8yr old son has told me NO-ONE has stories read to them anymore - find something for me to inspire him!

The Charlie Bone series by Jenny Nimmo-my eight year old ds loves 'em.

Oh, and 'Varjak Paw' by SF Said -- very readable for that age group (and graphic novel style pictures too)

I love kid's books so always happy to read to my DCs! And it is one of the few times DS1 (9) will sit still and listen to me! I'd second Cressida Cowell's How to Drain Your Dragon books -- they are genius, Roman Mysteries (though a bit gruesome?) and Charlie Higson's Young James Bond books. For non-fiction you could try Horrible Histories / Science books. DC1 ploughs through these.

Horrid Henry is great -- I love the moral ambiguity!!

DS1 is 9 and he's really into the Famous Five books at the moment

have an idea for you - go to this link..something Channel 4 have done which is pretty cool...and free !

lifestyle.aol.co.uk/parenting/lost-for-words

my youngest loved it

how about comics, captain underpants, horid henry,BFG is great too or non fiction books which you can read together and chat about?

And don't forget Cressida Cowell - How to train your Dragon!

So glad to find I'm not alone in my dislike of Horrid Henry! It's the fact that he always seems to get away with it that I particulalry hate - but I always feel so pompous when I talk about what a bad role model he is!

I found my copy of Green Smoke a few years back. About a dragon living in a cave in Cornwall who befriend a little girl. Can't remember the author. DD loved it at 7. I'm thinking of trying it on DS#1 for his reading at home.

I hate Horrid Henry too. A teacher recommended it for DS#1 back in Yr 4. No thanks. He's a nasty selfish little brat and I don't want him in my house thanks.

Susan Cooper, Over Sea and Under Stone (there are four more in the series, so if he likes them you're sorted for a while).

Totally agree with you Seeker. My dd and ds both read to themselves in bed after we have finished reading with them - the best of both worlds!

Noooooooo! I hate Horrid Henry!

Horrid Henry???? My two dds especially liked the nits one .....

And there's no reason why you can't do both. A soon as my dd could read comfortably by herself, she had 15 minutes reading in bed between the story I rad her and lights out. Worked very well.

I don't think that reading to children at bedtime is about teaching them how to read so that they can be left to read to themselves once they are competent readers. It is about sharing a love of books and having time together at the end of the day. My dd is 10 (and her reading age is 15 - not showing off - just illustrating my point!!!) and we still spend 45mins to an hour reading with her before she goes to bed. We are able to read things which she would not understand on her own and so open her up to lots of new ideas/ stories etc.

My ds is 7 and he loves Roald Dahl (we are reading "Matilda" with him at the moment). He loved the first Famous Five book which we read to him recently. When he has his stories he chooses 4 books (the last one is always whichever chapter book we are currently reading to him) but the others might include a picture book and a couple of non-fiction books. With the non-fiction we tend to read a couple of double-page spreads and then move on to something else.

Aha marthamoo! I like Morpurgo but DD (8) who is a good reader didn't get on with Why the Whales came which I loved. So I didn't bother even trying DS#1. But maybe I'll invest in that boxed set for stocking fillers this year.

Book people are fantastic

the hobbit/lord of the rings ? It was about that age I got into them (still love them as an adult - am looking forward to reading them to my kids).

I still read to my 10 year old. It's one of my favourite parts of the day - it's "our" time, with no annoying little brother and no other distractions. I would tell him how many people on this thread do still read to their older children. We tend to do tandem reading these days too - it can be a bit annoying though when I'm enjoying a book and he finishes it without me!

Michael Morpurgo is great (though some are less suitable for very sensitive/younger children). The Book People (I think) have a box set offer atm. We've enjoyed the Lion Boy books lately (maybe a bit old for an 8 year old) and Alex Rider (he enjoys Alex Rider more than me, I have to say, I find them a bit clunkily written). We also read Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, which I remembered from my childhood - he enjoyed that too.

My DS is 8 and loves the Atstrosaur's books.

I have no trouble reading to my eldest who is 10 - it's getting him to read to himself that is the problem. Perfectly capable but he simply doesn't do it unless forced to do it at school. We've tried tandem reading and we've tackled LOTR that way (now that was a marathon) but he won't read alone. School are getting a bit hotter on reading now as his reading age has slipped but I still hate to have to force him to do it

How about Dahl's "Danny, Champion of the World?"

Dd didn't take to the Eagle of the Ninth, much to my disappointment. Don't know why.

Great minds think alike Seeker.
Returned to this thread to mention The Children of Green Knowe, and the Roman mysteries and my big new discovery that everyone else already knows about which is The Wolves of Willoughby Chase.

Sorry Rosa - cross posts!