Teaching Tuesday: Books for Reluctant Readers

Lovebug did not become a fan of reading independently until he discovered the Captain Underpants books. He would happily listen to me, or his sister, but reading on his own didn't interest him in the slightest. It drove me crazy.

To this day, Ironflower is still more likely to read for fun. That's her go-to activity when we turn our screens off. But when Lovebug has the right book, he too will retreat to his room and read for fun. Ever since he polished off the Captain Underpants Series, ("What do you mean he hasn't written the next one yet, Mom? I need to read it now!" I'm so not going to let him read Game of Thrones until George finishes the series), I have been on a quest to find books just as compelling

I think most kids - people, even - who claim to not like reading just haven't found the right material. And when you're trying to get your kid to read for fun, you can't worry about the potty humor in Captain Underpants or the fact that you think comic books are stupid (they're not, btw) or whatever. So, with that in mind, here are some book selections that don't show up on Scholastic's 100 Greatest books for kids list.

Lego books are ever popular around here. 

Chapter books for kids who need humor:

• Dav Pilkey's other series, Ricky Ricotta. A little less disgusting and a little easier to read than Captain Underpants. Lovebug has read some of them three times. 
• The Captain Awesome series, by Stan Kirby. These are on the easy side, but even reading (or rereading) easy materials is good for kids. 
• Lovebug loves graphic novels, which the Captain Underpants books almost are. Another one we found was DANIEL BOOM AKA LOUD BOY. There are 4 of them so far. 
• George Brown, Class Clown is another series with a lot of humor, though not quite as potty-based as Captain Underpants. 
• What's cooler than potty humor? Ninjas. Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja  starts a series about a typical 6th grader recruited into a clan of ninjas.  
• An oldie but a goodie, the My Father's Dragon trilogy includes illustrations, dragons and problem solving.
  

Chapter books for kids who like non-fiction:

• If your kiddo like animals, try the National Geographic Kids Chapter books. There are also all sorts of true stories about animal heroes, animal rescues and animal encounters.
• There are also National Geographic Readers, which have lots of information about all kinds of animals and natural phenomena, but are written more at a primary grade level. 
• Time for Kids has a biography series for kids, as well as a ton of books covering various non-fiction topics. 
• DK, creators of those cool Eyewitness books about everything, also have an interesting
   biography series. 
• Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule is technically fiction, but this story of former slaves feels very real. Definitely for kids in fourth grade or above.

Things kids can read if they "hate" books:

• American Girl magazine. Believe it or not, it's not just ads for more American Girl products. That said, it's not cheap, but your library probably has it. 
• Lego Club magazine. This one is free, but it's mostly an ad for Lego products.
• National Geographic for Kids magazine. These are awesome. Much more like a real magazine than Time for Kids.
• Sports Illustrated for Kids. Assumes a serious interest in professional sports. 
• First Altas, National Geographic's Road Atlas for Kids or any other atlas, really. 
• Travel brochures. I haven't done this for a while, but a lot of state and city tourist centers will mail brochures and travel guides for free. 
• The directions for anything - a recipe for making brownies, a how-to for making a craft, the way to play a new board game. This can also be a great way to reinforce the importance of comprehension. 
• Letters or emails from family members or friends. This is especially cool if they've got a far away cousin or close friend with whom they want to keep in touch. 

Picture books that are worth reading:

• Gail Gibbons is the queen of non-fiction picture books. She has picture books about all the things kids want to learn about:

• Patricia Polacco's books have rich illustrations, great vocabulary and feature multicultural characters.

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