Star Suggests: Chapter Books for First Graders
Star sleeps on the top bunk in the room she shares with Ani and every time I pop up there, it’s basically a mini library up there.
Between her book ledge and all the space around her feet on the actual bed, there are often a dozen or more books up there and it just makes me so happy every time I notice it.
Her appetite for books is just voracious and it’s a nearly full-time job keeping up with her!
Here are five chapter books for first graders she’s really enjoyed recently.
5 chapter books for first graders
Puppy Pirates by Erin Soderberg
96 pages
After she blew through all of the Critter Club series, I looked up similar series and this was one that popped up AND our library had a bunch of them on the shelf. There are seven books in this series and Star has read about half of them so far – they’re darling!
What Star has to say: These books are fun and the puppies are SO cute. It’s kind of funny because the puppies are acting like they are real people and looking for treasure and being pirates. I think most kids would like these books.
Sophie Mouse by
128 pages
For Christmas, we gave Star a 10 book box collection of these books and she was THRILLED (there are 18 books in the series currently) and they follow the adventures of brave little Sophie Mouse and her woodland friends.
What Star has to say: Sophie Mouse has big words (font size) so it’s easier for beginners to read and it’s good because there are a lot of adventures that she has in each story. I’ve finished two of them and the reason I haven’t read all of them yet is because my mom gives me so many books from the library to read.
.The Infamous Ratsos by
64 pages
I checked this series out last year when I was looking at books that had won the Geisel award and Ani blew through them, but I didn’t realize that Star hadn’t read them to until she requested that I check them out from the library for her. At 64 pages long, with lots of illustrations and big text, these are perfect for readers just starting to try out chapter books on their own.
What Star has to say: These are also bigger words so they’re easier and they’re funny. These two Ratsos have funny adventures together and they’re not too long. I’ve read all of them and I like them all.
Daisy Dreamer by Holly Anna, illustrated by Genevieve Santos
128 pages
If you have a child who loves to imagine (or a child you’d like to imagine a little more!), this series is perfect. It stars Daisy Dreamer who is eager to introduce the reader to her imaginary friend, Posey, who lives in a world of all sorts of imaginary creatures.
What Star has to say: Daisy Dreamer is really imaginative and I’ve read about seven of them because I just love them and they’re not super duper long, so they’re easy to get through.
Once Upon a Fairy Tale by
96 pages
Fractured fairy tales are always a hit at our house and it’s fun to see Start getting into them too. Her first grade teacher introduced them to this series and she was delighted to pick up another one at the public library. It has black and white illustrations on every page and they’re perfect for fairy tale loving readers.
What Star has to say: They’re a little bit smaller words but they’re not TOO small and the books are fun and they have pictures. There is a big series and they are not too short so you won’t get through them too amazingly fast so you don’t have anything to read, but they’re not too long either.
And if you’d like a printable copy of this list that you can take to your library or screenshot on your phone for easy access, just pop in your email address below and it’ll come right to your inbox!
This is just the list I was looking for. Thanks Star!
Last year you had written a post about beginning chapter books and mentioned Heidi Heckelbeck- my son ended up really loving the series as well as the Henry Heckelbeck books. A few others he loved are Dragon Masters, Zoey and Sassafras, and Mia Mayhem. Here’s a post I wrote with other favorite beginning chapter books https://maybeillbecomeafarmer.wordpress.com/2021/09/02/illustrated-chapter-book-series