My godchild got started on Harry Potter at that age...definitely still a "read them together" book.

I love the book suggestions from this website:

http://www.amightygirl.com/books

What about Encyclopedia Brown? I loved those as a kid-- so clearly they are "old school" but I think about right age level (though maybe a little young? I am not sure). I loved all the mysteries as a kid.. including Harriet the Spy and the Hardy Boys.

James Patterson (yes, that James Patterson) has a bunch of corny kid books called "Treasure Hunters" that my kids enjoyed at that age. I mostly enjoyed them so I could tell their grandmother that the kids were reading James Patterson...she was so horrified.

Thanks for the suggestions. His parents have some restriction on Harry Potter - the age at which he'll be allowed to read it, but not yet. Crl, I'll take a look on that website, thanks. I see things on lists that look good, but I love real person recommendations, too.

bpathome, those look perfect! His school really stresses reading and they have a LOT of book/reading time, so I never know what he's read at school, but I'll ask him.

I was poking around today and came across the Boxcar Kids. I remember reading and loving the original one in maybe 1st or 2nd grade - but maybe I was older? I think he might like it, too. I couldn't get the original through the library for some reason and the newer ones look like graphic novels, but I'd rather start with the original. I ordered it online to try. Does anyone know if this is age appropriate?

Oops, cross posting...I don't know about Encyclopedia Brown, but I've introduced him to my encyclopedias, so he understands the concept of them.! Sometimes he'll pull one out and read it, but google is a tough competitor. I'll check them out. I never read the Hardy Boys, so I'll look at those, too. Don't know if I can sell Harriet - although he loves girls and I can try.

I haven't read James Patterson, but he would LOVE something called Treasure Hunters, so I'll look for those, too. Thanks!

I'll second the Encyclopedia Brown books. I read them in 2nd grade, though my daughter never got interested. She did read the Magic Treehouse books avidly, as well as the totally girl-directed Rainbow Fairies books (starting in 1st grade). She also quite liked the Thea Stilton and Geronimo Stilton books.

When she was a bit older (maybe 5th grade, though her cousin started with them in 3rd), she threw herself into the Warriors books which are about tribes of feral housecats. She could go on endlessly about about cat social organization and herbal medicine.

Encylopedia Brown is a 10 yo "detective" mystery series.. His name is associated with encyclopedias but it is a (short as I remember) chapter book series. Check them out-- they may be a touch too young for him but I would guess 2nd grade.

My sister loves the Box Car Chlldren-- in fact, she recently reread them herself.

Some of my kids faves were:

The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit

Holes by L. Sacher

Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (but I could never sit thru reading these - they read them on their own)

From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by Konigsburg

And if he has a sense of humour, you have to read him The Book Without Any Pictures. The kids in my class discovered this book this year, begged me to read it over and over and rolled on the floor laughing every time I read it.

My children really enjoyed the Magic Tree House books (great info on all sorts of topics) and the Geronimo Stilton series as well. Kate DiCamillo's Mercy series about the adventures of a pig, may be a good fit- could be too easy though. The Dragon Slayers' Academy was a good series too for gaining reading fluency.

For a slightly higher reading level, all of Roald Dahl's books- including his autobiography- and then Sherlock Holmes is a good step up.

It's really great to keep lots of fun reference books around for children to pick through bit by bit. The Way Things Work,- along with it's sister books, The Way We Work and Built To Last- all written by David Macaulay and so beautifully illustrated- provide endless food for thought and discussion and experimentation and observation. The d'Aurelaires' Mythology books (Greek, Roman and Norse,) were very well loved also. Large books of fairy tales - Andersen and Grimm- are also great at this age.

For reading together, this was the age we read the Hobbit, the Scarlet Pimpernel, Three Musketeers, Harry Potter (I saw that you said it was verboten for now- but really - seven is a great age to start the series,) Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island, Little House on the Prairie, One Thousand and One Nights and Narnia.

Seven is such a great age for exploring books and music and art- you get to lay a foundation of knowledge for them to continue building as they grow and develop. I am not at home, and Googling isn't helping, so I can't find the names of the books with biographies of composers that had CDs included- all I can say is look out for books about composers and operas for children- the stories are entertaining and are a great way of introducing new kinds of music. And obviously Peter and the Wolf- the Leonard Bernstein version.

My eldest is 18 and I am already looking forward to getting to do all this again in the future :-)

I could go on forever on this subject.

PS We are fortunate enough to live in a town with a fantastic Children's Library where I learned that librarians have the very best matching algorithms for books and young readers.

ETA I forgot The Phantom Tollbooth- which was the first book that came to mind when I read your question!

LOL " Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (but I could never sit thru reading these - they read them on their own) " Yup.

David Weisner has some terrific books, some without any words at all. They are detailed, fascinating, and encourage careful examination and imagination.... there is also a three (picture) book series with one titled Pirates Don't change diapers. It's not a chapter book, but a super enjoyable read out loud (with pirate voices of course) and lots of fun to share. Kids that age still enjoy being read to. Have fun!

I think that is about the age my brother started reading Tom Swift books (and my DD started reading Nancy Drew). You might find those in a used book store

My son recently turned 7. Chapter books we either read together this year, he read with his class, or he read on his own (several of which have been mentioned above!): Boxcar Children; James and the Giant Peach; BFG; Encyclopedia Brown series (my MIL gave us my husbands set and DS has loved reading them); Heidi; Pinocchio; The Borrowers.

Re: Harry Potter books. I found the first book was okay when they were younger but they get progressively scarier. My oldest dd loved the first couple but got terrified half way thru the third, had nightmares for months. I saved my second dd from the trauma, but I missed reading them myself.

I glanced through, didn't see anyone mention the Big Nate series. Our kids loved those!!

Megan McDonald's series (plus crossover books) about Judy Moody and her brother Stink. Also a children's almanac.

My kids love Junie B Jones to read themselves in first grade and a few different series by English writer Enid Blyton, the Famous Five, the Naughtiest Girl and Mallory towers were all enjoyed by my school age daughter.

Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar delighted my son.

Not chapter books but my kids were also obsessed with the Weird but True books. I really liked them too. Sort of like the national enquirer for science (but all true).

Hank the Cowdog is a great series for kids that age. There are multiple books. The Indian in the Cupboard is good for that age, there are 3 or 4 books, if I remember. Mr. Popper's Penguins is fun and most books by Roald Dahl are good at that age.

`My older son was obsessed with science at that age, and I had to work to find fiction book series that he would like. The trick seemed to be finding books with a sense of humor. He's now 13yo, but his 8yo brother (who has different tastes and interests) has really enjoyed some of those series: Andrew Lost is a big favorite (there are about 15 books altogether) as is The Animal Rescue Team.

My younger son likes science but he is probably more interested in history, so he's read all the Magic Treehouse books (they just didn't click with the older one) and we're now into the Capital Mystery series. The same author also did the A-Z Mystery series, so those are probably up next. The 8yo also enjoyed a couple of more traditional series including Encyclopedia Brown (which is great, but some of the language is pretty dated) and The Littles.

I read these with my 8yo every night, but he can and does read them solo as well. I like having some kind of science or history "hook" to the fiction because it then tends to ramp up their interest for nonfiction around the same subjects.

I think the key is to find books that inspire them to want to read more, and as someone who knows what she likes/dislikes in books, I understand that it's totally personal. My older son moved away from science topics in third or fourth grade; when they studied ancient Greece or Rome, he got obsessed with various types of mythology and from there to the Rick Riordan books (Percy Jackson for starters.) He didn't get around to reading Harry Potter until a year or two ago - he just was never interested at the time when all his friends were dressing as Harry for Halloween. Now he's read them all. He's also wildly into graphic novels and comic books. Our theory is, as long as he's reading, that's good.

Wow, you all are a total wealth of information! I am SO glad I asked here. Thank you, thank you! He loves science and history, especially how things worked in the olden days, plus he's quite interested in England for some reason. I think he's going to LOVE some of these suggestions.

We have a great library system and I'm sure the librarian could recommend, too, but I like having time to peruse the suggestions with my computer. I can take my time to figure out if he really might like something, so I love having this thread bookmarked.

I'll try to come back and report...I've order Section 7 (I think he's going to love that) from the library and I just recently mail ordered d'Aurelaires' Greek Mythology, so was glad to see that suggestion, too. I also recently bought a copy of Aesop's Fables, as I remember loving those as a child. He'll like figuring out the moral of the stories, I think.

Thanks again and if anyone else pops in with suggestions, please add them!

crl, I just looked at your link and that is a great site. I really like that you can filter by type of book and age, too. I think I'm going to find some things there for ME to read. Thanks.

My daughter went through a biography phase in early elementary school. I don't have specific recommendations in chapter books (David Adler's series is good in picture books), but we make extensive use of the biography section at our children's library. We also created timelines so we could see when different people lived relative to each other. My daughter wasn't so keen on the fact that the subjects almost always died at the end, but that opened up conversations about long happy lives of people who died surrounded by family, versus people who died young and tragically.

Not chapter books, but the English series Horrible Histories is ridiculously engaging. I learned a ton from these books myself ;-) I used to have to jump through many hoops to order them- you still have to get it from the UK- but there are more options now. Here is a link to a bundle of the books from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Horrible-Histories-Collection-Books-Pack/dp/B0043MCH5M. I didn't realize, until Googling now, that there is a Horrible Histories TV show as well.

I loved reading with my boys at that age and really through JR High. I second James and the Giant Peach and, I think, all of Roald Dahl, though The Witches is scary and with one of my sons I skipped it.

We liked(not loved) Magic Treehouse books. Child liked the characters and the content but mommy loathed the writing 'down' style and the children did too in fairly short timeframe(I think we got to book 17). (Note I refused to read Junie B Jones, if you want to read it, read it yourself...)

Really like The Borrowers series, EB White, Gary Paulsen, Beverly Cleary(Ralph and the Motorcycle series ?), Pippi Longstocking, Jungle Book, Treasure Island, Knights of the Round Table, AA Milne.

Please do not forget poetry. Shel Silverstein, Longfellow, Stevenson. This is very important. The patterns of language that are revealed in the reading of poetry cannot be replicated.

On a non-fiction note, I highly recommend to all children is Theodore Gray's The Elements, it is full of beautiful pictures and an explanation of each element. My kids adored this book. Another book I love is The Train of States< two page spread on each state. So fun and informative!

Not chapter books, but Shel Silverstein's poetry books are very entertaining for kids of all ages: Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light In The Attic, & Falling Up.

Speaking of James & the Giant Peach, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory is pretty great - much better than the movies, IMO.

cawaps, that's so interesting....my grandson has a complicated life and in his short time on Earth has lost one beloved grandma, a great g'ma and an 18 year old "uncle" he was quite close to. My son said it's been hard because everyone on their prayer list has died. :-( So we've had lots of conversations about death and dying. And many other things way beyond his years.

I checked with him tonight and he hasn't read any of the recommendations except the Book Without Pictures, that his dad got for them to read together. He said it was really funny.

Rita! Horrible Histories? That is so right up his alley...just the title will hook him. Thanks!

Localeater some great recommendations, thanks! To you and Carolb, yes to Shel Silverstein....he absolutely loves him. We love reading Runny Babbit so I'll have to remember to get some others. And this boy LOVES chocolate, so Charlie is a great idea.

The Andrea Beaty books I wrote about in my op are all written in prose; he loved those and we have lots of Dr. Suess (even tho' I've never cared for his stuff). We used to watch the Classical Baby videos when he was quite young and the poetry one is fabulous, with Gertrude Stein, Shakespeare, Keats, Langston Hughes, William Carlos Williams, etc. So he's had some exposure.

Thanks for all the suggestions from everyone. This is so great!

What about the Lemony Snicket books, a series of unfortunate events? I loved those ones.

Robo stole my answer. He may be a little too young for them; because they are very funny in a sophisticated way, esp if he likes word play. My DS and I read all the Lemony Snicket books together when he was in 3rd grade iirc. They are nice books to share with an adult because both will enjoy them.

My son liked the Beverly Cleary books, Mouse and the Motorcycle. He also read pretty much every Geronimo Stilton. I did not like those books at all (omg, if you like prose you cannot abide by them)... but .... each one was really a disguised lesson in history or geography or science or art etc etc. They are very clever in that sense, and kids like them.

I write a blog about children's literature and literacy. The latest post is about a series that my 7-year-old loves, How To Train Your Dragon.

https://actively-reading.squarespace.com/blog/2017/6/30/6joe30xo4dby4rsjuvyx16zlx9q69v

Other books we've read aloud in the last year:

* Charlotte's Web

* The Cricket in Times Square

* Farmer Boy (this was the start of the Little House series, which he loves. We're up to On the Banks of Plum Creek

* Catwings

* Mouse and the Motorcycle series

On his own, he really likes the Magic School Bus books, the Lego graphic novels, and anything about Pokemon.

Charlotte's Web reminded me of the Trumpet of the Swan, also by E.B. White. I always loved it.

And how about the Wizard of Oz series? Although I will confess that I didn't know that there was an entire series until my dtr. was past the age for them, and so haven't read them.

The Illustrated Classics for children were also popular in my house -- although I would get the original book unless I thought the language was just too archaic, however, that was only one or two. My dtr. had quite a remarkable vocabulary by the time she was in 4th grade!

We both love the Little House series! So much history to talk about there.

You all are amazing. What a variety and wealth of info about kid's books (and so many other things)!

I remember hearing of Lemony Snicket (didn't Jim Carey do a movie?) so I'll check those out. I looked at Beverly Cleary books, not sure he'd be drawn to Ramona, but the Mouse and Motorcycle looks like a great fit. He loves furry creatures and all things vehicle, so I think he'd love it.

It looks like there will be a movie about How to Train your Dragon, and I think that might be a nice segue from the My Father's Dragon books (well, at least both about dragons), so will add that to my list, too. How fun Renogirl to write that blog. I'll bookmark it and watch for your other recommendations.

We saw a children's theatre performance of Charlotte's web so that might not be a first choice for him, just because he knows the story, but I'll look at Trumpet of the Swan. Thanks!

Illustrated classics looks interesting, too. Thanks! I'm probably the only person in the world who hates the Wizard of Oz (the movie, but it will have ruined the books for me), so he'll have to get that from someone else :-) I never read the Little House books, just grew up on the TV show, but I think he'd really like the pioneer aspect, how people used to live.

I know I didn't personally address everyone who posted. I've been having terrible internet problems, so just gave up, but please know I so appreciate you all taking time to write your thoughts. I think we've got 7-10 about covered here! Thank you all.

If you find he enjoys Lemony Snicket you might also try the Pseudonymous Bosch Secret Series (DS2 just got done with those books and prefers them to LS).

DS1 really liked the Mouse and the Motorcycle series. While he was reading them we happened to stay at a hotel in the Sierra Nevada so he would go around looking to see if he might find some of Ralph's cousins ;-)

I was in the bookstore with my daughter yesterday, and was reminded that she also read the A to Z mysteries, which are on a similar level as the Magic Treehouse books.

The books are filled with asides like this, which I thoroughly enjoyed :) They are quirky and a little dark (but the author promises they will be much darker than they actually are). Speaking of quirky and dark I would also love to read The Witches or other Roald Dahl books with a kid (although his legacy has been tarnished by antisemitism).

My DS was really into ancient Egyptians, hieroglyphics, pyramids, mummies.

Then the Greeks and Romans.

Robo, my grandson would laugh out loud at that excerpt! I've got to give LS a try with him.

Oaktown, maybe I'll have to get some of those just so he can teach me how to pronounce Pseudonymous! Looks interesting, for sure.

Cawaps, I think he would like mysteries, if they aren't scary, so I'll make a note of those, too.

NSM, he went through a phase of interest in those things, but I'm thinking it will re-emerge before long again. Some interest is piqued by what they study in school and I don't think they've studies the ancients much yet. I'll see how he responds to d'Aurelaires' Greek Mythology, which I just ordered for him and maybe ask you for more specific recommendations (if you can remember the titles of what he liked).

Thanks once again!