4 Great Book Ideas for Non-Readers and Short-Attention-Span Tweens

My 10YO is not a big reader, but after a lot of searching, these are the books he loves. 

Do you struggle to find books that your tweens like to read, or are you one of the lucky parents who have a bookworm for a child? If you’re the latter, I envy you. If you’re the former, let me help you…

I have a ten year old who doesn't love to read, and to be honest,  it makes me sad. When I was his age, I devoured books. When I ran out of books to read, I read cereal boxes, milk cartons (remember them?), and anything else that was lying around.

Michael will find a book that looks interesting and begin to read it. But after the first few chapters, he loses interest. We have struggled for the past few years finding books that are both interesting to him and targeted at his grade level, so I thought I would share the list of the "best" books he has read. Because honestly, we worked hard to make this list.

In no particular order...

1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney: Made up of daily journal entries with comics mixed in, Greg Heffley and his family are a riot. Michael has impatiently waited for each of these books to come out (they are published about once per year) and refuses to put them down until he's finished.

2. The Name of this Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch: We are currently reading this book, and it's awesome. I would tell you more about the book, but you know, it's secret.

3. Geronimo Stilton by Geronimo Stilton: I believe there are almost 50 books in this series. Geronimo (a mouse) is a reporter for his hometown newspaper. Each story in the series has a different setting, and though helpful, it's not necessary to read them in order.

4. Wayside School Series by Louis Sachar: In my opinion, this is the best series of them all. Each chapter is 2-3 pages long, the character development is stellar, and you never know what to expect (there are chapters that are printed upside down). My six year old laughs out loud when I read the books to him, and my ten year old begs to stay up late and read "just one more chapter."

The theme among these books? They have illustrations or comics scattered throughout each (short) chapter, they’re easy reads for children with short attention spans, and are perfect read aloud books (even for the older kids who swear they don't want to be read to).

Stocking stuffers, anyone? Any books you can add to this list that work with your non-reading kid?