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Good reads for 7 years old (Y3) slow reader

32 replies

Frogusha · 10/10/2019 10:24

DD7 just started reading chapter books in school this year. It takes her about 3 weeks to read Wimpy Kid. We've been reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone for the last few days - it's painfully slow. The sentences are more complex then Wimpy Kid. She'd like to read Harry Potter as everyone else in her class seems to have read it and they play re-enactment on the playground. Should we persevere with Harry Potter (though it's slow) or chose something similar to Wimpy Kid? I find the latter not really age appropriate (as it's about a boy who fancies a girl and my 7 y o can't really relate to it and it's also full of Americanisms - which is fine but breaks the flow with me having to explain the slang). Another book she actually liked a lot was Tom Fletcher's Creakers. We've tried other books by Tom Fletcher but they were not as interesting. Also any tips for slow readers would be greatly appreciated. We've tried reading together, for her to pick up on my speed, reading a paragraph each, and it helped, but she still gets confused and bogged down by long complicated sentences.

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AiryFairy1 · 16/10/2019 16:55

@Frogusha we have a very beautiful colour collection of my naughty little sister stories ... it’s quite a big book for little hands but the pictures are gorgeous and we loved the stories so much!

Mayvis · 16/10/2019 16:36

I was going to recommend Pamela Butchart too. She's finally got my reluctant reader reading!

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Frogusha · 16/10/2019 16:30

ALadyofLetters, thank you so much for the recommendation of Pamela Butchart. I'd never heard of her before but it arrived yesterday - second hand off Amazon and in terrible condition (was supposed to be "like new" but had every page scrolled on with black ink and marker) - but DD read it all in 1 seating! That was a Wigglebottom primary book and I have ordered 2 more for her half-term that she will spend with grandparents. My naughty little sister and Flat Stanley also look good but no glossy paper / pictures so seem less attractive to her (even though they paper in unmarked). Thank you all again for the ideas (more books in transit on Amazon).

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Original poster
Frogusha · 11/10/2019 12:43

Thank you for all great recommendations. I copied down most names for her to look up in the school library and will get some on Amazon second hand for half-term. She’s not a great fun of comic books but she did like Dotty detective and Daisy on a school trip a lot. The trouble with these books (c) is that they are easy for her to read but they don’t expand the vocabulary - but perhaps we should take it one step at a time, get fluency up first, then add vocabulary. What are your thoughts on developing vocabulary through listening? Do you stop and explain each word that she might not know or just hope that she will get it in the context? Also, since she’s not actually saying the new words herself, would she retain them?

P.S. I downloaded Harry Potter by Stephen Fry last night on Audible and we listened to it at breakfast (and were almost late for school) :)

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bookmum08 · 11/10/2019 08:48

I certainly wouldn't expect a 7 year old to be able to actually read Harry Potter!
The Daisy books by Kes Grey are funny.
My Brother Famous bottom series by Jeremy Strong is another funny one.
Secret Seven
Roald Dahl

Reversiblesequinsforadults · 11/10/2019 08:03

Those books are very hard for a 7 year old. Diary of a wimpy kid particularly, as it's quite sarcastic, which 7 year olds won't get. Read Harry Potter to her as a bedtime story so that she can join in on the playground. I bet most of the kids have just seen the films and not read it.
Susan Gates, Enid blyton, Chris riddell, the easy roald Dahls, Dick king Smith... Look up books for 7 year olds and you'll find loads of easier books. It sounds like she needs to improve her fluency and you can't do that with hard books. The easiest way to tell whether a book is too hard is to pick a full page from the middle, ask her to read it and if there are more than 5 words which are difficult then it's too hard.
Read to her every night, even if she hasn't read to you. It's more important.

Sparklehead · 11/10/2019 07:18

I would read to her the more complex books, like Harry Potter, or allow her to listen to them on audiobook (without trying to read along at the same time). Books that my (reluctant reader) Y3 DD likes are the Dotty Detective series and Isadora Moon series. They’re not too long, have pictures and good storylines.

Wanderingraspberry · 11/10/2019 07:13

We bought my daughter a cheap disk man for audio books. We get cds from the library, as lots of the audio books are expensive.

MollysMummy2010 · 10/10/2019 23:48

Also as a pp said the 13 story tree house is excellent

MollysMummy2010 · 10/10/2019 23:43

Go to the book people- I would suggest things like dog man - almost like a comic but is a novel size and easy to read. Also captain underpants as similar in that is has a lot of drawings. These books are fun to read for a child. My daughter is now devouring the next to last Harry Potter at 9.

BarbarAnna · 10/10/2019 22:44

But she is hurtling through the X Storey Treehouse series. Also loved David Williams Worlds Worst Children which in my experience works well for slower readers (my other DD) because of the short story format. Just watch the HP movies and and then she can still get involved in playtime.

BarbarAnna · 10/10/2019 22:39

I am nearly 50. Have been reading since a very young age, have top graded English lit and language A levels and a good English degree. I think Harry Potter books look intimidating (and to be honest not that interesting) so I don’t care that my year 3, very bright daughter isn’t bothered with them.

Climbingwindmill · 10/10/2019 22:35

Mine have CD players for audio books as well as echo dots for audible (we love audiobooks in our house!) quite often they will listen just while getting up and ready in the morning or when doing drawing or something as well as at bedtime.

I do find it makes them a little lazy with ‘actual’ reading but it’s great for accessing more complex stories and vocabulary

RolytheRhino · 10/10/2019 22:30

Just read to her. Her teacher will be hearing her read often enough at school.

Disagree. By all means read to her, but she needs to read as well. A teacher with a class of thirty and a full timetable of lessons is unlikely to be hearing her read more than once a week, which isn't frequently enough to be her only source of reading to an adult.

barfotoliv · 10/10/2019 22:25

Just read to her. Her teacher will be hearing her read often enough at school. At home, just concentrate on the enjoyment of the books. You want to be building a culture of reading for pleasure with her; a love of stories, a love of books. The best way to do that is to read to her often.

LadyFuschia · 10/10/2019 22:24

Also, will she read comics? My two love the Beano and The Phoenix, the latter is good for quite complex words and interesting content rather than just humour & slapstick! DS is 8 and has just moved on to short chapter books. He liked Clarice bean books, loved the Lauren Child version of pippi longstocking (lots of pictures & font changes break up text). Also classics like Milly molly Mandy, my naughty little sister, Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf, faraway tree, secret seven. My ten year old is a voracious reader but only just getting started on Harry Potter...

Laterthanyouthink · 10/10/2019 22:21

The Flat Stanley series is really good.

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Frogusha · 10/10/2019 22:16

Many thanks for all the lovely ideas! Will go and research. Those of you who suggested audio books, when do you listen if not in a car? We don’t normally travel by car, 10 mins one way on a Sat, no point really even starting to listen. Do any children listen on an iPod/ another portable device? Or at home on a speaker? I just don’t know when to find time for it as we barely have time to read together (on school nights), to also add audio books...

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BathTangle · 10/10/2019 19:08

We liked the Electrigirl books (Jo Cotterill), the Thirteen storey treehouse series and Pugs of the Frozen North and Cakes in Space (Reeves/McIntyre, as above), particularly because they have cartoons and drawings which gives more hesitant readers a bit more time /a break from just words.

Wanderingraspberry · 10/10/2019 19:03

My very slow year 4 reader discovered the Shiny Pippin books by Harry Heape last year. They are very funny, she reads a page or two, and I finish the chapter. Lots of fart jokes and language play in them.

BareBelliedSneetch · 10/10/2019 18:51

The Danny Wallace Hamish books are good. My 7 yr old read the lot over the summer.

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 10/10/2019 18:49

Some recent favourites...
Adventures of Mr Penguin
Hotel Flamingo
Zoe's Rescue Zoo
Animal Magic

Medianoche · 10/10/2019 17:22

Just listening to the audio books is fine. It’s about building the ability to follow longer plots and learning a wider vocabulary. If she’s familiar with a new word in context from an audio book, she’s more likely to be able to work out what it is (and how it should sound) when it appears in a written text later on. As long as she’s also spending some time reading something herself that she enjoys, she’ll be improving.

Medianoche · 10/10/2019 17:16

The Reeve/McIntyre books are brilliant for that age. My favourite is Pugs of the Frozen North. Also look out for: Rabbit and Bear books; Nothing to See Here Hotel; Ottoline. Don’t rush her on to reading Harry Potter unless she’s desperate to read it herself. If her reading speed is slow, a mix of reading stuff that’ll build her confidence and listening to slightly more complicated, longer plots should really help her.

ColdRainAgain · 10/10/2019 17:09

DS reads much simpler books than that to himself.
We read the big chapter books to him - with him reading the first page of each chapter.

So, last year (Y3) reading to himself was magic treehouse, beast quest, dinosaur cove type books.
While we read How to train your dragon to him.
I'd say yes to listening without reading is good for vocab and sentance structure. Not so great for reading unfamiliar words! We have 10 Roald Dahl books on repeat in the car!

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