Chapter books for 6yo boy

[Magnetron]

DS is just about to turn 6 and I'd like to get him some more chapter books - he's a bit bored of all his bedtime stories and we need something new. We've read a couple of Horrid Henry and he quite likes those, and he's brought home a couple of Dick King-Smith ones from school but doesn't seem over keen on them so far.

He's reading pretty well by himself as well now but he's not very motivated so things that might encourage him to read himself a bit more would be good too.

In general, he likes dinosaurs, has quite a vivid imagination, is quite creative and loves slapstick and a bit of mild violence - think Ninja Turtles, Tom and Jerry, and Sooty! - and he also loves various Lego character ranges (eg Ninjago, Hero Factory, Chima) and their back stories. Not that any recommendations need to reflect those things particularly, just to give you a vague idea of his personality!

Would be very grateful for any recommendations of things your DS's have loved at this age, especially if they have/had similar interests. Thanks!

[BlueJess]

We're reading Cressida Cowell's Hiccup series (the ones the How To Train Your Dragon' was based in. Both DS &DD love them. They are very funny and I love reading them.

They are all about dragons and vikings so there's lots of gore and disgusting bits, adventure and general mayhem. The female characters are also superb. I love Camacazi and her Mum, Big Boobied Bertha.

[Magnetron]

They sound v good! Thanks, will have a look for them - it's always good to have ones that we enjoy reading too! And am sure DS will warm to a character called Big Boobied Bertha....

[mamadou]

Been trying to remember what my DS used to enjoy. It wasn't that long ago. Have you tried the Usborne books? I think the young readers stage 2&3 are pretty good. They are short manageable chapters. I remember DS enjoyed their version of The Three Musketeers - he liked the illustrations too. At 6 he enjoyed re-reading a lot of the picture books that we used to read to him.
Books that we have read to him that he's enjoyed include Dr Proctor books by Jo Nesbo and Fantastic Frankie and the Brain-Drain Machine By Anna Kemp

[DeWe]

Ds (age 6) likes Mammoth Academy (I had to drag him away from one to get him to school this morning).
Currently he's reading Mountain of Adventure at bedtime, which he's very excited about (and is going to save up for a Parrot called Kiki too)

[BlueChampagne]

Julia Donaldson's Dinosaur Diary?
The Magic Finger or Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl?
The longer Winnie the Witch books?
Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf?

[Gumps]

My 6yo is reading the beast quest books and loving them.

[schmalex]

The Mr Gum books by Andy Stanton are very funny.

[fruitpastille]

I don't like them myself but my ds loves Astrosaurs when reading to himself. I am happy for him just to be reading for pleasure even if it isn't my idea of great literature. Together we are reading Roald Dahl at the mo.

[Magnetron]

Thank you so much to everyone who has posted their suggestions, I really, really appreciate them and have got enough ideas now to keep me and DS going for quite some time! I'm going to get him going with Hiccup, Mammoth Academy and Astrosaurs, and I think he'll be ready for Dr Proctor, Roald Dahl, Beast Quest and Mr Gum when he's a bit older. Will also look into those Usborne books. Not sure yet how much he'll read by himself and how much I'll be reading to him but at least there's plenty of inspiration here!

If anyone else is looking for ideas, I've also come across a series called Downtown Dinosaurs that looks funny, and am planning to read him 101 Dalmations too. Fond memories of my own. And will have to try out some Enid Blyton Mystery/Secret type books one day (had forgotten about the Adventure series, DeWe, thanks for reminding me), just not sure what he'll make of the language etc!

Anyway, thanks again - we were really getting a bit stuck and this has galvanised me into moving on and hopefully opening up a whole new world of books to him! I lived on books myself as a child but there was very little competition back then in terms of TV/internet and it seems harder to interest him given the alternatives available now. Fingers crossed!

[Kipsy]

Have a look at
The Oliver Moon Collection
on the bookpeople website. They might suit?
Also the "I am Reading" collection on the same website, I have those and they are perfect for this age group.