ktgrok Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 DD is 10, and has dyslexia so reads a bit below level, but is doing really well. And of course, the more she reads, the easier it is. She is currently reading the Usborne Illustrated King Arthur, and in general likes tv/books/movies with say, talking cats and wizards and such. Loved the Harry Potter books as a read aloud but reading them might be too hard. This is a favorite show right now https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_of_Arcadia Any suggestions for books she may like? She likes graphic novels as well, and humor. She just read a big 2 volume book of Calvin and Hobbes, and now I'm sort of at a loss, lol. I'd love to find something with world building, fantasy, etc but that isn't too hard a slog for her as far as reading level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 (edited) DS#2 was a later reader and all throughout school years had a tendency to skip over/guess at long words (stealth dyslexia)... About age 9-10 he discovered the original Warriors series and LOVED it. That is the first longer/chapter book series he tackled on his own. (All other chapter books we were reading aloud together buddy style to strengthen his reading skills -- and continued to do into high school). When he was around 12, he really loved solo reading the Artemis Fowle series and Percy Jackson series. And then loved the Harry Potter series on his own around age 13-14. Maybe start with a few series that are for younger readers -- so bigger type/wider spaced, fewer words/page and include illustrations? That world-builds through multiple books in a series, and that would give her a lot of early success with books that are easier for her to read. And then you could build into longer chapter books at the higher reading levels... gr. 2-4 reading level - Catwings series (LeGuin) -- flying cats! 😄 - Secrets of Droon series (Abbot) -- magic - Dragon Slayer Academy series (McMullan) - Moongobble and Me series (Coville) -- very young; magic/magical creatures gr. 3-7 reading level - Secret of Platform 13 (Ibbotson) -- single book; a kinder/gentler Harry Potter-like world; illustrations and bigger type - Varjak Paw; The Outlaw Varjak Paw (Said) -- cats! illustrations! fast reads! 😄 - Warriors (original series) (Hunter) -- cat clans in the wild - Foxcraft (Iserles) -- foxes in the wild + magic! - The Unwanteds series (McMann) -- magic + mild dystopia - Wings of Fire series (Sutherland) -- dragons - Dragonslippers series (George) -- dragons & a princess; lighter in tone - How to Train Your Dragon series (Cowell) - Yoda Origami series (Angleberger) -- high on humor - Moomintroll series (Jansson) -- Swedish trolls - The House with a Clock in its Walls (Bellairs) -- first in the Lewis Barnavelt series; a wizard/magic and a nicely spooky edge; well-written (I doubt the movie is anywhere near as good as the book 😉 ) gr. 5-7 reading level - Enchanted Forest Chronicles -- series (Wrede) - Edgar Eager magic books: Half Magic, Magic By the Lake, Knight's Castle, Time Garden, Seven Day Magic -- high on humor Some graphic novels -- ** = may be young(?) - ** Zita the Spacegirl (Hatke) - ** Babymouse series (Holm) -- humor - Phoebe and Her Unicorn (Simpson) -- humor - Amulet (Kibuishi) - Rapunzel's Revenge (Hale) - Conspiracy of Ravens (Moore) - Olympians series (O'Connor) -- Greek myths Also, what about collections of fairy tales and myths? Those don't do the world building, but they are short, so even though there is "a lot of writing" on each page, in a few pages you've completed a complete story -- success! Edited August 13, 2020 by Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 PS If she's enjoying the Usborne King Arthur, she might also enjoy the Usborne Illustrated Arabian Nights, or the Tenggren Arabian Nights -- I believe both are only available used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 My kids loved the Warriors series, the Catwings series, Dragon in a Sock Drawer series, Jeremy Thatcher Dragon Hatcher, Laurence Yep's Dragons of the Lost Sea series. One child loved Wings of Fire; the other was annoyed that they didn't depict dragons the way that she imagines them. Everyone loved Half Magic and E. Nesbit's Book of Dragons, but that might be at a higher reading level. We listened to it on audiobooks. The Eragon series was fantastic on audiobook, also. We got a lot of mileage out of the D&D Monster Manual, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 I came in to leave a recommendation, the very under-loved, under-appreciated, better-than-Harry-Potter-says-my-kds (and me): The Underland Chronicles, by Suzanne Colins. Similar or just slightly below HP in reading level, very similar in content, with books getting more mature as the series advances, on par with HP. But I'm also happy to find a series to try- Catwings. I've been looking for a series for my dd8 to read in French, and these have been translated and seem just right. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted August 13, 2020 Author Share Posted August 13, 2020 (edited) Oh my goodness! Thank you all! I'm getting her Catwings to start, she's going to LOVE LOVE LOVE those! She LOVES cats!!! I ordered the first two catwings, the first Foxcraft, and the first Percy Jackson book. That was the series that got my oldest really into reading, and she has read the Usborne Greek Mythology book, and really liked it, so maybe it will work for her too. Edited August 13, 2020 by Ktgrok 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 (edited) Look at Wizards of Once. It has a dyslexic MC, which might make it even more interesting for her. Edited August 13, 2020 by Critterfixer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 1 hour ago, OneThoughtMayHideAnother said: Completely unrelated to this thread, but if your children ever want to read a junior biography of Socrates in French, my childhood friend wrote a highly rated one aimed at teenagers (sorry for the plug, couldn't resist): https://www.babelio.com/livres/Bouix-Socrate--Un-homme-dangereux/987013 My son literally just wrote a paragraph on Socrates today because we're starting a philosophy course this year! I'll look into this, it looks like a great addition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted August 13, 2020 Author Share Posted August 13, 2020 4 hours ago, Critterfixer said: Look at Wizards of Once. It has a dyslexic MC, which might make it even more interesting for her. Ooh, checking that out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 (edited) On 8/12/2020 at 6:24 PM, OneThoughtMayHideAnother said: I keep hearing good things about the Wings of Fire series. It's probably a little easier than HP, but the books are pretty long. George R.R. Martin has this beautiful fairy tale with nice illustrations called "The Ice Dragon". Probably not for a very sensitive child, though. Also, has she read Catwings? "Heroes in Training" might be a little too easy? "The Wild Robot" books are great, I hear from my son and his neighborhood posse, but more sci-fi than fantasy. Edit: Apparently, Geronimo Stilton and the Kingdom of Fantasy books are aimed at children 7-10. These are very colorful books, with pictures and some words written in those awesome fonts ("freeze" would look like ice, etc.) My guess is that they might be a tad too childish for a 10 y.o., though. My daughter reminded me this weekend that the WIngs of Fire has a graphic novel version as well that might help. ETA: And talking about my daughter, there are the Zoey and Sassafras books by Asia Citro. They use the scientific method to determine how to heal magical creatures of their ailments. Edited August 17, 2020 by vonfirmath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 My girls have all loved the Fairy Realm books by Rodda. They are easy to read, but high interest/action. My 10 yr old is currently devouring The Green Ember series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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