A short history

Bookmonster and sister playing Reading Eggs 

The Bookmonster started reading around the time she turned 3. We're not exactly sure when ... she was so good at memorising entire books, she had us fooled.  At 3, however, she started one day a week in a beautiful Montessori children's house, and in her second week came back with her first reader.

It took her about a month to move from "I am Sam" to children's books.

By three and half, when she started Montessori school proper, she was on beginner readers (level 5).  By the end of her first year (2009), she had "levelled out" the entire range and moved on to chapter books.  Aussie Nibbles and Aussie Bites are generally a good ranges, but the content can be uneven, and in some cases, the books are uninspiring.

And lets not talk about PegLegMeg, when the Bookmonster came out of her room with a worried look on her face.

"Mummy, what does 'torture' mean."

Oh dear.

And so I learnt to vett her reading quite carefully.  I peruse all the books from the library quite carefully, looking at content first, and language second.  There are lots of worthy, uplifting books, but some have the most boring language.  Others are too scary.

We have a number of reliable series that we hunt down everything published.  They are:

* The Secrets of Droon series by Tony Abbott
* The Magic Ballerina series by Darcey Bussell
* Doll Hospital by Joan Holub (excellent use of historical themes)
* The Magic Treehouse series by Mary Pope Osborne
* Pony Pals by Jeanne Betancourt
* Bonnie and Sam books by Alison Lester
* Matilda Mudpuddle by Gordon Winch.

Annika also loves Tashi,  by Anna Fienberg et al, but I am uncomfortable with some of the content.  It verges on a bit too scary at times, and I spend a lot of time convincing the BookMonster that certain things are Most Definitely Not Real. Fantasy is a somewhat disputed area in Montessori theory, but generally is not favoured for young children, and the 5yo tendency to overdose on fairies and magic has to be carefully balanced with reality.  We love how the Magic Treehouse books mix fantasy with historical themes, and Pony Pals and Bonnie and Sam manage to deliver good strong female role models doing lots of healthy, outdoorsy stuff.  Bonnie and Sam, of course, get major props for being Australian, as does Matilda Mudpuddle.