My avoid-fiction-like-the-plague ds2 has read 3 sizeable novels in the last 10 days

[roisin]

He's almost 8, a superb reader, but reads almost exclusively non-fiction, and avoids 'stories' at all costs.

He has just read:

Caroline Lawrence: The Secrets of Vesuvius
E B White: Charlotte's Web
Georgia Byng: Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism

Do you want to know what I did to effect the transformation?

Yes, as it might work in reverse for me with my non-fiction phobic DDs!

What Roisin?

Drat, missed out second hyphen.

The experts on motivating boys at school always stress the importance of a competitive element, and a challenge.

So I just made him a 'Reading Passport' with ten spaces for stickers/stamps; and then drew up a list of fifteen books for him to choose from. (Most of them are the first in a series of books, so I'm hoping it will spur him on.)

He gets up early in the mornings, but instead of getting up to play on the computer or gameboy, this week he has been getting up and reading

fab idea Roisin. If DS stops reading fiction - he def prefers non-fiction, but does read some fiction too - I will employ the same tactic!

My just-8 year old DS loves stickers and stamps, so this may work with him too! He is another who prefers non-fiction (he has Aspergers so tends to have "interests").