Yr5 reading losing interest

[madasamarchhare]

Can anyone suggest any good books for my dd yr 5. She has always loved reading but tends to find an author and exhaust their titles before moving on. She has been levelled at a 4b for reading this week which I know is good but she is in a lower group. Many are overtaking her now. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good book for her to read over the holidays. I take her to the library but she's not too keen on browsing and will just grab a couple quickly then not read them when we get home. Tia. Sorry for the ramble.

My dd is like this - has intense spells on a set and then takes a break. What kind of books has she loved over the last year or so?

She loves any David walliams enjoys the famous five. Likes books about school and things she can relate to. She did read a gill Lewis book that she enjoyed could try another of these.

My dd loves David Walliams (so silly/funny stuff) but is otherwise deeply into fantasy. For funny, she has been reading some Michael Lawrence - the Jiggy McCue stories.

She doesn't do school/reality unless it's funny but friends who do read Jackie Wilson, Judy Blume, Cathy Cassidy. Hopefully someone will be along who knows these kinds of books better than me (dd is a die-hard Potterite and fantasist).

I've learned some hard lessons with dd's reading which really comes and goes. One thing I've learned is not to fuss too much about the level of the books she's reading and just keep her reading. That has meant some books that are quite young/easy for her just to keep her interest going (for us that would You me and thing, Shrinking Violet). I've also found Annuals good when she's in a 'resting' phase (like now, actually).

PS - there's a children's fiction board here and I've had lost of good recommendations from that, even just by searching the threads.

Hi mad:

Well at this point the choice is endless but my DD does have problems getting attracted by a brightly decorated cover and not paying attention to whether the book's contents would actually be of interest.

My advice is try and work out what genre of book your child enjoys most.

With DD1 it's a good adventure (a tale of daring do); with DD2 it's got to be a tale about a girl

Both girls are better about reading series for some reason.

DD1 - Cressida Cowell How to Train a Dragon (also a cartoon now - nicely done in fact by Disney). - www.amazon.co.uk/Cressida-Cowell/e/B000APSVVK

Lemony Snicket series appeals to both DDs - involves girls so DD2 is happy and an adventure so DD1 is pleased. This was way too hard for the girls to read at first, so I started off reading to them a chapter or two at the weekends (more like an old fashioned serial) - and we're still doing this. www.amazon.co.uk/Lemony-Snicket/e/B001IGQG30 - DH likes that these books aren't sickly sweet or overly sentimental. The girls like that the author always encourages you to stop reading now as what follows is only for those that can handle truly horrible events.

DD2 is wild about greek myths - so we've bought her all sorts of compendiums of greek myths and now she's avidly reading the Goddess Girl Series (a US thing so far, but very good & available through Amazon Books): www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=goddess+girls+books&tag=googhydr-21&index=stripbooks&hvadid=25118471334&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2535725078095133462&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_4msbp1hr2q_b - basically before they were grown up goddesses, goddesses like Athena and Aphrodite went to high school. Designed for reading age of ages 8 - 12.

Of course the Harry Potter books are brilliant - but also good to have your child read with you so that they pick up on the word play - Diagon Alley - said quickly is diagonally - which later becomes an issue for Harry when using the flue. And useful to discuss meaning of words/ origins of words - just as an example: www.proteacher.net/discussions/showthread.php?t=344576.

If you're running short of ideas have a look at various reading lists - because a diet of high quality children's fiction:

Guardian classic children's library ages 8 - 11: www.theguardian.com/books/2000/mar/24/childrens.library

Book Trust recommendations for ages 8 - 11: www.theguardian.com/books/2000/mar/24/childrens.library

11+ recommendations (these are often more challenging reading but great reads): www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/advice/english/reading-list

---

Finally - I think it is important to let your child feel free to try and book and then decide it isn't for them. Too often children feel they HAVE TO read the entire book when they discover fairly swiftly it's too hard/ boring/ not their thing and would rather read something else. My DDs were guilty of not changing library books for ages because they'd made a bad selection but didn't have the confidence to just admit it and get on to reading a better book, so sort of sat in limbo for weeks until I ordered them to turn the book in for something better.

HTH

sorry - should have ready

feel free to try ANY book

I have also learned to back off a bit with reading after a teacher said we had to encourage dd to read a wider more challenging range of books to improve her literacy. That didn't work so well, we nearly put dd off reading and had to go back a few steps, reading to her at night, giving her really simple books that were easy and fun to read. I now ignore the teacher when they suggest breading reading material and focus on dd reading the books that she wants to read, which is currently Jacqueline Wilson - trashy they might be but if they aren't enjoying it they won't do it. She likes Cathy Cassidy too.

I guess the question is whether your DD is ONLY reading Jacqueline Wilson/ Cathy Cassidy.

They're a nice first step - and clearly are all about emotions and growing up (which may be what interests your child right now) - so are there other options out there in that genre:

Oldie but goodies:

Judy Bloom Books: www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/book-list/series-characters-authors/classic-judy-blume-titles - health warning also writes for teenagers - so do check reading age recommendations.

A little princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett: www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Princess-Wordsworth-Childrens-Classics/dp/185326136X

Anne of Green gables: a little old fashioned - meant for ages 11 - 13 - but all about fitting in www.scholastic.com/browse/book.jsp?id=1427

newer titles include:

Cressida Cowell How to train your dragon series: adventure story/ but deals with themes of friendship/ loyalty/ disability/ solving problems positively/ etc...www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Cressida%20cowell%20books

The Goddess Girls series www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=goddess+girls+series&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=25771689896&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9747754874753275079&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_5qqhia6xku_b - is about fitting in and dealing with difficult 'friends' - but based on greek mythology.

The diary of a 6th grade ninja - adventure story but also includes issues of fitting in/ finding your place: www.amazon.co.uk/Diary-Grade-Ninja-Marcus-Emerson/dp/1493527487/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1396612867&sr=8-2&keywords=fiction+for+girls+ages+9+-+12

Bex Carter series: www.amazon.co.uk/Bex-Carter-Jeanies-Revenge-Series-ebook/dp/B00GTE1BEK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1396612941&sr=8-3&keywords=fiction+for+girls+ages+9+-+12

Diary of an almost cool girl: www.amazon.co.uk/The-Diary-Almost-Cool-Girl/dp/1493736426/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1396612941&sr=8-16&keywords=fiction+for+girls+ages+9+-+12

HTH

Slackgardener - we had exactly the same experience. After that advice dd stopped reading for nearly a year. I'll never try that again

Thanks for those Past. I'll look out for them. I now tend to either bulk buy books from the charity shop - these can be brilliantly risky as they cost pennies or I get a good variety from the library. She is only reading JW books atm, but that doesn't concern me, she likes them and when you've had a child who falls out of love with reading - you have different goals. Btw the lack of breadth of reading didn't impact on her Sats scores too badly - she is predicted to get a 5a, so she has progressed just fine don't worry too much.
Acinonyx ds's teacher tried the same thing with me this year - suggesting breadth - I told him not a hope - not after the last disaster!

Thank you all. I try and chill out and just keep her interest up.

I'd try her on Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series, they reel you in and then speed along, have strong female characters and are very funny too. There are 9 books so far and they are an enjoyable read. His Kane Chronicles are good too (based on Egyptian mythology).

I have series readers too, fortunately our local library is now working together with local primary schools to choose what stock to buy for the children's section, which is great!

Its such a personal thing, isn't it, choosing books...dd (also Y5) has to really like a book to bother with it, unless ordered to read it by school.

She has recently loved Lemmony Snickett (read all 13 in the Unfortunate series on the trot). Also: the Red Pyramid, the Bag of Bones, Skellig.

But she doesn't much like Wilson (except for the Lottie Project, which she enjoyed a while back), or school stories, or Enid Blyton. Or Murpurgo, for that matter.

There are some great classics for Y5, some already mentioned (Little Princess eg). Noel Streatfield books (White Boots, or Ballet Shoes) for instance?

I encourage reading what I call 'value added' books, that have an additional use, in addition to the story itself.

In particular I like books that can be used in conjunction with maps, namely Watership Down, and Arthur Ransome's Coot Club.

Both are set in real locations that can still be found on maps and on the Internet. The rabbits' home in Watership Down that was destroyed for a housing development is, today, on the outskirts of Newbury, Berkshire. Several web sites give details of the locations featured in the book, and there are even guided tours of the areas, should you happen to live near enough to take advantage of them.

Coot Club is set in the Norfolk Broads in the 1930s. The Ordnance Survey 2-1/2 inch map of the Broads covers all the towns, villages, rivers and lakes mentioned in the book. Today there are more main roads, and fewer railway lines, but otherwise little has changed. It can be quite fascinating to read a chapter of the book, and then trace on the map the route and features mentioned in the story. It is also a reflection of life during that era: the children want to contact friends in a nearby village, and they say if they post a letter in the morning, it will be delivered by the second post in the afternoon!