8 year says reading is 'boring'

[xmasadsboohiss]

My DD has been gradually going off reading for the last six months or so . She starts lots of book but rarely finishes them and tonight she tells me that she finds reading page after page 'boring'. I'm going to see if I can find her a book of short stories perhaps and wrack my brains yet again to think of storylines she might be more interested in. Has anyone had experience of this - is it a phase? If so I'm not worried but if it's an indication that she's perhaps not understanding what she's reading then I'm more concerned. I'd say she's an average to good reader for her age.

[iwantavuvezela]

How about letting her read easier books so she finishes them and feels a sense of completion. Or books with illustrations e.g. The Ottoline books (3 in the series) which are beautifully illustrated.

[tarheelbaby]

My yr5/9yr old has not been a keen reader. (unless it's for snooping - she loves a school letter or a bit of till tape) I think for some it's harder to find a book that suits. Some winners for her have been the Lemony Snicket series, which I mainly read to her and a series which includes Crowns and Codebreakers. She read lots of the (mindless drivel) rainbow magic books.

Letting your DD read 'easier' books is also a good idea.

[BeMorePanda]

What about the Tom Gates books?
My 8yo dd loves them and the pages have lots of different fonts, pictures, doodles etc so it's a different type of reading.

[xmasadsboohiss]

Oh god those rainbow magic books! Yes, she read a bucketload of them in years 1 and 2 and is inclined to return to them now. Lemony Snickett is a good idea - I remember one of my nieces loving those books. Feel like I'm walking a bit of a tightrope with it - I don't want to put her off by nagging, or by her getting the sense that it means so much to me.

[Doilooklikeatourist]

My DC are grown up now , a and neither liked reading
What worked for us was
( boy ) screw fix magazine , lots of pictures of drills and bricks
(Girl ) magazines , rainbow fairies , little house on the prairie

[xmasadsboohiss]

Yes she's read a Tom Gates one so more of those could be good. I suggested re reading David Walliams but she's dead against reading a story she already knows. Maybe if I plug into her interest in shopping and give her a couple of quid to spend on books or annuals in the charity shop that might work.

[xmasadsboohiss]

Funny you should say that about Little House on the Prairie! It was when we were reading that together that I first noticed she just wasn't that keen. Magazines is a good idea though. Thanks everyone!

[NightNightBadger19962]

Graphic novels worked for dd1, who also turned out to have a visual processing problem (figure ground). Now she reads on kindle, but only a few pages each night, as she reads slowly, but does enjoy it again.

[SharonfromEON]

Can I suggest David Walliams latest book the worst children..Funny. lots of pics and short stories.

[Pimmmms]

Have you tried the 13 Storey Treehouse series? My 9 year old DS was struggling wuth the summer reading challenge until we started them. He kept stopping to read me funny bits.

[xmasadsboohiss]

Ah that David Walliams one sounds perfect. Fantastic suggestions. Thanks again!

[IBelieveTheEarthIsFlat]

How about old Enid Blyton? Her books are still fab and fabulously controversial now, you could read together (but separately) and discuss. Also, 8 year olds still like being read to too. Harry Pot? You could also get a audio book on Audible and listen, while cuddling before bed. It's still magic and feeds the love of stories

Also, how about Tintin or other graphic stuff? It's still reading. And Horrible Histories and other non fiction stuff. Mix it up a bit

Plus, have a look at available podcasts she might be interested in.

[MostlyHet]

My similar aged child (reluctant reader) has fallen in love with Julius Zebra.

[DelphiniumBlue]

Have you tried reading part of the book to her? Sometimes children's comprehension does not match their decoding skills, and so although they can read the words, they don't fully make sense of the plot and detail. If you were to read with her/to her some of the time, it might help with the understanding, and make reading more enjoyable and less of a chore for her. There's no law that says she has to read the whole of every book by herself, and it's more fun reading with someone.
You could try either taking it in turn to read a page or a chapter, and then checking that she gets what has happened, and understands inference.
As to what to read, lots of children I know love Jonny Zucker. You could try taking her to a bookshop or library and letting her riffle through what's there. Waterstones and lots of independent bookshops have recommended titles with blurb saying why they like the book.

[Buzzardbird]

I second Tom Gates. DD devours them.

[xmasadsboohiss]

Delph I think you've hit the nail on the head there re her decoding skills being ahead of her comprehension. I also think you're absolutely right that I need to read with her. We're in the library anyway tomorrow so will pick up another book and agree to read it together. God I love MN - one little post and some many wonderful suggestions!

[BeMorePanda]

Once my DD's got too big for picture books, I started reading them chapter books - just a bit ahead of their level. A chapter or 2 every night. They love it.

So with my 5yo now I am reading Roald Dahl. With 8yo I'm not reading ATM as it cut into her own reading time, but if she was reluctant I would be reading for her too - she enjoys the Roald Dahl books too but can easily read those for herself.

My 8yo is also well into the Jacquline Wilson "Hetty Feather" series.

[BeMorePanda]

xmas you could try, you read a chapter to her, then she reads a chapter to you. Or She reads the first 2 pages of a chapter and then you read the rest. If you read one and she wants "more" you could ask her to read the 2nd chapter aloud? Etc

[xmasadsboohiss]

Thanks for responding guys. It's actually Jacqueline Wilson books that have brought on the latest revolution! She started two and has abandoned both saying that they are boring. That's what's kind of odd about it - all the age appropriate stuff isn't interesting to her which is why I think she's not understanding big chunks of it. I think you're all correct to say that I should be reading with her.

[maizieD]

OP,

You say that you think your DD is probably an 'average to good' reader for her age, but I would suggest that you might get her to read something you regard to be at her 'level' aloud to you just to check that she can read it.

I know that I am a bit biased because my experience is in working with struggling KS3 readers but I usually found that 'I think reading is boring' actually translated as 'I find reading difficult as I can't work out what many of the words 'say'.

[xmasadsboohiss]

Yes maizieD you may have a point. She does read aloud a fair bit so I know she can decode well but my worry is that she doesn't understand. So she can read what they 'say' but not necessarily know what they 'mean'. I need to put a lot more leg work in with her I think. She has a mild word finding difficulty which hasn't had an effect on her reading and writing but is obvious in her speech.

[Muddlingthroughtoo]

Roald Dahl books are quick and easy. My daughter has never been keen on the Jaqueline Wilson books either. She loves the goose bump books and the Rotten School ones. Start with thinner books and as her reading speed improves, buy her more in depth books.

[maizieD]

In that case I'd echo everyone else and say just let her choose to read whatever she wants to and don't worry at all if it is 'below' what you think she should be reading at her age.

[xmasadsboohiss]

Thanks! The odd thing is that she's gone through the fairy books, Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, David Walliams etc etc and now she seems to have hit a wall. She's read plenty of chunky books in her time without a problem so why the sudden halt?

[xmasadsboohiss]

Also I'm not worried about her being above or below a certain standard - I'd just like her to feel engaged by any book sufficiently to want to read it to the end.