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The staffroom

Whether you're a permanent teacher, supply teacher or student teacher, you'll find others in the same situation on our Staffroom forum.

Any English teachers or school librarians on here?

9 replies

hotcuppaplease · 08/10/2020 19:55

I have a challenge for you. How do you get an 8-year old to move on from Tom Gates? I’ve got a keen, confident and fluid reader. When choosing books at school he says gets overwhelmed with the choice and panics. Came home with Matilda today. He has read it at least a dozen times.
When he has exhausted Roald Dah/l David Walliams/ Liz Pictons Tom Gates and Jeff Kinney Diary of a wimpy kid, where does he go?
Will read any non-fiction he’s able, no problem. so it’s fiction we’re after.
AR BL 5 + ( Is there an Oxford Reading Tree level equivalent?)
(Doesn’t get put off by a challenge if the book interest him. )
He is a sensitive soul. So anything scary, ghosts, witches zombies, torture, adventures that are too frightening are all out. So is death and Michael Morpurgo. It’s just not worth the nightmares, sleepless nights and not going into an empty room by himself....again. And I can’t afford the CBT. He doesn’t get fantasy and anthropomorphism. Sci-fi is also a no go, talking vehicles is just wrong!
Historical fiction he finds difficult to grasp, but has improved recently would be good to work on this.
It has to be relatable, tangible in order to process it, so difficult subjects such as racism, poverty etc. are fine as long as they age appropriate.
Series are great but not essential.
Something to support his emotional intelligence and cultural/ social knowledge.
Thinking about Jacqueline Wilson but they always seem to be pink and girl orientated covers. Which can be off-putting surrounded by your peer. I don't know where to start with them.
Help! Please can you point me in the right direction.

OP posts:
LolaSmiles · 08/10/2020 20:50

Could he look at the Percy Jackson books, which are myth based? Artemis Foul is good, but I've not read them in a while so they might be a bit much depending on how sensitive he is.

The difficulty is that he seems to dislike quite a large range of books so you're looking at either Dahl children's books or the accessible comedy books.

BadgerBadgerMushroom · 08/10/2020 23:02

13 Story Tree House series are quite popular at this age. The stories are quite repetitive but it's a step away from the diary style books?

BadgerBadgerMushroom · 08/10/2020 23:03

AR also has a book search engine website where you can input the level he's reading at and it will suggest books.

Augustbreeze · 09/10/2020 11:11

If you google 'books for people who like Diary of a Wimpy Kid', there's dozens of suggestions. Cross reference that with an AR level 5+ search and you're there!

ValancyRedfern · 09/10/2020 13:09

I was the same in that I hated fantasy and sci-fi and anything not 'real'. Would he enjoy some of the classics like The Secret Garden or The Borrowers? (I realise still a bit fantasy but it was one I tolerated!). I was really into Anne of Green Gables at that age. I think Jacqueline Wilson is a good shout. It's a crying shame that it's not socially acceptable for boys to enjoy books about girls.

BadlydoneHelen · 09/10/2020 17:49

Jeremy Strong perhaps? Might be too easy.
Flat Stanley
Dick King-Smith

hotcuppaplease · 09/10/2020 18:56

@ValancyRedfern I used to love Anne of Green Gables, might buy myself a box set and read them first!

so far I've got
-13 storey treehouse
thanks @BadgerBadgerMushroom. I forgot about those.
-Hank zipzer series
-Tanglewood animal park series
-The white giraffe series.
-My niece is helping to find which Jacqueline Wilson are appropriate.
-The famous five and Adventure series Enid Blyton but I'm not so sure that will take off.
-Anna Wilson's kitten chaos series.
-Barry loser
None of them great Classics but it keeps him reading. The thought of being in locked down with not enough books was frightening.Smile
You can see how some children get turned off reading if they don't like fantasy. I also wonder what's the point in getting children to learn to read so well, so early. When there's not appropriate subject matter for them to read.
I'll try and find some biographies biographies for children and carry on with the non-fiction.
Thanks for your help. X

OP posts:
seekingasimplelife · 14/10/2020 22:04

Sorry I'm not a teacher, but my son at that age was very sensitive to scary themes. He enjoyed Diary of a Wimpy Kid, then moved onto Frank Cottrell Boyce 'Cosmic' which he loved and found very amusing and followed up with more from the same author. (I'm not sure if the space theme would rule it out though?).

Maincat · 16/10/2020 07:11

David Baddiel's books?

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