Brilliant books for 7 yr old who has struggled with reading

[PuraVida]

DS loves books, loves being read to

His school had just started assessments as he clearly struggles both with reading and writing

I'm scared that we're reaching the point where 'it's too difficult / I can't do it" and he's losing interest in trying

He seems to prefer chapter books, we're working out way through Roald Dahl (me reading) which he enjoys

I'd like to get him some to keep by his bed to try a chapter himself before he goes to sleep

Any suggestions of books that will grab him and make him want to keep going?

[https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_7?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=mr+gum+books&sprefix=mr+gum+%2Caps%2C140 Mr Gum]]. Absolutely hilarious.

Comics/graphic novels? DS adored the Beano and still loves the Phoenix.

Fattypuffs & Thinifers
Books by Jeremy Strong

sorry link fail:

[[https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_7?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=mr+gum+books&sprefix=mr+gum+%2Caps%2C140
Mr Gum]]

Have a look at Claude books- they are essentially chapter books but reasonably short, larger wording, not too many words per page, nice pictures and quite nice stories.

Or how about horrid Henry- look for the "early reader" ones- they have a red tab on the spine stating early reader.
I think that would be a good starting point- both suitable for an early reader whilst feeling grown up chapter book wise...

Look for Barrington Stoke books. They publisher specifically for children whose interest age is different to their reading age and they also use paper and font that make it easier for children with dyslexia to read. I bought the set for my son and it was amazing the amount of confidence it gave him to finally be able to read a book. His reading actually generally improved from there - I think he'd partly decided that it wasn't something he would ever be able to do.

The "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books really got my son into reading.

Brilliant! Thank you. I'm basically going to order them all

Your welcome! I'm sure he will love them.. Forgot to mention diary of a wimpy kid. They are v popular in my house too!

Winnie the witch has chapter books which are a good but easy read.

Also, usbourne. There is a set with a blue spine which are beginners chapter books. There are lots of them. I can't remember the level but one of them is called 'the firebird' so if you can find that one you will be able to see the ones I mean.

Jack Stalwart secret agent books

Thank you all, I've filled my Amazon basket. We're camping over the weekend with no iPads or tv so books it'll be!

Hope he enjoys them. DS, now 11, has read and enjoyed most of the books mentioned here. Particularly loved Mr Gum and any books by Jeremy Strong. We also used to borrow some of these titles on audio book from our library if we were going on long car journeys. That might be a way of introducing new books to him

My dd is 7 and also a reluctant reader. Don't underestimate the importance of you reading to him as it develops fluency and vocabulary almost as well as home reading to himself. Audio books are excellent for long journeys too. My dd likes fact books, national geographic does a great range with facts about animals and lots of pictures, also comic strips, Guinness book of records type books and joke books. She also loves cooking so reads recipes. Not all reading has to be a story.

How about Horrid Henry? Or Flat Stanley? Both have early readers as well as longer books.

I'd echo the suggestion about looking beyond fiction. My DD is space mad and there are several really good books out there. Usborne's Astronaut's Handbook springs to mind. And one of the lift the flap series about how the universe came to be.

Captain Underpants too. That was a favourite at that age. Very silly Diary of a Wimpy Kid style humour.

How about the Clever Tykes books? All in chapters, inspiring reads that should see him interested until the end!

I'd avoid Captain Underpants if he's struggled with reading. They contain a lot of deliberate misspelling of words which really isn't helpful to a child struggling to read.

Tom Gates very popular here.

I'd recommend the Dirty Bertie books. They are similar to Horrid Henry but in my opinion better written. They are simple in structure, easy to follow but great fun. Worth a try!

DC love Claude, wimpy kid and mr gum.

If he struggles with reading, (like mine) I wouldn't expect him to be thrilled at a chapter book by himself. I'd keep going reading fun stuff to him- taking turns if pos...

I wasn't taken, but DS loved this, and I've ordered the other two to collect t when I'm in the UK

How to train your Dragon series.

Aged 6, we moved to Beast Quest and sea quest.
Dinosaur cove might be too childish now, but worth looking into.

And factual books appealed much more than fiction.

We got a mixed pack of this series poss from book people, which is constantly looked at - and caused great delight when he had to write a book review for school. And I produced the toilets book as a sugestion. Writing "poo" in school work was a great incentive

The how to train your dragon books

the Claude books are brilliant and very easily laid out for children with visual issues too.

What about the Usborne reading series? My daughter's loving the three musketeers at the moment.

Also have a look at Jonathan Emmett's blog in the Readers section.

You could try the Tom Gates series as well.

An all time favourite here is Kaspar, Prince of Cats, by Michael Morpurgo.