Moving from picture books to readers can be a tricky transition. On the one hand, your child is probably excited to start reading on their own, and you’re probably excited for them to get there too! And while it’s important to find books that will help your child be successful—with vocabulary they can easily sound out or 
that are already sight words for them—they are probably used to the rich and interesting books you’ve been reading to them for years. Imagine if you suddenly had to go from, “Visitors came from far and wide. WonderVille was even more wondrous at night, thanks to the Fireflies hired to light up the display” (It Fell From the Sky, The Fan Brothers, p 21) to “Mat sat on Sam” (Bob Books, Set 1 Book 1, p 6). It makes sense that some kids really fight that transition.
This blog post isn’t meant to dump on Bob Books—in fact, they’re included in this list of great readers! But some kids—mine
included—can really struggle with motivation when they know these are the types of stories they’re reading now. Objectively, the plots are not that interesting. Finding that balance then, between books your child is able to read and books your child is actually interested in reading becomes the biggest challenge.
Hopefully by exploring some of the books on this list will help you get some ideas of books to present to your burgeoning young readers. In many cases, a combination of books that are easy to read and books that are harder (but not intimidatingly hard) but interesting will work well for your kiddo. Check these out, and happy reading!
Readers are always a popular style of book--they're perfect for kids who are still getting the hang of reading on their own. Check out some of these favorite series! HerrickDL KidPicks
