How should I help my good reader ?

[indignatio]

ds is nearly 5 and in reception. He is reading Ort level 8 - turquiose but can also read the words easily in gold (level 10?)
However, he:-
1.often substitutes a for the and vice versa
2.reads in quite a monotone
3.hates having to explain the story he has just read
4.can miss out words in the sentence and does not always go back to correct himself - almost as if he is reading the words but not taking in the storyline
5.Reads what he thinks should be in the sentence rather than reading the whole sentence carefully

Is this just a developmental stage ?

What can I do to help him ?

Is there any point in him progressing up the levels just so there are "tricky words" for him to read ?

He does enjoy reading and reads in bed to himself - own choice. At the w/e will often get out a book and settle down to read it to himself
He choses books from the library (just started this) to read to himself.
He spends a lot of time looking at the pictures on the page before starting to read.

Can't think of any more to add right now - how someone can help

TIA

My dd is now 7 - nearly 8. She got level 3 for all her SATS and at end yr 2 had a reading age of 10yrs and 7 months. Why am I telling you this? Because you have no need to worry
dd didn't start to read until 1st week of yr 1. And then she did many of the things your ds is doing - confusing a and the, guess reading some of the sentence (what she thought it would be) and missing some words out. I think their brains go faster than their mouths!
I think you are doing all the right things - hearing him read out loud, talking to him about the books he likes. He seems engaged with books which is a huge advantage. I bet there are heaps of mums who look at you with envy in the school playground . But it all works out in the end, and by yr 3 they all do read well. Some do things quicker than others.
What my dd liked was having a story tape of a book she owned. Ours were fairly girly (Sleeping Beauty - Thumbelina etc) and the tape came with a small book. That way she could hear it always being read with the expression that made it interesting. Books with sounds - like the 64 Zoo Lane books, or the Dr Seuss books work well too - the animal sounds (like Georgina la la la-ing) and the rhythm of the Dr Seuss seemed to really help dd read with expression.
I think the comprehension thing is important - and it will come. Reading at age 4 is quite an achievement

Indignatio, you've had some great advice on here.
But just thought I'd add that the skipping/substituting words thing is very very common in fast-learning readers.
As long as the word they substitute make sense in the context of the story, it's fine.
So, if the text is 'he used the soap to wash his face' and your child reads 'he used the soap to clean his face', that's actually better than reading 'he used the soap to watch his face'. The first one (clean) shows the child is understanding the story and reading for meaning; the second one (watch) only shows that he/she knows the word begins with 'w'.
Hope that makes sense!
If you're interested I recommend a fab book, called The Reading Bug - and How you can Help Your Child to Catch it by Paul Jennings.