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My nine year old has been a challenge to educate in various ways. He has some difficulty with reading.

I am now at the point of working on interesting him in really reading short novels. What are some tips to encourage a child to read?

the only thing I can think of is to let him read what he is interested in. What about Artemis Fowl? They are along the Harry POtter lines but not nearly as long. Science topics?

pregger meggers

I already thought of trying to interest him by helping him to choose books that he likes. He has very little interest in children or easier to read books.

What are his hobbies? What does he like to do for fun? How about finding books on those topics? If you want him to get into novels, you may be able to find some related to his hobbies. On the other hand, why not try to find nonfiction books related to his interests?

In other words, does he play sports? Matt Christopher is one author who comes to mind. He writes short novels with themes about kids playing various kinds of sports. Or you could find a good nonfiction book on the particular kind of sport he likes. Say he likes soccer: I've seen some great books on soccer that give a little history of the game, strategy points, ideas for practice, etc., all with color photos and graphics.

You could find similiar books for other interests he may have. Does he play a musical instrument? Does he love science or dinosaurs or bugs or astronomy? Is he a Scout? Does he like to bike or collect a particular item?

You get the idea. I'd help him search for books related to whatever excites him, whether they are fiction or nonfiction.

You might also start out with magazines.

After he gets into reading about things he knows about, you might nudge him into more literary titles... find out if he likes fantasy or adventure or whatever. Then again, there's nothing wrong with nonfiction, either.

Good luck,

Sonja

<img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

My son is a martial artist who likes fantasy, dinosaurs and frogs besides anything related to martial arts and the asian cultures.

He does like the Magic Treehouse books and has a few others but our findings have been limited.

My son is a martial artist who likes fantasy, dinosaurs and frogs besides anything related to martial arts and the asian cultures.

He does like the Magic Treehouse books and has a few others but our findings have been limited.

My son is a martial artist who likes fantasy, dinosaurs and frogs besides anything related to martial arts and the asian cultures.

He does like the Magic Treehouse books and has a few others but our findings have been limited.

I forgot to add a thanks on the tip of looking at non-fiction books. Do you know of any titles/series that I could look for?

OK. Here are some suggestions (for ages 9-12):

"Superguides: Martial Arts," by David Mitchell, DK Publishing, 2000

"The Martial Arts Book," by Laura Scandiffo, Annick, 2003. This particular one may suit your son's interest in the culture because it apparently includes an overview of the history and philosophy of the ancient martial arts disciplines.

"The Peaceful Way: A Children's Guide To The Traditions Of The Martial Arts," by Claudio A. Iedwab, Inner Traditions International, 2001

"National Geographic's Dinosaurs," 2001

Fiction suggestions:

"Dinotopia," by James Gurney

"The Shy Stegosaurus of Cricket Creek," by Evelyn Sibley Lampman, Purple House Press, republished in 2001

"Holes," by Louis Sachar, Yearling Books, 2000.

"The Secrets of Droon," by Tony Abbott. This is a fantasy series of kids entering another world where good fights bad, etc. It's for ages 9-12 and easier to read than Harry Potter, etc.

You can find many more ideas at your local library or bookstore. Just tell them what your son's interests are and they will surely find lots of other possible titles. Better yet, bring your son and let him browse around himself.

I don't know if he'll like any of the above, but it's a start, anyway.

Sonja <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Thank you!

The library doesn't have much that interests him. I find the children's section to be outdated. So we have found books at used book stores, the thrift stores and Ebay. It helps when I have something specific to look for on Ebay while the others are simply luck.