macmacmoo Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Eldest is 9 and does not like to read. It's been a long painful road and we finally are progressing. There is assigned reading but I haven't forced free reading. A few weeks ago, before starting dinner prep, I gathered the boys around and read them the first three pages of one of my husbands Calvin and Hobbes books. He was hooked. He has been staying up late reading and re-reading through all the books. Last night I stayed up late sorting through all the curriculum we own and and on a whim purposefully forgot to put the guide books for Beast Academy 3 and 4 away. He is now gobbling those up. What else can I randomly leave out for him? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Graphic novels of classic books. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
importswim Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales. DS (12) loves all of them! DS also has loved TinTin comics and Asterix and Obelisk. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Jessica* Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Seconding bethben's rec for graphic versions of classics. This is an example we used. https://www.amazon.com/Hunchback-Notre-Dame-Graphic-Classics/dp/0764134930/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1519786830&sr=8-5&keywords=hunchback+of+notre+dame+graphic+novel Adventure Tales of America https://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Tales-America-Illustrated-1492-1877/dp/0961667745 They may be too advanced, but they may also inspire... Cartoon Guide to series. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_8_11?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=cartoon+guide+series&sprefix=cartoon+gui%2Cstripbooks%2C171&crid=1PTBFEPEYUH5A Another thing to try would be Horrible Histories, Horrible Science, Horrible Geography, Murderous Maths. My boys learned fluency with Calvin and Hobbes and these are some of the things they went on to enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 (edited) Calvin & Hobbes saved struggling-to-read DS#2 from giving up-- he so desperately wanted to know what the cartoons said, that he persevered into reading. Bless you Bil Watterson! In addition to C&H, both DSs also liked the Foxtrot cartoon collection books. For expanding a little beyond straight up cartoon and humor, at that age they also really liked the "exploded view" books (like of Star Wars vehicles) with captions pointing to different parts. While NOT a classic -- just straight up popcorn fare, the first full books DS#2 clicked with were the original Warriors cat series (by Erin Hunter). For free-reading "snack food" books, what about things like: - Scholastic Branches books, like: Eerie Elementary; Kung Pow Chicken, Notebook of Doom - Dragonbreath series - Zita the Spacegirl series - Lunch Lady series - Jedi Academy series - Yoda Origami series - 13-Story Treehouse series - Time Warp Trio series - Adventures of Tintin series Edited June 3, 2021 by Lori D. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 We have some cartoon history books that are read voluntarily. Diary of a wimpy Kid and Captain Underpants May make good bridges to chapter books. Calvin and Hobbes are just awesome. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenecho Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 (edited) Lori D.'s suggestions were great. I'll add, get him a subscription to Lego magazine (it's free and filled with comic strips, and my kids love getting it in the mail). Also, all of the Horrible Histories books are great to leave out. Edited February 28, 2018 by goldenecho 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 (edited) On 2/28/2018 at 12:08 PM, goldenecho said: ...get him a subscription to Lego magazine (it's free and filled with comic strips, and my kids love getting it in the mail). Oh goodness YES! The Lego magazine! A HUGE favorite here! 🙂 Edited June 3, 2021 by Lori D. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 (edited) DSs also liked: - magazines, like Ranger Rick -- short articles and loads of interesting photos kept them reading - non-fiction "stepped" readers -- illustrations every page, and small chunks of text - heavily illustrated non-fiction books like: How it Works: Creature Features Inside the Body Eyewitness books (lots of illustrations, snippets of text for captions) The Ultimate Visual Dictionary (lots of illustrations, snippets of text for captions) - interactive books, like: Kids' Fun-Filled Search and Find Geography Book - humor / comicstrip style retellings of classics: Marcia Williams' books No personal experience, but these looked interesting: - Science Comics series - Human Body Theater (Wicks) for high school grades: Manga Guide to... series Edited June 3, 2021 by Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Don't forget Charlie Brown and Snoopy. My kids love C & H and rate Charles Schultz right up there. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 I can't believe no one said Big Nate yet. There are so, so many good graphic novels for middle grades now that it's hard to make a list, but Amulet is, to me, still the best series. If he ever watched Avatar: the Last Airbender, the graphic novels that tell the story that happens after, which are written by the amazing Gene Luen Yang, are also excellent. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 My 10 year old likes Garfield. You may be able to find some collections at your library. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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