#ReadItMD13 Theme Week - "Early Chapter Books - Bridging the gap between Pictures and Words"

A firm favourite - "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White

Picture books are brilliant. Picture books are our everyday staple fodder but we also like to pepper our reading with early reader chapter books and so that's the thinking behind our #ReadItMD13 Theme Week this week.

It's very difficult to wean children off the reasoning that a book without pictures is "Boring". As soon as they begin to realise that the nitty gritty of a good story can actually help them to create pictures in their own mind, they'll appreciate what you're trying to do, and they'll also begin to appreciate a book that can be gently 'chipped away at' over the course of a few nights.

Coming up on the blog very shortly is a guest piece fro Paula Harrison, author of the "Rescue Princess" series for Nosy Crow. Her books have been enjoyed by us and they are the perfect example of the sort of books we have in mind for this theme week. We've also dipped into classics, sometimes with great success (reading Roald Dahl never gets old and we've enjoyed most of his - aside from "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator" which for some reason just didn't work for Charlotte). We've even attempted to read the full unexpurgated version of "The Wind in the Willows" but I think that's a book better appreciated when you can read it yourself at leisure.

So if your children are just at the age when they're starting to switch from picture books to early readers / early chapter books, let's hear your recommendations below!