Clean secular books for little girls

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Forum -> Parenting our children -> School age children

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mompower

Mon, Mar 14 2016, 11:37 pm

I got her the Betsy series and The little house series.

Any more ideas?

Thanks lots!

Mon, Mar 14 2016, 11:59 pm

Age? Reading level? Interests?

mompower

Tue, Mar 15 2016, 12:14 am

She's in second grade.

She loves reading but doesn't do well with any kind of violence.

tigerwife

Tue, Mar 15 2016, 12:14 am

Classics: The Secret Garden, A Little Princess

All of the American Girl books.

The Last of the Really Great Wangdoodles

Edward Eager's books

ETA: these books are a little advanced for a second grader, but if she's a vivacious reader, she should enjoy them.

trixx

Tue, Mar 15 2016, 12:21 am

secrets of droon, magic treehouse - these are same level
nancy drew (the original) or the nancy drew notebooks, for younger readers
royal diaries - historical fiction series of princesses. may be more like 3rd-4th grade don't remember

Skippy!!

Tue, Mar 15 2016, 12:28 am

Baby Sitters Little Sitters - Karen
The Box Car Children
Full House - Michelle
Sweet Valley KIDS
Beverly Cleary Set - Ramona...
Charlottes Web

spring13

Tue, Mar 15 2016, 12:52 am

Is she on a 2nd grade reading level or above? Because a lot of the books people are suggesting are beyond what I'd hand to a 2nd grader unless I knew she was davka a good reader.

Try Clementine or Ivy+Bean.

gold21

Tue, Mar 15 2016, 1:12 am

I just want to mention that I personally was not happy with the Clementine series. I found the writing style boring, and there are definitely some references to girlfriend/boyfriend, which I felt was unnecessary for a 2nd/3rd grader.

My recommendations would be the Cam Jansen series, the Magic Tree House series, and Roald Dahl's The Giraffe The Pelly and Me (its the simplest Roald Dahl book, and its clean and age appropriate).

Depending on how advanced your daughters reading level is, you can get the Pippi Longstocking books and there's also a funny series called Gooney Bird Greene that is written by Lois Lowry. Those 2 series are of a slightly higher reading level than the other ones I mentioned first and therefore may be more appropriate for a 3rd grader. It really depends on her reading level.

seeker

Tue, Mar 15 2016, 2:25 am

Second grade:
A to Z Mysteries
Cam Jansen
Beverly Cleary - I think most of the series would appeal more to 3-4th grade, if she has older taste then you can try those. But the books that stand more alone or have just 2 about the same character, there are a bunch with more 2nd grade appeal. Hard to think offhand but maybe Mitch and Amy, Socks. Very clean and on a younger level.
Magic School Bus books

I haven't gone through it for cleanliness but Ivy and Bean seems sweet and seems like a more up-to-date equivalent of the more dated Betsy type books.

I'm blanking out (haven't been in 2nd in a while...) but a lot of the ones mentioned above seem to me to have more older appeal. Even if a child is technically capable of reading at a higher level you want to be attuned to their interest and sophistication because reading things that are not on their level can get boring. 7-year-olds typically don't enjoy old-fashioned books as much as older readers might - or might not, depends on personality, but in my experience 7-year-olds TEND to enjoy more things that relate to their type of life and age-appropriate fantasy.

RachelEve14

Tue, Mar 15 2016, 3:29 am

Judy Blume has a couple for younger readers. The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo and Freckle Juice off the top of my head. I think both are about a second grade level.

Gerbera

Tue, Mar 15 2016, 5:03 am

My daughter is in grade 2 but a voracious reader so I'm not sure of reading levels but I have to agree with posters above that several of the books mentioned are not for that age level at all.

My kids school uses Freckle Juice by Judy Blume as the grade 2 book study book.

Nate the Great series
Cam Jansen series
Ivy and Bean
The Littles series
Judy Moody books
Amelia Bedelia chapter books
Flat Stanley chapter books
Books by Johanna Hurwitz

My daughter reads the following but these are not for that reading level. Just mentioning in case yours is a strong reader as well. If she can read Little House books then she is beyond a grade 2 level!

Enid Blyton books
Boxcar Children
Some of the older Gordan Korman books such as I Want to Go Home and No Coins Please
All of a Kind Family books
Amber Brown books
Encyclopedia Brown books
The chocolate touch
Chocolate fever
How to eat fried worms
Harriet the Spy
Mrs Piggle Wiggle
Magic School Bus chapter books
Possibly some Andrew Clements books

imasinger

Tue, Mar 15 2016, 6:23 am

I also like the older books, which often have a bigger vocabulary, and some sense of moral grounding closer to a frum lifestyle.

The Oz books
Old Mother West Wind stories
Five Little Peppers

the world's best mom

Tue, Mar 15 2016, 7:19 am

Junie B. Jones books are hilarious and are on around a second grade level.

gold21

Tue, Mar 15 2016, 8:09 am

Gerbera wrote:

Oh yes, the Littles series and the Flat Stanley series are perfect for second grade!

Ivy + Bean looked good when I read up on it online at one point, but for some reason I thought it would be better for girls than boys, I dont remember why, maybe the main charachters are girls? So I didnt get it. So it should be good for your daughter.

mompower

Tue, Mar 15 2016, 3:01 pm

Thanks for all the ideas!

Just placed an order on Amazon. Can't wait to see the look on her face when she opens the box!

seeker

Tue, Mar 15 2016, 4:01 pm

I hate Junie B Jones. Nasty attitude. I have loved plenty of books that take the kids' side and look critically at the adults, but they don't have that extremely chutzpadik tone. Like Clements, but that is for older kids. Gooney Bird that someone mentioned earlier might be what you'd consider a clean equivalent for a similar age, and very clever and cute. I think I recall having a similarly poor impression of Judy Moody but I'm not as familiar with it, Junie B I have seen altogether too much of.

Littles is appropriate for that age.

goodmorning

Tue, Mar 15 2016, 4:19 pm

The "B is for Betsy" series (by Carolyn Haywood) is another oldie but goodie.

queenert

Tue, Mar 15 2016, 5:44 pm

Aw, feeling nostalgic now!!!

Chinuch.org has a book list - they read secular books and rate them (with explanations so if you're ok with chutzpah but not negiah, for example, you can make your own decisions). It's a great resource.

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