Interesting Books for a 5 year old boy

My boy, who has just turned 5 years old, has finished reading Roald Dahl's The Enormous Crocodile, The Giraffe the Pelly and me, and the Minpins. He has also finished reading My Father's Dragon, as well as Elmer and the Dragon. He is now reading the Dragons of Blueland. He read all these books out loud and he really loves reading them.

Now I am looking for more books which he will love as much as those books. Any suggestions for exciting and interesting books suitable for boys of his age ?

Hi there

I'm sure he would love my recently released new book, ''Ali and the magic ball'', if he loves animals, which he seems to do

It is very innovative, and tells the story of a gorgeous persian cat and what he gets up to in the modern land of Arabia. It is also idel for his age

Add to this as well, some fabulous illustrations

Best regards

Wayne Edwards
Author

Try "King Kenrick's Splinter" by Sally Derby. It's a fun picture book with a vocabulary appropriate for your son's demonsrated reading level--and who wouldn't love a story about a king who is afraid to have a splinter removed?King Kenrick's Splinter If you can't find it at the library or in your favorite store, you can always buy it from me. Check Sallyderby.com. I hope he enjoys it.

Try the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle series. She's a crazy old pippi longstocking-ish lady who tells parents how to cure their kids of a variety of bad habits. My kids LOVE the books. (More than I do, I'm afraid)
Shel Silverstein's poetry, and the Missing Piece book.

Check out Dick King Smith, too. He has several good ones for various ages. (He wrote Babe the gallant pig; and the Waterhorse) You might try him out on The Magic Tree House series, too.

If he likes horses and action he will like Miss Ginny the $50.00 Pony.Its easy for him to read and he will have fun with it.Miss Ginny: The $50.00 Pony

I will also recommend Dick King Smith - my favorite is Martin's Mice.
Frank Asch, who wrote the Moonbear books, also wrote a story we enjoyed called Pearl's Promise, about a petstore mouse who has to rescue her brother before he is fed to the snake.
Avi's Poppy series should be age-appropriate.
Odo Hirsch's Bartlett and the Ice Voyage, about two explorers on a mission for the queen is fun.
Tony DiTerlizzi's Kenny and the Dragon is somewhat of a remake of Kenneth Grahame's The Reluctant Dragon, but delightful.
My daughters favorites at this age were C.S. Lewis's The Narnia Chronicles and Jean Craighead George's My Side of the Mountain.

Consider giving this book a try, "Prince Jack, the Little Artist"...The book was illustrated by a talented 5 year old boy and written by his mother. Most kids have truly loved both the story and the drawings (especially kids who are artistic)...Full disclosure, I am the boy's father, and I would not steer you wrong.

This book might capture your sons attention. The Travels of Kui the African Spurred Tortoise. This stroy is inspired by a real pet tortois in Hawaii named Kui. The book is inspires the importance family friendship & seeking adventure.

There is a christian children's book Titled One of a Kind by Tiffany Harrell.
It features a young boy who plays football.
Also if he enjoys a classic, there is always, Were Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen.

M.F

King of Mud is a book I know a child his age will enjoy. It rhymes and I think it will keep his imagination stimulated. God Bless! :)

Try A Journey To Remember by A.S Haag. It is an easy read and a great adventure story.

[Deleted by Amazon on Oct 5, 2009 3:43 PM PDT]

My book "Joanie Adventure Travels the World: Picking Out Puppies has just been released on Amazon Kindle and it is about a 6 year old girl who gets two puppies for her birthday! Of course there are lots of problems bringing up two puppies but these puppies will soon travel the world with her, her family and a tutor (whatever that is!). My two boys 10 and 8 love the story and perhaps he will too. It will be a series so if he does he'll have lots of books to follow, perhaps even a book about dinosaurs! Who knows! Best to you!

Try Sherlock McBiskit Shares HIs Secrets to Good Character and Respect(available on Amazon). This story is based on actual events. The main character is a West Highland Terrier who through many adventures learns to better his life by using Good Character. Characters are photographed rather than illustrated. I am the author. I have taught thousands of Pre-K through 5th grade students the value of Good Character using canines to visit elementary school classrooms. Sherlock is one of the 13 canines I use to teach in schools. You can visit Sherlock McBiskit and Friends website at Http://www.sherlock mcbiskit.com Pauli Reading

Hello there..

As a past educator and author, who has worked with kids and has recently written a book to encourage self love and to teach kids about teasing and bullying, I would recommend JOHNNY BIG-EARS, the feel good friend, which is a 40 page 8 1/2 x 11 1/2 fully illustrated boof for 4 to 8 year olds. It has colorful drawings and its a read along book that parents can read to their kids and teach them the importance of loving themselves and others through an easy to read story and what to do if you are ever teased. Its a story about a 5 year old kid who goes to kindergarten for the first time and shows you what he does when he gets teased because of his large ears but thanks to the loving family values he was raised with and his mother's advise, he backs away from the bullies and instead recalls he is still a very special little boy and simply back off. Johnny big ears than makes a little friend called charlie freckles and they begin to play ball and together show them having fun playing along and being proud to be just as they are! Its a great book that teaches kids at a young age that no matter how you look like, big-ears, freckles or too tall, you are still a very special person. Its a book that teaches kids how to accept themselves and respect others using examples. It even comes with a diagram and questionaire that parents can ask their kids about life in general and what makes them special from everyone else. Yes you can read to your son about talking animals, which is cute and about fantasy lands but wouldn't you rather have a character that your son can relate to and make him feel even more loved and special? LET JOHNNY BIG EARS show you.. how to be a winner in this book that will teach kids to feel special no matter who they are and the meaning of family values..

THANKS for your time and consideration...

JOHN PAUL PADILLA
AUTHOR of
JOHNNY BIG-EARS

Yes indeed, I would encourage you to try Grandpa's Farm by Kenneth Danczyk. This book has 16 original oil paintings in it and was described by ForeWord Magazine as one of the best new childrens books specifically for ages 4-8. Have you ever yearned to travel back in time to a simpler life? Well breath deeply you are about to take a journey that explores the relationships between grandparents and grandchildren. The family has allowed us to peek inside their lives. Visit the old kitchen, where every loaf of bread was made on the old wood stove in the country kitchen and grandpa was the instigator of all that was about to happen. Enjoy

Kuhn Ling and the Legend of the Golden Buddha
I would like to recommend my new book, Kuhn Ling and the Legend of the Golden Buddha (www.kuhnling.com). It is an adventure book for tweens and first readers with tons of action and adventure including, buried treasure, giants, pirates, sharks, bugs and all the things kids like. Meanwhile a substantial amount of positive life lessons, cultural learning and world geography is thrown in, but in a way that kids won't even know they are learning. Please check it out. Thanks!

YIKES! Are there are ANY books recommended here that are not self published? Amazon! At least make the FIRST sentence indicate that they are, in a separate color, or by some other easy and obvious way! To the original poster....google the Newberry Medal and Award winners from the first (about 1922 to present) also Caldecott winners...lots of excellent ones there, of course you'll have to do yor own research of get with a librarian about the age group appropriateness...but those will be the best of the best.

Also, separate into two groups: what HE can read alone, and what YOU will read to him. The first gives him a feeling of self satisfaction and all that, but he soon comes to realize they're pretty basic books; the ones you can read to him are more complex and fun, and will stretch his vocabulary and ability to understand more difficult concepts and plot structures....so do both on a regular basis, for as long as he's willing to do it!

I totally understand your dilemma, my book Kuhn Ling (www.kuhnling.com) is 100% published by Castle Keep Press, 100% not self-published. I asked my publisher for the term to use so people know that it was published completely at their cost and time and not self-published, and he couldn't think of a term. It makes it even harder because many publishers both publish and help folks self-publish. If anyone has a great way for those who have been published to verify this for readers and buyers I would love to hear it.

i just debuted my new book "the sheltering place" to a bunch of 5 year olds yesterday. they loved the story. it features the two children (nick-10 and teresa-5) from my first book "king of the beach" and a story-within-a-story about 3 animals who live in the wild on kaua'i. i fyou choose to try it, please leave a review.
thanks you,
mark huff

Hello, A. Hock,

Your son sounds like he's an avid reader, and he sounds like he likes to be challenged.
Honestly, what I would do is take him to your library or to the children's section of the bookstore, and let him discover what it is he likes on his own. Let him wander the isles and feel the paper and let his eyes play and delight in different styles of illustration. Five is the perfect age for discovering the world of books. Share that together! There are many nooks in such places where a kid can sit with a stack of books to discover which books will take him on that journey that lasts for the duration of a story. Five year olds appreciate imagination. At this age we even read classics as a family, Treasure Island, Black Beauty, Tom Sawyer, The Hobbit... I highly encourage reading to kids. It's the greatest gift a parent can give a child.

Children's librarians and booksellers are on top of what is out there, and what is coming. They have lists of ALA (American Library Association) Notables, IRA (International Reading Association) Children's Choices, and the like. You can also find reviews. I guarantee you he will find a book, in fact, many books that will lift, delight, engage, and challenge to give him more than ongoing satisfaction. Characters are playmates, and children do find their favorites.

Please be wise when it comes to your child and reading. The truth is, unless you can see a book, you do not know if it's good. Early literacy, if you have that in your child, it wants to be nurtured. You want your son to go on loving literature.

Happy Hunting. Happy Reading!

If your son likes reading out loud, I recommend Toys Overboard. It's written in rhyme, but it's a fairly long book with some more challenging vocabulary. It's an adventure which a boy would like, and the illustrations are really rich. Hope that helps.
D.A.

Lori and gilly8,
Thank you very much for your replies.

Dear Lori,
I do not have the luxury of time to bring my kids to the library everyday. So I am building a home library for them. We already have almost 400 books, and I want to add more. My son has the freedom to read any book that he likes at any time of the day. He loves the three tales of My Father's Dragon dearly. I hope to find more books that he will love, as much as he loves My Father's Dragon.

Dear gilly8,
Thanks for your advice about the Newberry and Caldecott winners, I will be getting books from that list.
Yes I have books that he can read alone. Since he is reading quite well, I also have books which I ask him to read out loud to me everyday, so that I can explain the vocabulary and difficult concepts to him. I try to act out the story with him and we have so much fun together.

The Cat Who Walked Across France
by Kate Banks

The King's Stilts
by Dr. Seuss

The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
by Dr. Seuss

On Beyond Zebra!
by Dr. Seuss

No One Walks on My Father's Moon
by Chara M. Curtis

Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar
by Masaichiro Anno

Jonathan of Gull Mountain
by Jens Ahlbom

Lentil
by Robert McCloskey

Little Bear
by Else Holmelund Minarik

Grandpa Was a Cowboy
by Silky Sullivan

Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain
by Verna Aardema

Red Ranger Came Calling
by Berkeley Breathed

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
by Virginia Lee Burton

A Fish Out of Water (Beginner Books)
by Helen Palmer

The King of Ireland's Son
by Padraic Colum

Stone Soup
by Marcia Brown

The Dragon and the Unicorn
by Lynne Cherry

The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Dragon Keepers #1: The Dragon in the Sock Drawer
by Kate Klimo

Sir Kevin of Devon
by Adelaide Holl