So the question is how do we get our children hooked onto reading. The answer is simple choose books that are engaging and at their level. Below are some books that I recommend for different ages.
The first group of reluctant readers I hear from parents are younger boys. Homework can be like pulling teeth! I find that often boys get switched off reading from an early age and why? well it is simple they don't want to be reading about fairies or fluffy animals or baby books. Boys want boys books with adventure etc. I would also suggest that you should read a page and then get them to read a page (or paragraph). This may take 20 minutes of your day- well worth it.
These two books could just do the trick:
1) This series of books is good for boys who are struggling with their reading but are wanting to read chapter books. (check out Booktopia or Amazon Books for more selections). This series of books are written just for boys and are full of down to earth stories that are imaginative and fun. The text is broken up with pictures throughout the book which makes a page not such a daunting thing.
2) And one of the most popular series of books that has a range of levels is the Zac Power Series. The series is based upon the adventures of Zac Power, a twelve-year-old boy, and his fifteen-year-old brother, Leon. Zac is a secret agent for the fictitious Government Investigation Bureau (GIB), and Zac's adventures frequently see him saving the world.
Find the series at Booktopia or Amazon Books
Over the past few years there has been a lot more books written for our boys. For those students in Year 3 and 4 there are also a few choices to look at:
1) The Diary of a Wimpy kid is perfect for this age group. There are 7 books in the series and seem to engage reluctant readers. They are filled with hand written notes and simple drawings of his day.
Kids also love these books due to them being made into movies.
2) The Goosebump series of books. These are oldies but goodies. They are simple to comprehend and a quick read for boys. Perfect. There are over 60 books in this series. Boys also love them because they are full of horror, humour and supernatural themes.....wooooooooooohhhhhhh!!
And then there are the big boys. There are two books that I have used in my class over the last couple of years that I find are infectious and once one boy raves about them I find the whole class wants to read them.
1) Holes by Louis Sachar. This book has also been made into a movie. I find that kids that have seen the movie also like to read the book. The main character is Stanley. Holes is about how he overcomes his problems, both those created inside of him and the ones imposed upon him at Camp Green Lake where he is sent after allegedly stealing a pair of running shoes. He grows stronger, physically and emotionally, and emerges a happy, confident young man. Boys and girls love this book. My class are begging me to buy the sequel Small Steps....which I must do this week and will let you know if I think it is as good.
2) The second book that my boys love is Trash by Andy Mulligan. This book has really got the boys in my class hooked into their reading- every spare minute they have it out and are reading! I hooked them in first by showing them a book trailer from youtube. They straight away wanted to start reading. I loved reading this book too! It is about a boy who lives on a trash dump and how life changes when he discovers something important in the Trash. He and his friends take it in turns to write a chapter from their point of view and the adventure that unfolds from finding a bag. They know that it is important as the police are way too interested in it. I hope this helps. I will add to my list as I find other little gems that capture the imagination of our boys!
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