Favorite Chapter Book Series for First Graders

Snail and Worm are a laugh-out-loud funny duo (not unlike Gerald & Piggie). These are very easy to read and very engaging. This is a pair that your little readers will want more from!

Humor | Full Color Illustrations | 32 pages | 3 books in series

If you have a unicorn loving kid at your house, pick this series! These sparkly friends are an unlikely duo, but their friendship is a lot of fun.

Fantasy | Full color illustrations | 64 pages | 5 books in series

When a boy named Buzz meets a fly who buzzes, they become fast friends. Their silly adventures together are a lot of fun! They are very punny, with a lot of high frequency words.

Humor | Full Color Illustrations | 32 pages | 18 books in series

Jack is a very naughty character, but if that's the sort of thing that makes your little reader giggle, then Jack is the rabbit for you. There are fun "how to draw" pages at the end of the books too.

Humor | Full color illustrations | 80 pages | 8 books in series

Croc is grumpy and worried, but his best friend Ally is always optimistic and cheerful. Together, they are a delightfully funny duo. They remind me a lot of Frog and Toad, but they are shorter and easier to read.

Humor | Full color illustrations | 32 pages | 2 books in series

I adore Penny, the most darling mouse in children's literature. Penny is sweet and clever and these stories are all so positive. Short chapters and very engaging illustrations. You can't go wrong with a Kevin Henkes book!

Animals | Full color illustrations | 32 pages | 4 books in series

This cute series reminds me of Fancy Nancy, but I actually like these better. Missy is a sweet, creative girl who likes to do things the Super Duper Royal Deluxe way. Readers will love following along with Missy and her cat, Pink, on their adventures.

Realistic | Full Color Illustrations | 80 pages | 4 books in series

These fun books are from the 1980's, but they have definitely stood the test of time. Kids still love quirky, silly Fox and his clever antics. In this first book, Fox keeps falling in love with all the pretty lady foxes, but it's hard to handle that much love - ha!

Humor | Full color illustrations | 48 pages | 10 books in series

This whole series is infinitely charming! Charlie and Mouse are brothers and each chapter is a funny and sweet look at childhood and sibling relationships. They have adventures like selling rocks, and inventing a bedtime banana. This is as good as an early reader book could possibly be. I highly recommend this series.

Realistic | Full color illustrations | 60 pages | 3 books in series

This is one of my first graders favorite series. They are sweet, realistic stories about the friendship between a boy and his dog. They're simple, but charming and compelling. The only downside is that my 6 year is always begging for a dog like Mudge.

Realistic | Full color illustrations | 40 pages | 28 books in series

This is my first grader's favorite series on this list. These stories about a Pig who moves to the country for a slower pace of life are delightful and laugh out loud funny. My son has whole chapters of these books memorized (like when Poppleton sprays Cherry Sue with the hose - he can tell you that story word for word!). We've been pretty charmed by these.

Humor | Full color illustrations | 64 pages | 8 books in series

These Little Bear books will always have a special place in my heart. They have been favorites of all four of my kids, the books that really made them confident readers. They are sweet simple stories about a anthropomorphized bear family and they are timeless classics. (We also enjoy the Little Bear tv series).

Animals | 2 color illustrations | 63 pages | 5 books in series

Katie may be little, but she has a big brain and she likes to solve mysteries. These are a lot of fun, especially for little sleuths.

Mystery | Full color illustrations | 32 pages | 2 books in series

These are the gentle adventures of a girl and her funny pet horse. They're sweet and simple.

Animals | Full color illustrations | 44 pages | 6 books in series

Nicky's favorite uncle gives her a big giant dog named Barkus and the books detail their dynamic adventures together. Very fun!

Humor | Full color illustrations | 56 pages | 2 books in series

Boris is a funny little warthog who dreams of taking big adventures. Whether he's catching lizards, camping in the backyard, or running races, your little readers will love following along with his humorous escapades.

Humor | Full color illustrations | 80 pages | 4 books in series

These classic books need little introduction. Frog and Toad are the best friend duo we all know and love. This is just a reminder to make sure your young readers is introduced to them!

Humor | 3 color illustrations | 64 pages | 4 books in series

Arnold is a big black bear and his best friend Louise is a little brown chipmunk. They are another unlikely duo, but it's fun to watch patient Arnold deal with little Louise's harebrained ideas.

Humor | 2 color illustrations | 64 pages | 4 book series

Ling and Ting are identical twins but they want everyone to know that they are not exactly the same. Very cute, realistic stories. I'm convinced that everything Grace Lin writes is golden.

Realistic | Full color illustrations | 48 pages | 4 books in series

These are cute friendship stories. Agnes the pig and Clarabelle the chicken are best friends through thick and thin.

Animals | Full color illustrations | 80 pages | 2 books in series

I loved this in my own childhood and they still make me laugh out loud. James Marshall's illustrations are fantastic!

Humor | 3 color illustrations | 48 pages | 11 books in series

These classic stories will never go out of style. Oliver and Amanda are the sweetest pig siblings and their adventures are gentle and fun - they do things like play telephone on rainy days, build block castles, and make cardboard box airplanes. They take you through all the seasons too!

Realistic | Full color illustrations | 56 pages | 20 books in series

I don't know how Kate Messner manages to write so many wonderful books for kids, but she's done it yet again with this easy reader series. Fergus is a class mouse who meets Zeke, another little mouse, on a field trip. These two mice and their adventures will keep kids very entertained.

Animals | Full color illustrations | 56 pages | 3 books in series

These have been a HUGE hit with my second graders! This action packed series follows a brave and adventures princess who can stop monsters and fight evil in her signature black disguise.

Don't let the princess story line fool you - these are beloved by boys and girls!

Fantasy | Full color illustrations | 90 pages | 8 books in series

When a magician accidentally turns Mr. Bundy, the principal of PS 88 into a frog, the students have to figure out how to handle him. He eats their bug collections, swims in the kindergarten sinks, and plays leapfrog in the gym. In all the books in the series, something crazy happens to the principal.

These have more words and are a little bit more challenging - perfect for advanced 1st grade readers.

Humor | B&W illustrations | 64 pages | 5 books in series