challenges to help them to discover the secret of Fablehaven.
Fablehaven is a preserve for magical creatures which they need to defend and protect.
Another enticing and exhilarating adventure tale that will for sure having your kids begging to keep the light on for just one more chapter each night.
What if My Child Really Doesn’t Like to Read or Can’t Read?
If your children are still early readers or they just struggle with reading in general don’t push them too hard. They can still have the wonderful benefits of reading, by being read to. Audible is a wonderful app you can use to have book read to you. All of these book series can be found on there as well as so many more. Many of the books are incredible cheap or free. For the more expensive books you can use your credits you get each month with your subscription. While having a parent or someone else read to them is the ideal sometimes life happens and that just isn’t possible each and every time. This is a great alternative for those times when you are unable to read to them. We use audible in the car when we run errands (makes it so much more enjoyable!) and while we are working quietly doing art projects or the like.
