Book List for Early Readers

I was recently learning about the Classical Conversations (CC) model for learning. This system posits the idea that at an early stage of development, kids thrive on receiving facts and memorization, repeating it rote before they understand what they’re learning.

I really approve of this model, and it agrees well with my theory of how stories penetrate to the subconscious.

Small children collect data in an active way, but do not try to sort it into a contextual understanding, and they do not question the truth or relevancy of what they’re learning. When we give a child a book to read, and they soak it in without question or deep understanding, it’s important to give them a book with words they can read, but the actual content does not need to be understandable.

How many times have you watched a movie with your child and known that there was no way they were understanding everything? Old PIXAR© movies, for example, are adept at this - they package mature ideas and deep storytelling in a style accessible to kids. These mature themes are not wasted on children: just because they are not able to understand them, does not mean that they’re not soaking them in.

These exposures are actually vital for them, because these ideas, downloaded into their brains, will be there for processing as they enter the next stage of development. Without them, they will have an impoverished and childish understanding of the world. In fact, they may even resist developing further, because they do not understand that there are things beyond their current comprehension.

Unfortunately, our education systems do not understand this concept - they are intent on giving kids books that they can understand, so the child does not get frustrated with ideas beyond their comprehension. Unfortunately, the opposite effect is achieved, because what this does is put more pressure on the child. It teaches him or her that everything they experience must always make sense to them, but at the same time, they are not given tools to deepen their understanding. Nothing was downloaded during their impressionable years, so there is nothing to unpack later on. Because of this, the child may be tempted to close their eyes against the things they do not understand.

However, when you consistently develop your child’s mind with stories of true depth and fullness, the child can relax in the knowledge that they do not have to understand, but can enjoy the stage they currently are in, of soaking and basking in the world.

The following list of books will be simple enough in their writing style, but the stories themselves are rich, full, and deep. They will engage your child’s right-brain side, and develop his or her imagination. If your child is strongly left-brained, and needs a break occasionally from too much right-brained activity, I recommend leaning heavily on the mystery and drama genres.

Early Readers Reading List

Ultimate Classics Guide for What to Read As a Kid

ANIMAL STORIES

Shiloh

Ribsy

Socks

Old Yeller

Mistry of Chincoteague

Mr. Popper’s Penguins

DRAMA

The Family Under the Bridge

Ballet Shoes

Theatre Shoes

Ramona Books

Beezus and Ramona

Ramona the Pest

Ramona the Brave

Ramona and Her Father

Ramona and Her Mother

Ramona Quimby, Age 8

Ramona Forever

Ramona’s World

Sarah, Plain and Tall

Madeline

FABLE STORIES

Charlotte’s Web

Babe

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

Just So Stories

Aesop’s Fables

The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me

Paddington Treasury

Winnie the Pooh

House at Pooh Corner

Raggedy Ann Series

Raggedy Andy Series

Tanglewood Tales

FANTASY

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Prince Caspian

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Artie and the Princess

Pippy Longstalking

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Books

Polly and the Wolf

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass

The Wizard of Oz Books

The Phantom Tollbooth

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Hans Christian Anderson

Perrault’s Fairy Tales

HISTORICAL FICTION

The Magic Tree House

Little House on the Prairie

Little House in the Big Woods

MYSTERY

Encyclopedia Brown

The Bobbsey Twins

The Boxcar Children