Reading is a great way to improve your Portuguese vocabulary. I’m a visual learner so, for me, this is the best way to expand my vocabulary beyond the vocabulary I use in my daily life which, for the greater part, is child centered.
When choosing a level, I would recommend a level where you know most of the words/phrases on a page. You don’t want to choose a level so far above your Portuguese reading level that you get frustrated and quit.
Portuguese books are more expensive than English ones so if they are financially out of your reach I would look into ebooks. There are much cheaper and the kindle has a great feature where you can click on a word to view its translation.
One last note, in the US, many books are written in a way that is similar to how we speak. This is not the case in Brazil. The written language, especially when it comes to books from Brazilian publishers, is very formal compared to spoken Portuguese. Some would compare it to reading Shakespeare or Melville. Just keep this in mind when choosing a reading level. Spoken and written Portuguese can very different.
Below I’ve shared a few chapter books in Portuguese and their correlating grade level per ATOS standards. I chose these books because of their reading level and their availability here in the US.
Charlotte’s Web (A Teia de Charlotte) is commonly recommended as a great book to read to improve language skills in a foreign language. This book is widely available in many languages.
Find it here:
Lord of the Flies (Senhor das Moscas) is a classic. It’s about a group of boys, who are stranded on an island, and attempt the govern themselves. Note: Although this is at a 5th grade reading level, the content is more appropriate for high schoolers.
Find it here:
Harry Potter is also a great 5th grade reading level that many people love. Below I’ve sourced the first book, Harry Potter and the philosophers Stone (Harry Potter e a Pedra Filosofal).
Find it here:
The alchemist is a book that was originally written in Brazilian Portuguese!
Find it here:
Here are a couple of chapter books that are popular in Brazil but they aren’t rated under the ATOS.
Books in Brazilian Portuguese are hard to track down at a reasonable price so I will continue to update this page as I find new books!
-Erika