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