Saturday, February 11, 2012

Favorite Things: Cynthia Rylant books

It's been fun to watch Sam blossoming as a reader. His skills have grown by leaps and bounds this year, and the best thing is--he really likes to read now! There was a time when I wondered if I'd ever see that day, so this is pretty exciting. :)

We have recently discovered several series of short, early-reader books by Cynthia Rylant at our library. I was already familiar with her series called "Henry and Mudge," but our new favorites are all of the "Mr. Putter & Tabby" books, and the "Poppleton" books. I love how she puts so much humor into her books (humor that kids can really understand--Sam frequently giggles as he's reading aloud to us!). These books are a lot of fun and not at all boring ("see Spot run" comes to mind . . . :)). We have almost gotten through all of the Rylant books at our library, which is sad, but I think she is still writing new ones. These books are a wonderful bridge between the very simple easy readers and longer chapter books, and I feel that they've been great for building Sam's confidence in reading.

So, for those of you with little ones . . . what are your favorite early reader books? I am always looking for more suggestions! :)

2 comments:

Unknown said...

WE LOVE CYNTHIA RYLANT TOO!!! My husband discovered them and we were soon hooked! We've read all the poppletons, mr. putter and tabby and henry and mudge series too. She's written quite a few picture books too that we enjoy also.

I feel like there isn't much for the transitional reader out there. I've let Chloe read a lot of picture books but I really should be pushing her into chapter books more. It's just so hard to find ones that are GOOD and that are not too hard. Chloe just finished the first two books in the "My Father's Dragon" series and I'm hoping to get her into the Boxcar children series again. Keep me posted if you find anything else good for our new readers! :)

Elisha said...

My kids always enjoy anything by Arnold Lobel. Ethan has recently started reading the Magic Tree House series and loves that also.

I agree, it's so fun to see the kids start to really enjoy reading (we had some of the same issues with Ethan that you had with Sam). Both Ethan & Hailey really enjoy reading now.