June November: BOOKS FOR BOYS

My son started reading his year. Really reading. Sit down with a book and read the whole thing himself reading. And I was so joyful, bursting with happiness really, because reading is such a gift that I have wanted so much for him. Watching him read, sounding out words, knowing that he can do it, is not only a gift for him, but a gift for me to watch.

We've spent a lot of time lately looking for not only books at his reading level, but books for boys at his reading level. Here are some of our favorites.*

Here's what my son's reading right now.

1. Pete the Cat Rocking in My School Shoes, Eric Litwin. Pete the Cat was a BIG DEAL on the kindergarten circuit. We love all the Pete books, but right now with school approaching, we're rereading School Shoes. These are great books about not letting the little things get to you.

2. How Rocket Learned to Read, Tad Hills. Rocket is a dog that is learning to read. Dylan likes this book especially because it encourages the reader to sound out the words (D-O-G, R-E-D) and it was one of the first books he was reading words in on his own.

3. Race Team (Step into Reading), I'm not a huge fan of character books personally, but my son loves reading about familiar characters. The Step into Reading books are great for him, because he can read them completely himself, and the characters make the books fun for him.

4. Bernstein Bears Series, Stan and Jan Bernstein. Classics. These books are slightly challenging for an early reader (which is good).

5. Close Up Sharks, This book focuses on facts about sharks in an easy to read format. It was a set of three about marine life. Dylan loves books about facts, so these are a perfect fit.

6. I Can Read! Biscuit Books, Dylan is a big fan of books about animals, and finds the Biscuit stories funny.

7. The Big Green Book of Beginner Books, Dr. Seuss. These classic stories come in one big book. Dylan loves this because there are several to chose from, and there is something about reading from a "big" book that makes kids feel smarter and more accomplished. These stories are also funny and familiar to him.