Six is when reading clicks for many children, slowly, with a lot of effort and a lot of pride. The right book at this moment matters. Too hard, and reading feels like homework. Just right, and a child reads the same book to anyone who will listen.
So the best gift for a six-year-old is usually two kinds of book. One they can read themselves: short sentences, repeated words, pictures that help, and above all a story that is actually funny. And one for a grown-up to read aloud, a little beyond their own level, to keep the love of stories growing.
The books below come from the Geisel Award for beginning readers, the Caldecott Medal and the Newbery Medal.
Honor1971
Arnold Lobel
Great for a first chapter book
Five short stories about two best friends: Frog wakes Toad up for spring, Toad loses a button, Toad struggles to think of a story when Frog is sick. Simple words, gentle humor and a friendship that children recognize. Generations have learned to read with these books.
1971 Caldecott Medal Honor Book
Winner2008
Mo Willems
Great for a reluctant reader
Gerald the elephant has a bird on his head. Then two birds. Then a nest, eggs and babies. Piggie has the solution. Told entirely in speech bubbles with very few words, it is the funniest way to practice reading.
2008 Geisel Award winner
Winner2021
David LaRochelle
Great for a kid who likes to argue back
The book says 'See the cat.' The dog says he is not a cat. The book insists, and things get sillier from there. A clever Geisel winner that plays with the idea of reading itself.
2021 Geisel Award winner
Laurel Snyder
Great for siblings
Two brothers wake up their parents, throw a neighborhood party and try to earn 'bonus' money selling rocks. Four short, funny chapters full of warmth. A great step up from picture books.
2018 Geisel Award winner
Honor2007
Kate DiCamillo
Great for moving to chapter books
Mercy Watson is a pig who loves buttered toast and riding in Mr Watson's convertible, and one day she ends up behind the wheel. Big type, color pictures on every page and lots of laughs. A perfect bridge from picture books to chapter books.
2007 Geisel Award Honor Book
Winner1982
Chris Van Allsburg
Great for a read-aloud adventure
Two bored children find a board game in the park, and every roll of the dice brings the jungle into their house: lions, monkeys, a monsoon. The velvety black-and-white pictures are dramatic and the twist ending is great. Better read aloud at this age.
1982 Caldecott Medal winner
Winner2010
Jerry Pinkney
Great for telling a story in their own words
Aesop's fable told almost entirely in pictures: a lion spares a mouse, and later the mouse frees the lion from a hunter's net. A six-year-old can 'read' it out loud in their own words, which is great practice and great fun.
2010 Caldecott Medal winner
Chris Van Allsburg
Great for a holiday gift
On Christmas Eve a boy boards a train that takes him to the North Pole, where Santa gives him the first gift of Christmas: a silver bell. At six, children are at exactly the right age to wonder whether they can still hear the bell.
1986 Caldecott Medal winner
A mix: easy readers they can read alone, like Elephant & Piggie or Frog and Toad, and longer picture books or chapter books read aloud by a grown-up.
Short books with simple chapters, big type and plenty of pictures, like Mercy Watson or Charlie & Mouse. They are the step between picture books and longer novels.
No. Reading easy books smoothly is how children build fluency. Keep offering slightly harder books as read-alouds, and the gap will close.
See every award-winning book for ages 6 to 8