The Secret Garden

by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Lexile: 970

One tip I've found, when searching for appropriate books for my accelerated reader, is to go back to the classics. The Secret Garden is perfect. A beautifully-written combination of adventure and fantasy, this story draws children in as the story comes to life. An orphaned, spoiled child named Mary comes to live in a dark, brooding house in rural England. She discovers an abandoned garden and begins the process of helping it to bloom again.

After reading this book, my son wanted to talk about all the flowers we saw in town, and he asked many questions about Dicken and his remarkable bond with animals. It's a gentle story with many layers; children will go back to it again and again. I recommend the remarkably illustrated version by Inga Moore, whose drawings feel as if they've always been associated with the story.

My son first read this book at age 5. There are some exciting plot twists, but nothing overtly scary.

The Mysterious Benedict Society

Lexile: not listed, but about 800-900

The Mysterious Benedict Society is a wonderful kid-centered adventure. An orphaned child sees an ad in the newspaper: Wanted: Extraordinary children. He shows up for the exam and is drawn into a world where children are the most important piece in a plan to overthrow an odious leader who is invading the country through subliminal messages in technology.

This book is exciting and scary and un-putdownable. Its themes are likely too advanced for very young readers, but slightly more mature readers will find the adventure fast-paced, the story well-told, and the vocabulary appropriately challenging. My son read this at age 6 1/2 and promptly turned back to the beginning and read it again.

The Hobbit

by J R R Tolkien

Lexile: 1000
Subjects: fantasy, adventure

I just gave this to my 6-year-old wondering whether he'd like it.

I barely saw him the rest of the day.

The Hobbit is a wonderfully elaborate tale of redemption, adventure, and self-exploration. Something resonated with him in this reading. I wondered if we should've read it together first, but he seemed to do well. I wouldn't have had him read it much before now (he's close to 7)

My Father's Dragon

By Ruth Gannett


Lexile: 990
Subjects: Adventure, Fantasy, Animals, Dragons


In My Father's Dragon , a young boy tells about the adventures his father (Elmer Elevator) had as he tried to rescue a baby dragon. This is a great book for young readers who are getting used to reading chapter books; it only has 86 pages and lots of black & white illustrations, but the vocabulary is challenging and the story line is compelling. Plus, there are two additional books in this series: Elmer and the Dragon (Lexile: 800) and The Dragons of Blueland (Lexile: 810). This book was a 1948 Newbery Honor book.

You can even read this book online from the Digital Library at the University of Pennsylvania:
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/gannett/dragon/dragon.html

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

by Roald Dahl

Lexile: 810
Subjects: childhood, friendship, adventure

Dahl's classic story about adventure within the walls of a clandestine chocolate factory is deeply satisfying to children. I worried a bit about Dahl's over-the-top style for a younger reader, but my son inhaled this book at age 4 without a problem. The sequel, "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator," is scarier with its outer-space characters and is probably better for slightly older readers.

Little House in the Big Woods

by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Lexile: 930
Topics: pioneer life, family

My son first started this book at age 4, but couldn't continue reading it. He was frightened by the idea of the wolf at the door, and it took some processing for him to realize that there were no wolves near our home in the city! We put it away for a few months and he completed it before he turned 5, with no further concerns on his part. But this is a classic, beautiful book about family, love, hard work, and the intricacies of pioneer life. The whole series (through Little Town on the Prairie, when the books become increasingly relationship-oriented) have been well-read in our house.

Shadrach

by Meindert DeJong

Lexile: 710
Subjects: childhood, friendship

This is a wonderful book about a Dutch boy's anticipation of Shadrach, his black rabbit, and his experiences with the rabbit when he finally arrives. DeJong captures the innocence and questioning of childhood in phrases with which children deeply resonate.

My son read this book first at age 4; there are no frightening topics.