Does your child prefer the computer, TV or video games to books? There are so many wonderful books to choose from, that there is bound to be something to enthrall every child, if you can just get them started. Despite modern technology, we still need books. After all, you can’t curl up with a computer!

There are some ideas below - many more suggestions through the links alongside.

Help your child with reading FS

Reading sheet 1 Free Download

Encourage your child to enjoy reading

Books to read aloud

 Libraries welcome children, so get into the habit of using the library with your child. There are often story-telling sessions for children, so make the most of these. Bookshops encourage you to browse – and in the larger ones, you can even enjoy a coffee while your children look at the books!

There are reading lists on our web site to interest everybody. Babies and toddlers love to hear their favourite stories over and over again – and woe betide you if you try to skip a page! The number of books for this age is limitless, but this list is just for starters…

There are lists on our site for children from 5 to 11. Remember, the ages are only approximate. The lists are only a guide to a small proportion of the fantastic range of books on offer to today's children. Hopefully, they will just give you a starting point to introduce your child to the magical world of books. These lists are for fiction books - there are also non-fiction lists (please see the right hand menu), as many children can be encouraged to read through non-fiction books.

	Reading list 4-6	Reading list 6-8	Reading list 8-9	Reading list 9-10
	Reading list 10-12	Reading list for KS3	Reading list for KS4

All children are different; they know that they like, and remember the important thing is that they are reading. By all means, encourage your child to stretch him/herself when reading but children often do not fully appreciate certain books until they are mature enough to be ready to read them.

There is always controversy over certain series of books, and particular authors. Yes, there are series which appear trite and repetitive, but you will often find children will come to this conclusion by themselves once they have read a few books in the series, and that is the time to encourage them to move on.

I would always encourage a child to try and read a chapter or two of a book, before deciding it is not for them, but if they really don’t like it, then encourage them to look for something else. They may well come back to the book in a year or two, and thoroughly enjoy it.

Fiction

Here are some passages from well known fiction books which can be used to encourage reading and understanding.

	Harry Potter	The machine gunners	Lord of the flies	Charlotte's web
	The wreck of the Zanzibar	Bill's new frock Free Download	Charlie and the chocolate factory Free Download	Cliffhanger
	Jabberwocky	Katie Morag	Grandpa Chatterji	Goodnight Mr Tom
	Tom's midnight garden	The wind in the willows	Roald Dahl activities	Street Child
	The midnight fox	There's a boy in the girls' bathroom	The angel of Nitshill Road

Anne Fine and 'My home library' have kindly agreed to let us have some of their bookplates for you to print out and put in your own books. There are many more at 'My home library'.

These plates may be freely copied for all except commercial purposes www.myhomelibrary.org

These lists and ideas are just a start. There are many more lists to come on the web site, so keep looking at this page. For suggestions on non-fiction reading, please look at non-fiction books. If you have any requests for book lists on specific topics, please email me at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it