I mentioned on Instagram that I have a mini kids book club with our 7 year old and wanted to share more details about that, including book recommendations from both us and YOU (our Instagram followers, that is!)
About The Book Club
Our book club is just the two of us (plus my husband sometimes!) and we choose the books together. I read the book aloud before bed and, once we’ve finished, we celebrate by watching the movie adaptation if there is one.
The movie is always special because it’s an exclusive ‘big kids only‘ event just for our 7-year-old. I especially love this tradition because he’s often grouped with his younger brother, so it’s a great way to give him individual recognition and a special moment all his own.
I’ll start doing book club with our other son when he’s a bit older, but will continue to do separate books & special movie nights for each.
And now here’s a look at our current book club adventures!
books & Series We Love
* Any titles with an asterisk means they were recommended by y’all too
- Wild Robot (Peter Brown): Absolutely charming. At times very emotional! Imaginative. Exciting. It’s perfect! There are 3 books total and the first book has been made into a movie. The second is being produced now!
- The Eyes And The Impossible (Dave Eggers): Oh my gosh read this immediately. It’s perfect. Very Wild Robot adjacent (the animals are the characters.) Read it to yourself if your kids aren’t interested.
- My Side Of The Mountain* (Jean Craighead George): Tells the story of a boy who leaves his urban life and moves to the Catskills where he learns to live off the land. There are 3 books in the series.
- Wayside School Is Falling Down (Louis Sachar): I read this in elementary school and was so excited to read it again. It’s very clever and silly.
- My Father’s Dragon (Ruth Styiles Gannett): I love this series. The first was a gift to us and I didn’t know about the 2nd and 3rd until much later. It’s a Netflix movie but we haven’t watched it yet.
- Boxcar Children (Gertrude Chandler Warren & others): The most wholesome series!! The siblings are all so nice to each other. The first book is ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD but it doesn’t feel like it at all. My advice is to the read the first few and then feel free to jump around in the series. Each is its own adventure, so your kids can pick which titles sound the most interesting.
- The Questioneers Series (Andrea Beatty): these are based Iggy Peck Architect, etc. characters. The kids solve a new mystery in each book. Very cute!
- Fantastic Mr Fox (Roald Dahl): we’ve read the book but haven’t watched the movie yet– which is surprising because it’s directed by Wes Anderson and I love his movies! I need to change this immediately.
on the book club list
These are ones on the list for future book club books– most are by Roald Dahl. I’ll let my son decide what’s next!
- Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (Roald Dahl)
- Stuart Little (E.B. White)
- The Borrowers (Mary Norton)
- James & The Giant Peach (Roald Dahl)
- The BFG (Roald Dahl)
independent reading
We adopted the best tip from Busy Toddler: letting the kids stay up late to read if they want to. It’s been a huge hit in our house! Well, we do this for our 7 year old. Our 4 year old doesn’t know this is an option!
Our son reads a mix of library finds, books from home, and ebooks on his Kindle.
The Kindle for kids has been especially fantastic for this summer. It saves us from packing a ton when we are traveling and it’s so easy for him to get immersed in a book.
Plus, the Kindle’s backlight means there’s no lamp to switch off when he falls asleep reading.
Below are the books he has read lately and absolutely loves.
- 13 Story Treehouse series (Andy Griffiths): our son absolutely couldn’t put these down! There are 13 books plus an extra one in the series. Our library had all but the last two.
- Magic Treehouse series* (Mary Pope Osborne): lots of fun adventures & pretty short chapters
- Big Nate series (Lincoln Peirce): this is his current go-to on his Kindle
- Gumluck The Wizard (Adam Rex): 3 books– very cute!
- Dinosaur Cove (Rex Stone)
- Dino-Mike (Franco Aureliani): these feel very self-published but…. great for 7 year olds who like dinosaurs??
Waiting On Harry Potter
This is a random section but I wanted to include it because I just made a decision about the Harry Potter series and it feels relevant to share. And it’s just because I love the Harry Potter experience so much that I wanted to do it right!
I read the first book to our son while in Germany and we watched the movie together. However, just before starting book two, I realized that reading the series aloud might prevent my son from having the magical experience of discovering the world of Harry Potter independently, much like I remember kids doing when the books were first released.
Since he’s just finished first grade and isn’t quite ready for them on his own yet, we’ve decided to pause the series until he can truly dive in and read them himself.
audiobooks & podcasts
Narwhal & Jelly
Narwhal & Jelly is such a charming series! It’s actually a graphic novel but it somehow translates well to audio. Lots of voices & sound effects. If that sounds annoying– it’s not!
We borrow Narwhal & Jelly through our library system (they’re available on NC Kids Overdrive if you’re in North Carolina).
Julie’s Library Podcast
If Julie Andrews reading your kids a children’s book sounds delightful, you’ll love the podcast Julie’s Library. She hasn’t released a new episode in years but all of the original ones are still available. We listen on Spotify but I’m sure any podcast provider has it.
Favorite episodes: Not Your Typical Dragon, Norman and the Nom Nom Factory, Dumpy the Dumptruck
Super Great Kids’ Stories Podcast
Another great podcast for kids! The stories are all very imaginative and exciting. There’s a paid tier but we just stream through Spotify. Not all episodes are available for free but plenty are!
books & series Recommended By *You*
I asked for your recommendations on Instagram and was so excited to get so many great responses! Several were new to us as well and we have immediately added to our own lists.
- The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane** (Kate DiCamillo)
- The Hatchet** (Gary Paulsen) — 5 books in the series
- Tumtum and Nutmeg* (Emily Bearn) — lots of book in the series
- The Penderwicks (Jeanne Birdsall) — 5 book series
- Wonder (R.J. Palacio): book and movie
- Wingfeather (Andrew Peterson): there’s an adapted animated series, too
- El Deafo (Cece Bell): mentioned loved by a 7 year old
- Bink and Gollie (Kate DiCamillo): 3 books in the series
- Early Dav Pilkey books (Halloweiner was specifially called out)
- Understood Betsy
- Alex Rider series* (for older kids)– about a teen in MI6. It’s also a series on Prime
- James Bond Jr (for older kids)
- The Adventures of Pinocchio: the MinaLima edition has illustrations and is interactive
- Heartwood Hotel (Kallie George): 4 book series
- Mercy Watson series** (Kate DiCamillo)
- Anything by Terry Pratchett
