Can anyone recommend reading books for DS (aged 5) which might capture his imagination

[iwouldgoouttonight]

He is in year 1, he was 5 in August, and the reading books he brings home from school are level/stage 2, which seems about the right level for his ability. The problem is he really doesn't enjoy reading them and it is quite a challenge to get him to even look at them. They tend to be ones about Biff and Chip, and a couple of times he's had ones about babies.

He really loves superheroes/Ben 10/pirates/knights and likes it if we make up a bedtime story involving adventures and heroes. He sometimes looks at Ben 10/Toy Story comics and tries to read them but I think the language is too old for him, and a comic probably isn't the best way to learn to read anyway!

I just wondered if there was something in between - i.e. a book with simple words he can read or sound out himself but with a story and illustrations that might capture his imagination a bit so he is interested to find out what happens. He seems to have got it into his head that reading is 'boring', and I'm sure it must have something to do with the types of stories and illustrations rather than reading itself.

Bloody Biff and Chip....I do see the point, but they are just so joyless

I would go to the library with him and get out loads of books - some that he might read to you, some that you might read to him and some that you can read together (where he can read the 'chorus' etc..). But also buy some - school reading scheme books you tend to work through the series and read them only once, but home reading books you visit and revisit again.

I have read Ben 10 and Spiderman etc... with my DSs, but after a while I can't face them, they are so badly written and formulaic.

My favourites for reading:

Dr Seuss - Green eggs and ham is great for reading together
Julia Donaldson (Gruffalo etc..)
The elephant and the bad baby
Anthony Browne
Where the Wild things are
Funny Bones
Suddenly
The Mog books

On the adventure side, I would think about reading to him, a 'chapter' book with loads of suspense and adventure. He shouldn't think that learning to read means he has to give up the pleasure of being read too - all that decoding is such hard work, and the stories he can read to himself will be limited. I still sometimes read to my 12 year old.

My younger DS loved the Tashi books (big, big book of Tashi etc..) from about 6, as stories to listen to. Also How to Train a Dragon and Mr Gump.

Have you considered non-fiction books? My DS really loved books about diggers and mechanical stuff at that age, and reading's reading, as long as it's got appropriate content. I'd keep going with the comics if that's what he enjoys as well. The point at this stage is to encourage the concept of reading for pleasure.

I hadn't thought about non-fiction - thats a good idea. We do have a couple of books about bugs/dinosaurs/etc which he does really like to read together, but the words (especially names of dinosaurs!) are too difficult for him to read himself. But maybe if we looked for some with slightly simpler words he might try to read them himself.

We still read to him every night as well, and we also try to go through a book for him to read, but it is a struggle! He likes taking a book to bed and looking at it for a while before we put his light out but it tends to be ones where the words are too advanced for him to read so he just enjoys looking at the pictures.

I have just had a quick look at Dr Seuss on Amazon - I think they might be good ones - he does like rhymes (this morning over breakfast he listed all the words which rhyme with poo - much to DD's amusement).

Russell & the lost treasure - funny & fab illustrations
Dirty Bertie - for boys who find poo funny (there's a young one before the paperback series)
Captain Wag & the blue whale (pirates)
The way back home - boy meets martian

Allen Ahlberg Red Nose Readers and then Happy Families-can't recommend them enough. They are funny and well written unlike sodding Biff and Chip. Got them from the Book People.

Rude Rhino - lots of raspberry blowing; funny and easy to read.

comics are FINE!
Basically ANYTHING they want to read is okay - cereal packets, to comics, to newspapers to postcards from grandparents (we used to get them regularly to DC carefully written to their individual levels - ha - grandma was a primary teacher!0
Eldest dd refused to do any homework or spellings or reading what was expected in primary - she read comics and general household stuff with writing on it and shopping lists - and did well academically!
3 other children - 2 who have always loved to read (1 boy and 1 girl) 1 other who isnt that keen - but i am not worried - they can read and are all fine following their own path!
(i was worried when eldest daughter was a non interested reader though because pfb and obv worried about everything! - no need to worry - we read to them regularly and they are all great intelligent literate kids!)

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I have ordered the red nose readers books - they look just about right for his level of reading. He likes Dirty Bertie - we've got that from the library a few times. We also went to the library at the weekend and he chose two nature books and in the car on the way home sat looking at them and read 'lizard', 'racoon' and 'forest' by sounding them out. I was very proud!!