I’ve been reading some classic children’s chapter books with my kids over the last few months. It started with as a way to introduce our 5 year old to “chapter” books. “Chapter Books” is the term we use for books that have chapters with lots of writing and limited pictures.
This whole process started as a way to enhance the kids interested and attention span in longer books but it’s developed into something more. Interestingly, it’s developed into an English, culture and History lesson in the process.
Pippi Longstockings was our first book. It is brilliantly bright and colourful. A few years ago, I bought a gorgeous copy of the book. It is illustrated by the same person who draws the “Charlie and Lola”. I loved Pippi as a child and thought her so bright and colourful. When I found it on my daughter’s bookshelf, I knew it was the perfect age to for my kids to hear it.
Since then we’ve read Charlotte’s Web, The Water Babies, Wind and the Willows and the Beatrix Potter Original Collection amongst others.
In each there has been some positives and “negatives”.
I must say first that in reading some of these books as an adult, there is a lot I did not pick up as a child. In Pippi Longstokings I found a lot of shocking cultural statements and in The Water Babies, death seemed to keep cropping up. It makes me wonder if my kids will remember these aspects, probably not. Kids probably only remember parts of the storyline at most.
In this post, I’ll touch on each of the books we’ve read to date – we’re currently reading the secret garden together but not ready to write about that yet. I won’t necessarily share the plot as a lot of it will be known to you, but rather what we’ve found and enjoyed.
I’ll also explain:
- the logic behind our choices and
- how much of the book I had to change as I was reading… (I know this sounds crazy but some of the words, phrases or concepts had to be changed or cut).
Our Classic Children’s Chapter Books
At first I chose the books based on select criteria. Unfortunately that only got us so far. We then had to resort to some of the books we had at home. Our local book stores also seemed to have a very generic selection of books and a lot were based on Disney movies.
The selection criteria
So, the selection criteria was pretty simple.
- The story had to be original or very very close to the original. I wanted that old language and sentence construction.
- The story has to be suitable for my 5 year old princess loving daughter and my Nintendo loving, gender stereotype 7 year old son.
- It had to have chapters so we could read it over an extended period. We have lots of short stories and pictures books but I wanted my kids to understand and appreciate the development of a story and the patience it takes to enjoy the whole story teased out over time.
- We wanted pictures but not on every page. I want my kids to learn to visualize what the words are saying and build that part of their imagination. Not all based on barbies and minecraft, argh!
- The book had to be a quality hardcover version so that we could preserve it for my kids to maybe read it to their children. Or maybe I’ll get the chance to read it to my grandkids… wow, it feels weird to say that.
The problem was we then ran out. The book stores didn’t have anything suitable so we went back to the bookcase and that’s when we pulled out Winnie the Pooh and the Beatrix Potter Collection.
I thought that both would be far too baby-ish for my son but he got stuck in and loved them both. My daughter struggled with the Beatrix Potter but I’ll explain that a bit later.
We could have gone online but its hard to gauge the quality from the internet and when you’re paying $25 – $40 a book, you want them to be special.
After that we found a book store owner who helped us and ordered some new books for us. We got a gorgeous copy of Easops Fables and The Secret Garden we are currently working through.
Now to review our first 6 Classic Children’s Chapter Books.
Book 1: Pippi Longstockings
This was the first book we read and wow did it set the bar high. Yes there were a few issues but this had to be one of the kid’s favourites. It is bright and funny and slightly crazy.
Pippi is magic, a little girl who lives by herself following the death of father, her “mama is an angel” already.
What the kids thought
My kids loved, loved this. They thought it was brilliant how she got to live alone and do anything she wanted.
Pippi’s next door neighbours are a brother and sister who want to hang out with her all the time. They are intrigued by the little girl who has no parents but does live with a monkey and a honest. They are constantly inquisitive about her and her life. I think my kids saw themselves in these two and it made the story relatable.
What I thought
This was one of the easiest to read and was really engaging for the kids. Each chapter had some interesting occurrence.
There were a few things I had to change as I was reading as some of the adjectives used to describe people around the world was inappropriate. The first time this happened in the story I read it as it is written and afterwards had to explain to the kids that we don’t refer to people or talk about people in that way. It opened up an interesting discussion on how different people come from different countries, as we did too, and how some of the things we do or how we speak is different to others.
As an adult, I also noticed how rude Pippi is, something I never noticed as a child.
Reading this with my kids was one of the most enjoyable experiences of all these books.
Book 2: Charlotte’s Web
This is a beautiful beautiful touching story. I haven’t read this book in years. I had forgotten what happens until about half way though… Well then I got very teary in a few parts.
What the kids thought
My kids absolutely loved this book. After Pippi this was their second favourite. It’s not just the story of Wilbur and his special friendship with Charlotte but the quirky animal characters you meet and how everyone’s (humans and animals) lives evolve in the story.
I won’t lie though, it was a rocky start when the 5 year old realized that pigs are killed for ham but it was a realization she had to have at some point.
What I thought
This is a great way to introduce kids to the reality of life through the lens of farm life. Early on you’re faced with the reality that the farmer is going to kill the runt of the little, his daughter intervenes and Wilbur is given a new lease on life. However hanging in the background, always, is the knowledge that Wilbur may be turned into a Christmas ham. You don’t get more real than that when it comes to kids – Christmas versus Cute Pig…
I also struggled to hold it together once I remembered how the story ended and the last two chapters were read through tears.
Once you read the book, there is a Charlotte’s Web movie that was on some of the streaming services recently.
Book 3: The Waterbabies
This is one of my favourite books of all time. I bought a beautiful copy of it when I was pregnant with my son and have been waiting and waiting for the right time to pull it out. Seven years later, we read it as a family.
What I thought
I couldn’t believe when I read this how much relates to death and dying. It’s sad and confronting. There was a lot of confusion with the kids as to how the chimney sweep had developed into a water baby and what that actually meant.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, probably more than my kids. The descriptions of the various sea creatures and settings is incredible. It’s definitely a book you can read as an adult and enjoy.
What my kids thought
The language is beautiful but very descriptive so the kids can get a little lost in it.
My 5 year old got lost in the story often and I had to stop and remind her about where we were and what was happening.
They also couldn’t follow who the two “mothers” or “angels” who look after the children were and would confuse the two but I’m not sure that’s essential to the main message.
In hindsight I probably should have waited until our daughter is 7 and our son 9 to read this to them.
Book 4: Wind in the Willows
Last year we went to watch a production of Wind in the Willows in the Sydney Botanic Garden. It was a lovely lovely production and something I wouldn’t mind doing every year as a sort of Summer Ritual.
Anyway, this was enough to have the kids excited from the very beginning of the book. They wanted to hear all about Toad’s crazy obsessions and how he gets himself into trouble.
Just as I was finishing this post up I got an email from the Botanic Garden about the production – you can find the link here. Or you can read our review of the production here.
What my kids thought
They enjoyed the stories but spent a lot of time waiting and asking about Toad being naughty. Some of the stories were lost on them as a result of being distracted and having an inkling of what happens with Toad.
If you ask either of them though, they’ll tell you that they loved it. And they now know a bit more about animals living at the water and their habits. Wind in the Willows opened up a lot of discussion about animals that we aren’t really exposed to much in SA or Australia.
What I thought
I was surprised by how much of the book has nothing to do with Toad. It explores Rat and Mole’s personal adventures more than I thought.
It’s well written and there is something happening in every chapter to keep the kids interested.
There were a few concepts that needed explaining, like the horse and cart and washerwoman. Other than that it was easy reading.
Book 5: Winnie the Pooh Collection
After the first 4 chapter books this was such an easy read!! The chapters were shorter and each one was a story within the story. I love these characters and the kids were already familiar with them so it was easy to follow and understand. They’ve probably also seen some of the adaptations on TV over the years which makes it even easier.
What my kids thought
I was really surprised by how much my 7 year old enjoyed this series. In part, I think he was trying to work out what happened in advance in every story and try tell it to us before we read it.
What I thought
You have to read these stories once in your life and reading them to your kids is an absolute pleasure.
I get caught out with Piglet every time, I always forget that he’s a male.
The one downside to these stories is that the chapters are really long! Much longer than the other stories we had read up to the point. In fact, the only one that has been longer is the Secret Garden.
There is an exhibition of the “real” Winnie the Pooh, Piglet and Tigger that circulates around the world. I was privileged enough to see it last year at New York Public Library so to read this now so soon after having seen the old toys are lovely. It’s not the type of exhibit that will interest kids as the toys are really dull in real life and old but if you read this books as a youngster, it’s kinda special to see that historical element.
Book 6: The Beatrix Potter Collection
Wow, the language used in the Beatrix Potter is very reflective of the time. It is old school English. It’s not the easiest to read and when coupled with the fact that she keeps referring to the animals as people, it gets very confusing.
What my kids thought
Again, we had a shock at the beginning of the book when Miss 5 discovered that Peter’s dad was put into a pie… I’m sure she had been told before, I bet she just blocked it out.
I’m not sure if it was this or the English used but we lost her completely and I’m not sure she heard any of the stories.
My kids also spent most of the book asking about Peter Rabbit and when he would make a grand entrance.
What I thought
I couldn’t believe how many sayings and stories come from Beatrix Potter. Reading this was such an eye opener. That rhyme “Three Blind Mice” that seems to have originated from Beatrix Potter and all the different characters. I just had no idea.
These were lovely stories but the stories get lost in the old structured story-telling. It was not really age appropriate for my 5 and 8 year old. The problem is if you leave it later, when the kids are a bit more grown up, they won’t enjoy the stories as they’re directed at little kids. Nevertheless I’m glad we read it together.
It’s a pity because I really loathe being critical of Beatrix Potter.
Concluding thoughts on our classic children’s chapter books…
I’m really glad we did this. There were times when it wasn’t easy to maintain the kids attention, especially in the older books but it was worth it. Their attention spans have grown as has their patience, perseverance and imaginations too.
Out of all the books, our kids loved Pippi Longstockings the most, she was a clear winner. They still talk about her and my youngster even wanted to dress up like her for book week. After that Charlotte’s Web probably left a lasting impression.
That’s all we have for now, until we finish our next set of Classic Chapter Books. Seeing as the original secret garden is just under 400 pages long, it may take a while before you see our next review.
Thank you so much for following AllThingsMomSydney and joining us as we discover new things.
Happy Reading!
