August 2025
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    Looking for suggestions for a five-year-old who needs a reading challenge without developmentally inappropriate content.

    She’s been reading Dragon Masters, Magic Treehouse, Boxcar Children, Kingdom of Wrenly, etc.

    On days where she is not in school, she will tear through 8-10 books a day. I suspect that she needs something that is a more challenging read, but I also want to avoid content that isn’t appropriate for her age (not interested in romance, teen issues, etc.)

    Death is fine if it’s not too graphic. Harry Potter would be okay with me. Many classics have already been read or are on hold at the library.

    Thank you!

    by Flashy_Head_4465

    6 Comments

    1. AdvertisingPhysical2 on

      Bailey School Kids was a favorite for me around that age, and there’s like 40+ books in the series

    2. boxed_kangaroo on

      i was almost the exact same as a kid and loved similar books! i’d recommend: the penderwicks, nancy drew (has the potential to be dark at times but is generally good), inkheart (may be a little advanced but should keep her busy), the mysterious benedict society, goose girl, princess academy, and other books in those series or by those authors (like the inkheart series has three books, shannon hale has multiple books)

    3. InvertedJennyanydots on

      Has she done all the Beverly Cleary oeuvre yet?

      More modern: Merci Suarez books, Flora and Ulysses, The One and Only Ivan, The Tale of Despereaux, Crenshaw, the Penderwick books, the Mr. Lemoncello books – these are all at a somewhat higher reading level than what you mentioned but should be manageable if those are not challenging for her and she’s getting through them with speed

      More serialized books similar to what she’s been reading but maybe just a bit up on the reading level would be things like the American Girl series or even Baby-sitters Club

    4. broken_bouquet on

      I believe I read through the Dear America series in elementary school! Also, Bloomability was one of my favorite reads.

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