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Original poster

Book suggestions for dyslexic daughter

38 replies

0131trojan1 · 11/05/2011 22:02

Can anyone suggest any books for my daughter who's been diagnosed as dyslexic? She's 11, but reading age I think about 8?

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madamehooch · 12/05/2011 07:52

Check out Barrington Stoke publishers. They specialise in books for dyslexic/reluctant readers with a reading age below their interest age. They are printed on cream colour paper with a suitable font. They are also tested on their target audience before publication. They're by fab authors as well - Andy Stanton has written a couple.

RosieRed · 12/05/2011 12:55

To be fair, Barrington Stoke used to be petty poor for girls - it was all football and boys adventure. We phoned once to ask about girl books and I don't know if that helped (!) but they certainly are doing a lot more now. We just bought a new one called Take Two and we got a free e-book with it, which was a nice surprise.

Original poster
0131trojan1 · 12/05/2011 13:28

Great, thanks to both. Have just checked out their website, and the books look ideal. I think she would like Candy Girl, too. How do I find out about freebies, special offers, etc?
I'm hoping the school already knows about Barrington Stoke, but will check with LS teacher and see. I see they have packs for school on the website, and leaflets, etc. Have emailed for parent leaflet.

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RosieRed · 12/05/2011 13:44

We've got Candy Girl but we've not tackled it yet as it's a bit longer ;o) Not sure how you find out about the freebies etc - find the website a bit hard to use but they have a twitter @BarringtonStoke which is more user friendly. Hope you get on well with the books and don't get downheartened - reading age 8 is actually better than my daughter but we're getting there!

Original poster
0131trojan1 · 12/05/2011 19:55

Have bought 3 via their website- Candy Girl, Meet the Weirds and Enna Hittims ( couldn't resist the half price offer on that one! Story sounds good, but odd title.......)
Will let you know how we get on :)

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Original poster
0131trojan1 · 18/05/2011 17:45

RosieRed-
Barringon Stoke books are brilliant! Daughter absolutely loves Candy Girl- amazing. She was reading it at 10pm, but I was so shocked, I didn't complain!! Friend has just emailed to say she's seen a thing on Facebook about 3 day sale on the Barringtons Stoke website, so checking that out later and maybe get more. Thought I'd let daughter choose this time..............

MadameHooch- Also got parent leaflet through post, so I see what you mean now about the interest age v readers age thing. Didn't quite understand before.

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madamehooch · 18/05/2011 18:58

Really glad she liked them!

RosieRed · 19/05/2011 09:17

Thanks for the sale tip 0131trojan1 - am off to stock up!

Original poster
0131trojan1 · 19/05/2011 20:07

Me too, RosieRed, Spotted a Michael Morpugo one called Fox Friend, and a couple of Jeremy Strong books which sound quite fun- Mad Iris and Mad Iris is Missing. Credit card out yet again, but may as well try them at these prices!

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RosieRed · 23/05/2011 15:46

OMIGod Madame Hooch I didn't realise when you said Andy Stanton you meant the Mr Gum guy!!! My DS is Mr Gum mad...

madamehooch · 23/05/2011 17:11

Completely true RosieRed. 'The Story of Matthew Buzzington' is his first title for Barrington Stoke (nominated for two regional book awards) and he has a new one just out - 'Sterling and the Canary.' Read them and enjoy!

LRDTheFeministDragon · 23/05/2011 17:17

Diana Wynne Jones - The Magicians of Caprona is good (for you to read to her and her to try a bit of), if she's like my/my brother. The story is about two children who are intended to resonate with dyslexic children, but it's not obvious - they are in a sort of Renaissance Italian world where everyone can do magic, but they just don't seem able to do it the same way other people do - getting things mixed up or being 'slow'.

I liked it when I was little because you can get fed up with overtly moralizing 'stories for dyslexic children', but on the other hand, it's nice to read something that speaks to your situation and makes you feel good about yourself. My mum started reading it to my brother and it got his confidence up so he mostly managed to finish it himself.

girlscout · 23/05/2011 17:36

The trek of the rainbow warriors by Tom Jolley is written to be dyslexia friendly and presented as such.
see www.abc-dyslexia.com

RosieRed · 24/05/2011 13:18

I followed that link a bit excitedly but the books don't really look like something you'd buy in a shop. Also my eldest has been a Barrington Stoke consultant (where kids get to read the book before it gets published and tell them about any bits they find hard) and he actually had a lot of trouble with the original but then not with the final book once they had edited it. This lot say they don't edit plus I know from other books and school that none of my kids find arial a good font plus they say that they still justify text to the right even though the BDA says not to. I'm not sure - it looks to me like a bit of a rip off of the easy bits of Barrington Stoke to copy.

diglotbooks · 24/05/2011 16:56

Take a look at www.dancingkites.co.uk/ their books have been developed specifically for dyslexic children.

Original poster
0131trojan1 · 24/05/2011 18:03

SO MUCH information!!!! JUst had a quick look at Dancing KItes website. Don't really see how they can have books for dyslexic kids aged 4???? How can you know at that age? Showed the covers on the website to daughter who was IMMEDIATELY put off- a) by the 'Step 1' bit on the cover, and b) by the cuddly animals! Plus, they seem to be wordsearches and things like that. I cannot believe how much she loves the Barrington books- they are just the right length, and she is SO chuffed when she finishes the last page!!
Don't quite understand the font stuff, RosieRed, but these just seem to work for her.
Sorry, girlscout, but I think Rainbow Warriors at 320 pages (!!!) would not be what she needs right now. Maybe once she's worked her way through the entire Barrington range..................................................
Thanks anyway.

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RosieRed · 24/05/2011 21:25

Sorry if I was confusing 0131trojan1 - I get a bit carried away about design. Have you seen the MR Gum books by the Stanton guy Madame Hooch mentioned? They are beautiful. I'm going to order the Matthew Buzzington one and the Sterling and the Canary one he's done for Barrington Stoke for DD and DSs. Missed the bloomin sale though, didn't I?!
I am going to look up the Diana Wynne Jones books LRDTheFeministDragon, thanks for the tip. I said on another thread how great I thought it was that DWJ had written a book for Barrington Stoke so maybe she actually had a bigger interest in dyslexia than I thought.

Original poster
0131trojan1 · 26/05/2011 19:39

Great news- took the parent leaflet I got from Barrington Stoke website into daughters school, and they already have a few in the library, but are going to go through the chart ( I think this is what Barrington do instead of a catalogue?) and choose about 50 new ones!!! Don't know who's more pleased- daughter or me!! The brilliant thing is that they look like' normal' books- so the other kids don't realise that she's dyslexic.
RosieRed- off to check out Sterling and CAnary book- is it on the website? Can't remember seeing it before?

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madamehooch · 26/05/2011 20:32

Really pleased that the school are going to invest in these books. The Sterling and the Canary one is pretty new. I think there is a catalogue available (I know bookshops can get one anyway). I'm sure if you ring them up and ask for their up to date catalogue they'll send you one.

maggsybear · 29/05/2011 12:21

Thank you for all the tips, does anyone know of any historical books that would be suitable for an 11 year old girl - she loves listening to What Katy Did etc.

Many thanks
Mags x

Original poster
0131trojan1 · 01/06/2011 22:19

my daughter's not really into historical stuff at the moment, but looking a the website, Barrington Stoke seem to do books about WW2 and suffragettes and subjects like that- is that the kind of thing you mean?
Do you know what her reading age is?

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Original poster
0131trojan1 · 05/06/2011 09:28

Back on Barringon Stoke website and ordered Sterling & the Canary - by Andy ( Mr Gum !!) Stanton.
Daughter- so excited, can't wait!!
Is this the same child who was SO grumpy about reading anything at all, just a month ago??????????????

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madamehooch · 05/06/2011 12:16

So pleased for you and your daughter trojan. Can't believe how many schools come into the shop and have never heard of Barrington Stoke!

meditrina · 05/06/2011 12:21

You might like to get the audio books of the things her friends are reading. She can listen to it whilst following the text on the page. It'll keep her with the group IYSWIM, which will be good for confidence, and will help her to enjoy literature.

I've done this with dyslexic DS2, who found Percy Jackson via a tape of The Lightning Thief and who then went on to read (no tape) all the others. I can't begin to tell you how happy that made me.

madamehooch · 05/06/2011 14:13

meditrina - the good thing about Barrington Stoke is that they are written by popular authors and that they are well-written, exciting stories which can be enjoyed by all readers - dyslexic or otherwise. You can still be 'with the group' reading these books and my personal view is that they should be shelved with the authors' other books and not in their own 'special' section. Audio books are good though because they allow a child to enjoy a story without the pressure of trying to decipher the words which then can lead to them wanting to read the book themselves.