I had a friend ask me today if there are any alternatives to Junie B. Jones books. Actually, I'm asked this question frequently. Yes, yes, and yes! Don't let your child waste his or her time with the sass and attitude, not to mention poor grammar reinforcement, of Junie B. Jones when there are classic titles abounding. In the future, I hope to feature more chapter books. However, if you have a young reader especially, please don't overlook picture books. Some of the best picture books are a challenge to read. And they can provide quick satisfaction if your reader would like to complete a story over the course of 1-3 evenings. In no particular order, here are some chapter book alternatives that line our shelves (or that we've checked out) here at Read Me A Story:
the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series by Betty MacDonald, illustrations by the brilliant Hilary Knight
books by A. A. Milne
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
The Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner
the Mary Poppins series by P. L. Travers
The Magic Tree House books by Mary Pope Osborne
anything by Roald Dahl
books by E. B. White such as Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web
books by Beverly Cleary
The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong, illustrations by none other than Maurice Sendak
books by Lois Lenski
Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge
The Middle Moffat and other books by Elanor Estes
Five Little Peppers by Margaret Sidney
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
books that boys especially enjoy:
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Homer Price by Robert McClosky
The Mouse on the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary
Jo's Boys and Little Men by Louisa M. Alcott
the Redwall series by Brian Jacques
books by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clemens)
Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
The Adventures of Robin Hood
The Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
Arabian Nights
books by Jules Vernebooks by Jack London
books by H. G. Wells
books by Alexander Dumas
books that girls especially enjoy:
The American Girl books
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Little Women and other books by Louisa May Alcott
Anne of Green Gables and other books by Lucy Maud Montgomery
The Secret Garden and The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglass Wiggin
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
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