A good chapter book is hard to find. This, the reader's first introduction to long-form books, must have a quality mixture of entertainment, depth and reading challenge. If it is too wordy or deep, the young reader will give up. If it is too shallow or cheesy, he or she will lose interest just as easily.
Here are three I just finished reading that I think do a pretty decent job of finding the Chapter Book sweet spot:
Bayars, Betsy. Keeper of the Doves. Puffin, 2004
ISBN 0142400637
It is not an easy task for an author to write a story dealing with heavy subjects (family discord, mental illness, death) that is aimed at 7 to 10 year olds. However, Bayars does an excellent job of not only covering them, but embracing them as an intricate and necessary part of the story. What I loved about this book was that it came from the point of view of a child, as she would see it. Life just seems to come at her from nowhere (family members just show up. Mom is suddenly pregnant and about to give birth. Discoveries about her own story, told through other people...) and yet she has a playfulness and overall contentment throughout.
Amie, the protagonist, has a way with words, and sees the world through her poems. This gives her a special connection to her father and grandmother, and allows her to notice many things others miss. Especially when it comes to the strange old man who lives on their property and takes care of the doves (whom her twin sisters are afraid of, and make up wild tales about).
This story held my interest, and was not overly heavy. It would also be a great story to read aloud to younger readers who are not quite ready to tackle a Chapter Book on their own.
Gannett, Ruth Stiles. My Father's Dragon. Illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett. CreateSpage, 2010 (originally published in 1948) ISBN 1453782052
As an adult, this tale was a tad boring due to the predictive, redundant nature of the story. However, this redundancy is also a useful tool when creating a Chapter Book. Predictability is comforting, and often helps beginner readers push through when the text may seem long.
Still, the characters were fun and interesting. A young boy ("my father" as the narrator of the story begins) finds a talking cat. His mother hates the cat and throws it out, but feeling sorry for the cat, the boy befriends him and agrees to go on an adventure on the cat's behalf in order to save a dragon who is enslaved by talking animals on a wild island.
The creatures are creative, and as the boy meets set after set of them, each time he is afforded the opportunity to use his cleverness to outsmart them, and eventually save the dragon. The illustrations definitely help the story along, as some parts are a bit tough to grasp, and they also provide a bit of comic relief.
Evans, Douglas. Apple Island, or The Truth About
Teachers. Illustrated by Larry Di Fiori. Scholastic, 2002
ASIN: B000VHE3CI
I loved this book! I found it highly entertaining, funny, and extremely clever.
As a kid, did you ever think that there was no possible way your teachers were ever kids, or did normal things outside of school? They practically lived at school, right? And furthermore, they never seemed to age. Some were crabby, and some were nice, and that was that.
In The Truth About Teachers, we discover that this is exactly right! Teachers come from an island, where half live on the nice side and half live on the crabby side. The island is full of school-isms: Chalk Mountain, "Shhhh" Canyon, Office Palace, where Prince Apple ("principal") lives, a Big Book Building where Miss Library rides her motorized sliding ladder from section to section and never sees the light of day...everything that defines school was created and exists on Apple Island.
When a group of students are kidnapped to this island, it is up to one of them to discover the truth about teachers and find a way to bring them all home. A truly fun read.
Wedekind, Annie. Samirah's Ride: The Story of an Arabian Filly. Feiwel and Friends, 2010. ISBN 978-0-312-38425-8
No collection of tween books would be complete without at least one book about a horse! Furthermore, this book is a part of the Breyer Horse Collection of books. Not only can a young reader enjoy the story, but he or she can also own a model horse of the same breed!
Initially, this may seam like nothing more than a clever plot to sell model horses. And, I must admit, it partially is. However, the people at Breyer were clever enough to find an author that could produce stories that are not only high in entertainment value, but also stocked with educational information (history of the breed, information about the animals and their care, etc.), as well as receiving some critical acclaim (School Library Journal among them).
In this story, life on a horse ranch in Utah centers around the new arrival of an Arabian filly and her young new owner, a girl named Jasper. Similar to other books of its kind, the narrative is from the horses point of view. A touching story of the deep bond of friendship between the animal and her human companion is woven around the difficult trials of economic hardship and uncertainty for the future.
The ending is exciting and climatic, with a feel-good epilogue and author's note highlighting other written works about the majestic and ancient Arabian breed.
Avi. Poppy. Illustrated by Brian Floca. Orchard Books, 1995. ISBN 0-531-08783-2
The heroine of this story is a mild-mannered, respectful, yet curious and independent, deer mouse named Poppy. Poppy has always obeyed the laws that her father set before her and her many siblings and cousins. These laws were passed down from Mr. Ocax, a fierce owl who rules the land and threatens sudden death to any mouse who challenges his authority. Normally Poppy would never dream of undermining any authority figure, but her fate is forever changed by a ruffian mouse named Ragweed who comes from afar, shifts her paradigm and helps her use her mind to think beyond a dictatorship, and to what may lie beyond. Jaded by Ragweeds tragic death and devouring by Mr. Ocax, Poppy is forced to make a decision about her own destiny.
The heavy themes (death, challenging authority, and dictatorship) are handled by the author in a very quick, mild-mannered way. A young reader would understand the concept, but would be able to move quickly on to the lighter themes (adventure, redemption, free will). Therefore, this book was not the most exciting work of fiction I have read. However, the style and vocabulary will be appropriate for many ages and reading abilities. Imaginative tweens who have an appreciation of nature and the animal kingdom may find this story appealing.
This illustrations hold the story as much as the text, if not more. There were some points when I was unsure what the author was describing, and the corresponding illustration gave me a better idea. Drawn in charcoal and pencil, the detailed sketches are only slightly cartoonish, and the attention to shading and anatomical structure is strong. Nearly every other page has an illustration, which also enhances the ability for young readers to grasp the plot and stay entertained throughout.
