Help me find a book that this kid will LIKE

[mo2]

DD 10yo has to be forced to read. I have tried letting her pick her own books. I still have to make her read them. Right now she has chosen to read Harry Potter simply because I won't let her watch the movies until she has read the books. But I still have to make her sit down to read it and she whines and protests. The only books she has ever picked up to read outside of assigned reading time were The Night Fairy and the Spiderwick Chronicles. But it's only happened, like, a total of 3 times in her life. We've tried audiobooks. Her eyes just glaze over and she doesn't retain anything. She likes horses, but I don't know if she would like to read about them. She loves Tim Burton movies and Greek myths. She enjoyed the Percy Jackson series when I read them aloud. She likes to draw, likes flowers and butterflies and being outdoors.

 

Any suggestions?

[VeteranMom]

My daughter, age 10, loves anything by Bill Wallace. Also, she likes the Boxcar Children books, My America books, Animal Ark series, Vet Volunteers series, and The Orphans' Journey series.

[Critterfixer]

Try the magazines, graphic novels, books about doing things or finding things out.

And I'd for sure try horse books!

[tvaleri]

I started a book list for my children once they learned to read. To encourage reading in the beginning, every book counted, no matter how short. From there, I set various goals for them. At 25 books, we went for ice cream or they got extra video gaming time. At 100 books, we had a celebration with grands, cousins, etc.

 

Years later, they all love to look back over all the books they've read. My 15 yo son has read over 700 so far. His goal this summer is to read all Alexander Dumas' novels :hurray:

 

My daughter who is my reluctant reader, felt a great sense of accomplishment when (at age 11) she completed her first series of books: Lemony Snicket; she has a rather wry sense of humor. Recently she read The Hunger Games.

 

After all the high school history, science, lit, and school-y stuff in general, I like to read something fun over the summer. Dave Barry and Riddley Pearce wrote a delightful series about Peter and the Starcatchers. We are all anxiously awaiting the newest arrival of the Sisters Grimm.

 

HTH,

Teresa

[In the Rain]

DD 10yo has to be forced to read. I have tried letting her pick her own books. I still have to make her read them. Right now she has chosen to read Harry Potter simply because I won't let her watch the movies until she has read the books. But I still have to make her sit down to read it and she whines and protests. The only books she has ever picked up to read outside of assigned reading time were The Night Fairy and the Spiderwick Chronicles. But it's only happened, like, a total of 3 times in her life. We've tried audiobooks. Her eyes just glaze over and she doesn't retain anything. She likes horses, but I don't know if she would like to read about them. She loves Tim Burton movies and Greek myths. She enjoyed the Percy Jackson series when I read them aloud. She likes to draw, likes flowers and butterflies and being outdoors.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Maybe this is too obvious a question, but are you sure she reads well and easily? Could she have a vision or processing issue that make reading more difficult than it should be?

 

Based on her interests, maybe she would like biographies of naturalists or outdoorsy adventurous people.

[ondreeuh]

Charlie Bone series by Jenny Nimmo

Mysterious Benedict Society

 

These are great read alouds/audiobooks - maybe if your daughter does something with her hands while listening, she will stay engaged? I fall asleep within minutes unless I am doing something like driving or knitting.

 

My 10 year old is a very reluctant reader (reads his required 30 minutes a day, then is done!) but he is enjoying Encyclopedia Brown. The only more challenging books he reads on his own accord are ones I've already read aloud, like the Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place.

[nmoira]

The Night Fairy and the Spiderwick Chronicles.

 

She loves Tim Burton movies and Greek myths.

 

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place

The Willoughbys

Bone by Jeff Smith (graphic novels)

Theodosia series by LeFevers

Sisters Grimm series

Lemony Snicket (try the audio books first, for tone)

[Karen in CO]

Have you tried paying her to read? For my two olders, once they could read chapter books, I'd pay them to read more challenging material. I typically on have to pay for about a dozen books before they took off and read without the extra incentive. I found that although they could read well, it was a bit daunting to start books. The monetary incentive helped encourage them to tackle larger or harder books while they grew in confidence.

 

Other than that - have you tried Calvin & Hobbes or Asterix? How about Horrible Histories?

[BatmansWife]

When my oldest was about this age she absolutely LOVED The Saddle Club series (she owned nearly every one). Also The Boxcar Children, Encylopedia Brown, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys. My youngest is on book 3 of The Boxcar Children and said it's finally getting to be a mystery and she is hooked. She also is loving to read Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. There was another series my oldest really loved and she just had to own every book (I think there were only 3). I can't remember what it was but when she gets home later I will ask her and let you know.

[fraidycat]

My DD picked up a "Dewey, the Library Cat" at the library yesterday and wanted to bring it in to SeaWorld with her last night so she could continue reading it. :confused: :D

[KarenNC]

My art-loving 11 yo daughter loves manga, but be careful in which ones you let her pick. Look at the back for the age rating. At this point, we let my daughter read anything rated Everyone or Youth, most of the ones rated Teen, some T 13+ and stay away from T 16+ or Mature. Manga is almost exclusively translated from Japanese, and they have some different ideas of what's appropriate for younger readers than is common in American culture, much less what is considered such in our house.;)

 

Other than that, her preferences are comic strip books (Baby Blues, Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield, For Better or For Worse, etc). In terms of prose books, she's loved The Ranger's Apprentice, Kathy Reichs' Virals and Seizure, Eva Ibbotson's juveniles and the James Patterson juveniles recently. These authors all also have series for adults or young adults with more mature themes, so make sure of what you're getting.

[mo2]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I've made a list and am adding things to my Amazon cart.

 

 

My art-loving 11 yo daughter loves manga, but be careful in which ones you let her pick. Look at the back for the age rating. At this point, we let my daughter read anything rated Everyone or Youth, most of the ones rated Teen, some T 13+ and stay away from T 16+ or Mature. Manga is almost exclusively translated from Japanese, and they have some different ideas of what's appropriate for younger readers than is common in American culture, much less what is considered such in our house.;)

 

 

Kind of like when my 5yo who loves anime is trying to find something to watch on Netflix? ;)

[KarenNC]

Kind of like when my 5yo who loves anime is trying to find something to watch on Netflix? ;)

 

Very much so. I've spent a lot of time the last couple of years skimming manga before I'd let her check it out or buy it at the used bookstore.

[SilverMoon]

If she likes Tim Burton, some Roald Dahl may be right up her alley. The Twits, B.F.G., and such. Some of them are quite short, but they're all on the quirky side.

 

Also, A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket.

 

She liked Percy Jackson... Have you looked at 39 Clues by the same author? There's also the Kane Chronicles which are focused on Egyptian mythology (slightly higher Lexile than Percy Jackson).

[Hunter]

I'm working on reading stamina, reading strategies, and variety of genres with my tutoring students. I downloaded the 19 red Scholastic Literature Circles for $1.00 each.

 

Every other novel the students can read whatever they want. But I am collecting these 19 novels and will have them here, as the defaults. They are slim and easy and I expect a slim novel every 1 or 2 weeks now.

 

We just started using these 2 weeks ago, but we just quickly read over the short "Reading strategies" and "writer's craft" lessons and use the guides for pacing. I skip all the rest without guilt as I only paid $1 for them, and I want to FOCUS on genre, stamina and strategies, and "less is more" sometimes.

 

EDIT: TMI

 

After that I'm not sure what I'm doing, but I'll tackle that then. But for right now Scholastic is picking our books :-) Unless a student finds a treasure she is excited about, which one did recently. Charlotte's Web.

Edited June 3, 2012 by Hunter

[Farrar]

The Search for Wondla and Hero for Wondla by one of the authors of Spiderwick.

 

Tale Dark and Grimm

 

Coraline and The Graveyard Book...

 

I second a lot of these recommendations. And I second trying graphic novels. Maybe start with Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi.

[Pen]

I second trying the Carter Kane books if she liked Percy Jackson. But this time get her to do at least half the reading. If you start it, she may be able to continue on for the whole thing. Or try trading chapters, you read 1, she reads 1. This was my son's first couldn't put it down once he got started reading experience.

[*Jessica*]

If she likes Harry Potter and Percy Jackson she might be interested in the Bartimaeus series by Jonathan Stroud, or The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, or the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull.

[black_midori]

Maybe she would enjoy a different genre?

 

Horses, for instance: you should certainly try all the horse fiction books, the saddle club ones, the traditional favorites (Black Beauty, etc). You could also try books about horse care, horse raising, horse breeds. Maybe books about particular horses (Sea Biscuit), particularly ones that have movies associated with them. Veterinary care books, horse training, etc.

 

ETA - I would take her to a nice bookstore someday (maybe even a used bookstore, if they still have those around) and just let you & her sit for a few hours & look at a variety of books. See what she glances at vs what she picks up & flips through. See what gets a few seconds vs a few minutes vs can't put down. No pressure, no "must pick xx", just "here are hundreds of books about subjects you may like - let's take a look!".

Edited June 4, 2012 by black_midori

[jenn-]

Does she have problems in any other areas of school? My DD had to be forced to read "fun" fiction books, but she also struggled to retain information from all other subjects. She has been diagnosed ADD and since started medicine. I held off as long as humanly possible before medicating her (seriously she would probably should have been medicated in 1st grade in PS and I just started in August this previous year). A light bulb went on with the first few doses. Suddenly she was able to read a chapter and actually remember what happened at the beginning it. Heck she was able to read a page and remember what it was about. It really was getting that bad. Just another option.

[ktgrok]

My son hated to read until he started reading Manga. I can't remember now what series it was...something very popular that I couldn't pronounce properly according to him. After reading a dozen or so of them he finally began reading regular books. Now he is a total bookworm.

[kubiac]

If she likes Burton, what about John Bellairs? The House With a Clock In Its Walls is tremendously spooky and interesting, IIRC.

 

And I agree with the Nancy Drew suggestion. Yes, it's kind of like reading a novelized Scooby Doo episode, but there's something about that old girl...plus it's a series, so if she likes one she can move on with the character and develop her reading fluency.

 

What about The Borrowers or The Littles? Maybe Island of the Blue Dolphins? Ronia, the Robber's Daughter? Redwall?

 

She likes to draw, likes flowers and butterflies and being outdoors.

 

There's a lovely old novel called Girl of the Limberlost about a teenager in Indiana who becomes a naturalist and significant amateur lepidopterist, all while juggling poverty, school and a melodramatic/compelling family backstory.

Edited June 4, 2012 by kubiac

[txhomemom]

At that age my dd really loved any books related to animals. Some of her favorite series were Poppy and Bunnicula. She also liked a book called Socks (about a cat). She read several by Bill Wallace: The Backward Bird Dog, Watchdog and the Coyotes, The Flying Flea, Callie, and Me. She also liked the Catwings series. I am not sure what reading level your dd is at, but some of those may be too young, however, it may get her more into reading if you choose shorter chapter books at first (that worked for my dd). There was a time when my dd was barely able to read 40-50 page long chapter books (not because of reading issues, but because of her patience for reading in general). Now she is reading 300+ long books like it is nothing. She still is not a serious reader, but every now and then she really gets into a particular series. My dd tends to read a lot of nonfiction science books, so maybe you could find something related to topics that interest her.

[happypamama]

I'd check to see if reading is difficult for her. My 10yo DD does best if she has an index card to put under each line, and she's easily turned off if the print is too small, or if the lines are too crowded. I have also heard that colored sheets can be helpful in reading.

[Ohmomjacquie]

Ice cream and $ for reading? Hmm sounds wrong but if it works why not? LOL at this point I may try it.my dd will read only when forced to.

[mo2]

I

 

There's a lovely old novel called Girl of the Limberlost about a teenager in Indiana who becomes a naturalist and significant amateur lepidopterist, all while juggling poverty, school and a melodramatic/compelling family backstory.

 

I must check this out. Dd wants to be a lepidopterist when she grows up.

[PollyOR]

In general, my kids didn't choose to read until they were at least ten or older. Artemis Fowl and Diary of a Wimpy Kid were the hooks here. Good luck finding something that she'll want to read.

[mo2]

In general, my kids didn't choose to read until they were at least ten or older. Artemis Fowl and Diary of a Wimpy Kid were the hooks here. Good luck finding something that she'll want to read.

 

So there is hope that it will happen someday? :lol:

 

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've made a list and will see what our library has.

[SilverMoon]

Oh! The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland by Catherynne M. Valente may appeal to the side of her that liked Spiderwick and Night Fairy.

[Ellie]

I read aloud to my children the books I thought they would enjoy, or that I thought would be important to be in their memories; I read to them one chapter a day, right after lunch, each day that we were home. We went to the library weekly. But I never, ever required my dc to read anything. Ever. I didn't even officially notice if they were reading on their own or not.

 

You could assign one book per month, if you want, but you should be satisfied with that one book and not put pressure on her to read on her own. Start with one of Marguerite Henry's horse books, and have her do one of these book report forms.

[mo2]

I read aloud to my children the books I thought they would enjoy, or that I thought would be important to be in their memories; I read to them one chapter a day, right after lunch, each day that we were home. We went to the library weekly. But I never, ever required my dc to read anything. Ever. I didn't even officially notice if they were reading on their own or not.

 

 

 

Really? Well, if Ellie did it, it must be okay!

 

I have been thinking today that I need to *encourage* reading instead of *requiring* it. Like, severely limit screen time (of course, without mentioning that I'm doing it because I want her to read more), make more trips to the library, talk more about the books I'm reading, talk about some of the books I have good memories about from my childhood, etc. I don't know. What else?

[leeannpal]

Have you taken her to the library and let her look through lots of books? My almost 10 year old doesn't like to be forced to read, but she really likes to pick her own books.

[KarenNC]

Really? Well, if Ellie did it, it must be okay!

 

I have been thinking today that I need to *encourage* reading instead of *requiring* it. Like, severely limit screen time (of course, without mentioning that I'm doing it because I want her to read more), make more trips to the library, talk more about the books I'm reading, talk about some of the books I have good memories about from my childhood, etc. I don't know. What else?

 

Good audiobooks for the car. That's what I've been doing to make sure my daughter is exposed to the longer books without having to argue over everything I want her to read ;). A nice benefit for this has been the ability to do literature lessons on the fly---stop the audiobook and ask her if she remembers such and such previously that foreshadowed this event, what does she think will happen next, did she understand a particular vocabulary word/idiom/etc, expand a bit on information that would help her understand what's happening or the reason a setting is a certain way, etc. We've been doing this since she was little, and I don't interrupt often, but it is useful. Since we both are listening to the story, it also makes discussing it easier.

 

I still have required reading actual physical books other than manga :), and I have her involved in a monthly book club at the library.

[mo2]

Good audiobooks for the car. That's what I've been doing to make sure my daughter is exposed to the longer books without having to argue over everything I want her to read ;). A nice benefit for this has been the ability to do literature lessons on the fly---stop the audiobook and ask her if she remembers such and such previously that foreshadowed this event, what does she think will happen next, did she understand a particular vocabulary word/idiom/etc, expand a bit on information that would help her understand what's happening or the reason a setting is a certain way, etc. We've been doing this since she was little, and I don't interrupt often, but it is useful. Since we both are listening to the story, it also makes discussing it easier.

 

I still have required reading actual physical books other than manga :), and I have her involved in a monthly book club at the library.

 

 

Audio books don't seem to go over well here. I wish they did. She tunes them out.

 

I don't think I would be comfortable not requiring ANY reading whatsoever, but maybe it would be okay cut back a little. :confused: I'm torn. Sometimes I think, if I don't require it, she will never read. Other times I think I'm pushing too much.

[Walking-Iris]

my ds (age 9) is a reluctant reader as well. A few thoughts. Obviously there could be other problems academically that could make a child a reluctant reader, but not necessarily. Not all kids, or adults for that matter, are voracious readers. My dh for example was a very good student and he says he rarely read for pleasure as a child. But upper middle school into high school he really started to read mostly non-fiction or biography. He is a voracious reader now---but rarely does he read any fiction. He has his favorite classic authors (Hesse and Tolstoy) but he mostly reads non-fiction. I however have had my nose in a book since I was 3.

 

My ds excels in the language arts subjects (spelling, grammar etc) and I know he is a strong reader since I still ask him to read aloud passages to me. But he just doesn't pick up books for reading pleasure. Actually he looks at books everyday, but they are always the same tried and true favorites that he has read a million times.

 

I swore I would never assign reading. That reading aloud every day and surrounding them with books would grow a reader. But now I've been assigning books. We've started a new system where he picks out 6 to 12 books, fiction or non-fiction, that he is interested in. I get to veto some choices that I feel are too below his level and not challenging enough, but I allow him to pick things he's read before IF I find that it's challenging enough to read again and it's not something he's been stuck with forever. "Yes you can read Charlotte's Web again, but let's give Wimpy Kid a rest." And then we put those on a separate shelf in his room and then he has to read every day. Minimum two-three chapters. At other times of the day he can look through and read anything at all as well as those books. I also keep a lot of kid's mags around and he does enjoy looking at those. We have also got into the habits of having subtitles on movies and Netflix.

 

For my ds it was being overwhelmed with the choices (we seriously have a lot of books) and he didn't know where to start or what to choose. Having me help him narrow down a few choices and to put those away helps him make the reading selection on his own easier. And then I keep him accountable by talking about what he's reading and expecting a mandatory reading time each day. I also allow him to stay up with his light on reading until he's sleepy or to listen to an audiobook. I've also noticed that he enjoys reading a book that I've just read to him as a read aloud for himself when we're done with it. Almost like I'm a model for how to read it and then he gives it a try.

 

For next year, I'm going to take one book and assign it in a more structured way with discussion and activities and book responses. Possibly one a month.

[Ellie]

Really? Well, if Ellie did it, it must be okay!

Oh, gosh...!

 

I have been thinking today that I need to *encourage* reading instead of *requiring* it. Like, severely limit screen time (of course, without mentioning that I'm doing it because I want her to read more), make more trips to the library, talk more about the books I'm reading, talk about some of the books I have good memories about from my childhood, etc. I don't know. What else?

That sounds like a very good plan. :cheers2:

 

And of course, if your schedule allows it and she enjoys it, read aloud to her from those good books. My younger dd was usually just too busy to sit down and listen to me read, but she turned into a reader, anyway. :)

[ukfan78]

My son loved the How to Train Your Dragon series. He also liked The 39 Clues books.

[mo2]

Oh, gosh...!

 

 

Well, really. Your kids were homeschooled. They grew to be adults. They went to college. They function well in the real world. Whatever you did worked. And you're so *relaxed* and confident. So unless you're a troll who has had plenty of time on her hands to carry on this convincing story over the last 6 years that I have been reading these boards and the boards at Homeschool Reviews, I am inclined to think that your advice is at least worth some good, hard consideration. :)