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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Has anyone found anything their reluctant reader actually enjoys reading?

131 replies

Dramatic · 11/02/2025 19:18

DD is 9. She has hated reading since she started learning in reception, she found it difficult and still does so any suggestion of reading anything is met with moans and groans and refusals. She won't even read things that would be beneficial to her (instructions for a game or craft activity).

She has ADHD which complicates things a bit and I suspect some form of dyslexia too.

Does anyone have any suggestions of things their reluctant readers have enjoyed?

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stargirl1701 · 12/02/2025 20:52

I just kept going.

Bedtime story every night
Magazine subscriptions
Book festivals
Yoto player
Book tie-ins like games and puzzles
Modelling adult reading for pleasure
Weekly library visits
Book tokens
You Tube 'draw-a-long' tie ins
Multiple formats of same book
Film adaptations
Printed activity sheet tie ins

It took 12 years but DD1 is finally reading for pleasure.

Just don't give up.

dontforgetme · 12/02/2025 20:35

Dog Man, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries have all been hits with my 7 and 10 year olds.

herbygarden · 12/02/2025 20:30

Rabbit and Bear, lovely, easy to read and hilarious. Attack of the Snack is the funniest I think!

Hankunamatata · 12/02/2025 20:23

Not reading per say but I used something called 'word wasp' with dyslexic adhd dc. U buy the book and do reading and writing exercises for 10 mins a day, working through the book.
U can download test from website to see if word hornet or word wasp is the best place to start. It really helped dc.

Member984815 · 12/02/2025 20:18

corlan · 11/02/2025 19:24

Dog man graphic stories by Dav Pilkey. I believe there's a film in cinemas at the moment that might help get her interested.

Any graphic novels , like these are great my daughter has a collection of them . She wasn't into harry Potter or the david Walliams books we had in the house from the older kids but would read these and captain underpants

fuckthemail · 12/02/2025 19:44

Another vote for Lottie Brooks

mamaduckbone · 12/02/2025 19:39

Tom Gates
Dirty Bertie / Angela Nicely
Rabbit and Bear range
They're awful, but the reluctant reader girls in my class have all gone through a rainbow fairies phase.

KittenPause · 12/02/2025 11:17

Non fiction

Books on animals, space etc

Headpainempathy · 12/02/2025 08:35

Comics. Snoopy books. Are there any animals/pets she likes? You could find that she enjoys factual or fun facts books related to one if those subjects?
I'd focus on something she's interested in and then find a book related to it and get her to go with you a bookshop to choose one or two and then it wont seem like such a chore. Maybe sounds a bit obvious but there's a book on nearly every subject after all.

sleepfortheweek · 12/02/2025 08:26

Purpleandredandyellow · 12/02/2025 07:50

Mine loved lottie brooks?

My daughter loves those books! She started reading them at age 9 but the themes are quite mature so it depends on the child I think

Purpleandredandyellow · 12/02/2025 07:50

Mine loved lottie brooks?

HellMet · 12/02/2025 07:49

Percy Jackson and warrior cats there's also a graphic novel version.
Science comics series
zita the space girl

I think the Simon thorn series is being published as a comic/ easy read version aimed at children who find reading difficult.

Ohmych · 12/02/2025 07:39

The naughtiest unicorn books with the fat unicorn Dave at unicorn school

Twittable · 12/02/2025 07:36

Lottie Brooks series were very relatable for my reluctant reader, also helped her understanding of friendships.
Pamela Butchart books are very funny and not too challenging.
Audio books are brilliant for listening together then you can talk about the story, make predictions etc. We did other things while listening (Lego, painting nails, sequin art, colouring etc) which took the pressure off.
The Land of Roar series are great audiobooks.
Find an independent bookshop and take your child with you to ask for recommendations - our local one has incredibly knowledgeable staff who are really enthusiastic, my DD definitely preferred their recommendations to mine!

I work in a school that uses Accelerated Reader, you can quiz audiobooks as well as books you have read - it’s all about their understanding of the story.

My DD is in Year 6 now and a prolific reader but still loves audiobooks. She doesn’t need or want me to listen with her anymore but still does Lego, art etc while she listens.

Onelifeonly · 12/02/2025 07:14

I don't believe there's necessarily an answer. ADHD / Dyslexia can mean reading is always a chore and the effort involved means the meaning (the enjoyable part) can be lost. But books with less text on a page, more illustrations, dyslexia friendly ones where the text is spaced and printed on off white paper, using coloured filters over the text (you can buy packs of different colours and the child can decide which helps the most) or books with high interest for the child - maybe non fiction would interest her more.

If it helps, the average reader in year 6 is often not that interested in actually reading but has sufficient comprehension to reach the expected standard for their age.

Neither of my children liked reading, despite being immersed in books as children. Both can read as adults in terms of the needs of everyday life.

Fabulousfeb · 12/02/2025 07:03

@Becomingolder mine loved them as well, short chapters, not many words to a page and beautiful illustration

Bwoaolkk · 12/02/2025 07:02

Yuja · 11/02/2025 21:09

13 story treehouse hooked my unenthusiastic reader when he was 8. He's nearly 10 now and an avid reader - never thought I'd see the day!

Same for one of mine.
The other reluctant one read bloody rainbow fairies for a good couple of years. Thankfully they’ve now realised there are more interesting stories out there! They read for pleasure now where it was really hard to get them to read before, I think they needed to be good enough to read bigger and more involved stories to get it.

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 12/02/2025 05:57

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

FuzzyYellowChicken · 11/02/2025 23:48

Lottie Brooks got my reluctant "reading is boring" 9 y/o reading

loubielou31 · 11/02/2025 23:44

My DD enjoyed poetry, Michael Rosen was a particular favourite because they were humerous. I suspect it's because poems are (mostly) short and therefore felt manageable and still interesting.

Also audiobooks aren't cheating. We listened to audiobooks on long car journeys. Just William stories read by Martin Jarvis are still a family favourite and nostalgic treat. (DCs are late teens and 20s now)

SussexLass87 · 11/02/2025 23:32

As well as books, putting the subtitles on the TV permanently has really helped my ND 9 year old's reading.

I read about it, and thought we'd give it a go...the difference it made to his reading confidence (and therefore his enthusiasm to read) was amazing.

Coka · 11/02/2025 23:30

For sure try dogman. Its a comic style book so not loads of reading. Movie out at the minute too to get her interested

nam3c4ang3 · 11/02/2025 23:22

For my child with suspected adhd:

dogman
wimpy kid
monkey vs bunny
beast quest

stargazer02 · 11/02/2025 23:16

Going to second quite a few recommendations here - graphic novels. Bunny Vs monkey by Jamie smart and dog man by dav pilkey.
My DD (8) can read well but dosent enjoy it. Since she started with these two series she's been reading for over an hour a day for pleasure- I ended up buying them all as was so pleased she'd found some she liked. She also likes books like Ripley's believe it or not because it's short snippets you can dip in and out of.

Her and my 11 year old love The Phoenix comic magazine. Jamie Smart (mentioned above) does some comics for them. All short and each story can prob be read in a minute or less so it doesn't feel overwhelming.

sleepfortheweek · 11/02/2025 23:09

Both my DDs love the Babysitters Club graphic novels. They aren't wordy at all and they enjoyed the stories

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