Short chapter books are extremely important in the development of children’s reading. They are always short, with larger fonts and usually have illustrations to go with the book. They are a progression from picture books and usually children aged 5 and above will be able to start to read these. Here are some of my favourites.
Lenny Lemmon and the Invisible Rat
- Written By Ben Davis
- Illustrated by James Lancett
- Published by Nosy Crow
Lenny Lemmon is looking forward to Olden Days Day at school. It’s a chance to break the routine and try school as it was years ago. It explains the blackboard in the corner, his teacher’s bad temper and why his friend Sam looks like Oliver Twist.
Lenny’s pleased with his own contribution, too. It’s in a cardboard box at the back of the class at the moment because it’s not yet time to shine. Except it escapes and ends up in the bowl of sick, sorry, gruel, that Amelia Kelly has brought up, sorry, in.
Soon there are small, gruelly footprints all over the classroom and also a lot of screaming because the rat that Lenny found by the back of the chip shop is FREE. It takes the arrival of cool new girl, Jessica Conrad, to distract everyone. Jessica has a plan to catch the rat but it’ll cost them.
Can the three kids round up the rat before more damage is done? Or will they end up in the headmaster’s office – again. Maybe, but they’re going to need a bigger net…
School-based comedies are always a hit and this is a great example of how glorious, silly and pleasurable they can be. Bursting with hilarious hijinks, Lenny Lemon and the Invincible Rat serves up rodent mayhem in abundance with Ratty leading Lenny and friends on a carnage-filled chase around the school. There’s chaos in the classroom, pandemonium in the playground, a hullabaloo in the hall and karnage in the kitchen with plenty of gruel, flour and cheese thrown in for good measure.
The trio of kids are awesome; their friendship dynamic is so typical and will have children smiling knowingly. Lenny is full of crazy ideas, all action Jess is more than happy to bring big and often misguided plans to fruition, and then there’s sensible Sam. Lenny’s first-person narration is spot on. His authentic voice will easily resonate with children as he passes comment on all of the school goings-on.
Lenny Lemmon and the Trail of Crumbs
I am lucky enough to have a therapy dog come to my school on a Wednesday afternoon, but after reading this book I am now really worried.
When an important visitor turns up at school one day, Lenny and his friends are surprised to find themselves sent to the back field to count the footballs and tidy up the bibs. The school dog, Crumbs, has been sent there too. He’s quite a lively dog and prone to over-enthusiasm. Suddenly they realise it’s all a ruse to keep them away from the guest! Furious, and not a little hurt, our heroes rush into school, demanding answers and an apology. The subsequent encounter (chase) with the important visitor nearly brings down the school. But, of course, Lenny and friends, with the help of the enthusiastic Crumbs, save the day and show everyone that Fleurwood Academy is the place to be!
This is such a fun book to read, it’s non-stop action that will have you laughing out loud. Set in a school teachers and children will all be able to relate to these characters, From experience every school has characters like these.
It’s 153 pages long, with a larger font, and some of the front is large and in your face. The font is also fun to read. There are large fun illustrations that bring the story to life. I’m looking forward to reading the next one.
Unicorn Academy- Sophia’s Invitation
- Published By Nosy Crow
This is the first book in the new Netflix series.
At Unicorn Academy, Sophia can’t wait to discover her destiny and become a Unicorn Rider. First, she must bond with Wildstar to unlock the unicorn’s magical powers.
But evil Queen Ravenzella wants to destroy Unicorn Island, the academy and its unicorns. Will Sophia and her new friends have the courage to fight to protect everything they love?
Imagine a school where your best friend is a unicorn. Unicorn Academy, a boarding school, where pupils and unicorns learn to work as a team to protect their home on the wonderful Unicorn Island.
This is a great series, this is more for the older reader (7yrs+) This has a great storyline and many books in the series.
Mermaid Academy: Maya and Rainbow
- Written by Julie Sykes and Linda Chapman
- Illustrations by Lucy Truman
Hidden deep beneath the waves is Mermaid Academy, a magical school where mermaids are paired with their very own dolphin and must discover their unique mermaid magic, with plenty of adventure along the way!
Maya loves studying at Mermaid Academy. She just wishes her playful dolphin, Rainbow, would take school seriously too. But when they get lost on a school trip and Maya can’t magic a Bubble Tunnel home, things get very serious indeed! Can their friends find them before a sea monster does?
This series is very popular and is ideal for children who love magic and mermaids. With just over 100 pages children will get a story full of mystery and adventure. There are big illustrations throughout the book.
Mermaid Academy: Cora and Sparkle
- Written By Julie Sykes and Linda Chapman
- Illustrated by Lucy Truman
- Published by Nosy Crow
Another magical book in this popular series
Hidden deep beneath the waves is Mermaid Academy, a magical school where mermaids are paired with their very own dolphin and must discover their unique mermaid magic, with plenty of adventure along the way! Cora loves all ocean animals, but there’s something strange about the creature she spots stealing jewels from the school’s coral walls. With Sparkle’s help, she follows it to a mysterious cave. Then the tide starts to turn… Can Cora and Sparkle escape before their water runs out?
This is a very enjoyable story.
Princess Minna Series
Princess Minna is a full-colour, illustrated chapter book series from Kirsty Applebaum and Sahar Haghgoo.
Princess Minna lives in Castle Tall-Towers with the King and Queen, Raymond the Wizard and her best dragon friend, Lorenzo. There are often mix-ups and mishaps in the kingdom and Princess Minna loves to sort them out! She can tame unicorns, kiss frogs and fight dragons and she is very good at fixing things before it’s time for bed.
In The Enchanted Forest, Princess Minna has to wake a sleeping prince before nightfall. But along the way, she finds a swan, an old lady and a very fluffy sheep – all of them in a fix! Can she help them and still reach the prince before sundown?
In The Unicorn Mix-Up, Princess Minna is so tired she gets a bit muddled and fights a unicorn, kisses a dragon and tries to tame a frog – which won’t do at all! Can she sort it all out and make a new friend along the way?
In THE BEST PRINCESS- Minna comes across a rival Princess.can they become friends
In THE BIG SNOW DAY- snow has hit the kingdom, of course it means alot of fun but then she meets a wolf,
And in THE WICKED WOOD- Minna goes into the wicked wood, but what will she find.All these books are about 90 pages long, each page is colourful with colourful illustrations throughout.
I look forward to finding out about more titles in the series.
Magic Faces series
- Written by Esi Merleh
- Illustrations by Abaaha Tariq
- Published by Uclan
Twins Austin and Alanna live with their Aunt Kessie. Life is pretty normal, until they find a set of magic face paints. Soon they are setting off on fantastic adventures across space and time! But on their exciting journeys, can they avoid danger and still get home in time.
These are a beautiful series of 3 books, they are very colourful, with an amazing story, they are also very short books to read.
Titles in the series include Heroes of the pirates, Superhero mega mission and Monster Mayhem.
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