Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Reading List for My 7 Year Old

I didn't do a Literature List this year like I have in past years. I'm choosing not to assign literature, and The Kid is more inclined to choose her own books than read whatever I put in her library bin at this point. But that certainly doesn't mean we didn't read! We had a lot of reading with the Cultural Geography study, we continued to have family read aloud time every night (though we switched to mainly using audiobooks for this), and we listened to audiobooks in the car. So, at the end of the year instead of the beginning, here's the summary:




The entire Harry Potter series. Yes, the whole thing. It was immense and it took months. But The Kid is now fully obsessed with HP.








We read both Ramona Forever and Ramona's World this year, finishing up the entire Ramona series.









We also worked on finishing up a full tour of Roald Dahl's fiction this year, a project we started a few years back with The Minpins. I think The Witches is one of the scariest of Dahl's books, and we therefore left it to near the end. DD loved it, though - the visual language in this book is wonderful! And the little boy and his grandmother teaming up so well to work against the witches is fantastic.





I don't know how this one of Dahl's got left so late! It may be my favorite of the whole bunch. A brilliant little girl with horrendous parents, who eventually finds her way with the help of a lovely librarian and a supportive teacher. Plus, a little bit of magic, which always helps.







This was an amazing and imaginative story about a girl who was fed a bit too much moonlight as a baby, making her powerfully magical, and the witch, swamp monster, and Perfectly Tiny Dragon who raise her. It's a coming-of-age tale, written for middle grades but appropriate for younger readers who are ready for the themes typical of fantasy books, including grave danger and death. Winner of the 2017 Newbery Medal.







Middle grades book that is appropriate for younger readers who are okay exploring the theme of loss. Newbery Honor Book.

2 comments:

  1. I also homeschool. I have a few questions to ask. Would you recommend those books for a 5 year old child or not? What sort of books would you suggest for a five year old to read. She has her own library card. Do you have any recommendations on unit studies that are appropriate for small children or not? We are struggling how to teach my little ones. They are 2 now. Any recommendations on how to teach them is always appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Kid could have handled all of these except The Witches at that age, I believe. And she would have managed the first Harry Potter book, but not been able to get much further in the series without it being too scary. However, all kids have different thresholds for what is "too scary". The kindergarten reading list at https://everchangingchild.blogspot.com/2014/08/kindergarten-literature-list.html might be a better fit.

      Delete