Reading books for Y5 (11+ focus) - non scary

[mouche202]

My son is preparing for the 11+ and I want to encourage him to read books that will expand his vocabulary and comprehension. He is an able reader and is currently reading the Roman Mysteries series by Caroline Lawrence. I also read to him a lot and have recently read him The Hobbit.

However, he is a sensitive soul and any hint of how unfair the world is really disturbs him. I am reading him The Railway Children currently and we had to skip the part about how the Russian writer was sent to Siberia for writing a book about poor people - he was in tears about it. He copes better with death etc in fantasy but only just - he managed to get through me reading him The Hobbit but asked me to stop a few chapters into Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

His favourite books, which he reads endlessly, are the Tom Gates series and the Kid Normal series. Which is fine but they aren't challenging enough - certainly not on the 10th read!

So can anyone suggest any challenging but gentle/ funny books? He's read everything by Philip Ardagh and Roald Dahl (except The Witches, which was too scary) so looking for similar. Thank you.

My dc is reading series of unfortunate events but dont know if thats scary?

I wouldn't have said that Roman Mysteries were ideal for a sensitive soul to be honest. How about

Edge Chronicles
Archie Greene (a bit like Harry Potter)
A Series of Unfortunate Events (melodrama)

In Y5/6 DS1 enjoyed
Anne of Green Gables
A Christmas Carol
Nicholas Nickleby (probably because they peformed Smike)
Lady Grace Mysteries (Elizabethan equivalent of Roman Mysteries)

DS2 (Y6) is loving some Terry Pratchett. He's reading Truckers and I'm reading him Mort.

How about some more classics

Five Children and It
The Phoenix and the Carpet
the Narnia books
Tom's Midnight Garden

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Swallows and Amazons

Don't forget some poetry too.

schoolreadinglist.co.uk/reading-lists-for-ks2-school-pupils/suggested-reading-list-for-year-5-pupils-ks2-age-9-10/

I swear by this website - there’s enough write up about the books for you to check the likely scare level .

When my son was doing 11+ the tutor suggested we look for books published before 1970 !

My DD is also in Y5 and will sit the 11+ in September. She used to be similarly sensitive to your DS, though she seems to have grown more resilient just in time!

A lot of 'old' books, while containing wonderful language, seem to have an undercurrent of sadness.

Agree with Swallows & Amazons - there's a long series if your DS gets into them, and the language is suitably challenging for 11+ prep. Also all the suggestions by Seeline and BlueChampagne.

For classics, I'll add:

The Wind in the Willows
The Secret Garden
The Borrowers
Heidi
The Jungle Book
What Katy Did

I suspect the following classics would be too sad/harrowing, but you might like to review/consider these, eg if he is less sensitive with animals than people:

Black Beauty
Goodnight Mr Tom
Carrie's War
Watership Down

More modern:

Northern Lights - Philip Pullman (we found these brilliant for vocab)
Journey to the River Sea - Eva Ibbotson (and other books by her)
The Shadow Keeper - Abi Elphinstone (and other books by her)
Dragon Rider - Cornelia Funke
Hacker - Malorie Blackman
Wonder - RJ Palacio

How about the David Williams or Alex Rider books? Your boy might grow out of this sensitive phase so give him time and space to chose the books he wants to read. The more you push him towards a certain genre, the less he will want it. You could take him to the library and let him pick the books he finds interesting? I personally think it might backfire if you try to influence what he reads at this age. Reading should be something he connects with and controls not a means to an end.

Not David Walliams ot Alex Rider for 11+ prep. He needs more stretching language structures and vocabulary.
As a PP suggested, books published pre-1970 do tend to offer this, although there are obviously excellent more moden examples too.
Classics are the way forward for the build up of reading stamina, bathing in language and widening of general knowledge.

With us its always been anything they fancy reading. They are now both teens and advanced readers, but will still mix Diary of Wimpy Kid with an Agatha Christie or an Arthur Conan Doyle. Look at non fiction and fiction. My DS loved the Stephen and Lucy Hawking "George" series, as it mixes science bits with a kids adventure story. We got local library membership so that they could find favourite genres and authors at a £0 cost.

Its lovely that your son is so sensitive BTW, it shows great empathy and emotional maturity.

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Some great suggestions on here. It’s lovely that your son is sensitive and in tune with inequality but just to let you know, the first class book my daughter read in Year 7 was, “Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry”. Her friend at a different school it was “The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas”.

It might be worth introducing a book like “Goodnight Mr Tom” as a joint read, talking it through as you go along. I fear Y7 might come as a bit of a shock if you skirt around it. Very gradually, a light touch, at your own pace etc.

Thank you very much for the suggestions - I have ordered some of them for him and have kept a list of the others.

@BlueChampagne, I am just as surprised as you are that he gets on ok with Roman Mysteries. Perhaps the thought that it was 100s of years ago helps him dissociate it from reality.

@Zodlebud, yes I am concerned about how DS will cope with more difficult material in secondary. I haven't read Goodnight Mr. Tom myself so I just read the plot summary. Good grief, that would give him nightmares for weeks! He is in Year 4 not 5 so hopefully he will become more resilient as he grows.

Thank you very much for the suggestions - I have ordered some of them for him and have kept a list of the others.

@BlueChampagne, I am just as surprised as you are that he gets on ok with Roman Mysteries. Perhaps the thought that it was 100s of years ago helps him dissociate it from reality.

@Zodlebud, yes I am concerned about how DS will cope with more difficult material in secondary. I haven't read Goodnight Mr. Tom myself so I just read the plot summary. Good grief, that would give him nightmares for weeks! He is in Year 4 not 5 so hopefully he will become more resilient as he grows.

Thank you very much for the suggestions - I have ordered some of them for him and have kept a list of the others.

@BlueChampagne, I am just as surprised as you are that he gets on ok with Roman Mysteries. Perhaps the thought that it was 100s of years ago helps him dissociate it from reality.

@Zodlebud, yes I am concerned about how DS will cope with more difficult material in secondary. I haven't read Goodnight Mr. Tom myself so I just read the plot summary. Good grief, that would give him nightmares for weeks! He is in Year 4 not 5 so hopefully he will become more resilient as he grows.

Thank you very much for the suggestions - I have ordered some of them for him and have kept a list of the others.

@BlueChampagne, I am just as surprised as you are that he gets on ok with Roman Mysteries. Perhaps the thought that it was 100s of years ago helps him dissociate it from reality.

@Zodlebud, yes I am concerned about how DS will cope with more difficult material in secondary. I haven't read Goodnight Mr. Tom myself so I just read the plot summary. Good grief, that would give him nightmares for weeks! He is in Year 4 not 5 so hopefully he will become more resilient as he grows.

@mouche202 You have plenty of time then. I was surprised at how mature the Y7 texts were but my DD has thoroughly enjoyed them. She used to be scared of the cat in the animated version of Cinderella........

If he is currently Y4, it probably isn't only more difficult material at secondary you need to be ready for.
The Y6 class I was in yesterday have so far read as class texts, Carrie's War, The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, Romeo and Juliet (story version), Pax, Railway Children and some WW1 war poems - very little jollity there, I thought!

Apologies, don't know why my previous message appeared thrice

If he is currently Y4, it probably isn't only more difficult material at secondary you need to be ready for.
The Y6 class I was in yesterday have so far read as class texts, Carrie's War, The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, Romeo and Juliet (story version), Pax, Railway Children and some WW1 war poems - very little jollity there, I thought!

My DS, now yr6, is similar. He has enjoyed:

Murder Most Unladylike series by Robin Stevens
original Sherlock Holmes stories by Conan Doyle
Hitch-hiker's Guide (a bit saucy in places in that 1970s way, your DS may be too young yet) and any other Douglas Adams including his Dr Who novelisations which are not saucy at all
Murderous Maths series (non-fiction)
Artemis Fowl series
Tina Packer's Tales from Shakespeare

The Children of Green Knowe
The Dark is Rising (a bit spooky here and there)
Minnow on the Say
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen
Try Joan Aitken, Leon Garfield or Cynthia Harnett

All older publications (and bringing back memories of my Kent primary school library ).

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas isn't recommended for primary although some schools include it. Certainly wouldn't give it to a "sensitive" child.

Just wanted to update - we tried the first Lemony Snicket book with me reading it to him at bedtime and halfway through, I think it will be a bust. He appreciates the humour but is getting worked up about how evil Count Olaf is - I don't think he will cope with them escaping him only for him to turn up again. We will move onto Swallows and Amazons.
If anyone thinks of any others, please do pop it on here.

Try the Morrigan Crow series. It is a fantasy with some sadness but it's very imaginative and there is some good vocabulary stretch there.