Three years ago, as we were preparing to head back to the US for a prolonged period (to "graduate" from the Post-Residency Program to Serge, and for my US oral board exams), we were facing what felt like a difficult problem. Dominic was a little bit interested in reading, but mostly just comic books, and mostly just superficially. As an "early" reader myself, I was SO ready for him to start reading chapter books independently! My memories of most school vacations are reading books in various locations - the lake, Grandma and Grandpa's house, campgrounds...
We shamelessly bribed Dominic to read by letting him choose a brand-new book from a series at our local bookstore in Seattle - he chose Dragon Masters, and a Minecraft instruction book. And it worked! By the time we left Seattle, he had read every Dragon Masters book at the local library, and was looking for more! Soon he discovered reading e-Books from the library, and we were off and running!
Now, we're facing another challenge - finding books and series that are engaging, appropriate for his age and reading level, and that are good literature. Sure, he loves Captain Underpants...but you can only eat so much junk food, and in my opinion a 10-year-old mind should only take in so much junk reading (sorry, Captain Underpants fans). I wish I had time to pre-read every book that Dominic is interested in reading, but unfortunately I do have a job - and he's starting to read pretty fast. Common Sense Media seems to rely primarily on parent and kid reviews, and the presence or absence of scary situations, references to drugs/alcohol/sex, or bad language. However, the present/absence of those things doesn't necessarily make a book good literature!
I recently discovered the Redeemed Reader website. So far I've been impressed with their recommendations and the depth of (most of) their reviews. It's a good starting point, and they have a lot of book lists and recommendations for various reading and maturity levels. I keep trying to get Dominic to throw in some classics, but it's helpful to be able to toss in a new book (or better yet, a series) that someone else has already reviewed!
Since 2022, Dominic has read and enjoyed:
- The Chronicles of Narnia (we've read them through twice together, and he's read them all by himself as well except The Last Battle)
- The Hobbit (read aloud)
- All the Dragon Masters books that he can get his hands on
- Wings of Fire Graphic Novels through #6 (that's where we decided to stop)
- The Rangers Apprentice Books 1-3, not because we stopped there but because that's all we have
- Warriors (it's about tribal violence between groups of cats. Not my favorite theme on a number of levels)
-Jack Zulu and the Waylander's Key
- The Green Ember and other books in that series (only on audio)
- I'll admit it: Captain Underpants, Dog Man books, countless Garfield, Far Side, and Calvin and Hobbes cartoons - although I know Kris would not want me to classify Calvin and Hobbes as junk reading
- The Redwall Series (audiobook only)
- The Wingfeather Saga (read aloud)
- The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place (I read this series ahead of him and really enjoyed it)
We're looking forward to starting Harry Potter in just under a year (Age 11 feels like the correct time to start that series, especially for a slightly more sensitive reader)! Until then, I'm sure we'll need a lot more book recommendations, so feel free to leave a comment or sent me an email or text with your favorites!
