The Mercy Watson books by Kate DiCamillo are wonderful read-alouds. They are funny and have great retro illustrations. I also like these books because the are great starter chapter books for young readers. The sight word vocabulary is not too difficult and the print is large and well spaced. This is a really good choice to give an early reader who wants to graduate to reading chapter books. It is also nice that there is a series. Children love to hear more about their favorite characters after they finish the first book.--from a first grade teacher