Book for me to read out loud to 8 year old

[BrightonBB]

I feel we’ve got out of the habit of me reading a book out loud as I listen and then write in their school reading record.
Please could you suggest books for me to read to them - I’m not a fan of fantasy, sci fi or Walliams.
Thank you for suggestions - 8 year old in Yr 4.

My dd is currently enjoying me reading the naughtiest girl in the school books. Otherwise what about the BFG or the witches?

Jaqueline Wilson?

We read A LOT of fantasy and a bit of Walliams so I'm struggling to think of books without at least a fantasy element (like Roald Dahl books, which are fabulous but usually have a magical element)

Michael Morpurgo?

I usually record them reading aloud to me not vv. Don’t want to sound confrontational saying that, I just wanted to double check your school likes to see what you’ve read them too. I read mine Harry Potter but don’t record it.

Books I’d try are The Island of the Great, Yellow Ox by Walter Mackenzie (adventure), 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith, My Naughty Little Sister books by Dorothy ?, Anne of Green Gables series by LM Montgomery, Boy/Going Solo by Dahl, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr, A Christmas Carol by Dickens.

Macken... sorry AutoCorrect. I still feel like I’ve misspelled it though 😆

I don’t record in their school book what I read out loud ..... unless I was to get a class dojo or sticker too from the teacher ;)
It just feels that all the reading emphasis at home has been them reading to me which is lovely but we used to enjoy longer chapter books together so would like to get back into it. Sometimes, I think it is nice for them to simply relax and enjoy a story being read to them.
I’ll check out some of the ideas given so far - thank you.

Stig of the Dump
Just William
Secret Seven
The Sheeppig
The Butterfly Lion
Adolphus Tips
Finding Gobi
The Peppermint Pig
Madame Doubtfire
Diary of a Killer Cat

I am reading Anthony Horowitz to my year 5 child which is going down very well.

The Kid Normal books, they are a really good read, funny for parent and child.

Maudlin Towers by Chris Priestley
Adventures of Algy adventuresofalgy.com/books
Swallows and Amazons

Mr Gum and the rest of the series.
Hilarious, mind bending at times (and just gross enough at times yp be funny) but be warned you will have to stop now and again due to the giggles.

The Gigglers and the other Roddy Doyle books. Utterly crazy but un-put-downable because you want to see what the heck happens next.

Be good to get back into the habit with him if you are both laughing at the outrageous antics in both sets.

I like EugenesAxe‘s list. I’d add The Wind in the Willows if not already done - it’s surprisingly dark.

And, despite your dislike of fantasy, eight is exactly the age to hear The Hobbit read aloud.

Goodnight Mr Tom is fairly gruelling in parts and perhaps best shared with an adult.

Small Change for Stewart is fun.

The Ghost of Thomas Kempe is excellent.

The Riddle of The Sands. (Good pre-something to John Buchan’s Richard Hannay novels, though not the same author.)

Harry Potter?

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
13 Storey Treehouse series
Anything written by Chris Priestley.
The Mr Gum series, hilariously anarchic.

The Richmal Crompton William books are enormous fun to read aloud.

my five year old loves roald dahl at the moment. i must have read george’s marvellous medicine about 50 times! we’re currently on danny the champion of the world, which i’m loving because it’s been my favourite book since i was little.

I started having The Famous Five and other Enid Blyton type books read to me at that age. Your child might enjoy those.

Is there any particular reason that you're saying they and them rather than he or she? The info might help?

My kids favourites that I've read to them are:
Nevermoor
The boy at the back of the class
Anna at war
Alllll the how to train your dragons (when a bit younger) - boy those dragons got on my nerves by the end
Wizards of once
Harry Potter (yes all of them, took years!)

They are 9 and 10 now by the way. Anna at war is like a less gruelling goodnight Mr Tom BTW, thoroughly recommend.

Currently reading Famous Five to my eight-year-old who is loving it.

Other recent favourites are Emil and the Detectives and E Nesbit (Treasure Seekers and Five Children and It).

Atticus Claw

I’m reading the Ramona Quimby books to dd (8 last week) at the moment. Ramona is a little girl, who grows up from 4-10 ish through the books.. They are by Beverly Cleary. I found them in the US when I lived out there as a child in the 80s. They are surprisingly not well known here, but they still “work” beautifully. You can buy them in sets on Amazon, or used on eBay.

Ds2 favourite that I've read to him over th last few weeks:

The Bromeliad - Terry Pratchett
Adventure series - Enid Blyton
The Borrowers - Mary Norton
Time Hunters series - Chris Blake
The Midnight Fox - Betsy Byars
Peter Pan - J.M. Barrie

He likes adventure and animals.

Mine loves Jacqueline Wilson books being read to them. They love Judi curtain books, especially Eva’s journey (trilogy).
“Mrs Smith’s spy school for girls”