I'm looking for suggestions for real aloud books for kindergarteners. I have lots of books that they can use to read themselves. I'm looking for books that I can read to them over a period of days (probably about a week--don't want them to have to go over the weekends). Randy brought home a Scholastic order form that has lots of sets like The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids and Junie B. Jones Pack, but most of the sets are for grades 2-4 or 3-6. I figure if I'm reading them to them over a period of days they can be a little higher in grade level. I do plan to take the kids to the library's book mobile once a week for them to pick some books out, but would still like to have some on hand to read to them. This is for this fall when I have only kindergarten kids (school starts the first week of August). So all you former kindergarten teachers, what do you suggest? Do you think something recommened for grades 2-4 would be okay? Do you know of any with short enough chapters to keep their interests, and with books that would only be long enough for about a week with me reading about 20 minutes a day to them? TIA

By Amecmom on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 10:33 am:

Cat,

I did not have Kindergarteners who could sit for a 20 min period of read aloud without pictures to look at.

You know your class, so I'm assuming they've shown they're ready for this.

I personally would invest in Big Books and read aloud and then use them for a Real Along. Kids that age need visual stimulation. Poetry on charts is also great.

Ame

By Tripletmom on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 10:38 am:

I'm not a school teacher but I think the Junie B.Jones books are great.They are short chapters and the children can relate to the silliness.A book could last a week with 20 minutes of reading.When my DD was in kindergarden, on there birthdays they had to bring in a wrapped book.They put there name and a picture of them inside.They opened the book at school,the teacher read it to them and the book stayed at school for a classroom collection.A great way to get more books for the classroom.My DD loved it.

By Tink on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 10:42 am:

I don't know that I'd go with even simple chapter books with a group of kindergarteners. I'd still be choosing picture books that have longer storylines or vocabulary that's above what they are reading to themselves. If you really wanted to go with chapter books, I'd say that Junie B. Jones and Bailey School Kids are a great place to start. There are the Flat Stanley and the Magic Treehouse books that are fun to listen to, also.

By Cat on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 11:40 am:

Do you really think 20 minutes is too long for a kindergartener to sit? I'm not saying sitting absolutely still with absolutely no talking for a full 20 minutes. I expect some fidgeting and input from the kids. I just sat with a 1yo and a 4yo for a good 15 minutes reading just a little while ago. Of course the 1yo wandered after about 5 minutes, and the 4yo got up once to see why the dog was barking. I don't think 20 minutes is unreasonable for kindergarteners. Maybe I'm way off base, but that's jmho. I do go with the flow with kids. Having a tactical learner myself I totally understand some kids needing to move about while listening. This is a family child care setting--not school. We learn through play at my house. While I do "teach" the kids, it's very informal. Maybe I'll check out Goodwill for some books. I used to have some Magic Treehouse books, too. If I haven't donated them they're in a box somewhere (almost all our stuff is, except what we use every day!). Would Junie B. Jones books appeal to little boys, too? My boys were never interested in them. I've never seen the Bailey School Kids books, but have heard a lot about them. I'll have to check some out. Thanx for the input.

By Luvn29 on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 12:02 pm:

My first grader (boy) LOVES Junie B. Jones! As a substitute teacher, I can say that every room has these books. Especially second grade on down. And the boys enjoy them as much as the girls. They have Junie B as a Kindergartener in a lot of the books, and then she moves up to a first grader in a lot of the books. Start with the stories with her as a Kindy student. You can tell the difference because the ones that she is a first grader, the title says, "Junie B. Jones, First Grader".

I agree, I read a lot of longer, more difficult picture books to my kindy classes when I sub in there, but I think that they enjoy the Junie B. Jones, also, especially in the second semester of school. You'll just have to see how your kids do with them. There is so much silliness in the Junie books, and they move so quickly, that I think they would be a good pick for this young of a group, if you wanted to go the chapter book route.

By Trina~moderator on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 01:52 pm:

When I was teaching full day K I read chapter books during nap time. Most didn't sleep anyway, and this was a BIG help to keep them on their mats. LOL! E.B. White books were always a big hit: Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, Trumpet of the Swan.

By Bellajoe on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 02:27 pm:

My dd was i kindergarten last year and her teacher read them all of the Junie B. Jones books. The kids loved them. When i helped out at the book fair, they all asked for the Junie B Jones books.

She is now in first grade and reads the Junie B. books to herself.

By Pamt on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 02:50 pm:

Not a teacher, but I do work a lot with early literacy development and reading skills. At this age I would really recommend more involved picture books and you can do some more active learning, comprehension, and discussion. One of my favorite is "A Bad Case of Stripes." EVERY kid just loved this book. To help them sit still you can talk about the pictures, get them to predict what will happen next, talk about how you would feel if that happened to you, etc. Other suggestions: The Any Bully, Pete's a Pizza (and then you can play the pizza game), No Jumping on the Bed, anything by Steven Kellogg and Don & Audrey Wood, most books by Tedd Arnold.

By Cat on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 03:20 pm:

Thanx for the suggestions! We're going to the bookmobile this afternoon (bus that travels from our local library--our closest real branch is 10 miles away) so I'll see what they have onboard right now. I can place books on hold through the library's website and they bookmobile usually has them within a week or two. They always do have a good selection of kids books though. Pam, I'll have to check out those books you recommended. Thanx.

I do plan to start the kids with picture books--something that I can read in about 15-20 minutes (with discussion and participation). We'll work our way up to longer books, starting with some that will only take a couple days to read. Right now I have reading time scheduled for right after rest time (I don't expect kindy kids to nap but we will have a quiet time) and right before music time. I might have some outdoor play right after reading, though. They may need that time to blow off some steam. We'll see how the first few weeks go.

By Dawnk777 on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 07:09 pm:

I just thought of another one, that is a simple chapter book, but even I thought they were interesting. It's Nate the Great

There are many titles available and they are definitely at the library. Nate is a detective who likes to eat pancakes and he always figures out the reason for the mystery. My kids loved them!

By Reds9298 on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 07:35 pm:

I haven't read all of the posts, but having taught K for 7 years, 20min. is too long!! They need pictures, interaction, and repetition to involve them. I would not have read a chapter book to my class over a period of time. Heck, the long Seuss books (the really long ones) are too much for many of them.

Why not just read a different book everyday? Just curious. Even if they have heard it in school, your reading will be different.

And also, if they know they're going outside after the story, you might as well just blow off the story! That's my experience. They just want to go, go, go.
Good luck!

By Pamt on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 08:25 pm:

I didn't express it very well, but yeah...what Deanna said. I don't think longer is better. There are so many incredible, fun picture books with a lot to discuss and explore. They have the whole rest of their lives for chapter books.

(Coming from an avid grown-up reader who still likes picture books)

P.S. Correction on a previous book: The Ant Bully, not any bully--LOL

By Marcia on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 08:41 pm:

Twenty minutes isn't too long at all. When I was teaching K, a normal circle time was at least 30 minutes.
As a daycare provider you can sign up to have Scholastic delivered right to your home. I made up an official daycare name to get my account going. I sent the sheets home with the parents each month, and gave them to some neighbours. I got lots of bonus points and free pics, which meant lots of free books!

By Dawnk777 on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 11:36 pm:

I loved this book, too!

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

I seem to remember that the stories were weird in a funny way and the pictures were cool, too! My mom is a librarian and brought it home from the library once, when we came to visit!

By Jtsmom on Tuesday, April 11, 2006 - 07:15 am:

Both of mine, (a 2yr old and a 5 yr old) will sit for 20 minutes to listen to a book. We do it every night. I just won a 2 box set of Junie B. Jones books off of ebay for a little of nothing!! I can't wait to get them. I have never read any of those books to them, but when I read these posts, I went searching!! Thanks guys.

By Luvn29 on Tuesday, April 11, 2006 - 08:13 am:

Be forwarned Joelle, they are VERY silly, goofy little stories!!! My husband rolls his eyes when I read them because I get so goofy with them, but then I notice he gets just as intrigued as the kids do! LOL! But the kids do all seem to love them, and that's what counts!

By Cat on Tuesday, April 11, 2006 - 08:30 am:

Thanx for all the input. I still don't think 20 minutes is too long. Like I said, I'll start with books that can be read in one sitting (15-20 minutes) and there will be interaction with the kids. I'm a pretty animated reader! lol Then I'll go with some that will be just enough for two days (leave them wanting more!) and go from there. I picked up a Junie B. Jones book yesterday and a Jigsaw Jones Mystery from the bookmobile (they didn't have any Bailey School Kids books onboard (they said they were probably on the other bookmobile--they have two) but I'll put one or two on hold to check them out. Dawn, I looked at the book you mentioned and it looks great! I'll be the library has it, too. I love my local library. Thanx again for all the suggestions and input. We'll have to see how it works come August!

By Kaye on Tuesday, April 11, 2006 - 09:17 am:

I also don't think 20 minutes is too long. In general you should read above where they can read, but about a subject that interest them. I think it mihgt surprise a lot of people here what their kids will sit and listen to.

We read aloud each night when my kids were very young, we read the the first 3 books of the chronicals of narnia when my youngest was 4. He loved them.

I think you have the right plan cat, start small, but move on to those chapter books.

By Reds9298 on Tuesday, April 11, 2006 - 10:05 am:

Marcia...My circle time was always about 30 min. too, but that was for an involved picture book, not a listening only chapter book. That included a reading, student helpers, actions, discussion, and student participation.

Sitting and *listening* for 20-30 min. at 5-6yrs. old is not developmentally appropriate.

By Reds9298 on Tuesday, April 11, 2006 - 10:06 am:

Dawn- LOVE the STinky Cheese man!!! I'm like Pam...still an avid reader of children's picture books and have a huge collection that's just mine. I guess Natalie will have to have a second set!!

By Reds9298 on Tuesday, April 11, 2006 - 10:08 am:

Sorry...more... Cat, you know what the kids are capable of so you can make a good choice in this.

By Dawnk777 on Tuesday, April 11, 2006 - 03:19 pm:

Reds, my kids even felt the need to check out some children's picture books the last time were at the library. I picked out the Stinky Cheese Man. I need to get it down to from Sarah's room to read it.

They wanted Tuesday and June 29, 1999 to read again, too. (David Wiesner). These two books tell unique stories and have very unique illustrations! They are both Caldecott books for illustrations. We found them in the award section of the library.

By Amecmom on Tuesday, April 11, 2006 - 06:34 pm:

It's not just the length of time. The issue is how appropriate is the material for the children. I don't think, and have never thought, that kindergarten was the time for listening to chapter books.

Picture books, big books with an activity can take up to 45 minutes and teach valuable skills. Just listening to a Read Aloud is not going to be beneficial.

Also, some chapter books which are for an older audience may have topics and situations that may not be okay for the little ones.

They have so much time to be grown up. Let them stay little and enjoy little things for a while longer.

Ame

By Kaye on Tuesday, April 11, 2006 - 07:45 pm:

I have to just say I disagree. There is a LOT to be learned from being read to with out pictures. I don't think it is developmentally appropriate to have no picture books. But it is a great thing to actually let them use their imaginations. The key is to find chapter books that are interesting to them.

Not all kids learn alike and they need to be exposed to different types of books, both picture books and chapter books. Also different genre's. There is a great article about kids and developing reading here...http://www.naeyc.org/about/positions/pdf/PSREAD98.PDF#xml=http://naeychq.naeyc.org/texis/search/pdfhi.txt?query=chapter+books&pr=naeyc&prox=sentence&rorder=750&rprox=500&rdfreq=1000&rwfreq=1000&rlead=1000&sufs=2&order=r&cq=&id=42ea2834d2.

They NAEYC is the top notch organization for developmental appropriate learning for children. They are firm believers we push kids too hard to young and forget they also need to learn to play and socialize.

By Reds9298 on Tuesday, April 11, 2006 - 09:17 pm:

Exactly why (IMO) a chapter book isn't appropriate for the majority of K's. The NAEYC knows their stuff.

There *is* a lot to be learned from listening and not seeing, but in small portions and small segments of time. Children at that age are only capable to a certain point of creating a picture in their mind, and some can't do it at all. Reading a small section of a chapter book, with an intro about what you want the child to think about or "look" for with their mind is a great idea. It builds listening skills and provides exposure to a different kind of book. Doing that for 20-30 min. is a different story completely.

By Kaye on Wednesday, April 12, 2006 - 05:53 am:

I guess we read that article differently. I think my children at kindergarden were more than ready for that skill. Not early in the year, but certainly by Christmas break.

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, April 12, 2006 - 07:52 am:

Developmentally Appropriate Reading

Just making the link clickable. I will read the article later.

By Amecmom on Wednesday, April 12, 2006 - 09:11 am:

One cannot base what is educationally appropriate for all children on what was educationally appropriate for their children at a particular age. When one's children are advanced, one somehow thinks all children are capable of what your children are capable of. I know that's not the case. If in the coming year the K class taught to what my son was capable of most of the kids would be lost. You have to teach to all learners.

Most children at that age, especially boys, do not have the capacity to sit for that long and listen with only one sense engaged.

The more senses you engage in learning the better the outcome - this way you are hitting the learning styles of all your students: visual, kinesthenic, auditory, emotional etc. Even if they can sit for that long, the brain tunes out as soon as it gets bored or overloaded. What is the educational value in that?

I really think the children would have more fun with Read Alouds like "Mouse Paint" any of the Eric Carle books, poetry charts, "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" and any of the others in that series, "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs" -

These and other big books are designed to be read aloud and held so the children can see the print as the words are being read. You are establishing pre-reading and reading skills by doing this. You are teaching conventions of print, simple word recognition, using picture cues, etc. You can also use these stories to teach important reading comprehension skills like main idea, sequence of events, character analysis etc.

Those skills are much more appropriate and valuable than to just listen for 20 minutes.

So there's the benefit of my experience in early education. I think Deanna and I are on the same page here (tee hee). Our both having taught early learners and having been trained to teach reading should count for something.

Ame

By Cat on Wednesday, April 12, 2006 - 11:09 am:

I didn't mean to start a debate! lol Thanx for the link to the article, Kaye. I really don't see any strong support for or against reading chapter books to that age. Just lots of suggestions for lots of different things, including exposing kids to different material. I'll just do what works for my kids. Thanx to everyone for the input.

By Kaye on Wednesday, April 12, 2006 - 11:32 am:

I certainly don't appreciate the tone of "So there's the benefit of my experience in early education. I think Deanna and I are on the same page here (tee hee). Our both having taught early learners and having been trained to teach reading should count for something."

If we really want to go there, and since you posted it I am going to assume that you do. I too am trained. I hold a degree in interdisciplinary education with an emphasis in special education. I currently work on a weekly basis with preschool children with disabilities and have been in a class room of my own for many years.

On top of that I have three children who are older than that age. I have a unique perspective that my kids are so different, one gifted, one average and one special needs. So I think this give me a little different insignt.

It is actually only my average child who enjoyed chapter stories less.

The point of my post is exactly what Cat walked away with. You have to expose kids to several types of literature. There is great things to gain from all sorts of reading. Yes picture books are the most appropriate for a starting point, but I thin if you were to try them you would be suprised just how much they can get out of chapter books and just how much kids enjoy just being read to and not forced information about what to think and how to think it. Each child is different, so we should quit assuming one way is best and start teaching to each child. If that means that we read chapter books, then that is what we do.

By Debbie on Wednesday, April 12, 2006 - 01:57 pm:

Cat, my ds loved Magic Treehouse books. They are short chapter books. They are really fun and appeal to both boys and girls. They are about a brother and sister that go on adventures. There is no reason why you can't experiment and see how it goes. I definitely don't have the experience of early education. But, I have the experience of raising a child that could sit through chapter books in K. Heck, he was starting to read chapter books at the beginning of 1st grade. He is in 2nd now, but reading at a 4th grade level. All children are different. I also think it has a lot to do with the story and if the subject matter interests them. There is no harm in trying both types of books and seeing what works best.

By Luvn29 on Wednesday, April 12, 2006 - 04:17 pm:

Well here's one thing to consider. Cat is not trying to teach Kindergarten curriculum. She is simply wanting everyone's advice on a few good chapter books to read to some children that she will have. There is a huge difference. And I don't think that she will try to force every single child to sit there for 20 minutes and listen if it doesn't seem to be working for them. All in all, I don't think it will hurt to try, and just because she reads them a chapter book doesn't mean she has to throw all of her picture books away. I've found that children seem to enjoy a mixture of both at all age levels.

By Colette on Wednesday, April 12, 2006 - 05:00 pm:

I think a lot of it depends on the reader. If you read with a lot of expression in your voice, the kids most likely will enjoy and therefore sit still, however long you read. I think it's great that you want to read to them. I wish more people read to kids.

By Amecmom on Wednesday, April 12, 2006 - 05:12 pm:

Kaye, I think you want to hear a "tone" that is not there, and I'm sorry for that. I was only pointing out that my opinion is based on training and experience as is Deanna's. In fact, I even put a little there to show that it was not in any way meant to insult or devalue anyone else's opinion. Frankly, having a masters in elementary education should count for something .

Several posters talked about their own children and what they were ready for at a particular age. I was very careful not to refer to any one in particular - especially with the dreaded "you"

I am sorry you felt the need to get defensive.

I'm sure you are an excellent teacher.

Ame

By Tunnia on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 09:19 am:

I began reading chapter books to both my dks at the kindergarten age and I read to them as long as they seem interested. Sometimes it was less than 20 minutes and sometimes it was more. If after a couple of chapters they weren't interested, we abandoned the book for another. Some of the more well known books they liked (that I can remember) were The Wizard of Oz, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the first Harry Potter book, Little House on the Prairie books, books from The Magic Tree House series, and fairy tale books. They really seemed to like the books that had been made into movies that they had seen (ex Willy Wonka, Wizard of Oz, etc). We also read the smaller books with the colorful pictures for a change of pace between chapter books. HTH

By Breann on Tuesday, June 27, 2006 - 03:22 pm:

20 minutes isn't too long, IMO. When my dd was in kindergarten (She's going into 2nd grade this fall), her teacher read longer chapter books to them all the time. They would all sit on the rug and she would read with such enthusiasm that she had nearly every childs attention for the full 20 minutes. I was the mother helper directly after story time, and there were days that the kids moaned and groaned when it was time for her to stop reading.
Of course if you read the book in a boring way, you won't capture anyones attention.

By Samysnonna on Wednesday, June 28, 2006 - 10:55 am:

I teach first grade in CA and read chapter books to my kids from the very beginning of the school year. I really agree with Breann about the enthusiasm, etc. Books like Junie B. JOnes, Flat Stanley, Magic Treehouse, are excellent starter books. I read Charlotte's Web to them this spring because I knew we were going to see the play as one of our field trips. I skipped over a couple of places with long descriptions, but for the most part they loved it. The kids will let you know if they aren't interested, but I'd be surprized to find out they weren't.

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, June 28, 2006 - 11:12 am:

My 14yo just got Charlotte's Web, from the library. I think she just wanted to read it again! LOL!

I started reading Little House in the Big Woods, to Sarah, when she was in first grade. She loved it, too!