Recommendations for a book to read aloud to a group of 11 year olds

[BatCrapCrazy]

As part of a new reading intervention I am delivering in the school I work in (I'm a learning support assistant) I am to spend 20 minutes everyday reading to my group (5 kids in year 7, mix of boys and girls).
I would love some good recommendations. My own dc are 3 and 4 so we are still in the Gruffalo and Beatrix potter stage at home, so I'm a bit clueless about year 7s.
Thankyou

My ds read Skellig in Y7 and really enjoyed it - in fact he went on about it so much, that I read it myself!!

What a fab sounding intervention you will be doing - those children will really enjoy it!

Harry Potter?

Holes, remember reading it to year 6 once and it went down well.

Was just coming on to say Holes too, it's fab and both my DCs loved it ( one boy, one girl.). Also The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

Just having another think -

Y5 & Y6 at my school are currently reading Beowulf, another one they do is The Eye of the Wolf - I was reading it with some today in guided reading, I'm not normally in there, so have downloaded it, because I want to know what happens!

They all really enjoyed Coraline.

the 13 1/2 lives of Captain Bluebear
Wolf Brother

I read Robert swindella room 13 when I was a child in year 6 and still think it was good

Our year 6 at school have read pig heart boy, the boy in the striped pyjamas and some others (which my mind has blanked now), these might give you a starting point for other similar books

The Silver Sword by Ian Serailler.
Mr Gum books by Andy Stanton
Goodnight Mr Tom

DS is in year 6 and he is reading Holes too. In fact I've started reading it too.

How about David Walliams new book Awful Auntie? It only came out last month so they are unlikely to have all read it

Gangsta granny! David walliams

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, and Six More by Roald Dahl

My family and other animals by Gerald Durrell?

Wonder by RJ Palacio is totally awesome. My Y6 DS was very sad when he'd finished it, he loved it so much.

It raises loads of great stuff for discussion.

Demented Ma I was just going to suggest goodnight mister Tom and the silver sword. I would also recommended I am David or Caries war

I'm assuming that these Y7s may be reluctant readers, or below average? (Otherwise, they wouldn't be on this intervention?)

If so, I would not start with a novel. I would start with some picture books, there are some fantastic ones out there for older readers:
The Red Tree by Shaun Tan
Night of the Gargoyles by Eve Bunting/David Wiesner
Wreck of the Zephyr by Chris Van Allsburg (actually most of his books)
Rose Blanche by Roberto Innocenti Neil Gaiman's picture books, especially Instructions
Anthony Browne's books- try The Tunnel.

You could also try some poetry- again it's shorter so often immediately gripping and you don't have the problem of them forgetting prior events or missing vital bits if they're away.
The Highwayman is excellent for that age- romance, jealousy, blood and guts all in one.

Came on to say Robert Swindells Room 13 too. I reintroduced the 'story at the end of the day' to my streetwise Y6s and they loved it!

I remember loving stig of the dump at that sort of age. And anything by Roald Dahl, the Twits, Boy etc.

Millions was a good read too and I think written for this age group.

I second The Silver Sword. When I was in my final year of primary school, the teacher read it aloud to the class. My daughter read it at the end of Year 6 and got through it very quickly because she found it gripping. I think the fact that I had remembered it all those years later and bought it for my daughter says something about the quality of the book!

The Giver.

Amazing book. Seriously.

It's fairly short it won't take you all year. I read it as a cos and reread it just yesterday as an adult because there's a film coming out of it. There are follow up books to it so I'd the chn enjoy it enough it'll lead them on to reading the others.

child* not cos!

We read Children of winter at school in year 6 and the plot sparked a lot of our imaginations at the time and even reading the plot summary I still get a shiver!

Skulduggery Pleasant? It has both a male (albeit a skeleton) main figure and a heroin so it is good for boys and girls and it's very accessible for lower levels of reading ability too while having a great storyline - its a series too so might encourage those who enjoyed it to read the rest.

The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler. Try not to let them see the last few pages - the surprise factor is brilliant.

I'd totally second Wonder. I gifted this book to Year 6 last year, it is being read in both classes now as their class book.

The David Walliams books are great fun to read out loud. One has just been released this week, Awful Auntie - so hopefully they won't have read it yet.

I read Animal Farm to the dcs. It doesn't matter if they fail to grasp the allegory at all - they can see some of the point and the characters are ace.

Presumably also your audience is of boys and girls and so many books are worthy, girly, trying to be down-wid-de-kidz and/or too silly for this age group.