Need book suggestions for ds1 (Yr 2)

[LunarSea]

ds1 - 7, in yr2 - is a fairly good reader but he seems reluctant to tackle longer stories, even a chapter at a time.

The kind of books he can read with only the occasional word throwing him are some of the Dick King-Smith books, Jeremy Strong and the easier Michael Morpurgo ones. Which is fine - he can read them, but he's reluctant to do it. He'll only read a page or two and then throw in the towel, and end up giving up because it will take too long to finish the whole book.

I need suggestions for things which might encourage him to make the commitment to read longer books, or perhaps short stories so he can read at this level in more manageable chunks.

DS sounds like your son, he is also in YR2. He is a very capable reader, but anything too wordy puts him off.
He will happily read the Horrid Henry books.
He has also just discovered the Captain underpants books which have really caught his imagination.
Roald Dahls Georges Marvellous Medicine went down wellm as did The Twits.

Geronimo Stilton books look like great fun. They have chapters in them, but the text is very different to a whole page of black and white print. They use a lot of colour in their books which I think makes them more appealing.

A link to them, www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_w_h_?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=geronimo+stilton

famous five / secret seven?

Beast Quest. My ds LOVED these books.

Does he need to read stories?

I am wondering if he would like some non-fiction which isn't usually in chapters.

DS1 loves Horrible Histories which are big books but they don't really have chapters. They have a page or two on a different subject. It might stretch his reading if that what you are trying to achieve.

For a laugh both my DSs love Sir Gadabout books. Fairly short chapters, a few illustrations and overall fairly short books but not too easy to read, iyswim.
This is the first one

Or could you help him out for a bit by reading part of the chapter with him and letting him finish it? You will get through the books quicker so he won't throw in the towel. Eventually he will build up his reading 'stamina' and you will have to read less and less of a chapter before he takes over.

Ditto Beast Quest - ds1 adores them and started reading the in Yr2, also Astrosaurus books (dinosaurs in space) and Cows In Action (CIA, spy cows) both funny and readable.

?usborne young readers series 1 and 2 have variety of boyish titles,or oxford reading tree treetops non fiction ?

The Mr Gum series of books by Andy Stanton are great fun or there are also Jake Cake books which ds2 loved in year 2.

I'd second Mr Gum - they're very funny, look like proper books, but only have about 10 short lines on each page, so they're not too daunting.

DS2 (a young year 3) is a great reader and is reading the Lemony Snicket books at the moment. However, he prefers for his 'leisure' reading things like encyclopaedias of animals, books about science, things like Aesop's Fables and Greek myths. We have a great book called Aesop's Funky Fables - will check author if I remember - and Atticus the Storyteller is great. They can dip in and out of these without feeling committed to finishing a great long tome.

Tintin is great at this stage, as are the Marcia Williams cartoon-strip style books - there are ones on the Odyssey, Iliad, King Arthur, Robin Hood etc. The vocabulary is quite hard, but there are lots of pictures and, again, the ability to dip in and out.

what about comics? he might see them as different to books and get carried away
I got ds1 the Beano xmas special which he loved and he had NG Kids (which I recommend to everyone) on subscription.

DS1 loves The Beano and DS2 loves NG Kids.

My Year 2 DD has just started reading Famous Five books.

The Giggler treatment by Roddy Doyle. It's brilliant (yes I read it too!)

If he really hates novels, and you can deal with giving in a bit, you could try graphic novels ( comic books!). My son(10, but got the books at about age 7 I think) has the Star Wars comic clone war books, and he will read them. I say he never reads, but I have just realised he is sat next to me reading right now; it is an adult book about how to play some xbox game. It is better for them to read something boyish than nothing.

I agree with using Beano and other comics to get them reading. My DS age 7 has been reading a lot of instructions recently. He was given one of those Usborne Art books which teach art techniques. He reads them and completes the tasks. He also completed a volcano making kit all on his own. It's a great way of making sure they are really understanding what they are reading.
He's a Man City supporter and will read anything about the team. Deadly boring to me, but if it gets him reading, it doesn't really matter.

MY DS loves,loves the Beast Quest books. He was a good reader but didn't love to read but did when he had to. Since discovering Beast Quest he always has his nose in one and often reads in the car on the way from school.

The other is Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinnley. This was recommended by a mumsnetter and again he couldn't put it down. Only problem was Jeff Kinley seems to have only written one book. It's diary style so not overwhelming blocks of prose and plenty of illustrations.

OOPS that should be Jeff Kinney.

What got my ds into Chapter books was the SuperPowers books - he really wanted to know what happens so would stay up late reading them in bed and then insist on getting the next one in the series ASAP!

he has moved on to Horrid henry; Captain underpants is also excellent as are Max Flash, jack Stalwart, and the 'Tiger Terror' series for first chapter books for this age boys