Kindergarten read aloud chapter books
These books are ment to be read aloud to children who are in kindergarten.
[1]
Star Jumper (Series)
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
highly recommended
This is the journal of a cardboard genius, Alex, who has a little brother who annoys him to the point that he decides to build a star ship (out of cardboard, it really works) so he can move to a different planet.
[2]
The End of the Beginning
illus. Tusa, Tricia
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
If you like Winnie the Pooh, or The Little Prince, you'll probably like this story, about a voyage of a snail and an ant on a branch of a tree. It is full of the philosophy that your kids will find humorous, but you will recognize as deep.
[3]
The Magical Ms. Plum
illus. Portnoy, Amy
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
highly recommended
Each time a child in Ms. Plum's class needs to learn a lesson, she sends them to fetch an item from her magical closet. An animal always follows the child and somehow, the lesson is learned. The book is original, though it reminds me a bit of Wayside Stories.
[4]
Soupy Saturdays with the Pain and the Great One
illus. Stevenson, James
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
audiobook CD
The Great One is the older sister, while Pain is the younger brother. This early chapter book tells growing up stories of these two siblings. The first person point of view changes, depending on the chapter, between the two siblings.
[5]
The Magician's Boy
illus. Riglietti, Serena
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
An adventure through fairy-tale realm, with some new twists on old stories.
[6]
Amber Brown (Series)
illus. Ross, Tony
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
Amber Brown is an imaginative third grader. In the first book, Amber Brown is not a Crayon, Amber deals with the issue of a best friend moving away.
[7]
Horace Splattly: The Cupcaked Crusader (Series)
illus. Gott, Barry
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
One way you can tell how much your kids like a book is how loud they cry when you close the book and announce bedtime. This book is exciting enough to elicit protests. It is exciting, action packed with a super hero, but mild enough to read to a young one. Each book contains a mystery that the listener can try to figure out (it is pretty obvious to the adult reader).
[8]
The Giggler Treatment
illus. Ajhar, Brian
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
Do you think it is funny when some one steps in dog poo? If so, you'll find this book funny. When a parent is mean to a child, the parent gets the giggler treatment: a day where he repeatedly steps in dog poo. The book is extremely off beat, which makes for a nice change.
[9]
Zero grandparents
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
A second grade class, in a magnet school, celebrates Grandparent Day. Calliope James's grandparents are not alive, and she finds a way to celebrate the day with her classmates.
[10]
The Hundred Dresses
illus. Slobodkin, Louis
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
highly recommended
This is a classic book about an immigrant Polish family who move into an narrow minded small town. The writing style is a little old, but it is worth reading and explaining the language to a young child.
[11]
Aliens for Breakfast (Series)
Etra, Jonathan; Spinner, Stephanie
illus. Bjorkman, Steve
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
An (good) alien arrives in Richard's morning cereal box and helps him save the world from an evil alien.
[12]
Tashi (Series)
illus. Gamble, Kim
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
Warning: although the Tashi stories are simple to understand, they are very much in the style of the old fairy tales. In this first volume, there is a Hansel and Gretal adaptation and it could be a little scary or graphic for some kids. Tashi is character and hero who currently lives in modern Australia, but previously lived in Feudal Japan. Each book in the series tells of Tashi's past adventures where he outsmarts an evil war lord or other villain The stories are clever, and short. This particular book contains the first 7 book in the series.
[13]
Pee-Wee's Tale
illus. Brewster, Patience
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
Pee-Wee, a pet guinea pig, is abandoned by his (human) family to live in Central Park. He befriends a squirrel named Lexi. Pee-Wee is a special guinea pig: he taught himself to read English. The story is a little on the slow side, but that makes it all the better for bedtime.
[14]
Gooney Bird Greene (Series)
illus. Thomas, Middy
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
A fun to read book about a feisty second grader.
[15]
Stink (Series)
illus. Reynolds, Peter
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
Stink is a second grader, younger brother to Judy Moody, who has her own series (see the kindergarten chapter book list). I personally like the Stink character more than his older sister. Maybe it's because of all the mean things Judy does to him.
[16]
The Dragon's Child
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
A little dragon falls off of his mother's back as they are fleeing danger (he is too young to fly). An orphan slave girl secretly cares for him until he grows and one day, saves her from danger. It is a good, simple adventure story that is not scary, but interesting and has some emotional depth.
[17]
The Littles (Series)
illus. Clark, Roberta Carter
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
These books are part of a series. Imagine little people living secret lives under our noses, in our houses. The littles look just like us except that they have tails.
[18]
Captain Underpants (Series)
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
highly recommended
If you know any little boys (or girls) or don't like listening (or reading) books, Captain Underpants is the book for them. Two boys distribute their Captain Underpants comic book. They get in serious trouble with the meanest principal. It turns out, that after hypnosis, the principal becomes a real Captain Underpants. He shoots bad guys by rubberbanding his underwear. So far I have read four books: my favorite is Professor Poopy Pants. Both you and your child will be laughing hysterically. Be sure to read this to girls also. Girls like adventure books also.
[19]
Tuk and the Whale
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
highly recommended
Takes place in the Canadian Arctic Circle in the 1600s. Europeans and Inuit collaborate to hunt bowhead whale, a very large dark-colored whale. The narrative is exciting, and from the point of view of an adolescent boy, Tuk. I thought the book was appropriate to read to a kindergardener, but they do kill whales in the story, and that is gruesome.
[20]
The Absent Author (A to Z Mysteries Series)
illus. Gurney, John Steven
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
A to Z Mysteries is a series of 26 little mystery books. The detectives are three kids who are very perseverant. As adult, I don't usually read mysteries, but for the child listener, they are like simple puzzles: can the child figure out the mystery? As you read this book to them, ask them questions about different clues. See if they can solve the mystery.
[21]
Marvin Redpost
illus. Hughes, Neal
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
highly recommended
Kidnapped at Birth is the first book of the Marvin Redpost series. Marvin, a third-grader, is a bright boy with a conscious. The books hold the attention of young children, even as young as four years old, yet appeal to the adult also. Many short novels that are suitable to be read aloud to young children purely plot driven, and many times, dry and predictable. Not so with Sachar: his books are truly literature for the young. Though we have rated them for the preschooler, even an adult will enjoy reading them, and so will older children. My two favorite books in the series are 'Why Pick On Me' and 'Alone In His Teachers House.'
[22]
The One and Only Stuey Lewis (series)
illus. Evans, Cambria
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
Stuey Lewis is a second grader with some anxiety. The book comprises four loosely tied short stories. In one, Stuey is anxious because he is not a very good reader. The strength of the book is in the teacher who is a model/perfect teacher. Kids really love books about school and this one teaches quite a few good lessons.
[23]
The Houdini Box
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
highly recommended
One could also classify this book as a picture book. This book tells a story of a little boy who idolizes the Great Houdini. The boy meets Houdini and is invited to learn some of his secrets, but never gets the chance....
[24]
Chocolate Fever
illus. Fiammenghi, Gioia
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
highly recommended
audiobook CD
Chocolate Fever is a great example of an excitingly, developed story that a really young listener could enjoy. A boy eats too much chocolate and gets a strange measles-like disease. He is on the run from the police when he meets a truck driver pulling---you guessed it---chocolate. The truck driver is a black man and racism is discussed. In America, today, racism and segregation against black people is not so public as it was years ago, so when reading this to a young child you should explain this when it comes up in the story.
[25]
Keena Ford and the Second Grade Mix-up
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
An honest mistakes makes Keena's teacher believe that Keena's birthday is in the first week of school. Keena doesn't correct the mistake and tries to lie herself out of the sticky situation.
[26]
The Box Car Children (Series)
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarten and up
A series of mysteries concerning four orphaned siblings. They run away, rather than go live with their grandfather and live in a boxcar (train). It was written using simple language so to be accessible to really young kids. It does read a little dated, so you will have to do some explaining to your kids.