11 Plus Exams Forum

Can anyone suggest any reading material/lists which would encourage a VERY reluctant 9 year old to at least pick a book up!!? I'm struggling to convince him that there's some enjoyment to be had out of reading.

I tried my reluctant 8 year old with a kobo from whsmiths. They're only £30 at the moment and hold 1000 books. After being on an NUT course earlier this year for reading for pleasure, aimed at reluctant boys, I'm now considering using these in school to work in small groups of boys who just won't read. They love the gadget, and this seems to be they way to hook them. My own DS has since read all the Harry Potter books, the hobbit, the Percy Jackson series and is dipping into Lord of the Rings. We've read a few morpurgo stories together and he's currently reading Tom's Midnight Garden on his kobo. £30 well spent...from nothing to Tolkien in 18 months!!!

Anthony Horowitz - the Alex Rider series, and also the Diamond Brothers books.

Diary of a wimpy kid series???

Skullduggery Pleasant series.

David Walliams' books.

Steve Cole's books for older children - Z-Rex, Z-Raptor, and another I can't remember! Still DS's fav books

JD

It was a Kindle that got my DS reading at about 9

He enjoyed Diary Of a Wimpy Kid, Undead Ed, World of Norm as books then I think the first books he read on the kindle were the Percy Jackson books and then Heroes of Olympus which is an ongoing series. Then he really enjoyed the Hunger games - which might be a bit much for some 9 year olds but DS really was hooked and has re-read then several times on the kindle. After that he has enjoyed CHERUB and the Henderson boys by Robert Muchamore. WARP by Eoin Colfer HERO.COM/Villain.net by Andy Briggs,Alex Rider by Anthony Horowitz. His dad gave him an Ipad mini for christmas and he has discovered the kindle app on that but I prefer the normal kindle for reading really.

Okanagan wrote:... and also the Diamond Brothers books.

Oh, thanks Okanagan - not heard of these and am forever on the look out for new series for DS

JD

And if he likes Wimpy Kid, Big Nate (Lincoln Peirce) is along the same lines. And it may not be great literature, but Captain Underpants (Dav Pilkey) is great fun and may be a start for a reluctant reader

JD

My kiddeo read Hunger Games at 9. Book 3 was heavy going, but books 1 & 2 really had them hooked.

If he is really reluctant some of the boys adventure stories are presented in comic book versions, they are pricey, but our library has a good stock.
Also story cd's or tapes such as silverfin, are a good way to get them into wanting to use their own imagination to visualise characters and settings, and from that step you can move on to books in whatever form works best for him.
Books that have been turned into films are always a winner in our house, as on completion of the book we watch the film with popcorn and sweeties and fizzy pop. My 13 yr old has to read life of pi at school, which is a bit of a slog for a young boy, and they are all moaning a lot, but their teacher has promised them the film when they finish, so i guess it is a tried and tested method of bribery.