Ideas for reading books

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Milla
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Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 2:25 pm

Ideas for reading books

Post by Milla »

EmeraldE wrote: I am busy encouraging DS2 to get reading. Very frustrating process as he prefers Spongebob annual etc. to anything high brow! :? Is there any hope!!??

get him onto the exciting ones, plenty of good vocab in Chris Ryan. And the old faves of Anthony Horowitz and Roald Dahl and Michael Morpurgo. Or Enid Blyton - castle of / island of etc adventure, famous five and so on. EB was what got me going and DS2. Anything to capture the imagination.
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EmeraldE
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Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:56 pm

Post by EmeraldE »

Well done hun!!
I have got him reading The Hobbit, but it seems to be taking an AGE!!
Next book will be much quicker read, for my sake as well as his. I am all for Animal Farm, great story and on a single level analysis basic which is enough as I believe it is on the sylabus in Y8 in some grammars. Also he does like Michael Morpurgo and has read some Horowitz but had nightmares after Burnt! :?
Amber
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Post by Amber »

Animal Farm and The Hobbit are quite a big ask for independent reading in Year 5. Michael Morpurgo is a total genius and writes perfectly for children this age. If he wants something more stretching you can always try His Dark Materials - as long as your DS isn't prone to nightmares.

Read to him! Children enjoy being read to for far longer than most people actually do it. My DD is 13 and loves me to read to her, though she is now into Shakespeare and Austin and all kinds of stuff.

Poetry, poetry, poetry. Poetry rules.

Not that any of this helped my DS!
EmeraldE
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Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:56 pm

Post by EmeraldE »

DS2 (9) wants to read the same books as DS1 who is 11 but he is just not as fast. The language does challenge him and we get plenty of use out of the Oxford English Dictionary :lol:

I managed to get a hold of a reading/comprehension test to determine reading age and he is at 12.6 years which is fab so I am not worried about it. I guess it just irks me to see him on Captain Underpants etc. I sound like a right kill joy!!!! I have relented and bought him Top Gear annual for X-mas....I am sure the language will be premier league in that little gem :lol:
mike1880
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Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:51 pm

Post by mike1880 »

The Hobbit is a strange one, I wouldn't expect it at this age I think.

Second Chris Ryan books at this stage, I'd also recommend the Edge Chronicles, you might get away with The Young Bond series but that's a bit more challenging. But you can always try that on CD (ideal for long car journeys - except for adults and girls :roll: ) and see whether it generates interest. Another possibility, fairly recent, is The Mysterious Benedict Society, but only for children that consider themselves a bit nerdy.

Mike
EmeraldE
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Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:56 pm

Post by EmeraldE »

Thanks all
Oh he is enjoying The Hobbit a lot, I just think it is sooooooo long. He has asked for some dragon books for X-mas as well so my sis has got him something. DS2 is enjoying Boy Soldier, Andy McNabb, and guess what?? There was a bad word in it!!! He came down to tell me that he could not read it anymore because there was the word for poo beginning with S in it. LOL..I assured him I thought he was old enough to handle it and it would be fine! Bet he hears a lot worse in the playground :shock: :lol:
Glos_Mum
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Post by Glos_Mum »

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Last edited by Glos_Mum on Sat Aug 22, 2015 12:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
slackmum
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Post by slackmum »

Without doubt The Mortal Engines series my son first read this at 6 (but was also reading Harry Potter at the same age) and still returns to it every 6 months or so. He reads a book in a day if he is interested then none for a weeek. The second book to make him cry which I think is the highest compliment a book can receive (the first was the Indian in the cupboard). All books are judged by this series they are ten and everything else is aiming to catch up.
EmeraldE
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Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:56 pm

Post by EmeraldE »

Hi all

Fab books suggested. I have the first three from each series on order with a well known online book store!

Perhaps a mod could move this strand to a new one...Great Books for Vocab Building or something??

I do think it is a good idea to be able to share great resources which educate and entertain all in one

:lol:
doodles
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Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:19 pm

Post by doodles »

DS1, just 11, and is a complete bookworm. He loves the Alex Ryder series and Lemony Snickett as well as Enid Blyton. He also liked two books about a little boy called Felix in the Holocaust - not as bad as sounds but do check for yourself - called Once and Then.

Top tip is also to get audio CD's. They often listen in bed or in the car (not alternative to reading at all) but it's sometimes nice to hear things read out loud (intonation etc.) There are lots of CD set around and though they can be expensive I found one of the web sites v.gd value (The Book People - I think)
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