“My kid hates reading!” I’ve heard this complaint voiced a BUNCH of times from a bunch of friends — particularly from fellow moms of boys, where the only thing they’ll read is Captain Underpants — and no matter how much you beg or bribe, the kid resists traditional books for early readers like The Magic Treehouse Series. After a bunch of fits and starts I feel like we have finally found some great books for my reluctant reader, and I thought I’d share my roundup, which admittedly is very heavy on conventionally boy-friendly books.
Readers, if you had kids who hated reading, what were the books that finally got them hooked? In general, what were your kids’ favorite books to read in that age range of 5–7 where they’re not quite ready to read chapter books on their own just yet?
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Captain Underpants
Every boy loves Captain Underpants, and you have to give Dav Pilkey credit — there are a lot of clever names and puns. There are new editions with color pictures that are great. (My one complaint is that the popular movie smooshed the plotlines of like five books together, if memory serves, so if possible you may want to hold off on the movie until after your child is familiar with the stories! Fun fact about the author: he’s spoken at length about his challenges while in grade school, including ADHD and dyslexia, if you have a kiddo with those issues who needs some encouraging role models. Pilkey also authors the DogMan series, which is another good one for early readers. (My kids thought it was creepy, though, so to each his own…)
The Entire Branches Collection
Scholastic has an entire imprint out there for reluctant chapter readers, designed to be a “branch” between picture books and chapter books – the Branches collection. ALL of these books are wonderful — like each book is a chapter or so by itself. I would ask my son to read for 15 minutes, we would set a timer, and… 45 minutes later he would announce DONE! and have finished the book. They go very quickly! Before we returned them to the library, I encouraged him to put all of the books we were returning in one big pile to see how much he had read — and encouraged him to think of them all as one big book that he’d read many chapters on. Some of his favorites are Dragon Masters, The Fire Hawk, and Eerie Elementary, but they have a ton of others.
DC Comics Secret Hero Society & Jedi Academy
DC Comics is a series of graphic novels is a great resource if you have a kiddo in love with Batman, Spiderman, or Wonderwoman — it’s DC Comics set in middle school. Along similar lines is the Jedi Academy series — graphic novels in the Star Wars universe where the main character, Roan “is mysteriously denied entrance to Pilot School, he is invited to attend Jedi Academy — a school that he didn’t apply to and only recruits children when they are just a few years old.”
The Amulet
The Amulet was one of the very first books my eldest son finished by himself — he really gobbled it up. There are eight books in the series currently — from Amazon’s description of the first book:
On their very first night in the strange house, Emily and Navin’s mom is kidnapped by a tentacled creature. Determined to rescue her, Emily and Navin are led into a world of robots, talking animals, flying ships, new allies . . . and enemies. There, Emily learns that she is a Stonekeeper and essential to the survival of this world, and that her incredible story is only just beginning.
I love that some of the other Amazon reviewers note that this is a great book for kids who hate reading, also!
Noodleheads
These graphic novels are about some empty-headed guys (get it?) and, as Amazon describes it, the series “is perfect for comic fans and reluctant readers, with short, funny chapters following Mac and Mac through ridiculous adventures. Full of wordplay, jokes, and slapstick humor, the Noodlehead series is sure to delight.” This is the same illustrator from the Fly Guy series, which is another book my kids could not get into.
Next Steps (Once Your Kid is Ready for Chapter Books)
- Harry Potter (illustrated series or on Kindle)
- Last Kids on Earth (now also a Netflix series!)
- I am also a huge fan of everything Gordon Korman — I’m most familiar with his older works like I Want to Go Home, which are hilarious and great books to read to kids who are a bit older — but some of his other series may be better for early readers.
Ladies, if you had kids who hated reading, what were the books that finally got them hooked? In general, what were your kids’ favorite books to read in that age range of 5-7 where they’re not quite ready to read chapter books on their own just yet?
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We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
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Anonymous says
Graphic novels are a menace. My eager reader got hooked on them, spent a couple of years eschewing books with actual words, and saw a big decline in her reading comprehension. Once she started reading real books again, her reading comprehension improved.
Jess says
Equally if not more important than finding interesting books is modeling reading. Do your children see YOU reading books? It’s unrealistic to expect kids to associate reading with anything other than “homework” if they are forced to do it for X minutes a day and don’t see adults consistently reading for pleasure.
Instead of setting a time for your child to read while you make dinner/work on your laptop/etc, try designating some “Family Reading Time” where the whole family reads actual books (independently) in the living room.
Another fun way to for reluctant/developing readers to access more complex texts is to read aloud from a chapter book. Some great times for this are right before bed (for one on one time with a kid), or during dinner/dessert (for whole family time). The additional benefit here is that it’s easier to have a dialogue with your kids about what’s happening in the book if you’re reading it to them. Some great books for this are the Harry Potter books, the Westing Game (at least it was fun when I was in elementary school, hah), Anne of Green Gables, the Narnia books, Stuart Little, and tons of others – just ask the staff at your local independent bookstore or library.
Anon says
I don’t know about this. I read for pleasure more than the average adult, but it’s exclusively after my kids are on bed and always on a Kindle app on my phone anyway. I prefer paper books for sure but Kindle is so much more convenient. I agree about reading chapter books together and talking about books, but saying your children literally have to witness you reading seems extremely arbitrary. My kids love to read fwiw.
Jess says
Hey, if your kids already love to read, that’s great! It doesn’t sound like your family is the target audience for tips on reluctant readers if they naturally love reading. However, given that not all kids naturally love reading, this is a strategy to help out those that need a little encouragement. And I agree on kindles – I’m teaching my kid (age 2) that my kindle is my grown up book. That way when he sees me reading it, he knows I’m reading.
That said, reading in front of your kids is definitely not arbitrary. Teachers will often read their own book during silent reading time in the classroom to model reading. Parents model other behaviors they want their children to emulate, like being active or eating a healthy diet. I’m not trying to say that your kids HAVE to see you read OR ELSE they will NEVER love reading – I’m just saying it’s a lot easier of a sell if they have role models who do/enjoy the thing you want them to do/enjoy.
farrleybear says
On the nighttime reading thing: I make it a point to tell my kiddo when I tuck him in that I’m going to my room to read. Then when he inevitably gets out of bed and comes into my room to “tell me one more thing” (sigh) he sees me reading. I like the idea of incorporating some daytime family reading time, too.
anon says
My 6 yo loves the Mia Mayhem series. She thinks it’s funny, but it doesn’t have any obnoxious behavior or language that you sometimes find. It’s a cute series.
anon says
https://www.amazon.com/Mia-Mayhem-Superhero-Kara-West/dp/1534432698
Anonymous says
I apparently have the opposite son as Kat, as mine really loved Fly Guy and Dogman. Graphic novels have been fine for us–also the ones my son likes do have words, like Dogman–but they were more a gateway…we’ve progressed from Dogman to Magic Treehouse. He’s also into Nate the Great and Mercy Watson.
mrs kbp says
Oh, I need new suggestions! My boys seem to come home from the library with the same picks over and over! We need a little variety, so I’m looking forward to this!
My school age boys like Mercy Watson, Humphrey the Hamster-I have found there are longer chapter books and shorter books better for 1st and 2nd graders, anything Mo Willems, Dragons love tacos, who would win books, Henry and Mudge series, Bink and Gollie books.
Anonymous says
the blog “What We Do All Day” has a lot of useful book lists.
Anon says
also – if your kid is reading, just let them read what they want. as a kid i was obsessed with the babysitters club books, even still as a 7th grader when they were probably well below my reading level, but my dad thought i should be reading more advanced novels. they even talked about it with my english teacher who told them, it doesn’t matter, as long as she is reading, just let her choose what. of course my parents didn’t listen and i was genuinely turned off of reading for a couple of years. i was only allowed to watch an hour of tv during the school week, so at the time, they were kind of my guilty pleasure/way of relaxing.
mascot says
The “I Survived” series has been a favorite for my son (3rd grade). It took him a bit before his reading skills and attention level caught up to his interests. Once he discovered historical fiction as a genre, it’s all changed and now he likes to read.
CHL says
I missed the earlier thread but wanted to chime in that our 1st grader’s school uses the “Check In Check Out” system which has been really helpful for him. He has a little scorecard with thumbs up, thumbs down, and sideways for each subject and he meets every day with an aide who sets a goal with him for how many total and what the reward is – a “wow” slip that they can build up for rewards, extra reading time, etc. We are also in contact with a play therapist who uses the program outlined on socialthinking . com which has gotten rave reviews from parents I know – idea is that we deliberately teach kids subjects like reading, etc. but a lot of people feel unprepared to teach emotional and behavior management at a level that resonates with kids.
ToS says
I’m a late replier as well. A hack for finding The Good Books – Our local library works with the county elementary schools and hosts a grade-level competition called Battle of the Books. Teams read 10-13 titles that are already vetted as solid reads for that grade level. Each year there is a different list, with some non-fiction, biography and usually one graphic novel as part of the mix. I’ve managed both my sons’ teams, and read the books, which are solid from a parents’ perspective, which often varies from buy-this-now marketing and series-based reads (not that there’s anything wrong with that, my son’s interest would fade after waiting months/years for the next in the series) Use “Battle of the Books” as a search term is the takeaway, if an actual event isn’t happening near you, and glean titles from their lists.