Although children are starting to read on their own by age 6 to 7, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of still reading aloud to them. For most children in this age range, their reading level will lag behind their comprehension level. Reading aloud bridges the gap and provides them with more complex ideas and themes to mull over then they would otherwise receive. Of course, reading aloud also provides a perfect opportunity to discuss the books!
So you’ll find two lists here, really: one to read aloud and one for your child to read alone.
If you happen to have a particularly advanced reader or listener who blazes through the books on this list, I recommend moving on to my list Good Books for… Catholic 8 to 9 year olds .
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Books to Read Aloud
The Squire and the Scroll
The Kitchen Knight: A Tale of King Arthur
Margaret Hodges also has a retelling of Saint George and the Dragon
is story can be seen as an allegory of the fight against temptation and the devil. This story also offers a great lesson in perseverance as George continues his battle despite the seeming impossibility of his task.
Roses in the Snow: A Tale of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
My 6 and 7 year olds always enjoy exploring the sea with Graeme Base’s colorful The Sign Of The Seahorse poem and picture book. A neat introduction to stories told in verse form.
In The Attic Saint, a young boy from a faithless family finds an ancient icon in the attic of his new house. Somehow, he knows the painting is special and will change his life forever.
Catholic Tales for Boys and Girls
The “Life of a Saint” series provides engagingly illustrated and engagingly written biographies of famous saints from Francis: The Poor Man of Assisi
Saints Tell Their Stories
Combine a fun quest type story with math and you get: Sir Cumference! Join Sir Cumference, his wife Lady Di of Ameter, and their son Radius on a series of math-themed adventures. Super creative and fun way to reinforce math concepts!
Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book 1
The Milly-Molly-Mandy Storybook
Although you may think The Complete Tales of Winnie-The-Pooh
The Happy Little Family series chronicles episodes in the lives of an early American family, the Fairchilds. Beautifully written, with characters that jump off the page, these four books are very enjoyable read alouds with great lessons and vivid descriptions of nineteenth century life on a farm in Kentucky. For example, in a chapter of the first book, Happy Little Family
The Happy Hollisters
The Boxcar Children Books 1-4
Mr. Popper’s Penguins
The Uncle Wiggily Bedtime Stories are easy enough to read that you can usually trade pages with an average 6-7 year old reader and get in some extra reading practice at bedtime!
For more ideas of read alouds for 6-7 year olds, check out my list The Best Classic Chapter Books to Read Aloud to the Littlest Listeners. Or check out my list Good Book Series to read aloud to a Catholic Family.
I also highly recommend delving deep into Fairy Tales and Fables at this age!
Books for your 6-7 year old to Read Independently
I love the simple humor of Cynthia Rylant’s Mr. Putter and Tabby series. Not only do these books offer lessons in friendship and kindness, they show children that elderly people can be funny, happy, sad, or lonely too. You will love kind hearted Mr. Putter and his fine cat Tabby, and smile at his eccentric neighbor Mrs. Teaberry and her crazy dog Zeke. Some of our favorites are Mr. Putter & Tabby Walk the Dog
For more easy readers for an emergent reader, check out my post Good Easy Readers for Catholic Kids!
The Billy And Blaze
The Gospel Time-Trekkers series from Pauline Books and Media is a fun Catholic series for early readers.Shepherds to the Rescue (Gospel Time Trekkers)
Devotional Stories for Little Folks
For a more advanced reader, The Littles
For more ideas of easy first-reader style books, check out my list of Good Easy Readers for Catholic Kids.
I also recommend checking out my list for 4-5 year olds for other books your 6-7 year old will enjoy practicing reading.
If you have a very early reader who is ready for more chapter books, move onto my list Good Books for… Catholic 8 to 9 year olds!