My Happy Life, by Rose Lagercrantz, illustrated by Eva Eriksson 
By the time this sweet little chapter book came into our lives, it was far too easy for my older daughter. But she read it anyway. It was a gift to her younger sister, who isn’t quite reading at this level on her own yet, but who loves to have this book and its sequels read aloud to her. This is a “slice of life” type story, focusing on a typical childhood thing: the start of school. But it is a slice of real life, with its downs as well as its ups. The lead character’s mother is dead (this happened before the start of the story) and one of the things that happens in the story is that the best friend who makes school fun for our lead character moves away. I think my daughter loves this series so much in part because it shows a little girl coming through the hard parts of life and still being happy. Or maybe that’s why I love the series so much, and my daughter just likes the characters!