Books for the Reluctant Reader
Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) provides lists of books and audiobooks for young adults, including those who don't like to read. Click the links below to find some of their recommendations.
Parents' Choice created a list of recommended books for younger children who don't like to read. Click the link below to see their selections.
Find more suggestions in the following article by a school librarian with a master's degree in special education.
The Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity has an article (with audio) about creating a culture of reading for struggling readers. While at the site, be sure to check the reading list from the link at the bottom of the page.
These popular and humorous series for elementary school children feature main characters who struggle in school: the Joey Pigza series by Jack Gantos is about a boy with ADHD and the Hank Zipzer series by Henry Winkler deals frankly with Hank's reading disability.
A terrific series for older students is the Percy Jackson Olympian series, which features a teen-aged dyslexic main character who just happens to be a demigod. The first book in the series is the Lightning Thief. The movie, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Lightning Thief comes out in February, 2010. The filmmaker, Chris Columbus, was apparently inspired to make this movie because his own daughter is dyslexic, and a big fan of the books. Click here to find out more.
More suggestions for girls:
Margaret Peterson Haddix series, especially the Shadow Children series.
More Suggestions for boys:
Dan Gutman series, especially the Baseball Card Adventure Series and My Weird School series.
Boys also enjoy nonfiction fact books, especially Guinness Book of World Records 2010
Struggling readers like:
- Lots of white space
- Short chapters
- Short books!
- Action
- Illustrations when appropriate
When choosing fiction books, look for books in a series as the familiarity provides support for the struggling reader.
Don't forget nonfiction books. These are often favorites of boys, who are especially drawn to fact or record books with interesting facts written in short paragraphs or captions describing photographs or illustrations. Even reluctant readers are often drawn to these selections.
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