Books for a 10 year boy who doesn’t really love reading

[Jonsa]

I am hoping to find a book or author that sparks his interest, so he picks up a book himself, without me having to ask.
He is an average reader, and I am looking for books that will slightly challenge him but won’t discourage him, due to complexity.

I've listened to yr5 readers as a volunteer for a few years now. The reluctant-but-meeting-age-expectations readers all enjoy graphic novels without exception. School used to ban them but have finally come around to the idea that, even if they'd prefer the DCs to be reading novels, reading a graphic novel is better than no reading at all!
The Phoenix, which many have already recommended, usually offer a 6-week trial for £6.
My 10yo DD loves Asterix, but I would save this until reading is more established as the language is trickier and the print is tiny.
The Bad Guys is a fun and funny easy comic-style series. These are really popular at school.
Tom Gates is again universally loved by reluctant and avid readers alike, and there are loads to work through. If he gets really into these, there is an Advent calendar too.

As a 'stealth reading' option (no idea why a PP has a problem with this term! It is like saying parents who are blending vegetables into pasta sauce aren't feeding them by stealth, but the DC are simply eating their veg...), a carefully selected video game can contain an awful lot of reading if you go for one with a rich storyline.

To read to him, I'd recommend Pratchett's Bromeliad trilogy. Both my DCs have cried with laughter at these.

@SkankingWombat what a ridiculous thing to ban graphic novels 😱
Had the staff never heard of novels such as Maus, When the Wind Blows, V for Vendetta etc (obviously these are for adults but shows that graphic novels are just as good as a Penguin Classic).

I think some can be quite snobbish about them. It seems quite common in this area - I've heard parents of other schools complaining about it too. One school allowed them but they could only be accessed once a DC had gained 'free reader' status 🤷🏼 We've had a change of head teacher to someone who's a little less up their own bum and they are no longer Verboten 😂

My son liked books with interesting facts, lists etc.
also the Ripleys books and short stories of Greek myths

I've started reading to my 11yr old who has gone off reading again.
We do a chapter each at night.
He loves it.
Currently reading Skullduggery Plesant.

He also loves bunny&monkey, Tom Gates, Wimpy Kid, the superfudge books by Judy Bloom. Oh and anything by Adam Kay.

Not sure about how challenging they are, but my son (now 13) really loved the dog man books by dav pikey. I think they're targeted for about that age, but it might be a good way to get him to read more. For a more challenging read, the Percy Jackson books are great, my son got really hooked to them.

As Pps have said - Harry Potter.

The Adrian Mole books. My DS loved them and he didnt enjoy reading at all.

DS is 10 and a reluctant reader. He loved the wimpy kid series and then the Loki books. Loosely based on the Norse god bit set in schools. He's waiting for the new one that's due soon and really cross with me that we didn't grt the WBD issue.
He also loves the Guinness Book of records and Kids encyclopaedias (The World often has nice cheap options)

My DS2 (10) is also a big fan of DogMan and Wimpy Kid.

Some other series along the same sort of line that he’s enjoyed have been:

Bunny vs Monkey,
Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Being Good,
Danger is Everywhere,
13 Story Treehouse,
Worst Week Ever (although some of the events in that involve bodily functions and are too close to the line where things tip over from humour to just plain disgusting and stomach churning, so it’s definitely not for everyone!)

We’ve also got subscriptions to the Beano and The Phoenix comics, which the DC thoroughly enjoy.

Also I wouldn’t be focusing on finding books that will challenge him at the moment. That’s the sort of thing that’ll come in its own time once you’ve got him enjoying books and wanting to read.

Amazon still have the World Book Day issue of the Loki book if that’s any help?
I spotted that earlier today when I was looking to see when Loki book 4 was being published.