How can I encourage my 8yo DS to read for pleasure?

[Sideofnoreturn]

My 8yo DS is an excellent reader - I taught him before he started school, he’s always ahead of his class and consistently got greater depth on all aspects of English.

I did an English lit degree and reading has always been a huge part of my life. I constantly read at home. The DCs are coming down with books. DS even has all my old ones that I lovingly treasured!

BUT whilst DS (just turned 8, year 3) loves being read to and loves listening to his yoto player, he doesn’t really read for pleasure at all.

How do I encourage him? I want him to be able to find the joy in it, and to be able to entertain himself. He’s a bright and curious boy in all other respects so I find it very weird that he doesn’t yet pick up a book, or want to read ahead in his bedtime story himself. The only thing he’s really ever voluntarily read is joke books as he loves making people laugh.

I think you need to find books that make him laugh. I used to give ds the Horrid Henry books when he was that age. Even joke books are ok. He just needs to enjoy picking up a book, then you can suggest different ones.

My boys both loved the beano (had a subscription from a grandparent) and then moved onto books like horrid Henry then like Percy Jackson and Harry Potter. We used to read with them at night and eventually they moved ahead without us

Feel like i could have written your post almost word for word.
ds has just turned 9 and though is a fantastic reader he doesn’t read for pleasure. He does however currently love the dog man series by dav pilkey; he sits there laughing out loud to himself and although they look like a very easy read graphic novel style, he loves them and they have more depth and complexities than seen with the initial glance.

Captain Underpants got my reluctant reader reading!

However, unfortunately it didn't last long term. My three kids are teens now and none of them read much despite my best efforts. As an avid reader I do find this sad, but what can you do 🤷‍♀️

Minecraft or anything related!

Joke books count! The more they find things they like - any things - the more willing they’ll be to explore.

My son was a reluctant reader but beast quests and a subscription to the Phoenix magazine got him enthusiastic and now he never stops reading. What does your son like? One of the first things my son picked up regularly was this Lego Star Wars thing with just character facts. Then he had a phase of pokemon fact books. I took him to the library loads and never judged what he chose.

If he’s into joke books I’d look at the graphic novels - bunny v monkey, super mega robot brothers, etc. They’re all funny and super popular for his age.

What are his interests? My eldest it was football, so I got football stories for him.I used to be a parent helper( in days before everyone had to be vetted) for reading, I brought in the books for one particular boy who hated reading, we read a chapter together, Each time instead of the reading scheme ( with teachers approval) It got him into books!

Agree with PP. You know he likes to read jokes, so start with that. Definitely at that age the comic style books will be most appealing. As PP said, Dogman, Cat Kid Comic Club, Captain Underpants. Those aren’t books that can be read aloud really, and as an adult the appeal is incomprehensible, but they are the best things for getting boys reading. Also a weekly subscription to The Phoenix and Beano.

My DS stuck to all the above until about age 9, then suddenly got into Percy Jackson and everything else Rick Riordan has ever written, and so into “proper” books from there. You can keep reading more advanced stuff to him in parallel.

Depressingly, I’ve reluctantly concluded that a lot of children’s classics just haven’t stood the test of time. They are too slow, have too much description, etc.

they say it doesn’t matter what they read so long as they are reading. My daughter is eight and reads for pleasure and I get from the library or bookshop whatever she chooses, mostly trashy looking books aimed at 8-11 yr old girls! Together we read better quality stuff. I find you have to build time for them to read so after saying goodnight she has 15 mins before I turn out the lights.

My son liked the beano and a wildlife magazine.

My DS in year 3 loves funny books his current favourites are:
InvestiGators which are graphic novels
Wigglesbottom Primary
Astrosaurs

To get him interested in reading for pleasure I took him along to the library especially if they have a craft afternoon. He did the craft but then looked at the books and picked the ones he wanted. There are no restrictions on which he can pick. This has meant we have had everything from Supertato to Butterfly Club - The mummy's curse.
He now gets me to reserve books at the library if they don't have the next in a series.
I have found that if I suggest something most of the time it will get rejected. I now only suggest books by an author he has already read.

The Mr Gum series is so funny and weird, that might suck him in! Mine loved Roald Dahl and Diary of a Wimpy Kid at that age too.

A little trick is to read aloud to them,.and then let them "look at the pictures" of the chapters you just read, with the lamp on for a bit after bedtime. It never fails to get them reading ahead. Also, solemnly making them promise NOT to keep the light on longer than five minutes to read... They seem to read longer if it seems verboten 😁

There should be no book rules, I think (as long as it's not unsuitable for kids, or anything "written" by David fucking Walliams...😨). If he wants baby books for comfort, or ones that are too challenging to do alone, or just magazines , or only joke books.. that's ok. Just provide piles of varied styles of interesting books alongside, and see if he starts picking them up.

I wouldn’t stress over it. If he likes joke books and listens to yoto then brilliant. I was never into reading for pleasure as a kid. We were taken to the library every week and I’d always pick recipe books never fiction. Now I love reading as an adult.

Thank you for the replies!

In terms of interests, he doesn’t really have a passion for anything in particular. He isn’t into any particular tv or film series and he doesn’t play computer games. He plays football and vaguely supports a team but I don’t think would sit and read a book about it. He’s very active and likes playing outside, drawing, he’s a great musician and does a lot of practice, and toys of the moment are yoyo, gravitrax and rubix cube. Not really anything that lends itself especially to a related book or series.

He really loves famous five on his yoto but weirdly has never even attempted to read one - my whole childhood set is in his room. I cannot express how many books he has access to - I’d guess he has maybe 150 in his bedroom? - and how often we go to the library/charity shops to buy books. He will choose stuff but then just not read it!

There are a few mentioned that we haven’t tried though so I will look into those. And actually he did read a horrid Henry on the train the other day (that I packed for him). I’d thought might be a little young for him now (I read them all to him when he was about 5-6 and his reading age is 12 according to school) but maybe that’s actually where he’s at atm in terms of enjoyment.

My brother was not a reader. Stopped going to the library once our mum stopped taking us, never ever picked up a book.

Then,at around 15 he happened to go to the library briefly, and discovered they had non-fiction. "Why didn't anyone tell me there are books like this in the library?" Since then he has always had a book on the go. How he'd never noticed non-fiction is anybody's guess. I suspect it's because he found kids' non-fiction too jokey/trying hard to be fun.

I remember my mother despairing as I was the same; a very advanced reader but took no joy in it. I will always remember reading Alice in Wonderland when I was about your DS’s age and it was the first book that truly took me into a whole different world and I suddenly got it. I remember having a torch under the duvet so I could read after my bedtime. What I mean by this is that he might just not have found “that” book yet but hopefully when he does it will light a spark as I now couldn’t imagine a life without a good book in my life.

My kids both had a wonderful teacher for two years each and she reminded me during a similar conversation that it’s totally normal to read for pleasure at a level that’s easy. Adults do that too - I could read war and peace but instead I’m currently rereading outlander. So she said she always suggests finding something easy as struggling through is often a bad way to develop a love of reading.

Funny Kid (Matt Stanton) is funny too.

Sometimes being forced by circumstances (not by a parent) is the push they need. For example, you are on a long train journey, or on holiday, or he's in his bedroom and has to go to bed but he's not sleepy.
If they have no access to screen or anything and really nothing to do, that's the time they'll also pick a book

Thank you - a lot of good advice. We are strict on screens and he doesn’t have access to a tablet or games, just tv at weekends, but he’s quite busy during the week so perhaps needs a bit more boredom/downtime (other than bedtime) where it will seem appealing/his only option!

And I’ll definitely try some of the easier stuff.

Perhaps a dedicated time to read might help. Once mine were old enough to read to themselves I started this bedtime routine. Up to bed. 15-20 mins being read to. Then, 15-20 mins reading their own book before lights out and sleep. They always have the option of not reading to themselves, but the light would go out for sleep.
Both my kids have developed a love for books but it definitely needed encouragement in the early days.

Other recommendations for good series from 8 year old DS (who also loves Dav Pilkey) are 13 Storey Treehouse and How To Train Your Dragon. And some of the Phoenix comics have books, like Pandora in Puzzlevale, could be worth a try. I get the thing of already having loads (same here!) but I found with DS when he's found things he really likes he is pretty keen, reading in bed, taking books with him to school etc.

Absolutely The Phoenix magazine, it's so good. A wide range from basic funny comic strips to proper stories

When mine stopped reading periodically I'd read something to them. Id pick something gripping and read until a cliffhanger moment. Then stop for the night but leave the book in their room and tell them I needed to head downstairs but they could read on if they wanted to. Generally they would eventually start reading again.

You could also try a choose your own adventure type book.

My dcs loved Mr Gum at that age. As did I.

I found dog man, captain underpants graphic novels captured my kids. I read them to my boys and the ridiculousness made them want to read again

phoenix magazine would be my suggestion. it comes weekly and has short comics in it. some Jamie smart stuff like bunny Vs monkey, lots of funny stuff😃😣, some serious stuff, but he can pick it up and read one strip and be done or can sit and ralead for an hour. if you Google it, you can normally get a trial really cheap

Completely agree on Phoenix. Famous Five isn’t the answer! You need books that really appeal to him and I hate to say it but they are likely to have been published recently rather than classics. Fun stuff with pictures, graphic novels etc. You need to get him to truly love books before weaning on to what seems appropriate to you from his reading ability.