Great books for confident readers

Quote from 100 books every child should read :

We get ourselves all hot and bothered about the teaching of reading, about synthetic phonics and the like, and we forget that none of it is much use unless children want to read in the first place. The motivation must come first, horse before cart. We all know that unless a child is motivated to learn, then there will be apathy or resistance in the learning process. They are much more likely to want to deal with the difficulties of learning to read if they know it is these words that give them access to all these wonderful stories. If we really want our children to become readers for life, we would do well to remember that horses are much more fun than carts anyway.


Here are some of the books my daughter Chloe has read on her own. She is 6 years old this year. She enjoys reading these books very much.

Charlotte's Web
Quote from 100 books every child should read :
White's 1952 masterpiece describes the friendship between a lonely pig and a talented spider. This poignant tale teaches lessons about love, death and differing life expectancies.


Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Quote from http://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/Charlie-Chocolate-Factory.html :
Poor Charlie Bucket is practically starving to death, but his luck changes for the better when he wins a lifetime supply of candy--and a chance to visit Willy Wonka's fabulous, top-secret chocolate factory. This charming, irreverent tale, one of Roald Dahl's best, has captivated children for more than thirty years.



The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Quote from
http://childrensbooks.about.com/cs/authorsillustrato/a/baumoz.htm

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a cultural icon in the United States. Dorothy and Toto, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man, the Wicked Witch of the West, and the Wizard of Oz have all become part of the American vocabulary. Dorothy's heartfelt statement, "There is no place like home," still reverberates today.

For many people, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is one of their favorite children's books even though they have never read it. They really feel they must have read it because they have seen the classic 1939 Judy Garland movie and are so familiar with the story. I fit into that category until I became interested in learning about the book and its 100+ years of popularity. That's right. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was first published in the 1900, and 2000 was its centennial year.



Little House on the Prairie
Quote from
http://classic-american-fiction.suite101.com/article.cfm/review_of_little_house_on_the_prairie

A Remarkable Story for Both Historians and the Lovers of Fable
Laura lived in a remarkable period of American history. The way, in which American’s are taught American history, makes it easy to forget what a short amount of time the pioneers moved through or that the cowboys who had an equally short journey lived at the same time. Yet, Little House on the Prairie captures the intersection of these to iconic figures in American history.

For those who read the first book in the series and those who intend to read the rest of the series, something becomes obvious when one reads this book. Laura Ingalls Wilder was an unusual person who lived in remarkable times. Despite the huge changes during her lifetime, Laura understood the almost mythic appeal of her childhood and was able to capture it for generations to come.

Her ability to capture the thought patterns of a child and yet convey complex details of pioneer life makes her books fascinating. Historians can sift through her books and learn a great deal about exactly how pioneers lived. While those who love legends and fairy tales can lose themselves in that mythic moment when the long line of Indians parading past the Ingall’s home “slowly pulled itself over the western edge of the world. And nothing [is] left but silence and emptiness.”