Books for a 6 year old to read

[PersisFord]

I’m stuck

My godson is nearly 6. He is a fluent and excellent reader, and will read to himself things like Ronald Dahl. He has asked for books for Christmas and they live abroad so need to get cracking.

My difficulties are:

1. My instinct would be to buy him books that I liked at similar ages but his mum and I basically grew up together so read the same things so I expect he might have them already.

1. I worry that books that he would enjoy reading might actually be a bit scary. I picked up and read the Witches at that age and am scarred for life. I don’t know him well enough to know how sensitive he is so I need things that just aren’t scary at all. Even Harry Potter would terrify my 5 year olds (my closest frame of reference). In fact, they were terrified of the 13 storey treehouse.

I’m sure someone on here recommended a series of books about Roman children or something but I can’t find the thread.

Any ideas? Thanks!

I suppose you'd have to check in with his mum before buying them but books mine liked at @ 6 were:

The Magic School Bus series
My Naughty little Sister
Horrid Henry
Dirty Bertie
The Dragonbreath books by Ursula Vernon, her Hamster Princess books are also good fun
The Worst Witch
There's a Dragon in my... series Tom Nicol
Junie B Jones
Captain Underpants
Geronimo Stilton
The Magic Treehouse books by Mary Pope Osborne (not to be confused with the more recent Andy Griffith "Treehouse" series though they're also good).

Some they could read themselves, some they needed help with or enjoyed having read to them. All quite funny if you're @ 6 so nothing there I think that would upset a sensitive child.

Agree with dirty Bertie and captain underpants - my nearly 6 yo ds loves these!

My 6/7yo ds absolutely loves captain bloody underpants.

DD inhaled the '13-Storey Treehouse' (and 26, 39 and so on) at this age.

Bear Grylls series - Earthquake Challenge, etc
Chris Hoy's Flying Fergus series
Lots of Dick King Smith books

It's really tricky finding good books for confident, young readers that aren't scary/overly dramatic. I have a v sensitive 6yo who's enjoyed all of the above. My friends have less sensitive children who've also enjoyed these books so seem to be good for a variety of children.

We are in a similar place with my just-six-year-old. Mr Gum, Ottoline, Goth Girl and Tom Gates are currently proving popular with him.

Also, consider poetry books - there’s something about the rhythm and wordplay that he finds really appealing. Christie Gittins and John Hegley are two to look out for.

Chrissie Gittins, I meant.

Just William
Flat Stanley
Any book by Jeremy Strong
Jamie's Amazing Cape
Monster and Chips
Compton Valance
Bear Grylls Adventures series
Zac Power

You may be thinking of Roman Mysteries, but I wouldn't recommend them for a sensitive child. There's a severed dog's head in the first one, if I remember rightly!

Oooh crikey we don’t need severed heads!

Thanks for all the suggestions! I’ve ordered a selection, and my superb independent bookshop (shameless plug!) is happy to keep any that don’t look right when I come to collect them.

Happy reading!

Hey, check out these books from Indian Classics...Loved Books

www.yurbookstore.com/p/children-books.html