dd (11) won't read

[trubshawe]

I don't know how to encourage my dd (11) to read! She just doesn't see it as something she needs to do, only when her English teacher tells her :(
Her writing isn't as good as it could be, she's a bright girl but her vocabulary (I think) is becoming a bit limited.
Any ideas for stimulating reads?
BTW she is not AT ALL teenagery - so anything girly, romance or vampire-orientated would meet with a YUK. Help!

I have the same problem! Can't really offer any advice but my mum got DD 'Goodnight Mr Tom' for Christmas and I'm hoping she will start reading it now she's back at school (no chance of her reading during the holidays!) - will watch this thread for ideas!

What are her hobbies? If she has a particular interest, she might be interested in some relevant non-fiction. And there might even be fiction relevant to her interests (if I'd memorised French irregular verbs like I memorised the points of the horse and dog breeds at that age, I'd be, well, better at French irregular verbs than dog identification).

My DDs (10 & 13) like Anthony Horowitz & Rick Riordan (adventure, not girly) and DD1 likes the My Story series, which are historical, and Caroline Lawrence's Roman Mysteries, which are Roman and mysteries .

Thanks for ideas so far.
Not sure hobbies are much of a help - manga, animation, pokemon, drawing, drawing, comics, more drawing......not many words there!

what about graphic novels?

Manga Shakespeare?

My DS was a reluctant reader (he has dyslexia, so it was hard work for him), but he got into reading by starting on book that are set out in small chunks - horrible histories was his thing, but there are lots similar, also books of funny poems were popular.

Does she listen to audiobooks - it would give her a wider vocab. and might inspire her to read more if it was a series of books.

I think if they get hooked on a series it can really get them going on reading. I think my DD was keen on the Artemis Fowl books at that age, and mine both liked all the Robin Jarvis Deptford Mice and others, and the Brian Jaques Redwall series.

Does she like going to the library? - they often have good displays of all varieties books which might tempt her.

Terry Pratchet.

oh good - ds and i had a BLAZING row tonight because my he hates reading so much and i can't bear his stubbornness.

anyway. try tuck everlasting, its short, quirky, might catch her attention.

If she won't read for pleasure, what about trying Audio Books?

It might just be that she doesn't like having to concentrate - and if it's her vocabulary you're worried about, there have been studies done that show that children who listen to stories on CD have better vocabularies than those who read, because they can handle stories that are harder than their reading level.

Thanks for ideas esp audio.

She has just got into playing cluedo and I know I started reading Christie at this age - is it too old fashioned?

I wonder if she'd like mysteries then?

Something like Shakespeare's Secret by Elise Broach, or a new series: by Y S Lee (Mary Quinn is the detective) set in Victorian England - first is A Spy in the House, then The Body at the Tower:
Blurb is:
1859: A bricklayer falls to his death from the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament - the most recent horror in a string of scandals that plagues the building site. With the British people eagerly watching the installation of Big Ben, Mary Quinn disguises herself as a 12-year-old boy labourer to uncover the grim truth. Her fellow workers are suspicious. Mary's secret past distracts her. and then James Easton returns...

Looks quite exciting.

Or the Sally Lockhart ones (Philip Pullman) are popular.

Try 'Ember Fury' or 'Scarlett Dredd' by Cathy Brett.

She is a very visual writer and her characters look a bit 'goth' which may appeal to her if she likes art. The artwork also helps to break up the writing - fab if you're trying to entice a reluctant reader!

My DD was the same until she discovered Jacqueline Wilson and then she couldn't read them fast enough.I know they are not everyone's cup of tea but I think she liked them because they touched on real issues like step families and abandonment.Be careful though the In Love books touch on teen relationships so might not be so suitable.from there she moved onto Cathy Cassidy and is now into Louise Rennison but again she is more teen related.What she did like reading were the Diary of a Wimpy kid series which your child might like as they have illustrations and are written like a diary.Both of my children really like R.L stine and the Goosebumps series.
What about watching a film and reading the books after? I know my daughter read a couple of the Lemony Snickett books after seeing the film , also The Spiderwick Chronicles.Has she seen the Narnia films?

My 10yo ds is the same, will only read football annuals which are a bit limited in ideas and vocabulary.

I am still reading aloud to him and his 14yo sister in an attempt to counterbalance this limited diet and give him the idea that there is exciting stuff out there that would be worth his while. We have just done the Three Musketeers and it has been a success.

IF she likes anime, comics and the like, why not try her with some graphic novels. My boys are manga obsessed and have been reading this type of thing since they were about 7 or 8.

Pokemon

Yugi
Shakespeare Can't recommend these highly enough.
Hobbit
Alex Rider
Artemis Fowl
Sailor Moon

You could try Asterix or Tin Tin as well. They are always good for a laugh.

We've got all these and many, many more. It was this kind of thing that got my almost illiterate 11 year old DS reading. (age 11 with a reading age of 6) Now his reading age is ahead of his peers and he reads A LOT.

My 11 year old DD loves Roman Mysteries, Percy Jackson and Skulduggery Pleasant.

my dd1 reads for England and has done since about 8 years old, I read, it is soemthing that is seen at home .

But dd2 is not that "into" reading and would much rather be doing sport.

I took dd to see a Jacqueline Wilson play and then she has read the books, I visit a book shop and we have a good nose to see what she may fancy and get her to read the first 3-4 pages to see if it is interesting.

Thanks for all your suggestions, will be looking them up in the library catalogue tomorrow.. actually had a bit of a breakthrough this week, with dd going through her bookshelves with me and asking me what she should read next - there are so many books on there she's never read! Anyway, upshot was she chose a Morpurgo and has been reading it ever since! There's hope yet.....

Where do you live? There are literature festivals in various places in the UK now. We found giving ds2 the opportunity to see/meet authors encouraged him to read more novels.

Excellent that she is reading again. I love Michael Morpurgo: good choice!

Great idea, she has 'met' Lauren Child, Michael Rosen , by the way he is brilliant!, also other illustrators etc - how do you find where people are 'appearing'?

Twitter is good if she has favourite authors who Tweet. Or just search literature festivals and see what you can find out.

Have a look on waterstones.com - they have an events page which shows you which authors are appearing where.

If interested in mystery type things and doesn't like being labelled as girly, would definitely recommend the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horrowitz. Really struggled to get my DS to read at similar age and these books catapulted him into it because they're really adrenalin fuelled and have fast moving plots so they get totally caught up in it and want to know what happens next therefore keep reading and find themselves wanting to read the next in series too!

She likes manga and comics!

My lord, buy her manga books and all sorts of comic books. Asterix is top stuff. Lots to stimulate imagination and vocabulary, no?

If she likes drawing, introduce her to Anthony Browne (maybe she read some of his books when younger?)

Let her study his illustrations and read the deceptively simple stories. Maybe she'll love it, maybe not but don't forget about picture books. Can also be good for older kids.