Plays / scripts for 8 year old to read

[Lizzypet]

My son is just finishing Year 3 and brought his school report home today. He's an avid reader but tends to stick to the same type of books. The teacher has recommended he broaden his reading to include more non-fiction and plays. Can anyone recommend any plays suitable for this age to start reading please?

That seems like a very unusual comment from a KS2 teacher. I assumed he was auditioning for something from the title.
For a boy to be an avid reader in Y3 I’d embrace this and let him read for pleasure.

There will be lots of books and plays he has to read at secondary. Plenty of fun non fiction books around if he fancies those but I would be wary of putting him off reading.

Maybe suggest he chooses some from the library or have a couple of non fiction books linked to his interests in his room.

Perhaps the teacher could recommend someplace suitable for someone that age. I don't know if any, do you?

If anyone has an older child who's interested in scripts then Google IMDb scripts - there are tons of well-known scripts on there and they can be fascinating.

My child's school has play scripts in the Oxford tree reading sets they bring home. The books that contain biff, kipper etc... maybe ask the school if they have any of these books they can lend your child.

Doesn't the school have anything? Mine brought abridged Shakespeare plays home as school reading at that age.

Something like this?? It was abridged and comic strip like Shakespeare plays
https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/BravoMrrWilliamShakespeare/2VoVPwAACAAJ?hl=en

But but but ... Plays aren't meant to be read! They are meant to be watched / listened to.

OK read one to see how they are laid out maybe, so the ORT one linked above would work I guess.

He's probably a bit young but HP and the Cursed Child is of course published as a book.

There are a lot of excellent published plays for children, some are adaptations of well-known books and some are original. Can highly recommend The Railway Children https://www.nickhernbooks.co.uk/railway-children and also if you look through that site generally you will find a section of plays for children under 12 and for young people - teens and upwards https://www.nickhernbooks.co.uk/plays-for-young-people

@TeenDivided - I get what you're saying about plays being watched ideally, but for some kids reading dialogue is more interesting than acres of descriptive prose. In France, interestingly, plays for children are published beautifully with illustrations as well, and read out loud in class.

@wilbur But presumably when read out aloud in class different children take the different parts?

I used to help with reading at DDs primary school. Sometimes I was given a group and we sometimes did plays then which made group reading more interesting.

But I take your point re missing out the boring descriptive bits!

<exit pursued by a bear>

What does he read op? Perhaps there are other ways of diversifying his reading?

School always have non fiction I'm their reading schemes, anythi g that's piqued his interest? DS did ask me to check that the book about slavery was appropriate for his age 😂 but they are pitched at the right level

He's read all the Roald Dahl books, the first 3 or 4 Harry Potter, a few by Bear Grylls. From the school library he usually chooses Beast Quest books.. It's only a small school with limited library. He reads non-fiction stuff about sharks etc ( says he wants to be a marine biologist) but I don't think he's read any non fiction travel or autobiography books.

Thank you for your suggestions everyone