From Picture Books to Chapter Books: Bridging the Gap
What is a parent to do when their child is a bit too old to enjoy listening to The Cat in the Hat for the eight thousandth time but lacks the ability to read and grasp a full-fledged novel like Anne of Green Gables?
As a mother, I hit that roadblock with each of my four children, and each child was unique in the specifics of how they did (or did not) want to move to chapter books and full novels. I had to get creative. No way would I let them miss out on literary gems and, more importantly, the crucial literacy skills that independent reading would give them in school and in life.
I’ll go into more tips for how I got them reading in future posts, but today, I want to focus on one of the most widely available tools: what I call “bridge” books: titles significantly longer than your average picture book, but with large text, usually some pictures, and both stories and characters made with younger readers in mind.
Most often, these books are officially called “chapter books” (or “early chapter books”) to distinguish them from picture books. These books are aimed at emerging readers just getting their reading legs under them. Most chapter books are for children ages six to about ten.
Early chapter books are often annoying to adults, whether it’s because some characters use…
