Kindergarten read aloud chapter books
[1]
The Magical Ms. Plum
illus. Portnoy, Amy
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden 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.
Recently Added
[2]
Nathaniel Fludd Beastologist (Series)
illus. Murphy, Kelly
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden and up
A beastologist is someone who studies and cares for strange, magical beasts (and beasts that everyone things are already extinct) like the dodo bird and phoenix.
Recently Added
[3]
The Hundred Dresses
illus. Slobodkin, Louis
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden 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.
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[4]
Star Jumper (Series)
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden 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.
[5]
The End of the Beginning
illus. Tusa, Tricia
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden 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.
[6]
Ivy and Bean
illus. Blackall, Sophie
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden and up
Ivy and Bean are two little girls who like to get into trouble. Note: some parents get upset when the protagonist sets a bad example for their children. If you look at the Amazon reviews for this book, most people love it, but a few people hated the bad behavior and role models.
[7]
Soupy Saturdays with the Pain and the Great One
illus. Stevenson, James
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden 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.
[8]
The Magician's Boy
illus. Riglietti, Serena
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden and up
An adventure through fairy-tale realm, with some new twists on old stories.
[9]
Space Brat 1: Space Brat
illus. Coville, Katherine
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden and up
This is the first book in the Space Brat series. Blork is an alien from the planet Splat, who has the best tantrums in the universe. He desperately tries to avoid erupting in a tantrum, but in the end, his tantrums are what saves him. The Space Brat series is a good introduction to science fiction for a preschooler.
[10]
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 
illus. Blake, Quentin
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden and up
audiobook CD
A great book for beginning read-aloud chapter books. Charlie wins a ticket to visit the most spectacular chocolate factory in the world.
[11]
James and the Giant Peach
illus. Blake, Quentin
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden and up
audiobook CD
A great book for beginning read-aloud chapter books. James escapes from a wretched life (being raised by his two aunts) in a giant peach, along with some rather large, but friendly, insects.
[12]
Amber Brown (Series)
illus. Ross, Tony
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden 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.
[13]
Horace Splattly: The Cupcaked Crusader (Series)
illus. Gott, Barry
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden 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).
[14]
The Giggler Treatment
illus. Ajhar, Brian
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden 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.
[15]
Zero grandparents
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden 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.
[16]
Aliens for Breakfast (Series)
Etra, Jonathan; Spinner, Stephanie
illus. Bjorkman, Steve
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden and up
An (good) alien arrives in Richard's morning cereal box and helps him save the world from an evil alien.
[17]
Fox Eyes
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden and up
A story about how a boy and a fox trade places for a little while.
[18]
Pee-Wee's Tale
illus. Brewster, Patience
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden 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.
[19]
Gooney Bird Greene (Series)
illus. Thomas, Middy
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden and up
A fun to read book about a feisty second grader.
[20]
Stink (Series)
illus. Reynolds, Peter
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden 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.
[21]
The Dragon's Child
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden 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.
[22]
The Littles (Series)
illus. Clark, Roberta Carter
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden 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.
[23]
Captain Underpants (Series)
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden 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.
[24]
Tuk and the Whale
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden 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.
[25]
The Absent Author (A to Z Mysteries Series)
illus. Gurney, John Steven
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden 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.
[26]
Marvin Redpost
illus. Hughes, Neal
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden 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.'
[27]
The Houdini Box
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden 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....
[28]
Chocolate Fever
illus. Fiammenghi, Gioia
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden 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.
[29]
Keena Ford and the Second Grade Mix-up
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden 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.
[30]
The Box Car Children (Series)
chapter book
read-aloud kindergarden 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.