How do I get my third grade brother to want to read chapter books on his own?

Question

Hi there. My brother refuses to read anything advanced (ie. Redwall) on his own. The only books he will read by himself are comic books, or picture books (ie. Berenstein bears, Flat Stanley, Tomie DePaola). He likes history, so I introduced him to the "My Name is America" books, but he refuses to read them by himself. Any suggestions for getting him to read longer and more advanced books?

Answer 1

No boys dont like chapter books, they like nonfiction. as females we want them to like fiction, they just dont like fantasy, they like reality

Answer 2

Don't push him. However, encourage him to some other really cool books more at his level - my son loved these at his age - any of the Time Warp Trio

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n_0?ie...

Answer 3

My son is in third grade.  We will sometimes read together out loud and alternate who reads what page (i.e. I read the right pages he reads the left pages).  He really likes the Frannie K. Stein and Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and they are funny. He also likes Goosebumps.

Answer 4

let him pick out a good book.

Answer 5

I agree Redwall is pretty advanced for the average third grader.  If you pick a book that's way too hard it's just going to turn him off reading.  It's possible it's also just not the genre that captures his interest.

There are lots of books that are in between Berenstein Bears level and Redwall.  Try mysteries (e.g. Boxcar Children; Hardy Boys); fantasy (Rowan of Rinn; Secrets of Droon; Harry Potter); realistic fiction (Beverly Cleary's Henry books; Owen Foote books); humor (Captain Underpants); science (Magic Schoolbus chapter books ... they have the chapter ones in addition to the picture books); etc.

Also try reading a book out loud until you get to an exciting cliff-hanger ... then suddenly becoming "busy" with something else!

Answer 6

give a car book or the things he acctualy enjoys and make shore he knows to read them and there not to hard to read

Answer 7

Ask your local librarian for suggestions that are appropriate for his reading level.

I would suggest the "Captain Underpants" series. My kid can't put it down.

There are also many others that appeal to that age group, including Goosebumps and My Teacher Is An Alien and Bunnicula.

Anything that features a favorite charactor tends to hook 'em.

If he likes comic books, introduce him to more sophisticated "graphic novels" which are essentailly the same thing.

Answer 8

Be thankful that he likes to read. My oldest doesn't care for it. It's literally a chore. The thing is, you have to have things that interest him. Your intentions were good, buying him these Redwall books, but maybe they don't interest him. Perhaps you could take him to a bookstore, or the library, and find books that interest him and that will also challenge him at that higher level. Good luck.

Answer 9

I had the same problem with my 3rd grade son - Until he discovered Goosebumps and The Boxcar Children.  Hardy Boys is good too.  I would use the library as incentive and reading with him is a good idea.  I read one page, he reads the next (out loud of course.)  I also used an incentive - my son is reading Prince Caspian right now and he gets to go see the movie on May 16th if he is done.  (He will be - but it really got him going)  Good luck.

Answer 10

As long as he's reading! It doesn't have to be chapter books. find what he really likes with pictures of course, When children read... they like to see and visualize the story they are reading. Is he at a high reading level? My son is in third grade and loves goosebumpss books. They are chapter books. What i did was bought him the video of one of the goosebumps and he loved it, then I bought the book of that video he saw, he knew what was going to happen, but he loved it, then I bought a ton more goosebump books for him to read, without videos. He reads them all the time. You can try that. But seriously... If he is reading anything, don't push him into something he may not like, he will loose interest all together. If it's not fun for this little third grader... he wont do it.

Answer 11

He is still a little young to read advanced books. Maybe try something that has some pictures in it.

Answer 12

Third grade is kind of young for Redwall unless he is a very advanced reader.  My son was a very precocious reader and he didn't read Redwall until 5th or 6th grade.  If you want him to read more advanced material, find him books that are more in his interest range and more age appropriate.

Try Mary Pope Osborn's Magic Treehouse series, the Encyclopedia Brown series by Sobol, and even Captain Underpants is fine if it will get him to read.

It isn't so important what he reads, as long as he is reading something.  He'll eventually move on as his reading skills advance and his maturity level increases.  Be patient and keep reading the more advanced stories with him.  It will encourage him to try them on his own when he gets to that reading level.  For right now, comic books are better than nothing!

Answer 13

Flat stanley is not a picture book.  It's for young readers.  he should read things at his reading level.  My name is America is geared towards older kids..not 3rd graders.  He should be reading books like Captain underpants which are geared towards kids 7-10

Answer 14

try purchasing him the Jumpstart Programs this really helped my child...

Or try play school and let him pretend he is the teacher reading to the class

Answer 15

Let him read what he likes.  Redwall may be too advanced for him, but if he's reading at all, that's enough for now.  Why don't you let your parents and  your brother's teacher handle this?  Pushing him too hard is just going to turn him off of reading, which would be a shame!