Suggested Reading Lists - Newly independent readers and first chapter books

    

     

Year 3-4 suggested reading lists

Fiction

Newly independent readers love reading books in a series but can get ‘stuck’ on one favourite. There's a huge variety of simply gorgeous early reader books out there, and we've listed just a few popular ones in the collections below.

Give these series a go:

* Tashi – Anne Fienberg

* Zac Power – H.I. Larry (several series)

* Horrible Henry – Francesca Simon

* Flat Stanley – Jeff Brown

* The magic treehouse – Mary Pope Osborne

* Geronimo Stilton, Thea Stilton, and The kingdom of fantasy series– Geronimo Stilton

* Ella and Olivia – Yvette Poshoglian

* Sporty kids – Felice Arena

* Hey, Jack! & Billie B Brown – Sally Rippin

* Aussie Nibbles; Aussie Bites; Kiwi Bites – various authors

* The magic school bus science chapter books  – Joanna Cole

* Boy vs. beast, D-Bot Squad – Mac Park

* Rainbow magic series - Daisy Meadows

    

                       

For further extension, these fantastic fiction authors will excite and challenge your Year 3 and 4 readers(7-8 year old):

* Michael Morpurgo

* Lauren Child – Clarice Bean and Ruby Redfort series

* Megan McDonald – Judy Moody and Stink series

* Shamini Flint – Diary of a sport star (not!) series

* Jacqueline Harvey – Alice Miranda and Clementine Rose             series

* Amelia Cobb – Zoe’s rescue zoo series

* Aaron Blabey – The bad guys series

* Jeffery Brown – Jedi Academy series

* Kyle Mewburn - Dinosaur rescue/ Dragon Knight series(NZ)

* Kate DiCamillo – Mercy Watson series

* Chris Blake – Time Hunters series

* Dan Gutman – My weird school series

* Anna Branford – Violet Mackerel series

* James Russell – The Dragon Defenders (NZ)

* The Jolley-Rogers series by Jonny Duddle

* Kelly Wilson – Showtym Adventures, Horse series (NZ)

And lastly, some of our old favourites; oldies but goodies:

* Roald Dahl – The Twits, The magic finger, and many more

* Judy Blume – Tales of a fourth grade nothing series

    * C.S. Lewis – The Narnia chronicles

    * Dick King-Smith: wonderful books about animals

    * Joyce Lankester Brisley – Milly Molly Mandy

    * E.B. White – Stuart Little & Charlotte’s Web

    * Astrid Lindgren – Pippi Longstocking

    * Enid Blyton – The Secret Seven, The Famous Five and The Magic Faraway Tree.

                                                        

Need More suggestions? 

Ask our Librarians, or email

Michele Coombridge michele.coombridge@pinehurst.school.nz

If you like Harry Potter ... try these

If you like Harry Potter-style fantasy...try some of these  reading suggestions.

Recently I made a wall display featuring some 'if you loved Harry Potter' reading suggestions. We get asked for Harry Potter read-alike book recommendations all the time, so, I thought I would turn our suggested fantasy book list into a blog post 

Below is a little blurb about each book and a comment on why I think it is a good 'read after' for the ever popular Harry Potter series.. 😀 

From Goodreads: Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse - Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends—one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena - Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods. 

The Percy Jackson series is an eternal favourite, and the second most popular series in our library. Suitable for all ages.

From Goodreads: This is a tale of missing persons. Madeleine and her mother have run away from their former life, under mysterious circumstances, and settled in a rainy corner of Cambridge (in our world).

Elliot, on the other hand, is in search of his father, who disappeared on the night his uncle was found dead. The talk in the town of Bonfire (in the Kingdom of Cello) is that Elliot's dad may have killed his brother and run away with the Physics teacher. But Elliot refuses to believe it. And he is determined to find both his dad and the truth.

As Madeleine and Elliot move closer to unravelling their mysteries, they begin to exchange messages across worlds - through an accidental gap, a portal of sorts, that hasn't appeared in centuries, and it’s attached itself to a parking meter just outside Madeleine’s home.

I am a fan of the complete uniqueness of this clever fantasy trilogy filled with adorable characters who will appeal to those who love the Harry Potter cast. A complex plot, more suited mature readers.

 

The classic fantasy that has stood the test of time and continues to impact children everywhere. Narnia… the land beyond the wardrobe door, a secret place frozen in eternal winter, a magical country waiting to be set free. 

Suitable for all ages.

From Goodreads: It was 1798 when the Morningstarr twins arrived in New York with a vision for a magnificent city: towering skyscrapers, dazzling machines, and winding train lines, all running on technology no one had ever seen before, and powered by a secret cipher hidden within their creations. But after the Morningstarr’s disappeared, the puzzle was never solved, and the greatest mystery of the modern world became little more than a tourist attraction.

Tess and Theo Biedermann and their friend Jaime Cruz live in a Morningstarr apartment house—until a real estate developer announces that the city has agreed to sell him the five remaining Morningstarr buildings. And if Tess, Theo and Jaime want to save their home, they have to prove that the Old York Cipher is real. Which means they have to find the clues and solve it themselves. 

Suitable for all ages.

Suitable for mature readers only, Year 9/10 upwards. Contains offensive language and violence. (Think, Harry Potter - the first year of university days).

In the start of this  all-new series, Naomi Novik introduces us to a dangerous school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death – until one girl begins to rewrite its rules.

El Higgins is uniquely prepared for the school’s many dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out untold millions – never mind easily destroy the countless monsters that prowl the school. Except, she might accidentally kill all the other students, too. So El is trying her hardest not to use it... that is, unless she has no other choice.

From Goodreads: When Lyra's friend Roger disappears, she and her dæmon, Pantalaimon, determine to find him. The ensuing quest leads them to the bleak splendour of the North, where armoured bears rule the ice and witch-queens fly through the frozen skies - and where a team of scientists is conducting experiments too horrible to be spoken about.

Lyra overcomes these strange terrors, only to find something yet more perilous waiting for her - something with consequences which may even reach beyond the Northern Lights...

   

From Goodreads: Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she's blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks--and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday.

But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor.

It's then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city's most prestigious organization: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart - an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests - or she'll have to leave the city to confront her deadly fate.

We love the Nevermoor series at Pinehurst and have celebrated each new book on its release. This enchanting series is popular with all age groups, young or old.

From Goodreads: Denizen Hardwick is an orphan, and his life is, well, normal. Sure, in storybooks orphans are rescued from drudgery when they discover they are a wizard or a warrior or a prophesied king. But this is real life—orphans are just kids without parents. At least that’s what Denizen thought. . . .

On a particularly dark night, the gates of Crosscaper Orphanage open to a car that almost growls with power. The car and the man in it retrieve Denizen with the promise of introducing him to a long-lost aunt. But on the ride into the city, they are attacked. Denizen soon learns that monsters can grow out of the shadows. And there is an ancient order of knights who keep them at bay

A sinister fantasy that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Suitable for year 7 and 8 upwards. 

  

Eleven-year-old Casper Tock hates risks, is allergic to adventures and shudders at the thought of unpredictable events. So, it comes as a nasty shock to him when he accidentally stumbles into Rumblestar, an Unmapped Kingdom full of magical beasts. All Casper wants is to find a way home, but Rumblestar is in trouble

A fantastic novel suitable for all ages.

This is the story of a young boy Wizard and a young girl Warrior who have been taught to hate each other like poison; and the thrilling tale of what happens when their two worlds collide.

Once there was Magic, and the Magic lived in the dark forests. The Wizard boy, Xar, should have come in to his magic by now, but he hasn't, so he wants to find a witch and steal its magic for himself. But if he's got any chance of finding one, he will have to travel into the forbidden Badwoods. Xar doesn't realise he is about to capture an entirely different kind of enemy. A Warrior girl called Wish.  So good! Suitable all ages.

From Goodreads: When the mysterious Nowhere Emporium arrives in Glasgow, orphan Daniel Holmes stumbles upon it quite by accident. Before long, the 'shop from nowhere' -- and its owner, Mr Silver -- draw Daniel into a breathtaking world of magic and enchantment.

Recruited as Mr Silver's apprentice, Daniel learns the secrets of the Emporium's vast labyrinth of passageways and rooms -- rooms that contain wonders beyond anything Daniel has ever imagined.

But when Mr Silver disappears, and a shadow from the past threatens everything, the Emporium and all its wonders begin to crumble. Can Daniel save his home, and his new friends, before the Nowhere Emporium is destroyed forever?

Ross MacKenzie unleashes a riot of imagination, color and fantasy in this astonishing adventure, perfect for fans of Philip Pullman, Cornelia Funke and Neil Gaiman. 

Suitable all ages.

Other fabulous fantasy suggestions:

The School of Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke 

The Serpent's Secret by Sayantani DasGupta

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

The Uncommoners Series (The Crooked Sixpence) by Jennifer Bell

The Land of Roar by Jenny McLachlan