Willow Park Junior School Library
Suggested Reading Lists for 1st - 6th Form
I have compiled a number of suggested reading lists from 1st – 6th Form to the Willow website and hopefully your children will enjoy some of them.
The books in each category become more complex as you go further down the list, so if you have a reluctant reader, choose from the earlier books so that your child doesn’t become bored or frustrated.
I have tried to include many of the first books in a series here as I’ve found once you’ve discovered the right genre of book for your child, a series is very useful to keep the continuity of reading going.
Boys, in particular, love reading facts, so if your child has a special interest in animals or ships or history, for example, but aren’t interested in reading storybooks or novels, entice him with non-fiction books. For the reluctant reader, it is much easier to read short tracts of information and look at a colourful picture than to read a novel with no break in the writing. However try not to buy books that are beyond their reading ability as they will just end up looking at the pictures! Most modern fact books have a variety of font sizes / complexity within any one subject to cater for the diversity in readers. This way your child can improve his reading / knowledge as he goes on to the smaller font sizes.
Allow them read picture books, graphic novels, anthologies of short stories, poetry and non-fiction as these categories may be less daunting and can be used to stimulate interest in the reluctant reader.
To extend the above into fiction, you can always look for easier novels about their particular interest, eg. My Diary series for history, How to Train Your Dragon Series, animal stories, detective novels, etc.
Try and be led by your child’s interests / requirements rather than your own. If he enjoys reading comics every so often or rereading one of his favourite simpler books, let him do this, as long as he’s expanding his reading skills at other times.
For advanced readers, I have listed some classics for younger children. Sometimes more complex modern novels are just not suitable for younger children and classics are a good way to extend their vocabulary and reading skills. Many classics have been published in abridged form for children, so alternatively, it may be useful to look for these.
Don’t forget to use your local library. Reading can be an expensive hobby if the book is only going to be read once or when buying non-fiction. You can order and renew online and they also provide a Borrow Box service for e-books to read on your tablet / phone and audio books to play in the car on those long trips during the summer. They usually have a summer / winter programme to encourage reading, story-telling, story-writing, etc.
I hope that these books bring all of you many hours of enjoyment over the summer holidays. Any feedback on these lists are most welcome.
Happy reading!
Suggested Reading Junior and Senior Infants
Suggested Reading First Form
Suggested Reading Second Form
Suggested Reading List Third Form
Suggested Reading Fourth Form
Suggested Reading Fifth Form
Suggested Reading Sixth Form
Don't forget you can also try the Willow Reading Challenge too!
Happy reading!
Willow Library Co-ordinator