Five-year-olds are ready for richer stories — longer arcs, layered feelings, first chapter books read aloud — while their own reading starts on much simpler parallel tracks.
The five-year-old story appetite outruns their reading ability by years — which is exactly right. The bookshelf serves the appetite; the practice shelf serves the skill.
A regular library visit (or the borrowing circle among parent friends) keeps volume affordable, and the child choosing their own books — even repeat choices, even "too easy" ones — builds the ownership that makes readers. The home signal that matters most stays constant: books visible, adults reading, and the bedtime slot protected.