Books to Read to Girls Who are Learning to Read

Skating School Series

Pink Skate Party (Skating School)Another winning series from Linda Chapman! The Skating School series is about a young girl called Emily who goes to a magical world where she learns to ice skate and goes into competitions for the best skater. The books are about life lessons like friendship, not always winning and perseverance.

Zoe has really enjoyed these books and is keen to read more of them when she can. I’ve noticed ice-skating coming into some of her play since so the story lines are sparking her imagination and creativity.

This series is a bit hard to get hold of so I can’t show you too many options to purchase online but try your local library for copies if your daughter likes them as mine has most of them available.

More about/purchase Pink Skate Party

Filed Under: Books, Medium Difficulty Chapter Books, Reading to Early Readers

Magic Bunny – Dancing Days

Magic Bunny: Dancing DaysContrary to what the name and cover suggests this is a book about a girl who loves to dance. Sue Bentley’s magic animal series of stories are all about girls learning how to cope with life’s little hurdles with the help of invisible friends (cute little magic animals who are really more majestic animals in disguise).

I couldn’t really figure out why Zoe was so keen on these books from first glance but they are definitely in her “so good I want to read it again” category. I read this one to my younger daughter yesterday to see what it was all about and once I realised Magic Bunny Dancing Days was really about a girl who loves to dance it was clear why Zoe loved it. Dancing, friends, furry animals and magic all in one story – what more could a little girl ask for!! Maya enjoyed the story too but it did take her a while to really follow what was going on so I’d probably stick to over 5s for this series.

The Magic Animals series by Sue Bentley includes books about various bunnies, kittens, ponies, puppies…. and more importantly little girls.

More about/purchase Magic Kitten Dancing Days

More Magic Animal Books We Love…

Sparkling Steps (Magic Kitten) Firelight Friends (Magic Kitten) A New Beginning (Magic Puppy) Magic Bunny: Classroom Capers

Filed Under: Books, Early Chapter Books, Reading to Early Readers

Baa Baa Smart Sheep

Baa Baa Smart SheepA hilarious New Zealand story kids just love – especially when you use to voices or get your daughter to read one of the parts whilst you read the other. The story is about the ultimate con between a bored sheep and a rather gullible turkey.

If you already have Baa Baa Smart Sheep your girls will also love I Love Lemonade (surprisingly the kids don’t seem to mind the similarity in story line between these 2 books).

Zoe Says…

This is quite a silly book. I like reading it with Mum but I always want to be the sheep so I don’t have to gobble up all of the poo!!

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Filed Under: Books, New Zealand Books, Reading to Early Readers, Reading to Pre-schoolers, Toddlers

The Silliest Dream

The Silliest DreamThe illustrations are so stunning in The Silliest Dream that I’ve contemplated cutting it up and framing all the pages – I might need a 2nd copy before I try that though!

The Silliest dream is a hardback New Zealand book about a girl called Millie and her teddy who embark on a crazy voyage to Mars and the stars. I think it’s more suitable for school age girls so that they can follow the story line more easily.

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Filed Under: Books, New Zealand Books, Reading to Early Readers

Pearlie the Park Fairy

Pearlie in the ParkPearlie the fairy and her animal friends in Jubilee Park save the day in style in this action packed adventure story. Australian author Wendy Harmer uses an easy flowing fun style of language with “hurly burly Pearlie” a popular phrase throughout the book.

The Pearlie in the Park series of books don’t have chapters but are a similar level to other first chapter books and long enough to make girls feel great about reading a “big” book. The fun coloured pictures also help to keep early readers engaged in the story.

I read these to my youngest daughter, who loved them, whilst Zoe read them herself once she was ready to start basic chapter books. There are a range of Pearlie stories, all with your classic good versus evil and ingenuity saves the day type story lines.

More about/purchase Pearlie the Park Fairy

More Pearlie Books we loved…

Pearlie and Opal Pearlie and the Lost Handbag Pearlie and Jasper Pearlie and the Big Doll Pearlie and the Christmas Angel Pearlie and the Silver Fern Fairy Pearlie in Central Park Pearlie and Her Pink Shell

Filed Under: Books, First Chapter Books, Reading to Early Readers, Reading to Pre-schoolers

Magic Ballerina Books

Delphie and the Magic Ballet Shoes (Magic Ballerina Series)Superbly written for young girls by prima ballerina Darcey Bussell, the Magic Ballerina stories are ideal for young girls who love ballet, dancing and fairy tales. These were some of the junior first chapter books that Zoe read all the way through herself. Even though they were a bit harder than the others she’d been reading she loved the story lines so much she just didn’t want to stop – it was like magic.

At the end of each book are 2 pages dedicated to ballet positions to get your little ballerina practising her moves – these were a real hit.

There are 4 different series of Darcey Bussell’s Magic Ballerina Books, each about a different young girl who is learning ballet and needs some help inspiring her to become a talented ballerina. Delphie is the first of the ballerinas and she is given a pair of magic red ballet shoes by her teacher. The shoes take her to  magical land where she becomes part of a popular ballet or fairy tale and helps to save the day. There’s plenty of good versus evil and learning how to be a better person in each tale. At the end of each series, when the girl has outgrown her shoes she must pass them on to a new ballerina whom she thinks is worthy. Rosa, Jade and Holly all follow.

Delphie and the Magic Ballet shoes is the first book. Zoe didn’t actually read the books in order or even keep to the same series but you could try to if you felt it was important. I read some of these to my younger daughter Maya and she was equally spellbound so I’d also recommend them as stories to ready pre-schoolers and early readers if they are interested in ballet.

More about/purchase Delphie and the Magic Ballet Shoes

More Magic Ballerina Books that we loved…

Delphie and the Fairy Godmother (Magic Ballerina) Christmas in Enchantia (Magic Ballerina) Delphie and the Glass Slippers (Magic Ballerina) Delphie and the Magic Spell (Magic Ballerina) Delphie and the Birthday Show (Magic Ballerina) Rosa and the Three Wishes (Magic Ballerina) Rosa and the Special Prize (Magic Ballerina)  Rosa and the Secret Princess (Magic Ballerina) Jade and the Surprise Party (Magic Ballerina) Jade and the Enchanted Wood (Magic Ballerina) Holly and the Dancing Cat (Magic Ballerina) Holly and the Ice Palace (Magic Ballerina) Holly and the Rose Garden (Magic Ballerina)

Filed Under: Books, Early Chapter Books, Reading to Early Readers, Uncategorized

Secret Unicorn Series

Starry Skies (My Secret Unicorn)For girls who love horses and stories about young girls, the My Secret Unicorn series are perfect. The Secret Unicorn stories are about a young girl called Lauren and her horse Twilight (who magically turns into a unicorn) who undertake a number of magical adventures with their friends.

Zoe finds these stories so engaging that she’ll read them all the way through in one sitting. The story lines are easy to follow and there are 2 or 3 sketch drawings in each chapter to help the younger readers imagine what things look like.

What Zoe Thinks….

I like these books because they involve unicorns and horses and girls. When I read them it makes me feel happy. I like them so much I want to read more and more of them.

Find out more about/purchase My Secret Unicorn – Starry Skies

Other My Secret Unicorn Books We Love….

Twilight Magic: AND Friends Forever (My Secret Unicorn) Rising Star (My Secret Unicorn) Snowy Dreams (My Secret Unicorn)

Filed Under: Books, Early Chapter Books, Reading to Early Readers

Matilda by Road Dahl

MatildaWhat could be more appealing as a storyline than a small girl getting the better or a mean principal and her negligent parents? I hadn’t read Matilda by Roald Dahl until recently when Zoe and I enjoyed it together (I was doing the reading). There’s a bit of fear, plenty of humour and a good old-fashioned happy ending.

I particularly like books about girls standing up for themselves and not being afraid to go their own way – Matilda one definitely fits the bill.

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Filed Under: Books, Medium Difficulty Chapter Books, Reading to Early Readers

Rainbow Magic Fairies

Zoe the Skating Fairy (Rainbow Magic)The most popular books we have ever read, the Rainbow Magic Fairy books have been in and out of our house for nearly a year now and the girls adore them.

The Rainbow Magic stories all follow a similar plot (and yet still the girls don’t get bored with them!). One of the fairies has had their special magic item stolen or about to be stolen Jack Frost’s goblins. 2 friends, Rachel and Kirsty, who are friends of the fairies get asked to help out to save the object so that all is well in both Fairyland and the human world. The girls go on a series of adventures with the fairy concerned and sometimes get turned into fairies themselves. Only they know about the fairies and goblins so they risk everything to keep the secret safe.

I’m not sure how many we have read – over 50 would be my guess. The girls own about 10 themselves and the rest I have taken out of the library or borrowed from friends. I’ve lost track of which ones we have read now but the kids have remembered them all and can tell at a glance whether we’ve read it before. Not that they mind having them read to them several times over. Zoe can read these herself now but is still equally happy to sit with Maya and listen while I read. Amazingly Maya (3 years) will sit still for over 1/2 an hour listening right through a book – and they only have one simple sketch per page.

Tip…

When Zoe started to become more confident with her reading I got her to read the first page of each chapter and I would read the rest. We then moved onto the first 2 pages and after a while I found she’d picked them up herself and was reading chapters to Maya when I wasn’t around. Now she reads them on her own in her head – they are probably a bit easy for her now but she hasn’t got bored with them yet!

There are new books coming out all the time but with well over 100 titles to choose from there’s never a Rainbow Magic book far from hand. The books are either in various series of 7 books each (they can be purchased separately or as a set) or as larger books with 3 sub-stories within them. There are pictures on most pages and the chapters are reasonably short to easy to focus on. I quite like buying books with the girls friends names on for birthday presents and special gifts.

Find out more about/purchase Zoe the Skating Fairy and other Rainbow Magic Fairy Books

Visit the Rainbow Magic website to create your own fairy. Your kids will love it.

Other Rainbow Magic Books We Loved….

Ruby the Red Fairy Natalie the Christmas Stocking Fairy: 2011 (Rainbow Magic) Paige the Christmas Play Fairy Chrissie the Wish Fairy (Rainbow Magic) Tamara the Tooth Fairy (Rainbow Magic) Kate the Royal Wedding Fairy (Rainbow Magic) Eva the Enchanted Ball Fairy: A Rainbow Magic Book (Princess Fairies) Lucy the Diamond Fairy (Rainbow Magic) Emily the Emerald Fairy (Rainbow Magic) Louise the Lily Fairy: A Rainbow Magic Book Ally the Dolphin Fairy (Rainbow Magic) Elizabeth the Jubilee Fairy (Rainbow Magic) Emma the Easter Fairy (Rainbow Magic) Shannon the Ocean Fairy (Rainbow Magic) Maya the Harp Fairy (Rainbow Magic) Trixie the Halloween Fairy (Rainbow Magic)

Filed Under: Books, Early Chapter Books, Reading to Early Readers, Reading to Pre-schoolers

Enchanted World Series

Silky and the Everlasting Candle (Enchanted World)If you enjoyed The Faraway Tree books by Enid Blyton then The Enchanted World series are the next best thing. They are based on the same location – the Faraway Tree and the many different lands up the ladder – and a few of the same characters. Whilst not actually written by Enid Blyton, they are branded as hers and written in the same style. These are about a group of fairies (no children in these stories sorry) who are on a series of missions to save the Faraway Tree.

The story lines have been captivating enough to keep Zoe reading these all the way through, even though they are a bit longer and harder than some of her other books. I’m a bit sad she’s good enough at reading now that I don’t get to hear the story too so I’ll need to read them to my younger daughter so I get to hear them too!!

More of the Enchanted World books will definitely be on our Chistmas list this year.

More about/purchase Silky and the Everlasting Candle

 

More Enchanted World Books you’ll love….

Silky (Enchanted World) Melody (Enchanted World) Petal (Enchanted World) Melody and the Gemini Locket (Enchanted World) Bizzy and the Bedtime Bear (Enchanted World)

Filed Under: Books, Early Chapter Books, Medium Difficulty Chapter Books, Reading to Early Readers

Danny the Champion of the World

Danny the Champion of the WorldI’ve read lots of Ronald Dahl books recently from a collection that I had as a child. I didn’t actually remember this one though – maybe I thought it was a book for boys. Zoe tells me that Danny the Champion of the World was her favourite Ronald Dahl book.

The story is all about a solo father and his son and how they get closer during a secret mission to poach more pheasants than ever known from the entirely unpleasant local estate owner Mr Hazel. It’s a story about a young boy showing courage and succeeding in what he sets out to do – despite the results not ended up quite what he expected.

This isn’t a girlie story – there isn’t a pretty dress, a fairy or a princess in sight – yet the story was a huge hit with my very girlie daughter. Even more popular than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or James and the Giant Peach apparently!!

More about/ purchase Danny the Champion of the World

 

 

Filed Under: Books, From my Youth, Medium Difficulty Chapter Books, Reading to Early Readers

The Magic Faraway Tree Series

The Magic Faraway Tree 3 in 13 enchanting books by Enid Blyton which are great for both girls and boys. I loved these stories as a kid and remembered all the characters well – even after all this time. Moonface, Saucepan Man and Silky the Fairy… do they ring any bells for you?  The stories are about 3 children who discover some unusual folk living in a magic tree in the forest at the bottom of their garden. They visit lots of exciting (and sometimes dangerous) lands during their many visits to the tree and will have you coming back from more after every chapter.

I enjoyed reading these 3 books to my girls earlier this year almost as much as they enjoyed listening to them (even my 3 year old kept focused on the stories most of the time). Zoe is looking forward to reading them herself again once she’s a bit more advanced on chapter books too.

The Enchanted Wood, The Folk of the Faraway Tree and The Magic Faraway Tree are the 3 books in the trilogy. My original boxed set contained The Wishing Chair books as well but the girls didn’t enjoy those nearly as much as the Faraway Tree books.

What Zoe Thinks…

I liked the Faraway Tree books because they had a tree with lots of magical lands above it. The Land of Sweets and the Land of Take What You Please were 2 of my favourites. These books made me feel really happy.

More About/Purchase The Magic Faraway Tree Series (3 in 1)

Filed Under: Books, From my Youth, Reading to Early Readers