6 Great Books That Are Perfect for First-time Readers

What better way than these reads to indulge first-time readers. There’s no way they’re not getting hooked!

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On the first Wednesday of February, we celebrate World Read Aloud Day! This partnership of Litworld and Scholastic, came to life to encourage sharing stories and to promote literacy around the globe. For first-time readers, the entire process can be intimidating. That’s why, our recommendations include books for relatively younger readers, that are just as suitable for older readers to pick.

Let’s dive right in; here are six books to get you started on your book-reading journey:

Children’s Books

1. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

The book cover of Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, featuring an illustration of a sail boat coming into a forested shore.
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Max is a naughty boy. He causes mischief at home to the point of being called “wild thing” by his mother. He is exempt from dinner and drifts off to sleep, only to find his world turned upside down when he magically appears in a world with other “wild things.” Max becomes the king of wild things on their island, but is that where his heart truly lies?

2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Book cover of The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle featuring an illustration of a red and green caterpillar.
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Under the moonlight, there is a tiny egg on a leaf. Follow its journey as it hatches into a caterpillar. The caterpillar is starving! So, it eats and eats. From fruits to junk food, it eats them all until it gets a stomach ache. It gets better after munching through a leaf and builds itself a home. Is there something special in store for our glutton friend?

3. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Book cover of The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein featuring a boy attempting to catch an apple falling from a tree.
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This is a book about the relationship between a boy and a tree. The story starts with an adorable exchange of the boy using the tree for his time. The boy grows older and forgets about the tree, only returning when he needs something. The tree does not mind and is ecstatic every time the boy returns. As the boy grows older, his time and energy decrease, yet the tree keeps giving itself to him until it has nothing left.

4. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

Book cover of Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss with character Sam-I-Am inspecting green eggs and ham on a plate.
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Sam-I-Am tries to convince Guy-Am-I to try Green Eggs and ham, an unconventional dish that raises eyebrows with its all-green look. Guy-Am-I is being rational with his decision to avoid the strange food. The two characters go on an adventure, with Guy-Am-I trying his best to escape from Sam-I-Am. Will Sam-I-Am finally convince Guy-Am-I to try the dreaded “Green Eggs and Ham”? And if he does, will Guy-Am-I like it?

Books for young adults and up

5. The Giver (The Giver, #1) by Lois Lowry

The Giver (The Giver, #1) by Lois Lowry's book cover has a peephole in the shape of an eye showing two people seated on chairs kept on a life-size mirror, and covering what would be the iris.
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It’s nearing December, and Jonas is nervous. Jonas lives in a society that heavily conforms to their rules. Students are put into age groups and are called their respective ages(sevens, elevens, twelves. et cetera). People’s permanent careers are assigned to them after they turn twelve, and so are their parents and partners. A family can only consist of a father, a mother, one son, and one daughter. Anyone who disobeys will be RELEASED!!! (Which is like the worst thing to happen there) The act is so severe. Anyone who talks about it lightly is frowned upon and chastised. This story is about a utopian society with questionable rules that makes you think.

6. City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1) by Cassandra Clare

City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1) by Cassandra Clare has the character Jace on the cover.
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A strange boy catches the attention of 15-year-old Clary Fray while standing up in line outside an all-ages club. His confident charm, the way he moved. Clary Fray had developed a little crush. Little did she know, the boy sucked the life essence of humans for sustenance. The unusual man-killer seeks out easy prey in the club, getting drunk at all the youthful life energy while looking down on the “mundies.”

Little did he know there were people out who knew of his existence and had tracked him into the club to eliminate him. As this was all going on, Little miss Fray had been watching the boy and had noticed his assassins plotting to take the boy out, one of them brandishing a knife. She rushes into the storage room where the boy had taken his dance partner. What will Clary see?

We hope you can begin your reading journey with our recommendations and have fun reading. If you enjoyed this, you might enjoy our other book recommendations. Click here to explore them.

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