I was also going to recommend reading to him. We had a similar experience.

My 8 year old liked the 39 clues books, an they have an online component (cards that come with the books and can be used at their website to complete missions) so that is a little bit of incentive (downside is that it's annoying to have to buy them, so we would vary between library vs purchase).

We read together. I know, sounds nuts in MS, but it helped. DS hated the books he was "forced to read" at school and it turned him off reading. He could read them fine, he just didn't want to. I found some recommended books on line, bought them for Christmas, and started reading a chapter or two at a time with him. Soon he was sneaking the book to get ahead in the story and it became a game of, "wait! Not fair! Now I have to catch up!"

Two things helped in our house. The first was really capitalizing on the boys' interests. For one it is cars and the other animals. I bought them large (coffee table large) non fiction books on cars and animals. Each night they read sections that they choose. The second was getting a kindle. Time also helped.

I think the hardest time was when teachers assigned certain genres for the nightly reading. I get that they need to learn about all types of literature, but the nightly reading is supposed to promote interest in reading.

One last thing. We found that the middle school reading assignments were really interesting and at that point, it was not that difficult to get mine to read.

I'd bring DS to the library and get him engaged in finding books with your assistance. You may get a better idea of wbat appeals to him. I agree re the nonfiction suggestion - some kids are just not fiction readers. Also think about his interests. My DS is not interested in fantasy either which eliminates many of the popular series, but he likes sports and humor. Books he liked include Dan Gutman's sports books, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing/Superfudge/etc., Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Johanna Hurwitz books like Class Clown. He also likes mysteries like Capitol Mysteries and, as dated as they are, the Hardy Boys mysteries.

My now 10 yr old DS is always in the highest reading class, tests well above grade level, etc. He is less than enthusiastic about most of the standard books they throw at him in school, but absolutely loves the comic style books you mention: Big Nate, Wimpy Kid, Captain Underpaints, Vordak, Knights of the Lunch Table, The Underwear Dare, etc. He will stay up late into the night (past bedtime) reading these books and will write about them in his daily journal.

I get your apprehension, but over time I have come to love seeing my son so interested in reading. He has gone so far as to write at least a dozen of his own one page comic strips for his classmates. He may have written more strips that I don't see. I have also seen him talk about some of the books to his friends, so there is a social aspect of it.

In the end, this phase will probably pass, but I think it is important that he develop a love for reading rather than viewing it as a boring homework assignment.

By the way, I find all these books on Amazon.com searches because they will offer other suggestions related to my search item. Also, I will say my DS loved 'City of Ember', so that is a more 'substantial' book to try at some point.

Good luck.

I did a read-to-kids program with an 8 yo boy, and he loved the Mike Lupica books. They're all sport-themed. He wasn't much of a reader, but those books really held his attention.

OP here- DS is 8. He's been thru all Dan Gutman - good suggestion though. Alex Rider looks great! but perhaps a little advanced.

I can only hope he's Being forced to read novels in school - we have our teacher conference next week to confirm.

Thanks for the great suggestions- always looking for good books and we always get a lot of good suggestions on this forum!

Being forced to read novels in school is what helped both my kids learn that they could like longer novels.

My son really got into the Alex Rider books -- think "young James Bond". Certainly not realistic, but not fantasy either.

My Weird School books -- also by Dan Gutman

Dan Gutman's baseball books if he's at all interested in sports.

Does he like biographies? You don't mention his age. For kids around 3rd grade through 5th and maybe beyond, Who Was? is a great biography series - I even read them! Starting around 5th grade reading level, "Wicked History" is fantastic - my son loves both these series.

Books on tape or Learning Ally

Thanks for the encouragement - He has no interest in fantasy and has openly rejected H.P. lemony snicket and percy jackson and artemis fowl and all the big major series that seem to motivate kids of a certain ilk. I will try to be patient and offer incentives, as well. As soon as I can come up with some. it's not like he's addicted to screens - seriously he's not (amazing I know).

Anonymous wrote:We seem to have topped out here. Reading was progressing nicely- until the "transitional readers" stage, i.e. longer books w/ fewer illustrations, such as magic tree house, humphrey hamster, literally dozens of similar-stage books. I know this is a critical juncture for readers - moving onto longer, more meaty books. How can we help? Or is this where it ends? He is not competitive so I am not sure book-reading competitions would work. TIA

Be patient. My kid was an excellent reader, but took a long time to move on to Young Adult books. In the meantime, he read a lot of non-fiction, in addition to the books that you mentioned.

Have you had him try the Percy Jackson series? The first book has been turned into a movie and the second book will be out as a movie next summer. My son loved Wimpy Kid and Magic Treehouse, and he really loves Percy Jackson. He has moved on to the second series set in that world now.

A lot of people will suggest Harry Potter, but my son thinks HP is boring.

We seem to have topped out here. Reading was progressing nicely- until the "transitional readers" stage, i.e. longer books w/ fewer illustrations, such as magic tree house, humphrey hamster, literally dozens of similar-stage books. I know this is a critical juncture for readers - moving onto longer, more meaty books. How can we help? Or is this where it ends? He is not competitive so I am not sure book-reading competitions would work. TIA