Comments on: Hurrah for Captain Underpants

By: Tonya

Tonya — Sun, 05 Jun 2016 05:20:27 +0000

Figuring out that my son was dyslexic, and getting him the right kind of reading instruction, made all the difference in the world. Dyslexia can be diagnosed in kindergarten, but most teachers have no training in spotting it. To everyone whose child struggles, I urge you to seek out help sooner rather than later. The book Overcoming Dyslexia is a great resource.

By: lauravanderkam

lauravanderkam — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 15:33:09 +0000

In reply to ARC.

@ARC – we had a long Magic Treehouse phase around here with kid #1. He devoured those books. Then he would make up his own Jack and Annie stories. The formula is pretty set (“Then everything was still. Absolutely still.”) So it wasn’t too hard to transfer the format to some other setting, though frankly I think Magic Treehouse has been just about everywhere.

By: ARC

ARC — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 14:22:25 +0000

Magic Treehouse has been especially popular here with my 6.5yo. She also liked the “bad kitty” series – fewer words, more pictures, but still fun. She is obsessed with the Rainbow Magic series of Fairy books – and since she reads to herself, I don’t care how formulaic and annoying they are 😉

I did notice it took her a couple of months to make the leap to reading to herself when she learned how to read. Sample size of 1, so take that for what it’s worth.

Another friend recommended getting a cheap reading-only (black and white) Kindle for avid readers – this allows us to borrow books from our library and is much easier than making a trip there every week.

By: ARC

ARC — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 14:19:22 +0000

In reply to Ahlia. Our girls' daycares also used audio books (along with live reading) and the kids LOVE it.

By: ARC

ARC — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 14:18:31 +0000

In reply to Susan. I was so jealous on a visit to CA that you could easily buy Spanish books at places like Target!! Here in Seattle, it's a lot harder to find them, though our library has a decent section and we've found a handful on Amazon as well.

By: ARC

ARC — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 14:17:20 +0000

In reply to Zenmoo.

I SO wish we could find Enid Blyton books easily in the US but they’re crazy expensive on Amazon and not all of them are available. I found them when visiting relatives in India, and they were SO great, exactly what I need for my 6yo – “harder” content that is still kid-appropriate. I should figure out if I can order them online somewhere else without paying crazy shipping prices.

By: lauravanderkam

lauravanderkam — Sun, 10 Apr 2016 17:39:04 +0000

In reply to Cloud.

@Cloud – wow, you’ve got a second author in the family! I love that. I wonder if I could get my son to write a comic strip…

By: Cloud

Cloud — Fri, 08 Apr 2016 18:21:47 +0000

Too funny- my 6 year old has just discovered Captain Underpants, too, and she loves them. She isn’t yet reading them on her own, but she did create her own comic, with her own made up superhero!

By: Kim from Philadelphia

Kim from Philadelphia — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 18:10:13 +0000

Captain Underpants actually has some really rich vocabulary words tucked into the stories. It was one of the first series my son chose to read.
My son really enjoys nonfiction- books about the sea, solar system, nature, science.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series has also been a big hit. He loves graphic novels such as Bone and the Adventuretime series.

Head to your local library library and have the children’s librarian show you what’s popular with that age group and reading level. They are always in the know!

By: Angela

Angela — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 16:40:49 +0000

In reply to lauravanderkam. I share their post almost daily because they have some great information on amazing girls and women.