Chapter Books—Short and Sweet

Do you feel that you’re working too hard at getting kids to understand books they’re reading independently? Are you concerned that there’s never enough time for kids to talk about what they’re reading? The problem might be that the books they’re reading are too hard—and too long. In fact, I’m convinced this is the root cause of many of the comprehension problems children face in the middle elementary grades. And that many of their problems would disappear if we worked harder to get the right books in their hands and stopped being overly concerned about moving children up in reading levels, faster and higher.

 

With that in mind, I’d like to begin to identify some excellent chapter books that are both short and sweet. So here’s my first recommendation:

#1 The Green Ghost by Marion Dane Bauer          

This 96-page tale simply begs to be read (aloud, independently, or anyway at all) and is just perfect for second- and third-grade readers. It’s well written, suspenseful, and even a bit eerie, with two female protagonists to which young readers can easily relate. The text is large enough not to be intimidating and the chapters seamlessly alternate between present and past time, with shaded and unshaded page borders to help orient readers to a time change. It’s definitely one of my all time favorites.

PS: I'll be keeping a running list of my title selections, and yours, in the right-hand column of this blog.