My 5th grader just read the great illustrated classics version of Little Women and absolutely loved it. She keeps asking people if they’ve read it. My husband goes “It’s a great book” (he has absolutely never read it). Try to find those books if you want your kids reading something you think is worthwhile, they make longer/heavier books more accessible for kids.

Anonymous wrote:As a librarian and parent to a third grader I would strongly encourage you to reevaluate how you see graphic novels! According to research, graphic novels have incredible language variation and require readers to use both sides of their brains at the same time, stimulating a different kind of learning.

“While comic books and graphic novels may contain fewer words per page than the average chapter book, the authors are required to choose their words more carefully. “[They] reach for a higher-level vocabulary word that says in one word what the average person might take six or seven words to say,” said Jones. A study by the University of Oregon found that comic books average 53.5 rare words per thousand, while children’s books average 30.9, and adult books average 52.7.”

https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/64402/how-debunking-myths-about-graphic-novels-and-comics-can-unlock-learning

My 10 year old will only read graphic novels because he likes lot of pictures.

Besides above, he also reads almanacs, kids science and engineering books with lots of vivid pictures. Lots of higher level vocab, technical stuff, and content knowledge. Novels no but content knowledge about science, engineering, animals, whatever he is good.

4th grade boy reads Roald Dahl and enjoys "Great illustrated Classics" which you might remember from the 90s. Basically abridged classics with pictures. He does not like most of what has been mentioned here though I've tried.

Spy School Series
The Vanderbeekers series

I'm a big believer in letting kids read what interests them. Both my boys loved the comics TinTin and Asterix. Also Calvin and Hobbes. They also loved atlases and science books.

I read to them every night until they were in high school. Most of our favorites have been mentioned by PPs. Reading aloud, for me, was one of the greatest joys of parenting--snuggling up together with a good book is bliss.

My older DS was taught reading and writing by the Lucy Calkins method. As an adult, he is a voracious reader. My younger DS was not taught via the Calkins method (we had moved to a different school system). As an adult, he does not read books for pleasure, sadly. They were both excellent students and are good writers.

All this is to say: unless your kid has reading difficulties, I'm not sure you need to be so anxious about something that should be pleasurable.

Lemony Snicket

Don't limit what they read. Just provide options. They will read the crap. I mean...I know I do? But I also read non-crap. Read everything! How can you know what's crap until you read both?

As a librarian and parent to a third grader I would strongly encourage you to reevaluate how you see graphic novels! According to research, graphic novels have incredible language variation and require readers to use both sides of their brains at the same time, stimulating a different kind of learning.

“While comic books and graphic novels may contain fewer words per page than the average chapter book, the authors are required to choose their words more carefully. “[They] reach for a higher-level vocabulary word that says in one word what the average person might take six or seven words to say,” said Jones. A study by the University of Oregon found that comic books average 53.5 rare words per thousand, while children’s books average 30.9, and adult books average 52.7.”

https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/64402/how-debunking-myths-about-graphic-novels-and-comics-can-unlock-learning

My kid loves reading graphic novels. And listening to audio books. And reading magazines. 99th percentile in reading every year. The point is to get kids reading and thinking. They don’t want to be bored- they want to be engaged and not every kid is going to want to read the same thing. Best way to turn kids against reading.

Nerds on the prairie

Lots of historical fiction:
historical American girl books,
a series called History Mysteries,
a series set in Colonial Williamsburg

Boxcar Children
Misty of Chincoteague & sequels
Harry Potter books

We also read together books like Heidi, Anne of Green Gables, Narnia books, Little House on the Prairie, etc.

City Spies series
New Kid, Class Act, hasn’t read the third one yet
Max Einstein series
Still working on reading all the entire Who Was… series
Frizzy
Just Pretend
Once Upon Another Time

James Patterson

Little House
The Hobbit
How Green Was My Valley

City Spies series and Framed series by James Ponti

The Last Musketeers series by Stuart Gibbs

Ghostlight by Kenneth Oppel

Anything by Kenneth Oppel but particularly the Bloom series

Anything by Gordon Korman

Anything by Alan Gratz