Book recommendations for a reluctant reader?

[lostlalaloopsy]

My dd is 10 and reading has always been an issue. She is slowing improving and I would like to do more reading at home. We have the Rainbow Fairies series but these are too babyish now; Roald Dahl these are too long; Harry Potter there are too many words!! I realise that these are also excuses!

Does anyone have any recommendations for something a 10 year old girl might enjoy?

Jacqueline Wilson?

Many MNers will surely disagree as the subject matter can be “controversial” but my 7 year old laps them up! They’ve really given her a love of reading!
And David Walliams

Tom Gates
Wimpy Kid
The Reina Tegemeier graphic novels: Smile, Drama, Ghosts
Victoria Jamieson graphic novels: Roller Girl, All's Fayre in Love and Middle School

Some Jacqueline Wilson's are fairly short as well.

David Walliams is an awful writer, I would only get his if you're absolutely desperate!

Hmm. I've just bought a Mrs Pepperpot collection for dc3(6) however her big sister dc1(9) nabbed it off the shelf first (she's like a moth to a flane with a new book) & seemed to like it. They might be slightly young for her as they're fairly short standalone stories but that's not necessarily a bad thing if it encourages her to read. The 9yo has also just enjoyed the first 2 Borrowers books. I loved Terry Pratchett's Bromeliad Trilogy at that age.

Moth to a flame. I changed that & it bloody changed it back!

Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf - these are like short stories

If she isn't that confident with books yet then the Daisy books by Kes Grey are very funny.
Jeremy Strong is funny too.
Definatly Jacqueline Wilson. But check age range first as some are for older. Jean Ure and Cathy Cassidy are similar to JW.
Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz.
Tom Gates
Wimpy Kid.
Let her experiment with books. If she isn't enjoying a book try to figure out why and move on to something different.

Penny Dreadful

(sorry, I keep thinking of others!)

I think what you want are fairly heavily illustrated shortish books. HP is just very dense text.

How about a comic, like The Phoenix? And/or Aquila - good content but short articles.

Matt Haig kids books?

Or The Worst Witch books are quite small.

Barrinton Stoke books may be worth a look.

13 Story Treehouse are fairly word light and picture heavy.

Seconding Tom Gates, Wimpy Kid - also Dog Man. And Penny Dreadful!

The Bolds series by Julian Clary & David Roberts is brilliant. Toto the Ninja Cat also.

What sort of stuff is she into, outside of books? Go with her interests and then you'll be better guided. There's quite a lot of semi-illustrated stuff but it depends what she's into what she'll enjoy.

My reluctant reader actually really likes non-fiction things like the Kids Who Dare to be Different sort of thing.

Also - you can be a reluctant reader and still love stories. So you can read to her - she is definitely 100% not too old to be read to. That way she can develop her love of books without getting bored by her ability level.

Audio books are brilliant for this, for sharing stories. Consider an Audible subscription maybe?

I know people are saying he is a terrible writer, but David Walliams got my DD enthusiastic about reading so surely that is all that matters! I would second the Treehouse books - again, DD is genuinely happy to read them.

Possibly a bit old fashioned now and the stories aren't that sophisticated but are enjoyable easy reads:

The Worst Witch
The Railway Cat's Secret
Chronicles of Narnia (the series starts off at a more basic reading level then progresses with each book)

And my was absolutely obsessed with reading Diary of a Wimpy kid at this age.

Agree with lots of suggestions above.

Would add:

The Thundercats series

Terry Pratchett for younger readers (anything with Tiffany Aching in it)

I loved Noel Streatfield.

Artimis Fowl

also Big Nate (very much in the vein of Wimpy Kid, but funnier).

Coper I understand that, but he's such an awful writer I would keep him as an absolute last resort!

My daughter is a bit younger and also a reluctant reader. She will not read any fiction herself, although enjoys being read stories.

She does however enjoy non-fiction especially sport, biographies, geography and history. We use the library a lot for this sort of stuff!

The Phantom Tolbooth has got several reluctant readers going.

Paddington stories, which she could combine with the Stephen Fry audiobooks.

Something with more pictures like Astérix and Tintin.

My DD was always a reluctant reader, and we discovered it was because she didn't much like the "in" girly books.

Anything Michael Morpurgo, all the classics in the Penguin series. Goodnight MIster Tom. The stories all needed to have a reality or historical element to them.

Conversely she also liked anything legends and myths, Norse, Greek, Roman.

Older now, she is a Ancient and Modern History girl....... seems she always was !!

When does she read?
My ds was a reluctant reader but I used to tell him it was important that he did at least 20 mins reading a day. I’d send him to bed early precisely so he would have time to read then ask him how he was enjoying his book from time to time.
I found the more he read, the more he got into the story. It’s just not going to happen with a few minutes reading here and there.
How about reading with her? You read a chapter/half a chapter and she does the same.
I think screen time can affect their concentration too.
He loved David Walliams and choose your own adventure books. Now, he’s into ghost stories and horror.

Oooh what’s the deal with Walliams? The films are funny!

his sentence structure is dire. I got one out of the library for bedtime reading and was so relieved when DD said she wasn't into it, it was giving me a pain reading it! I had a good long bitch about him with DD's year 3 teacher who also can't bear his books.

We have always had a set time to read before bed, at 10 years old maybe 20 minutes. You could also read a bit then she reads a bit.

Reading at a particular time becomes habit. Ds2 finally decided he liked books when he was 7. But he read a lot of factual books.

Tom Gates are fantastic books. Highly sort after in our school library in primary school.