Categories: Best Books

Instead of Junie B. Jones

Miss Priss is a good little independent reader, but she is still at a stage where she needs 8-year old content, shorter chapter books, and simple plot lines. An obvious choice is Junie B. Jones, but the character bothers me. I want Miss Priss wants spunky book characters that are in the same vein as Junie B., but she also wants I want the character to use decent grammar.

Here are a few book suggestions that meet the decent grammar and spunky girl character criteria. Miss Priss reads them on her own, but we also spend time reading together several nights a week. I read a page aloud, and then my daughter takes a turn. It helps build her reading fluency without slowing the reading down so much that she loses momentum. It is also just a fun activity for the two of us.

1st grade+

  • No Dogs Allowed by Stephanie Calmenson and Joanna Cole
  • Just Grace series by Cherise Mericle Harper
  • Cam Jansen series by David A. Adler
  • Heidi Heckelbeck series by Wanda Coven
  • Ramona Quimby series by Beverly Cleary
  • The Never Girls series by Kiki Thorpe
  • Ivy and Bean series by Annie Barrows
  • Gooney Bird Greene series by Lois Lowry
  • My America: Meg’s Prairie Diary series by Kate McMullan
  • Hailey Twitch series by Lauren Barnholdt

4th grade+

  • Wide Awake Princess series by E.D. Baker
  • Ten Good and Bad Things About My Life (So Far) by Ann M. Martin
  • Destiny, Rewritten by Kathryn Fitzmaurice
  • The Magic Half by Annie Barrows
  • Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters by Lesley M. M. Blume
  • The Tail of Emily Windsnap series by Liz Kessler
  • Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
  • The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Sovern
  • Maggie Malone and the Mostly Magical Boots by Jenna McCarthy and Carolyn Evans
  • The Bread Winner by Arvella Whitmore
  • The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
  • A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  • Anastasia Krupnik by Lois Lowry
TheRoomMom

I am an educator. I am a little crafty; I like to make cupcakes, and I love projects. As my husband will tell you, these interests can quickly grow out of control when working on teacher gifts and class activities.

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  • A great book list for first grade+ that would be great hits for girls (not to sound sexist - my 1st grader son loves Junie B). Do you have a similar list that may inspire little boys? We have found the Dragon Slayer Academy series to be a lot of fun and at an appropriate reading level. We also like The Baily School Kids.

    • We loved Boxcar Children by Warner, Henry Huggins by Cleary, Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist by LaFevers, Sherlock Files by Barrett, Nate the Great by Sharmat, Stink by McDonald, Justin Case by Vail. Hope that will get you started while I work on a full list!

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