Has anyone found anything their reluctant reader actually enjoys reading?

[Dramatic]

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?

My reluctant reader enjoys books with short facts about animals she likes that she can dip in and out of.

She really enjoyed The Beasts of Knobbly Bottom books, we would read page about and they were the first ones she kept reading voluntarily!

She loves listening to stories and has lots of yoto cards, she enjoys listening to the Enid Blyton stories, even if reading them wouldn't be enjoyable at all. The Libby library app is good too, the playback speed is adjustable so she is able to read along to books she would like to read (eg Potter) but feels they are beyond her.

Beast quest
The boy who grew dragons
Super happy magic forest
Dick King Smith
Big Nate
Storey Treehouse series
Guinness book of world records
Jacqueline Wilson

Would she enjoy non fiction books? About topics she's interested in or even popstars she likes.

To give you a bit of hope.

My infants teacher in the 60s hated me, she really did, hit me over the head with a book and yelled at me repeatedly for "sticking my National Savings stamps in the book when I'd been told not to" (this was Day 1 of school and I hadn't heard her) and sitting slightly off the rug at storytime. Lots similar. I was an incredibly well behaved, even sluglike child but she loathed me and it became mutual quite quickly.

So...I didn't read. I point blank refused to even try. I think my parents were getting a bit worried until the wretch left and we had a much nicer teacher who said "she'll read when she's ready". A few weeks later, Mum walked in sto see me with a book and asked what I was doing. "I'm reading" quoth I. She got me to read to her and I could.

I was assessed as having a reading age of 13.9 years when I was 7, which is apparently as high as they could test for.

The point of my self indulgent and cathartic rant (sorry) is to say don't stress it too much, because things can happen at different ages and for different reasons. I'd suggest getting books about things she's interested in and reading to/with her, but in a very relaxed way.

PS I still hate you Mrs Eves.

Came on to say this. It's excellent.

This might sound silly but, have you had her eyes tested?
Does she hate it because she can’t see the words without them blurring?

Failing that, have you taken her to a library?
Let her roam around the library, they usually have little reading spots, say she can pick anything she wants but you want her to read it for 10 minutes and then she can decide whether to take it home or put it back.
Less pressure, a bit more exciting maybe.

The only thing that helped with dd1 was getting her reading cookery books. She's still a keen cook/baker, and now (at 20) still never reads for pleasure which is a great shame but the cook books did the trick at the time.

Same for DS, even when he's been reluctant to pick up books he'd read the Beano.

At 8/9 he enjoyed Stinkbomb and Ketchup-face and Roald Dahl. He's nearly 13 now and has read the whole 'How To Train Your Dragon' series and after months of trying to find something else he'd read is now racing through the 'Skandar, Unicorn thief' books.

Great ideas. Whatever you can do to improve her reading fluency will help. It sounds like reading is hard for her so she feels negative about it. The functional things in this list will hopefully improve her skills and make her realise reading is useful/interesting. When she has cracked the skills she will hopefully enjoy other stuff.

Both my children are reluctant readers. My daughter enjoys the Tom Gates series and a few of the Roald Dahl ones. My son likes the ultimate football hero’s series. I do bribe them with V bucks if they complete a book every 2 weeks and pass the accelerated reader quiz. They are both expected by school to read 90 mins per week which they both see as a chore unfortunately.

Tom Gates!

We also used a Yoto player to get my child used to stories. We borrowed audiobooks from our local library borrowbox which has lots of great variety and played them on the yoto. The ladybird audio adventures series have been a great hit :)

Thank you everyone, some great ideas for us to try, I've never heard of The Phoenix so I'll look in to that.

Because she is a bit behind with her reading it's hard to get anything that's age appropriate and not "babyish" as she says, things like Jaqueline Wilson will be too hard for her unfortunately.

Yes she's had her eyes tested recently and she has perfect vision so that's definitely not the issue, I had thought maybe she would need glasses.

Absolutely, when I listen to her read I can see why she finds it frustrating, she's constantly glancing around the room meaning she loses her place all the time, her mind is always so busy that she doesn't comprehend what she's reading half the time too.

I suppose the reason I really want her to read is because she's going to struggle more and more if she doesn't start to get it soon.

Yes
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
13 Story Treehouse
Charlie Changes into a Chicken by Sam Copeland

Now that she's 11 she's read the first Lottie Brooks book too but that's suitable for 9 year olds too

They're pretty much the only books she's read.
VERY easy reads

Dork Diaries sucked our reluctant reader in. Then Lottie Brooks, and now onto babysitters club graphic novels.

My 9yo reluctant reader loved The Babysitters Club graphic novels. She had watched the Netflix series so was keen to read for once.

What's about audio books so she can follow along without the pressure of reading herself.

Tom Gates is great! Comic book style but very funny and not at all babyish. Inspired my kids art too.

I also came to say the Phoenix. My kids (10 and 7) fight over it. The comics are short and funny without being simplistic and if she likes them there are full books of many of theme e.g. Bunny Vs Monkey, Mega Robo Bros.

Comic book style books! My daughter has ADHD but loves to read and struggles with big long boring books. She needs a lot of pictures and stuff to break it up and lots of weirdness. She loves David Walliams books they are perfect.

Have you got your daughter checked for dyslexia?

The Dork Diaries Collection by Rachel Renée Russell. Def. not babyish and yet easy to read..

Yes! David Walliams is funny as well and easy to read.
Start by reading the first chapter for her, laugh with her, put the book down..and she might be tempted to continue..

Yes, these Adam Kay wrote 2 kids books which are just great. They are non fiction books about the body. I can't recall the names. he did one about greatest inventions too.

Looks like they've been taken over by Collins

Dog Man
Investigators
Bunny vs Monkey
Loshkin

(All graphic novels, heavy on the pictures)

Then i moved him onto a bit more words and less pictures

Captain Underpants
Worst Week Ever series
Last Kids on Earth series
Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Hoping eventually we can move onto NO picture chapter books, but I'm glad he's reading for fun/leisure now so it's not too bad.

DS9