A new kind of chapter book series for young readers
I have a new project burning a small fire in the back of my mind …
Do you have early readers in your home? We’ve been laboring to cultivate a love for reading with our kids, and it’s propelled us (a bit unprepared!) into the world of insatiable appetites for books.
As I patrol the public library aisles, scouring the shelves for age-appropriate chapter book series for young readers that my son would enjoy listening to and reading, I realize that we’re soon going to exhaust the few series that I’ve discovered (and approved).
Recommended books?
So, firstly, I’d love to hear your recommendations!
Note: I’m using affiliate links for the books that I’m mentioning here. You can read my full disclosure and privacy policy here.
We’ve loved Cam Jansen (example: Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds
I’m hoping to avoid books like Captain Underpants and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
I’ve noticed a lot of short chapter book series are strongly geared towards girls (NOT that boys couldn’t enjoy them – just that it would be nice to find more high quality books that are not aimed at either gender in particular).
An age-appropriate, page-turning adventure book series for young readers
And, secondly, I have a little dream.
To meet the need of early readers who want to read short chapter books but may not be ready for the “mature” content of most series currently on the market, I’d like to write a series of young adult / children’s fiction (aiming at a 4-10 year old interest level) that would meet the following criteria:
Realistic scenarios and characters
- It needs to be intriguing enough to maintain interest and compel new readers forward, but not full of overblown drama that’s disproportionate to real life – I would love to find (and/or write) adventure books for kids that are different from the vast majority of kids’ t.v. shows where every episode is one intense melodramatic conflict after another and every problem gets conveniently solved within the same time frame through completely unrealistic means and larger-than-life characters. We watch our fair share of these, to be honest, and I’m not proposing abandoning ship on such shows or books, but … I would love to help provide our next generation with entertainment that is both educational (hence, the reading thing) and that portrays realistic, intriguing characters who face real-life joys and conflicts and learn to problem solve constructively and creatively. I know that’s a tall order for a kid’s book, but I have some plots and characters slowly coming to life that just might be up for the challenge.
No bullying!
- Along with the first point, I’d like to write a book series where bullying is not a main theme. I know there’s a place in literature for valuable lessons on dealing with bullies, but most of the book series I see already address this, and I’d actually prefer to not expose my very young reader to some of the harassment that comes through in those pages. I would much rather see my son read books about kids facing challenges that come through normal interactions with others or from struggling to work together to invent something or solve a mystery – books that focus on creativity rather than negative relationships.
Age-appropriate conflict and plausible resolutions
- Since my main impetus at this point is to write a chapter book series for young readers, I want to create content that is age-appropriate. For example, we’ve been loving the Cam Jansen series – even though the main characters are in 5th grade (if I remember correctly), there’s nothing inappropriate or inaccessible for 4-5 year olds (besides the issue of Cam following thieves to their homes without an adult present – we definitely talk about that as we read the books!). Most series and classics that I’m very eager to start reading with my kids address things that are fine for a slightly older audience, but I find myself filtering as I read them aloud to my 4 year old. (For instance, the descriptions of slaughtering animals for food in Charlotte’s Web and Little House on the Prairie are a bit too intense for my kids at this stage – it’s a personal choice and some families are totally fine with it, but I know that my kids wouldn’t handle it well, so we avoid those scenes for now. While I don’t shy away from hard conversations or historical events (which often come naturally loaded with trials and tribulations), I do want to be respectful of this precious and short phase of childhood innocence by slowly introducing topics about death, torture, terror, disease, etc. Next year may be a different story, but for now, he’s 4 and I want to let him be 4 while still finding fun books to read that won’t destroy his delicate fantasy of a lovely world. #romanticatheart
Universal (though potentially idyllic) childhood experiences
- I’d like to write books that are not based around a school setting, but rather portrays a much more universal experience of childhood and imagination – of kids living creatively, freely, happily, and in mixed-age friendship groups (whether they go to school behind the scenes or not). Most of the children’s chapter books that I’ve seen are centered around school experiences, and I think it would be really neat for homeschooled kids to read books where the focus is on life and adventures and discoveries and relationships rather than school, bullies, pressures to compete, and conflicts with teachers. I’m honestly not trying to imply anything negative here about those books or the school system (although, to be honest, I do have a lot to say on those topics that I’m not saying here) but I do hope to swing the pendulum the other way a little bit when it comes to characters in books for young readers.
A fascinating story line without relying on fantasy or magic
- I think it’s very possible to write an interesting adventure book series for young readers that doesn’t involve magic or fantasy, and I’d like to try my hand at it. I’m undecided, however, on whether I will include imaginary characters, like anthropomorphic animal societies … any feedback about your preference on that front would be helpful! I don’t know yet how set I am on making these characters true-to-life positive “role models” or whether I’m willing to sacrifice some of that element for the sake of creating an entertaining imaginary world. I’m not opposed to the latter – it may end up being a separate series though.
Characters who are heroic in their creative efforts
- I want to create characters who have a healthy self-image and confidence, are empathetic towards others, are creative thinkers and “tinker-ers”, and who model a positive growth mindset, not giving up on themselves or their ideas. (I suppose, in a nutshell, I want to create characters that my own children will want to emulate and become. Sorry, dear future children of mine who may be reading this someday – I’m still a naïve and hopeful mother of preschoolers 😉. I love you always, no matter what. <3 )
But can I write a book?
Valid question. I believe I can. 🙂 I double-majored in Math and English (with an emphasis on creative writing) before getting my Masters in Teaching. I’ve written several short stories, poems, attempted longer novels (with varying degrees of success), started 4 blogs, and am in the process of writing a book about my experiences teaching high school math. I’ve been playing with the idea for several years of writing young adult fiction, and my passion for this project is growing as my own children are learning to read and I’m finding it difficult to offer them high quality reading material.
Would you like to follow along?
Would you be interested in reading this kind of chapter book series for young readers with your own children, once the books get boots on the ground?
I’ll be sharing snippets and early releases and free samples with anyone who would like to follow the process – you can sign up here to be added to my email list specifically for this book series, and I will only email you when I have updates about this. If you’re already on my mailing list, this won’t add you twice. If you’d like to receive these notifications, you can sign up using the form below.
Disclaimer: I can’t predict a time frame for this project, but since it is percolating and getting a bit of traction in my little world, I’d love to start sharing it and gathering feedback and opinions on the idea! I’ll update this post once I have more info to provide.
[convertkit form=5166312]
If you would like to additionally be added to my newsletter list, sent 2-4 times a month, you can use the sign-up form below.
If you’d like to check out my 5-post series on helping kids learn to love reading, writing, and story-telling, you can follow any of these links:
- Cultivating a love for reading and writing
- Creative writing with kids, part 1
- Creative writing with kids, part 2
- Storytelling Activities
- 5 Reasons to encourage storytelling
I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback about this! Feel free to reply in the comments or send me an email at sandra@realworldlearners.com.
