My husband and I spend a lot of our leisure time reading. Right now our oldest, Goosey, is especially fond of reading.

Shortly before second grade started, reading just really clicked for Goosey and she became unstoppable. She’s so unstoppable that she is now reading about three grade levels above expectations, which is awesome. Except, finding appropriate books for her isn’t always easy. Many books that are at her developmental and emotional level don’t challenge her academically (not to mention all the potty humor), and books that are at her reading level tend to be a little too mature in content. As parents we read lots of “young reader” books and pass the ones that she’s ready for on to her. The others we put on the shelf for future reading.

My Great Books for Young Readers (advanced 2nd-4th graders):

• Fablehavenseries
• Percy Jacksonseries
• Little House Books (through The Long Winter)
• Dear Americaseries
• Harry Potterseries (books 1-4)
• The Secret Garden
• I SurvivedSeries
• Pollyanna
• Heidi
• Pippi Longstocking
• The Box Car Childrenseries
• The Bobsey Twinssereis

Are there books or series that your kids have enjoyed? Any from your childhood that you adored? We lean toward historical fiction and fantasy, but I’m especially interested in finding books that appeal to boys since my 1st grader is discovering recreational reading too.