Ideas for getting girls interested in reading

[RabbitWife]

Here's something DD loved reading during Yrs3-4
She started with Jeremy Strong, those Rainbow Magic fairy series (author name Daisy Meadows--boy I'm happy she's outgrown it but there were fads among her classmates in Yrs2-3 everyone was lending each other. Frankly it's thin on content, predictable heroines-help-fairies-and-beat-the-goblins storyline, but still it got all the girls reading), then she moved onto the Worst Witch (by Jill Murphy, she liked an old movie version on DVD), and Jacqueline Wilson books (now she's graduating out of it having accumulated most of them).

This year, she read mostof Enid Blyton books, and just discovered Michael Morpurgo (though I haven't given her War Horse). She also has classics like Dr Doolittle and Little House on the Prairie but hasn't quite enjoyed long-ish sentences/slower pace of story development/older vocab.

Sometimes she watches movies on DVD then discovers the original--as was the case of Narnia Chronicle. She doesn't like Harry Potter (didn't even enjoy the movie), not big on witchcraft thing and and she's got intimidated by thick hefty books.

[scarlett]

My daughter is only 6 so not reading many of these suggestions yet, but she is obsessed with reading books which were mine when I was a little girl.I've actually enjoyed reading them again too !

We are reading Nurse Matilda( which the Nanny Macphee films are based on ) at the moment and have also read all the Milly Molly Mandy books and does anyone remember Tottie ? a story about a little wooden doll who used to live with other dolls in a shoe box until her owners were given a beautiful dolls house .It was made into a tv series in the 80s.

[pixiequeen]

Just adding another one - DD1 (and I!) have just read the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson (written for 10-14 year olds not adults). High action, unputdownable - would think it would appeal to boys too - is about a gang of kids who have wings and are constantly escaping certain death and trying to save the world!

[Goldens Mum]

My DD is into Michael Murpugo but really enjoyed The Sisters Grimm, read the first one and is keen to get the rest of the series.
Dont have problems getting her to read though, have to tell her to stop

[tiredmum]

and have also read all the Milly Molly Mandy books .

I rememeber loving milly molly mandy when i was a kid. Started reading them to my dd1 when she was young and realised that i was so bored with them i found it almost painful reading them outloud! Thankfully about this time "harry Potter" became popular so i started reading them to her, even though they are over-descriptive in places it was an improvement and and a releif to get away from yawning my way through milly molly mandy!

[mystery]

Has anyone come across any simple plays that a small number of girls / boys could use for playreadings - two children one part each, or maybe four parts at the most where each child takes two parts? Nothing clever, just for a bit of fun playreading at home.

I thought I came across a children's author recently who had written some, but I've forgotten who it was. Everything I search for on the web has masses of parts for a school production etc.

[DIY Mum]

Connie Carpenter's "fire fighting teamwork". Short and simple. Amazon has good titles also.