I have a seven-year-old girl who is an avid reader. At least, she loves being read to in the evenings before bed (we do this every night) and happily reads her school reading books to us, and will choose to sit a read ‘young readers’ picture books to herself, which she does with ease. Although she’s beginning to take an interest in reading chapter books by herself, I actually love that she still loves picture books.
In fact, I would say she enjoys them just as much as the chapter books that we read together and long may this last! It will be a sad day when she decides she’s only interested in more ‘grown up’ books, and her picture books are relegated to the loft or charity shop.
I do find that when it comes to finding enough good-quality early chapter books, it’s not easy. My daughter has always been very sensitive when it comes to anything scary or gruesome, and for a long time couldn’t bear to even read or watch anything that she deemed too ‘sad’. While she is gradually building her ‘tolerance’ for more scary scenes of scenes involving peril, I’m still very careful in picking the books that we read together.
Finding the right book that is age-appropriate and engaging for a child is surprisingly difficult, and of course, each individual child will develop their own tastes for particular styles of writing/stories from a young age. Then again, when we manage to find that great choice of book, reading it with them that first time can help foster a love of reading even among the most reluctant readers!
In terms of book recommendations, it’s tricky in terms of trying to cater for all seven-year-old girls, because they all develop and read and different rates, and have different interests! So here is a list of the best books my daughter and I have enjoyed reading together over the past year or so. Some of them are popular choices or classic stories that you may well have heard of before, others are by new authors you might want to try.
While I know some kids as young as five who are apparently enjoying books written for much older readers, such as the Harry Potter series, my children both enjoy more age-appropriate books. So, rest assured, everything I have recommended here will be appropriate for even a fairly sensitive seven-year-old girl.
List of books with links to purchase
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All book recommendations and opinions remain my own.
Mathilda – Roald Dahl
This classic story has seen a massive revival since the success of the smash hit West End musical and the recent Netflix film starring Emma Thompson. I don’t think I know of any seven-year-old girl who isn’t completely obsessed with it! My daughter has seen the film twice, but admitted to me that she can’t bear the tragic storyline of the circus performer they’ve added to the original storyline, so she hasn’t watched it since.
While I love the film, I totally get what my daughter is saying here and I wish they hadn’t felt the need to ‘soup’ up the original storyline in such a way. The truly wonderful book, on the other hand, is simply Dahl at his absolute best. My daughter loved every page and every line of it, and while the stage production and films are very impressive, personally I don’t think the brilliance book can ever really be matched.
Buy here: https://amzn.to/4fp7g2r
The BFG – Roald Dahl
It took a long time for my daughter to pluck up the courage to read this together, but as she was desperate to see the films, and I always insist they read the book before watching the film version of anything, she took the plunge. I was surprised, given her past sensitivities, how well she coped with the more gruesome, frightening scenes with the giants, but she loved it! Personally, it’s my favourite of all Dahl’s stories. The BFG’s philosophical musings on life, relationships, and human nature are beautifully insightful – some of the best I’ve ever read – and the fact the book is written for children makes it all the more jaw-droppingly impressive.
*** I should note here that of course, any book written by Roald Dahl is likely going to delight young readers of any age. I haven’t mentioned his other children’s titles here as I read them with my daughter when she was younger than seven. We haven’t read The Witches together yet as we both agree it will be too scary for her, but I know of children in her class at school who have read it and loved it.
Buy here: https://amzn.to/48p058p
Edie and the Box of Flits – Kate Wilkinson
We first heard about this book on the wonderful Super Great Kids Stories Podcast (which I recommend you check out if you haven’t already). When eleven-year-old Edie Winter finds a mysterious shoebox on the London Underground she’s amazed to discover that it’s home to a family of Flits – tiny winged people. But Impy, Speckle and Nid need Edie’s help. Not only do they need supplies (rice crispies, sugar sprinkles, digestive biscuits and raisins) and someone to look after them, but their brother Jot has run away and they need Edie’s help to find him.
This a really great book, especially for quieter girls like my daughter. The main character Edie is a quiet girl herself, but triumphs at the end despite this, having gained new best friends along the way (as well as patching up her faltering friendship with her best friend at school). It’s really well-written, and very inspiring for young girls about finding inner strengths and resources even though they may not be the most confident or exuberant on the outside.
The author does a great job at drawing the reader into the world of the flits, and the attention to detail/nuanced characters she draws are really impressive. It’s been one of my daughter’s favourite books.
Buy here: https://amzn.to/3C2VSed
Edie and the Box of Flits in Paris – Kate Wilkinson
This is the sequel to Edie and the Box of Flits and is just as well-written and delightful to read as the first one. I can’t recommend these books for 7 to 8-year-old girls enough! My daughter and I absolutely loved them!
Buy here: https://amzn.to/4e6LQWX
The Magic Faraway Tree – Enid Blyton
We have the whole collection of The Magic Faraway Tree books and they have been delighting my daughter for over two years now. As with Beatrix’s Potter books (see below), this early chapter book series will be enjoyed by very young children (they are wonderful to read aloud), and as they get older.
My daughter still loves them at the age of seven, and my niece (also seven) has the whole series of audiobooks which she plays repeatedly on her Yoto player. There is a magical, whimsical feel to these stories, yet they depart almost entirely from traditional fairy tales in the best possible way. With a new adventure and different magical lands to explore on every page, these books are sure to remain classics for years to come.
While I’m aware that Enid Blyton has drawn controversy in modern times, I think she’s a wonderful writer and I look forward to my children exploring more of her book series as they get older, including The Famous Five, The Secret Seven and Mallory Towers.
Buy the first book in the collection here: https://amzn.to/4hn14d7
Buy the whole collection here: https://amzn.to/48u3Ol1
The World of Peter Rabbit Complete Collection (23 books) – Beatrix Potter
Any ‘list of best books’ for young children, regardless of their age, wouldn’t be complete without Beatrix Potter on there. My friend bought this beautifully boxed, adorable collection for my daughter when she was born. While I started reading them with her when she was very young, these are the books that we return to again and again even now she is older. Every title in the series is, of course, a classic book.
The beautiful illustrations (she’s the best of any illustrator in my opinion), valuable lessons and timeless stories that make up these books make them ideal to read aloud to early readers and also encourage newly independent readers to dive in. The books in this collection are also really small, and who doesn’t love the sensation of holding a beautiful, tiny book in their hands?!
I also love that there’s no dumbing down the language in anything written by Beatrix Potter. While modern books very much have their place on my daughter’s bookshelf, I also believe it’s important not to overlook children’s books written a long time ago. The quality of language in these books is usually exceptional compared to the modern-day style of writing, and I think it’s great to expose children to that at least some of the time during their reading sessions. Which brings me to my next suggestion…
Buy here: https://amzn.to/40wFvRg
The Shakespeare Stories collection (16 books) – Andrew Matthews and Tony Ross
I picked up this collection for a fiver on a local second-hand selling group, and I’m so glad I did! Andrew Matthews is a celebrated children’s author, who has written over fifty books and has twice been nominated for the Smarties prize. Tony Ross is one of the most popular and successful children’s illustrators of all time, best known for illustrating Horrid Henry and the works of David Walliams.
I am seriously impressed at their retelling of Shakespeare’s stories in a way that is exciting and engaging for young readers. My daughter and I have carefully picked out the ones from the set that we think will be too sad/gruesome/tragic for her (a constant problem!) but she is greatly enjoying the others. Shakespeare will undoubtedly be on the reading list in the future at high school and beyond, and I can’t help thinking that my daughter will be a distinct advantage if she already knows the stories.
Buy here: https://amzn.to/4f474Gi
My Naughty Little Sister
I remember so clearly reading these when I was a child. Like Shirley Hughes, Dorothy Edwards had that knack of portraying normal family life through the eyes of children with the most wonderfully vivid detail and surprising wit. These books have really short chapters (each chapter is a different story about the ‘naughty’ sister) and are perfect for my seven-year-old daughter to read on her own, or to have them read aloud to her when she is too tired for anything longer.
Interestingly, she never really bothered much with this set that has been sitting in her bookcase for years and has only shown a real interest in them recently. Another set of beautifully illustrated, timeless classics that deserve their place on any young child’s bookshelf.
Buy here: https://amzn.to/4eouuoN
Conclusion
These are just some of the titles my seven-year-old daughter and I have enjoyed reading together and I hope you find the list useful. A good friend of mine told me she worried that her seven-year-old daughter wasn’t very interested in chapter books but preferred picture books aimed at younger kids. I told her that from my experience as a primary school teacher and reading specialist, this wasn’t unusual at all for a lot of kids, even really bright ones.
A child’s reading level develops at different stages, so if they feel more comfortable with picture books for longer than a lot of their peers, that’s fine! Reading should be enjoyable, first and foremost. Even I like reverting to reading picture books to my kids at times when we’re all tired or don’t have enough time to devote to a whole chapter of a longer book. Even some children who have a really high reading level for their age may prefer picture books for longer because they’re really visual kids, and they love the pictures as much as (or even more than) the words.
Reading is meant to be fun. So whatever level your child is at, and whatever kinds of books they’re into, try to include reading into the schedule every day, and make sure they’re having fun when they read. That way, they will fly!
Useful links and resources:
https://www.best-books-for-kids.com/reading-to-older-children.html
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