Arrgh! Accessible book for boy age 10. C'mon you know you've got ideas....

[S1ur]

Right it's Christmas time and as is tradition written in stone somewhere, I want to get my nephew a book as well as the thing he actually wants.

The problem is he really is not keen on reading, last year I capitulated a bit by getting him a joke book but this year I'd really love to get him a book that was short (so not scary looking) and actually good (so a bit more substantial than a guiness book of records or something).

There are good fiction books for reluctant boys pleeease help me remember what they are.

BTW not Holes because I've already given that to his older brother a couple of years ago....

Now come on literary ladies....

ummmm, trying to think what i liked about that age - i know im not a boy, technically, but im quite a tomboy. sort of. er, anyway...

theres a football novel i recently got for dss (can look for it and post name if interested. is upstairs.) looks good, is why i bought it !

um, roald dahl? lots really. ummmmm dont suppose judy blume will cut it for a 10yo boy eh? lol

sorry, bit slow on inspiration

how about browsing by age on amazon?

Yeah will pop over and try the amazon thing.

The trouble is the reluctance to read really. For his older brother its much easier because you've got all the recent fantasy and all the classics as well.

I was hoping for something modern like Holes but not that because I've a;ready given that....

Oh and thanks for replying BBG! Roald Dahl is ace of course, but which title for a wised-up modern, sporty non-reader lad.

Sigh, I feel like I'm flogging a dead horse here really.

But y'know I am his godmother, I think its my duty or somethign - I forget the rules but I'm sure I suppose to do something like this...

oh i agree with you! i am the same, i only ever get books for presents for kids (except my own, who have so many books i could open a library - and prob will when they grow out of them!)

my brother was v reluctant reader too at that age... iirc, it was asterix books which hooked him in, and some sort of fantasy books? he also had a 'thing' about war, so war related stuff worked for him.

if hes sporty, try searching for sporty types of books. (i know easier said than done)

ooh, what about an independent bookshop? if you have one nearby maybe you could try quizzing the satff on what sells toboys of that age? chain bookshops prob wont have same knowledge... mind you, have gotten really good service in kids depts of waterstones before...

interestingly my dp suggested asterix... hmmmm.

He's into rugby but can't imagine a gripping read about that other than an annual!

Yes, good tip, will chat to bookseller next chance I get.

Snap, my dcs have hundreds too, we buy up all the stock un the library sales!

agree asterix not exactly heavyweight novel, but at least its reading and pretty funny/witty too.

Right additional question, has anyone read ...

The Adventures of Captain Underpants!

Sounds good yeah? But really could this be good for my dn?

Yep, certainly don't want a heavyweight classic anyway really . So far its a toss-up between that and the pants boo.

captain underpants! how could i forget? yes, its supposed to be great that. and theres loads of them. really silly off the wall humour - would have been right up my street. dss loves it. and i saw it was on reading syllabus (or whatever it is) at a school i looked around once.

yes get that.
and asterix

great! sorted thank you!!!

Hi - another thought. My nephew didn't like reading at that age and I gave him the Spiderwick Chronicles. He loved them!

Thank you Boleyn, I'll have a quick look, Is is relatively thin looking and so not to daunting?