looking for some inspiration really. my 7 year old is a little below average in reading ability and to be honest a bit lazy with learning (the irony being that he’ll watch the documentary channel over cartoons). can anyone recomend me some books that would interest him to read himself?

usual sort of boys stuff… aliens, monsters, adventure etc.

The Harry Potter books of course.

A lot better than I thought they would be.

Potter is too grown up for 7yrs old in my opinion as some words and ideas are more advanced (and the books quickly progress into even more ideas death/murder which you might not find appropriate), but you could perhaps read them together.

I’d say Mr. Gum, Raold Dahl, Spiderwick Chronicles, Flat Stanley, Horrid Henry, Captain Underpants and Magic Treehouse (an American Import)

Obviously all Roald Dahl books +1
Billionaire Boy – David Walliams
Horrid Henry range +1
Beast Quest range
Famous Five
Flat Stanley
Captain Underpants +1
Mr Gum series

Enid Blyton – Famous five, Secret Seven, Magic Faraway tree.

Roald Dahl as mentioned above.

Our boy loved me reading Magic Faraway tree or BFG to him. Get him to join in as well. Get him to read anything you see though as well. From Crisp packets, Milk cartons, Magazines you get the idea though….

I disagree about Potter. Our kids at that age loved them and are growing up with them.

I totally agree about Roald Dahl though – brilliant for all ages.

Harry Potters are brilliant but not all 7 year olds will cope especially if they are reluctant readers, the font is small, otherwise Beast Quest but get the first series and in sequence.

My son has just read “Diary of a whimpy kid” and loved it. First time he has ever finished a book and wanted to get the second one straight away. He is 10 but the book lends itself well to younger children as it is very easy to read, with lots of fun drawings etc.

Second Diary of a Whimpy Kid, Astrosaurus and Beast Quest also worth a look, my 7 year old loves them.

Horrid Henry

+1 Beast Quest. Beano, Dandy and Dr Who annuals all cheap in the sales too.

I enjoyed the Willard Price ‘adventure’ books at that age. Not sure if they’re still in print though!

My daughter laughs her head off at the My Brother’s Famous Bottom books: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brothers-Famous-Bottom-Jeremy-Strong/dp/0141322381

I’d agree with Harry Potter being too old for a 7-year-old. My daughter’s an above average reader and would struggle a little with reading them herself, and the content would scare her silly, I reckon.

Holes is great – I read it as an adult and loved it.

Humphrey the Hamster is doing it for us at the mo’

Capt WE Johns of course.

The ‘Beast Quest’ books are very popular with 7 year olds.

Stig of the Dump – Clive King
Roald Dahl as above
Horrible Histories

Swallows and Amazons was my favourite book as a nipper.

Arthur Ransome’s swallows and amazons books they are brilliant for kids easily one of the best children’s series ever written. they had a big impact on my life.

Mr Stink is the current favourite in our house.

+1 for Dahl. All of his kids books plus his kids poems and re-writes of the classic tales (Red Riding Hood, 3 Pigs etc) – they’re fantastic.

Horrible Histories will be good too…

Astrosaurs, whats not to like, space, dinosaurs etc etc

My seven year old likes any book about football also still into Enid Blyton, Famous 5/secret 7 stuff – a bit dated & some odd name choices but they make me snigger

people on here keep going on about the no country for old men books…

Roald Dahl.
Famous Five (up to you whether you go for the original or edited versions, just make sure they’re in sequence).

Cpt W.E.Johns too as per aP, I remembered a book “The Boy Biggles” from when I was a kid & got it for my kids, they love it – tigers, leopards, black panthers, crocs and boys with guns walking around in jungles – can’t go wrong 🙂

thanks, really interesting suggestions and loads i had’nt heard of.

sadly harry potter is a wee bit too advanced for him (my daughter was reading them at 7).

All of the Arthur Ransome books are a fantastic read, easy to understand and follow, and really quite exciting. One nice factual touch is that the boat Goblin that features in We Didn’t Mean To Go To Sea is a real boat and she still exists, now owned by The Nancy Blackett Trust. Ransome was living on her on the Broads when he wrote the book.
I would also suggest the Horatio Lyle books by Catherine Webb. They’re set in Victorian London and Horatio is a mad inventor/private detective, a sort of Steampunk Sherlock Holmes. He has two sidekicks, a rather posh boy, and a very smart, cheeky girl street urchin. Excellent books, I can’t recommend them highly enough. She’s also written four other books, the first two, Mirror Dreams and Mirror Wakes, are stunning, very much in the style of Roger Zelazney, but your lad might struggle with them a bit, but certainly worth a try. They’re a good adult read, too. I loved them. Catherine had the first one published when she was fourteen…

Dorling Kindersley staged readers are good, lots of different topics. Half the battle with lads is finding something that they want to read & that is age appropriate – my son is an avid reader and currently is into “Henderson Boys”, which are a series of books about child spies in WW2. Probably be a bit too much for the OPs son (my lad is 10 & topping out the reading scale at school) but certainly something for the future.

Before Borders Bookstores all closed we’d go about once a week & Josh would just take himself around the kids section, usually ending up sat somewhere with a book, often factual, that he’d half read before we bought it!

The hobbit
The bogwoppits
All of the Arthur Ransome stuff
Willard Price books were bloody great!

Oh and the iron man by ted hughes

What a book!

Hmmm… At 10 I was reading CS Forester.