The Mouse and the Motorcycle but Beverly Cleary

(review by Deanna)

Beverly Cleary is a classic young children's author.  We read The Mouse and the Motorcycle to my son as one of his first chapter books.  The story is of a mouse names Ralph who lives in a hotel and a boy who befriends him and gives him a mouse-sized motorcycle, which he can ride by making a motorcycle noise.  Ralph has many adventures and gets into a few tight spots by being bold with his motorcycle.  It has a great themes of friendship, loyalty and responsibility.

It's very sweet and fun.  The writing level is a good read-aloud for an older four-year old and up.  I would guess it's about a second-grade reading level.  I think boys or girls would enjoy this book but it is particularly good for drawing in a young boy.

My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

(review by Deanna)

This is a really wonderful book.

When we were ready to find my son, Zack, some longer, more involved material for me to read to him, I went searching for great early chapter books.  This series got multiple recommendations for the best place to start reading chapter books.  We started with My Father's Dragon and requested the other two books.  Later, we were thrilled to be given the series in one volume, Three Tales of My Father's Dragon. 

The story is told by a boy recounting the adventures his father had helping an alley cat to rescue a baby dragon from enslavement by an island of selfish animals.  The young hero uses a series of clever and funny tricks to distract the island's animals and give himself time to find the dragon. 

The plot is very entertaining without being harrowing.  Although there is dramatic tension in the story, it is age-appropriate, something that is hard to find even in young children's books. The language is old-fashioned in the best way.  There are illustrations every few pages, just enough to introduce a pre-schooler to chapter books.

This series would be great for boys or girls, age four and up.  I give it the highest recommendation!