Help picking books

"Chapter books about girls in kindergarten or first grade" Chapter Books About Girls In Kindergarten or First Grade

I would guess any generic discussion for this sort of group would centre around character development more than plot. Make sure you have a good mix in the group and try to encourage the quieter ones to speak without prejudice. Also, ask the students to project the image of what they read and how this is an important part of writing. On the whole, I think reading groups are beneficial to a good listener, but they need to be managed properly to be effective (and that equally applies to adult reading groups).

There are probably more US posters than UK on here, so you may get a better response if you wait. Best wishes to you.

I do like the L.I. Wilder series quite a lot, can't go wrong there. You probably can't assign a whole series in a reading group but if your daughter has never read LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS and the rest of 'em, they're totally worthwhile!

HOMELESS BIRD by Gloria Whelan: Koly, a 13-yr old Indian girl (dots, not feathers), is married as a formality to a young groom who turns sick and dies before they've hardly met. Eventually the mother-in-law throws Koly out and but K has more education than most girls and slowly finds her way. Sorry, I know that sounds like standard flap copy but just read the freaking thing, it's good.

ESPERANZA RISING by Pam Munoz Ryan: Esperanza's family is well-off in Mexico but when politics & injustice force her family to flee to the US they can basically only find field work etc and live in refugee camps but persevere, OBVIOUSLY, in hopes of saving enough to bring Grandmother to the States with them and be a family again. Based on life story of author's own grandmother, I think? Pretty cool.

Titles by Karen Cushman, all have middlegrade female protagonists: CATHERINE, CALLED BIRDY (very real, humorous journal entries by a medieval girl who has to avoid political marriage to old man); THE MIDWIFE'S APPRENTICE and MATILDA BONE (also both medieval England, roughly); THE BALLAD OF LUCY WHIPPLE (gold-rush California). BONUS: MIDWIFE and MATILDA have jacket art and (I think) interior spot art by Trina Schart Hyman, my fave illustrator EVER.

SARAH, PLAIN AND TALL by Patricia MacLachlan (also SKYLARK, which I think is a follow-up story)

Of course all the L.M. Montgomery books, either the Anne Shirley side or the EMILY OF NEW MOON side. I'm partial to the Anne series. LMM also wrote a bunch of stand-alone or vaguely related titles like THE BLUE CASTLE, MAGIC FOR MARIGOLD, RILLA OF INGLESIDE, and THE GOLDEN PATH, some of which are better than others but probably none would be a bad use of reading time.

Some oldies but goodies:
FIVE LITTLE PEPPERS AND HOW THEY GREW by Margaret Sidney

UNDERSTOOD BETSY by Dorothy Canfield Fisher (I love this one)

Lots of Louisa May Alcott, tho actually LITTLE WOMEN isn't my favorite by a long shot -- I'm probably partial to EIGHT COUSINS/ROSE IN BLOOM and especially AN OLD-FASHIONED GIRL. Alcott was writing for her time and no mistake, so there's a certain amount of the whole "angel of the home" thing where women are to be the heart and conscience of their families and keep themselves pure above all things, but to be fair she demands the same purity and selflessness from her male characters and is quite progressive for her time w/r/t education & employment for women, and their responsibility to engage the world and work for change. Maybe it's corny and it's certainly dated but these books really..."reach" me, for lack of better expression.

Oh god I've only touched on historical fiction! There are still adventure stories and fantasy/sci-fi and LOTS OF GOOD STUFf yet to go. NOT ENOUGH TIME!!

I'm having enough trouble as it is not aiming for too old/advanced! I just saw online that ESPERANZA RISING is recommended for grades 6-9, which seems REALLY conservative cos no one should still be reading MIDDLEGRADE material by grade 9 and if yr daughter is reading Narnia series easily, I think she can handle all of my recs above. But still!

Laurel, are you a children's librarian in real life or an alternative universe? Because your suggestions are wonderful.

Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions. My daughter and I truly appreciate them. I'm really excited about the "ethnic" ones. I wish I was as knowledgeable about books as all of you. I'll wait for your (perhaps coherent) extensive list, Laurel. I'm planning on checking them out and reading them first. Thanks again!

Nina

Also go to yr nearest good children's book section and ask whether Newbery and Caldecott winners and honors titles are shelved together, then browse them all and see what you like, take notes and go to local library to find those titles and others by the same authors. It should be cross-section of children's lit over the decades and give you a place to start looking, PLUS hone your instincts for what's good or notable or revolutionary or unique or etc.

I'll try, "Great Books for Girls". I already looked up some of the authors and titles that you, and others, suggested. That search led me to down some additional roads. I'm wondering if you have any comment on the following books I found?

-Anklet for a Princess: A Cinderella Story from India by Lila Mehta

-Chachaji's Cup by Uma Krishnaswami

-One Grain of Rice by Demi

-Magda's Pinjata Magic by Becky Chavaria-Chairez

-The Sea King's Daughter--A Russian Legend (Author?)

-Half and Half by Lensey Namicka

-Daughter of the Mountains by Loise Rankin

-Piecing Earth and Sky Together by Nancy Raines Day

-Da Wei's Treasure: A Chinese Tale by Margaret Chang and Lori Cbrath/Exlick

-Jamela's Dress by Niki Daly

Thanks in advance,
Nina

DAUGHTER OF THE MTNS: I recommended this one on the other book thread! Like it very much, think it would be a great choice for you.

HALF AND HALF: Looks weak, over-simplified. Even the Amazon reader reviews say that it's issue-driven and not a very deep or interesting story.

SEA-KING'S DAUGHTER: Don't know it but it's illustrated by Gennady Spirin and probably GORGEOUS. And I love fairy tales and wish more people would read 'em, but that's just me.

JAMELA'S DRESS and PIECING EARTH AND SKY look cute, but I'm not familiar with them.