Exciting books for reluctant boy readers?

Question

Hi, I'm desperate. I tutor literacy to 2 very disinterested 10 year old boys - both reluctant readers, easily bored, streetwise, reading isn't cool! etc etc etc - Are there any books out there that would be sure-fire winners? The action needs to start on page 1!

Answer 1

Horrid Henry books and if they think them are childish dare them to read the creepers books by Edgar J Hyde or shivers books by M D Spenser they look spooky but are meant for kids

Answer 2

Try the Antony Horowitz books about Alex Ryder Stormbreaker and Point Blank - the junior James Bond, my son loved them. Also Paul Jennings wrote a whole series of gruesome books which my son read avidly when he was about 10. Most of them begin with the prefix un, e.g. Unseen, Unreal etc.

As a couple of other people have suggested, comics are a great way to get boys interested, there are loads of graphic novels available.
Another way to get boys reading is to talk to them about PC games etc. Ask them to tell you how a favourite game works in terms of plot, choices the player has to make etc and get them to make a diagram of the plot, pathways. They will become totally engrossed in it. When they have worked through this, tell them they are going to design a game of their own based on a story they know. They could choose something like Little Red Riding Hood, or Where the Wild Things Are - something fairly simple to start with, then they have to decide how the plot can be designed as a game, decide on any sub plots or choices that have to be made; identify the key challenges etc. If you have a really good ICT department, the boys may be able to try actually writing a program to make the game work!

Hope this helps

Answer 3

aghhhh!!! wrote an answer to this..and then it disappeared into the ether!

After completing the Better Reading Programme training..I would say to you.....It doesn't HAVE to be fiction. Take your time to sit down...find out what they like/dislike...then find reading material that will go down well. For example, when implementing the BRP..one boy liked football, so I found him a biography of Pele. The words were very difficult, but this boy WANTED to know about the world's greatest footballer, so he persevered. He read it. Use poetry, funny or serious, comics, even joke books, all kinds of factual stuff, boys like facts. Tailor the reading material to their interests, and change it regularly, just a passage that they read to you, take away..read at home..come back...tell you what they liked about it, then move on..find something else...DON'T let them get bored..if they like something you land on..they will tell you...I'd like to read a bit more about that...or can I have that again.

I don't know if it is still in operation, but it sounds like these boys are ideal candidates for the Better Reading Programme.

If you want to know more the Better Reading Partnership is explained at the following link

http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/links/volunteering.html


It does work, I had results between 9 and 10 months reading age improvement over 10 weeks. (the course says you will get at least 6 months improvement.)

Answer 4

"Airborn" by Kenneth Oppel. Set in an alternate early 20th century where mighty airships cruise the skies.

Matt Criuse is a lowly cabin aboard the Aurora, the luxury airship he's called home for the last three years. He has high hopes of promotion to junior sailmaker - until Kate de Vries arrives, fired with her own mysterious quest. She may be rich, but she's spirited and brave and won't let social distinctions prevent their friendship.
Then one night, over the middle of the ocean, deadly air pirates board the Aurora. Far from any hopes of rescue, Kate and Matt are flung into adventures beyond imagining...

"Skybreaker" by Kenneth Oppel. The sequel to "Airborn".

Matt Cruise is studying at the Airship Academy, his days as cabin boy over for the moment. During a training flight aboard the air freighter Flotsam, Matt saves the ship from a deadly storm that thrusts them to dangerously high altitudes. There he spies a frozen airship, drifting aimlessly - the legendary ghost ship Hyperion.
Rumoured to bear great wealth, the Hyperion left harbour forth years ago, but never reached her destination. No wreckage was ever found... Until now...
and it's not just gold the Hyperion is reputed to carry, but a collection of strange zoological specimens. Matt's friend Kate is desperate to recover them, as they embark on the most dangerous of treasure hunts, with ruthless air pirates hot on their trail...

Answer 5

Have a look at the "Alpha force" books by Chris Ryan

Go to http://www.kidsatrandomhouse.co.uk/ and enter "Chris Ryan" in the search box. The books are written for 9 to 12 year olds (according to the publisher) and do not contain the same level of violence as his adult books but they do have a more grown up feel that may apeal to 10/11 year old boys who dont like Harry Potter. Have a look at them yourself to see if you feel they are suitable for your children. The site also has a lot of other childrens books but they only seem to list the current books of the month. Along a similar line is the "Boy Soldier" series by Andy McNab and Robert Rigby but in my opinion these are better suited to readers over 12 years old (but have a look and judge for yourself)

Answer 6

Try Eoin Colfer's "Artemis Fowl" series. They have a lot of action, aren't very long and are very funny. They are about a boy genius who is a master criminal. He discovers that there are fairies living below the Earth's surface and concocts a scheme to steal their gold. The language is very accessible but not childish. They are very thoughtfully written and although short, contain many interesting themes and depth of character.

I would also recommend Michelle Paver's "Chronicles of Ancient Darkness" series. They are about the adventures of a boy called Torak and his wolf, around 5000 years in the past. They are very interesting and well-written.

Other than that, Roald Dahl and Harry Potter are often well received. Roald Dahl's "Danny Champion of the World" and "George's Marvellous Medicine" are good examples of clever boys getting one over on adults - always a hit.

Good luck!

Answer 7

I know it's not very traditional, but have you considered introducing them to comic books? There's lots of action, and they don't feel like 'real' reading to some kids so they're slightly less uncool than books. But that could act as a gateway. Besides, comic books aren't exactly an intellectual wasteland - in Marvel's Civil War, we recently had Captain America quoting Mark Twain about democracy (recent blog post about it at http://greenbayfreeradical.blogspot.com/2007/01/spider-man-mark-twain-and-captain.html). There are some good comics aimed at younger people, like Young Avengers and Runaways. They have the advantage of being reasonably new, so you don't have 50 years of history to catch up on.

You could also try getting them to read some SF, like Ender's Game. Or maybe Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider series or his new Gatekeeper series.

Answer 8

I teach "at-risk" middle school boys, and have struggled with this same question. I've used Science Fiction/Fantasy short stories as my crutch for many years as many of the stories jump right in with Aliens, Time Travel and such. Last year I found my Miracle in Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game" series of books. The stories revolve around an Earth that has been at battle with an alien species so long that they are now training kids. Ender Wiggin is a seven year old who is chosen to lead an army of boys into battle; the first book surrounds his training. Card originally wrote "Ender's Game" as a short story (http://www.hatrack.com/osc/stories/enders-game.shtml). Try this and if it works like it did for me, you can tell them that he expanded it into a novel (which includes his brother and sister and a fellow recruit who is killed by Ender's bare hands). If, like my students, they get hooked on this, the Ender's series is now eight books strong! Good Luck!

Answer 9

I would suggest the Stormbreaker books, Horrid Henry stories, Horrible History or Goosebump stories. Boys in my class used to read these books when we were about ten, this was four years back so I don't think that their taste in stories would change too much in this space of time.

Answer 10

I would recommend Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan and its sequels. It's the first in a series about Percy Jackson. Very fun. Very exciting. Modern-day fantasy. And with chapter titles like "I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher" "I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom" "A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers" and "We Take A Zebra to Vegas" you can get a glimpse of the fun and humor. Its basic premise is that the Greek gods aren't dead, and Mount Olympus has moved (followed civilization) to the U.S. Therefore it is entirely possible to have all sorts of exciting quests, adventures, battles like in old myths but set in modern times. Anyway, it's a very funny book. Very enjoyable. And Rick Riordan is great...I've heard him speak...he knows his audience well...he used to be a teacher!