Wednesday, April 18, 2012

A First Grader Reads About A First Grader

Kids usually like to read about kids who are older than they are, at least in my experience.  I'm not sure whether it's because it makes them feel more grown-up or because it allays (or creates) any worries they have about the next grade or stage... or something else entirely.  But maybe this rule doesn't hold true for the younger set, because right now my first grader is really enjoying books about a fellow first grader: the Princess Posey series by Stephanie Greene.



With its short chapters, large text, realistic plots and illustrations every few pages, these books fill that all-too-large gap between early readers (boring!) and middle grade fiction.  The stories are sweet but not saccharine, the text and plots simple but not boring.  Posey faces the fears and anxieties of many a first-grader and navigates social relationships in way my daughter could relate to.  And although Posey secretly becomes Princess Posey when she wears her special pink tutu, being a princess here is empowering.  Long live Princess Posey!

2 comments:

  1. With my boys, it's more like an "and" rule. They enjoy reading books about kids a few years older, AND still like reading books about peers. Actually, they'll still read books a few years down, especially if it's a series they remember from their "youth."

    I just read two more Mr Putter and Tabby books with my fifth grader (we did shared reading, each taking a side of the book, for old time's sake), and then the seventh grader took them to bed for part of his before-sleep reading.

    Last year the older kid read the first Princess Posey book on my NOOK and gave it an OK rating, but "too pink." It was a Cybils finalist, and he's usually willing to read about anything I put in front of him. I just look up the Posey books and I thought she wasn't active enough -- I mentioned that I thought it brightened things up when she poked a boy with a stick. It probably does work better at the appropriate age, although maybe she'll come back to it with nostalgia when she's as ancient as my ten year old.

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  2. This sounds super cute! I think my little first grader would like this, too. Time for a trip to the library! :)

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