Books to make my 6 year old fall in love with reading

[ProcrastinatorsAnonymous]

My son is just finishing year 1, reading at year 3 level. Despite being a strong reader and being happy enough to read out loud, he hasn't really got the "bug" for reading yet. I'd love recommendations for books he could read to himself over the summer that might help him to find the joy of getting lost in a story by yourself.

Although he can read beyond his years, I don't necessarily need book recommendations to "stretch" him - it's the joy I'm looking for here! He likes fantasy, silly humour, animals... I wondered about maybe "How to Train Your Dragon"? But I would really love any recommendations. What are the books that really made your child fall in love with reading? Thank you!

It's been a while but think my kids found Mr Gum books and diary of a wimpy kid funny

How to Train your Dragon does seem to fit the bill. There are also little illustrations to break up the text. And it's funny.

Also suggest The Worst Witch, and the Winnie the Witch longer stories (suggested age 5-8).

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Toto the Ninja Cat series.

Absolutely the Daisy and the trouble with series. Very funny and innocently naughty at times! My 5yo daughter is obsessed.

Sorry should have added - author is Kes Gray (Daisy and the Trouble with). There are so many books, we have read them all now and I'm hoping more will come out! Haven't found anything else that's as good as those.

My kids loved the fudge books by Judy Blume at that age

It could be a books issue. Are you near a big comic store? Mine loved the comic format and there are tons of age appropriate ones. I always found the staff brilliant with children and figuring out a fit.

If they like more fact based then there are gradient levels of graphic novels they triggered my eldest love of history.

Try the Boffin Boy books by David Orme. they're great graphic novel style novels, aimed at older primary aged children who are reluctant readers so the text is a little easier but the story narrative isn't watered down.

Agree with comic-style books, and indeed good old comics - don't overlook the Beano and the like. My son was obsessed with the Captain Underpants series too.

My 6yo year 1 likes Horrid Henry, Flat Stanley, the 13 Storey Treehouse, the Claude Books, and is getting into The Secret Seven.

Both mine loved the undead pets series at that age

I agree with the Daisy books recommendation

But for my son who now is a total bookworm, it was more graphic novel type things that got him the bug. Things like the Narwal and Jelly books

It was a very brief phase, maybe less than 2 months, on those types of books before he was well away with things like the Daisy books

My recommendation is Grimwood by Nadia Shireen. Perfectly silly with lots of funny pictures.

The treehouse books are also very accessible.

I also recommend using comics. The Phoenix Comic is brilliant and the cartoonist of Bunny Vs Monkey has comic books plus he has written non comic books - the Flember series.

DS6 has an advanced reading age and he's reading the My Brother's Famous Bottom series by Jeremy Strong. They were DD's favourite at that age as well so she passed them down. He's done lots of funny books my kids love.

We've been reading some Roald Dahl to him, and he read the easier ones himself (Enormous Crocodile, The Magic Finger, Billy & The Minpins). We've also done The Faraway Tree and the Winnie & Wilbur chapter books.

And another vote for Kes Grey's Daisy books! DS loves those but he's read them all now.

Dogman, Claude and Dinosaur Cove were all series loved by mine at that age.

Also, being read to can give a love of books. I still read to my 10 year old as while he is perfectly capable of doing it himself, he can enjoy more when it isn't seen as a task. Then he wants to get more books and often browses them alone.

Dog man, hot dog, captain underpants, real rabbits (or something like this) and the treehouse books are all graphic or semi graphic series boys in particular seem to dive into. They seem a bit repetitive and limited to a reader parent but I have noticed that the familiarity of books in a series means they just go through all of them one after the other and builds the habit. The enchanted wood, famous five and wolf girl series were among the first proper books to really capture my son.

My biggest piece of advice would be to take him to a library and let him choose his own books.

My eldest would read the book he chose and then we would all sit together and I would read a book - we read the whole Horrid Henry series, Dirty Bertie, Slime Squad, Astrosaurs etc then they moved on to Beast Quest/Sea Quest.

They’re both teenagers now and both hate reading!!!!

Oh my gosh - so many suggestions to work through. Thank you! I’m excited… I just hope he will be too!

Ronald Dahl and Beast Quest were good for my eldest who was a similar ability. He did zoom through these and then we moved on to Harry Potter. Just find something he enjoys, it doesn’t need to be highbrow. My ds went through a couple of years of just wanting to reading fact books - we went with it and he finished Primary with a reading age of 16plus

13 Storey Treehouse for sure 😊
Jeremy Strong books
Wes Kray books
Roald Dahl Fantastic Mr Fox
Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam
Rabbit and Bear
Gobalino the Witches Cat
Dinosaur Cove books

*Kes Gray - not Wes Kray 😳

It's given us more to look into as well so thanks for the thread OP, and to all pps with their great recommendations!

Don't forget Horrible Histories too ;-)

Mine loved poetry too.
Spike Milligan poetry
Custard The dragon
Brian Patten poetry
Hairy Maclary books