To think that the Wimpy Kid books are pure shite?

We loved Jeremy Strong, I read them allowed to both DC and we all found them really funny.

Ah, DS loves them and gets the new book from Santa every year. He’s coming up for 25, and has usually finished reading it by lunchtime on Christmas Day. I never read it to him, so can’t comment in the content.

Loved the Goosebumps books!

Half wanting to read through some of them again while on maternity but unfortunately they don't have them on kindle

I let DD read them to herself - I refuse to read them to her. ButI was all about ballet series at that age, Sadlers Wells, Drina dances! I read fairly widely these days and have moved on from ballet and boarding schools!

If you want something funny and well written, I can recommend Charlie changes into a chicken by Sam Copeman. We all enjoyed that one!

The Magic Faraway Tree by End Blyton?

My DS loves them. Stop yucking someone else's yum!

Not sure if too advanced as mine is only 4 weeks old so nowhere near reading but I loved the owl who was afraid of the dark and others from that group of stories e.g the cat who wanted to go home

Also diary of a killer cat is really funny, one of my mum's favourites to read to me

Possibly a bit advanced still but if you're reading them to her it'll probably be OK as there's illustrations

I like the films

I love, love, love Diana Wynne Jones. Has he read Archer's Goon? 😍

I can’t edit but will also add. Inspector calls is a playscript (gcse text) and she says that this is easier to read than a novel as they read it out with doffeeent kids reading different parts. They also enjoy drama so might be something linked.

YANBU. Ditto the Walliams bollocks. Surely one of the pleasures and privileges of being a parent is to heavily influence your children's book, film, music and tv consumption?

It’s called aphantasia. My DD doesn’t really enjoy reading for pleasure to be honest. At almost 16 and about to sit GCSEs we’ve had to make sure that other versions of set texts have been explored. We’ve watched film/TV and theatre versions of A Christmas Carol many times and this is their strongest of their English paper’s when sitting mock exams. They really enjoyed An inspector calls as they read and discussed it in class in sections so I think that helped rather than silently reading. They’ve also watched a film. I feel like we’ve had to hit the GCSE texts from different sensory perspectives to make sure they can take it all in with enough detail. Audio books used to be a preferred method at one point but listening to the story is similar to reading it if you can’t generate the pictures in your own head.

I understand many people don’t like film or tv adaptations of texts as they don’t always show the true story that was written but it’s definitely helped. Interestingly my younger daughter watched the TV series of A Hood Girl’s guide to murder and she said it spoilt the book as she had read the book first and had imagined the characters a lot differently and also some of the story had been changed.

I’d maybe try and encourage more challenging texts if you can get a visual version. Maybe try graphic novels. My youngest really enjoyed the hearstopper books and they’ve both watched the Netflix series as well. Autistic child not keen on graphic novels but my other child was fine with them. But I think there are lots of more challenging texts available as graphic novels. Percy Jackson is one that’s available as films as well so could be good to try watching and reading. My youngest has read one or two of them at 11.

For my autistic child the length of a book can be challenging as well as the size of the text. The school librarian got her onto some of the dyslexic friendly books which she did enjoy reading. They’re shorter and bigger text but not necessarily younger content. My younger non autistic (not saying NT as suspect ADHD) is reading some really chunky books but the autistic child can’t deal with those as they’re too overwhelming.

I’m really interested in what you wrote. My son is 10.5 and ASD, he’s always been a strong reader (v early to start reading) but is struggling with the more challenging books his class are doing not having pictures. He flat out refuses to read anything that doesn’t have at least some illustrations. I’ve been reading him Percy Jackson as a compromise and he says he struggles to understand what is going on without pictures. I wasn’t sure whether it was an autistic thing but from what you wrote it is? Did you daughter eventually get used to books without illustrations? He loves to read but is sticking ridigly to series that might be a bit young for him now as won’t move on to more challenging stuff.

OMG this was all my child was bringing home from primary after finishing the scheme at one point. I tried to complain and ask them to steer her in another direction but they said she could read what she wanted. She did however move onto the Wimpy kid books, Dork diaries and then my younger was heavily into Tom Gates for a while.

Eldest (ASD) has always been a capable Easter beyond actual age but very reluctant. Apparently she can’t see pictures on her head so can’t imagine the stories. She happily reads books after seeing the films though as she is given a picture of the character to think about. It’s an ASD thing. The Wimpy kid books went through the first few years of high school as well until she was captured more with period type books set during the war or Victorian times.

Youngest progressed on as soon as secondary came around and loved reading. Read all of the Good girls guide to murder, which is probably recommended for older than 12 when she was reading it and the subsequent books. She keeps finding books series online to read and I’m just happy she is reading without lots of reminders to read. With my eldest I had to sit and read half an hour each day of my own book whilst she did reading. It worked. School insist they log and get signed off for 20 minutes a day on the first few years at high school.

we also went through the Dahl books briefly. David Williams was popular for a while when they were bringing out the short films. Youngest has seen all the Harry Potter films and does plan to read them all at some point. Although o think she’s now passed the HP phase. Eldest also liked the Malory towers series and still likes to watch them on tv.

Can’t really complain. I was heavily into Sweet Valley twins and then Sweet Falley high. Drop in the Judy Bloom Forever book amongst those and that was high school reading outside of the school directed classics.

I haven't had the pleasure yet, but reading the second one of the faraway tree books to my two (5&7) and they are loving them.

I remember being read one in year 2 at school and I loved it and got my parents to get the rest so I could read them.

My youngest has become obsessed with the film ‘4 kids and it’ over the holidays - it’s a Jacqueline Wilson sequel/retelling of 5 Children and it. We haven’t read the book, but if the E Nesbit book is too hard going, try that one if you want him to love the Psammead.

I got rid of the Diary of a Wimpy Kids we inherited, after reading some and thinking there was a tone of pure nastiness running underneath, not to mention a sort of weird, pointless, level of anxiety about normal things (eg flying on a plane, going on a car journey, even going to school) that didn’t seem very helpful to introduce to my seven year old, fairly happy go lucky kid. After reading one of the books he started worrying about some of the fears that the kid in the book was spiralling about! I disagree that all reading is good. Books can obviously have powerful effects on readers, especially young and impressionable minds.

I think part of the joke with Greg Heffley is that he has no self awareness. He's a terrible friend to Rowley, but thinks he's great.

I love the Big Nate books. Fantastic pictures.

You are choosing some very ‘old school’ titles there - may be why he’s attracted to Wimpy Kid, as it’s a little more ‘cool’ (🥴).
Please explore some more contemporary books. They may well do the job of moving him on from them. If he wants stories, there are far better around!

I watched the films (which are hilarious) with DS the other day and in one BBQ scene there was a confederate flag hanging up

The books are shite though and too short

DS 6 quite likes rainbow fairies, I found a few in a library book sale. I haven't read them myself, can someone give me the cons briefly?

@IrritatedEarthling they are just typical early reader repetitive stuff. DD1 would get 15 at a time out from the library and would have read 2 by the time her DSis had chosen her books. They are great for building up reading stamina.

As a general point the books that build reading stamina and that are popular with kids tend to be despised by parents. If this was the 1970s it would be Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl who would be being criticised for producing badly written repetitve nonsense. But now the current batch of parents consider them good and the similar new authors bad.

Also, adults read a lot of drivel as well. Can anyone honestly say they only ever read serious classics? We all read a bit of light comfort reading whether that is romance or cozy crime or thrillers or comedy or even rereading children's classics.

How have you assessed his reading age?