Great Chapter Books to Read Aloud for Ages 4-8

So I have been working on compiling a list of great chapter books for reading aloud to 4-8 year olds and I'm finally ready to share it!

I have read many great chapter books to my 6 year old (Hornet) and we love the snuggle time where we explore new places and people by reading and listening to wonderful stories! My four year old (Roly Poly) and I just started with Stuart Little and he feels like he is such a big boy for listening to these longer stories with less pictures. The list has books listed in order of their reading level - this is if they were independently read and doesn't necessarily mean that their content is that grade level. I used the Book Wizard from Scholastic to determine their grade level. It is always great to read aloud books that are at a higher reading level than your child can independently read to increase exposure to more developed vocabulary and plots. The tricky part comes into play though when the subject level is also above their level so always preview the books to make sure that they are appropriate for your child. Hornet and I are almost finished reading Cricket in Times Square which is a 5.9 grade level which may seem high for a 6 year old but it has been a great book and just right as far as content - with some great vocabulary and description (just what you want in a great read aloud)!

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Enjoy this List for 

Great Chapter Books to
Read Aloud to 4-8 year Olds!

Great CHAPTER Books to Read Aloud to 4-8 year olds

TITLE	AUTHOR	Grade Level	Notes	Rating (0-5 *)	Your Notes/Rating
The Littles (series)	John Peterson	2.1	Easy, adventure, we like these	****
Mouse Soup	Arnold Lobel	2.2		****
Two Times the Fun	Beverly Cleary	2.2	Cute, good start to chapter books	***
Junie B. Jones (series)	Barbara Park	2.2	Funny, many like but not my fave	***
Mercy Watson (series)	Kate DiCamillo	2.3	Easy, funny, with pictures	***
Calendar Mysteries (series)	Ron Roy	2.5	Simple, rural life, adventure	****
Cam Jansen Mysteries (series)	David A. Adler	2.5	Easy mysteries	****
Russell and Elisa (series)	Johanna Hurwitz	2.6
Magic Tree House (series)	Mary Pope	2.7	Fantasy, travel, adventure	****
Minnie and Sophie: All Around Town	Miriam Cohen	2.9
The Misadventures of Seldovia Sam (series)	Susan Woodward Springer	3.1	Alaska coast adventure, Love them!	*****
The Chalk Box Kid	Clyde Robert Bulla	3.2	A bit slow but good story	***
The Stories Julian Tells (series)	Ann Cameron	3.5
Wildfire!	Elizabeth Starr-Hill	3.8
Encyclopedia Brown (series)	Donald J. Sobol	3.8		****
Stuart Little	E.B. White	3.9	Adventure, fun	****
A Lion to Guard Us	Clyde Robert Bulla	3.9
Mouse and the Motorcycle (series)	Beverly Cleary	4.1	Funny , adventure	*****
Chibi: A True Story from Japan	B. Brenner and J.Takaya	4.1
Ramona (series)	Beverly Cleary	4.1	Funny, must read	*****
Betsy-Tacy	Maud Hart Lovelace	4.2
The Moffats	Eleanor Estes	4.2
Little House (series)	Laura Ingalls Wilder	4.2	Farm life, wholesome	****
Flat Stanley	Jeff Brown	4.4
The Reluctant Dragon	Adapted by Inga Moore	4.4
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle	Betty MacDonald	4.5
My Father’s Dragon (series)	Ruth Stiles Gannett	4.8
Chocolate Fever	Robert Kimmel Smith	4.8
Charlotte’s Web	E.B. White	4.9	Classic, sweet	*****
The Puppy Sister	S.E. Hinton	4.9
Fantastic Mr. Fox	Roald Dahl	4.9
Mr. Popper’s Penguins	Florence and Richard Atwater	4.9
The Hundred Dresses	Eleanor Estes	5.0
The Water Horse	Dick King-Smith	5.2
Pippi Longstocking	Astrid Lindgren	5.2
Socks	Beverly Cleary	5.4		****
BFG	Roald Dahl	5.8	Funny, thoughtful	****
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory	Roald Dahl	5.9
A Cricket in Times Square	George Selden	5.9	Sweet, friendship	***
James and the Giant Peach	Roald Dahl	6.7		****

Bookmark Version (without notes/rating)Click Here for Printable Version of Bookmark


BOOKMARK - Great Books to Read Aloud to 4-8 year Olds

TITLE	AUTHOR	Level
The Littles (S)	John Peterson	2.1
Mouse Soup	Arnold Lobel	2.2
Two Times the Fun	Beverly Cleary	2.2
Junie B. Jones (S)	Barbara Park	2.2
Mercy Watson (series)	Kate DiCamillo	2.3
Calendar Mysteries (S)	Ron Roy	2.5
Cam Jansen Mysteries (S)	David A. Adler	2.5
Russell and Elisa (S)	Johanna Hurwitz	2.6
Magic Tree House (S)	Mary Pope	2.7
Minnie and Sophie: All Around Town	Miriam Cohen	2.9
The Misadventures of Seldovia Sam (S)	Susan Woodward Springer	3.1
The Chalk Box Kid	Clyde Robert Bulla	3.2
The Stories Julian Tells (S)	Ann Cameron	3.5
Wildfire!	Elizabeth Starr-Hill	3.8
Encyclopedia Brown (S)	Donald J. Sobol	3.8
Stuart Little	E.B. White	3.9
A Lion to Guard Us	Clyde Robert Bulla	3.9
Mouse and the Motorcycle (S)	Beverly Cleary	4.1
Chibi: A True Story from Japan	B. Brenner and J.Takaya	4.1
Ramona (S)	Beverly Cleary	4.1
Betsy-Tacy	Maud Hart Lovelace	4.2
The Moffats	Eleanor Estes	4.2
Little House (S)	Laura Ingalls Wilder	4.2
Flat Stanley	Jeff Brown	4.4
The Reluctant Dragon	Adapted by Inga Moore	4.4
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle	Betty MacDonald	4.5
My Father’s Dragon (S)	Ruth Stiles Gannett	4.8
Chocolate Fever	Robert Kimmel Smith	4.8
Charlotte’s Web	E.B. White	4.9
The Puppy Sister	S.E. Hinton	4.9
Fantastic Mr. Fox	Roald Dahl	4.9
Mr. Popper’s Penguins	Florence & Richard Atwater	4.9
The Hundred Dresses	Eleanor Estes	5.0
The Water Horse	Dick King-Smith	5.2
Pippi Longstocking	Astrid Lindgren	5.2
Socks	Beverly Cleary	5.4
BFG	Roald Dahl	5.8
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory	Roald Dahl	5.9
A Cricket in Times Square	George Selden	5.9
James and the Giant Peach	Roald Dahl	6.7

A must read for every teacher and parent is The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease! He encourages reading aloud picture and chapter books to your children and explains the great many benefits! I encourage you to check it out from the library or make the purchase (it is worth it).

Please BRAINSTORM any further book recommendations in the COMMENTS below for the
Great Chapter Books to Read Aloud to 4-8 year Olds!

Happy Reading
~Sara