having spent a long time listening and talking to people I have come to realize that my reading ability has not advanced at the same rate.
To rectify this situation I went looking for some reading materials. Here’s some of what I’ve found, hope it can be of some use to others on the forum.
http://www.pthxx.com/01ld/index.htm
http://www.pep.com.cn/xiaoyu/jiaoshi/tbjx/yuedu/xy4s/
enjoy!
Having glanced at a story for children, it is not so easy for me to read it without using on line dictionaries. Maybe graded readers for foreigners, textbooks for Beijing language University are much easier than them, I guess. But I find them interesting.
In my view, I am sure that all the stories you mentioned are not for absolute beginners.
ah probably not so easy, perhaps I shouldn’t have said “easy” 
anyhow, here’s something that might qualify as easy.
http://www.uiowa.edu/~chnsrdng/Chinese_reading/Beginning/beginning.html
Yes，I find this is easy to read without dictionaries and I can read almost words aloud without seeing pynyin.
thanks for the links!
Great that you like it and are getting something out of it.
Also I think that’s exactly the level of input you want, so that it’s easy but not so easy that you get bored like 你好！你叫什么名字？…
One thing I don’t like about most language learning content is that they are designed for intensive study as opposed to extensive reading.
A perfect example is Chinesepod, many of their intermediate lessons are harder reading than the upper-intermediate. That’s because they try to introduce new vocabulary or structures in every sentence or two and so make half the lesson incomprehensible. Whereas they make the upper-intermediate lessons longer and they will introduce more vocab or structures in one lesson but it will be surrounded by a lot of context which makes it comprehensible. They must think that length=harder, but that isn’t always the case.
I prefer not having to go over what I’m reading with a fine-tooth comb in order to understand it. But it can be a real challenge to find anything at the right level. I’ll post more stuff as I find it!
I think that reading many books for children such as picture books (including English translation) is a good idea.
I think reading many picture books is very good approach for learning foreign languages.
I will sign up for Chinese Picture Reading Club on the following address.
http://ameblo.jp/ehon-club/entry-10753704785.html
Unfortunately this web site is written in Japanese. I hope that this auteur will create English page.
hello，bobafruit.welcome to this page and thank you to enjoy the link .if you have any question when you study Chinese ,you can tell me .I will try my best to help you .These days ,I see a film which is 《雪豹》。the player is call xiajunzhu.He is Japanese.I am very appreciate him.He said learn langeage is sucess or fail is depend on the book you have and your teacher.You contact the book is be translated by someone ,the translater’s ,language level will influence what you learn.Then I think I am a better teacher because I am Chinese.You can tell me your email and I will contact you .