how to encourage a love of reading in dd 6?

[pinklemonade84]

Dd is 6 and is reading at an advanced level compared to her peers in her class. She is currently reading a chapter a day of Fantastic Mr Fox and flying through it.

I’m wanting to try and nurture a love of reading at home with a selection of books. She’s been so excited to do her reading each day, and I really want to build on this. So, I’ve ordered a few options to start her off with. However, I don’t want to overwhelm her by getting too many

So far I’ve ordered her the Worst Witch collection, the first Naughtiest Unicorn, and the first Mummy Fairy and Me book, which should all arrive tomorrow. She’s a sensitive little thing, which is why I haven’t ordered Matilda for her just yet, as I don’t think she would respond well to Miss Trunchbull. She’s not a typical girly girl, so isn’t into princesses etc. I chose the Mummy Fairy and Me book as it sounds more funny than girly

I’m wondering whether to order some more options for her (and if so, what you would recommend), or should I leave it at that for now?

13 storey treehouse was my DDs favourite last year when she was in year 1. She started the year on orange reading band and ended up on gold and I believe it was mostly as she became so interested in these books. She would read on a night time to herself (out loud at that age) and I would hear her giggling away to herself, asking me to explain certain phrases or words. She can read them independently now though.

She’s now year 2 and likes bad food and other comic style chapter books and more recently she’s been reading flamingo hotel and Amelia fang. She is also obsessed with Pokémon and Mario so sometimes reads the comics as well as bumble and snug comics. She’s just starting Narnia and struggling a little with some words but we had already read it before to her so she’s not doing too badly.

I’d just pick something where her interests lie. We tried the naughty unicorn and books like that but she just wasn’t that interested in those sorts of stories.

The story I read to her before bed is currently the land of stories, which are excellent books and would definitely recommend; kind of a spin on grimm’s fairytales.

The next step for us is probably Tom Fletcher; my nephew loved danger gang and the creakers around age 7 so I’ll be getting her them for Christmas.

I think you misunderstood: my DCs bookshelves are groaning and we have too many books in general, but I've learnt to add in a book at a time. If I give 5 at once, DD1 in particular will start them all immediately. The books pile up, collect dust whilst Life or school reading books happen, part-stories are forgotten and then DC refuses to re-read the chapters they've already done whilst also having no drive to continue because they can't remember enough of what was read to draw them back in. They end up missing out on some great books all because of overexcitement and poor impulse control. It is the same thing that can happen on Xmas day when DCs are showered with lots of gifts in one go. Ditto when left completely to their own devices as, as much as they shouldn't, DCs very much judge a book by its cover and can be quick to dismiss a book with the 'wrong' kind of picture on the front as boring. The novelty of being the new book to their collection can overcome this IME.
Of course it is fine to stop with a book if you aren't enjoying it, life is too short and the world too full of stories to soldier on through a crap book, but that isn't the same thing.

Tell her she can try any book she likes and if she doesn't enjoy it to just swap tqo another. Or she can re-read anything a hundred times. Basically do not be bossy.

Sounds like we both know our own kids well :) mine is put off by being handed a shiny new book for some reason... she feels like she discovers them herself if I just sneak them onto the shelf! Definitely wasn't a 'my bookshelf is more groaning than yours' type of comment!
Lots of good advice on this thread to cherry pick depending on the personality of your child!

The early bedtime with a couple of hours to read each night is really good advice.

I agree with continuing to read to her. My son is 5 and doing well with his reading, not overly advanced or anything. We have some books that he can read to me and then harder books that I read to him. I think that this is important for comprehension, vocabulary and fluency.

I've actually bought her one of the Christmasaurus books that I'm excited to start reading to her in December (I was planning to put it out on her bed with her Christmas bedding and pj's on the 1st of December for her to find). I do try and read to her every night, but, I'm finding that I'm reading the same books each night and we're both struggling to stay interested. We were reading a beautiful hardback copy of The Faraway Tree, but, she lost interest and always found something else to mess with whenever we'd settle down to read it

I like the idea of letting her go to bed a bit earlier to have some time to read to herself. I might try that with her tonight and see if it helps her to wind down a bit better too

She might be a fast reader but what is her comprehension like? My DC was reading quite advanced books at the age of 6 but when we talked about them I could see they didn't actually understand a lot of it.
So I would definitely spend some time discussing the story and characters to make sure she's not just reading words on a page but actually understanding the story.

Go to the library and let her choose. Go to bookshops and let her choose. If she likes a particular book buy more by that author.
Maybe start buying her a weekly comic or magazine of something that interests her like wildlife or pets etc.

If the library is overwhelming, it’s worth grabbing a stack yourself that you think she might enjoy, then giving her time to properly choose at home.
Take all pressure off. Starting a book doesn’t mean committing to finish it, and what you chose to read yesterday doesn’t have to affect what you choose to read today. If you’re in the middle of one book, but in the mood for something else - just switch. I’ve been bored by Faraway Tree too!
There’s a really good Rights of the Reader poster (Daniel Pennac, illustrated by Quentin Blake), which is a helpful reminder that it’s fine if the way you choose to read or to choose books doesn’t meet other people’s expectations.

How fabulous.
My recommendation is the wee free men Terry Pratchett.

About tiffany aching.
Funny and powerful and if she likes it there are about 40 disc world books
Pirates by Celia Rees.

She should see you and her father reading for pleasure.
You should read to her every day and I agree that she should become accustomed to the library and start choosing g books for herself.

We talk about the chapter we’ve read each night and her comprehension isn’t too bad. I’ll sometimes have to explain things, but more often than not she does get most of it

I love that poster and the rules and it makes so much sense to take all of the pressure off. I don’t want to force her into it, but nurture and develop a genuine love

There’s a really good short training course on Reading for Pleasure offered by the Open University if you’re interested. It’s free and all online. It’s primarily targeted at people working in a school setting, but nothing to stop interested parents taking a look at it.
It covers a lot of the benefits and research etc, but the basic guidelines are that reading choices should be made by the child, there should be opportunities for informal book chat and lots of social sharing of books and book recommendations and that they should have access to a wide range of tempting books and other reading materials in a range of formats.

So, we've started a new routine tonight, where dd can choose a couple of books from her shelves and read to herself before lying down for the night. It seems to have gone well so far, as she's not crying like she normally does when her dad is on his later shifts and not here at bedtime

She also had me read the first chapter from The Worst Witch, and she was captivated. I'm going to read her a chapter each night from whichever book she wants, now we've got a few more options