I need book suggestions for a 9 year old girl who would 'rather get the audiobook thanks mum'

[Pagwatch]

Maybe she is never going to get into reading but I read all the time and her brother is doing English Literature at Exeter so it is weird for me. We are going on holiday and I want to try and take a couple of books to try and spark her interest.

I want cracking stories but with relatively simple language. Ger reading ability is fine but she is lazy so something she can read fluently would be great. The nice woman in Waterstones recommended Magyk and Rose and The Lost Princess.

Does anyone have any others? I am going to try reading with her a bit too. DS1 and I discovered the Harry Potter books doing tat so it might help.

Honest to God, if she isn't interested so be it. But she wants to visit book shops and seems to be interested but picks up things where she knows the story - like Inkheart, or things like Toms Midnight Garden which is a lovely book but for her it is like wading through mud.

All suggestions welcome. I have an amazon basket. I am ready.

Thanks

[Gumby]

The magic faraway tree
David Wailliams books

If she likes jls and one direction maybe one of those books about the band

[Hulababy]

Dairy of a Wimpy Kid and books like that got 9y DD back into reading. She is now reading something called Dork Diary. Ok, may not be the most intellectually demanding but she is enjoying them and now reading up to an hour every night. She also dips in and out of other books too.

[Pagwatch]

Thanks, I will look at those.

She isn't into boy bands but the idea of matching her interests is good. She is mostly into sport but also loves history. Doing the Tudors this year and is rapt so i could look for historical novels. I have picked up the Terrible Tudors.
She is tricky because she is pretty grown up in many ways - her fav films are Moulin Rouge and I am number 4, but the sequel to I am number 4 looks too challenging.

I am like the opposite of the 'i have a five year old free reader - what next, maybe books in the original Latin?' aren't I

[sicutlilium]

The Little White Horse - Elizabeth Goudge
Mistress Masham's Repose - T H White
A Little Princess - Frances Hodgson Burnett
Cue for Treason - Geoffrey Trease
Cloak for a Spy - Geoffrey Trease
The Children of Greene Knowe (and others) - Lucy M Boston

[GooseyLoosey]

The Worst Witch books?

[GooseyLoosey]

Should have said that Eva Ibbotson's books are fantastic too and beautifully written. Shorter than things like Inkheart.

[BloooCowWonders]

I'd let her stick with audio. Still the same exposure to ideas and words but much less bother :)
Mine (and me of course) are huge fans of audio books. The spoken word I'd so magical.
There's also the point that audio is more satisfying as you get into the story faster.

In your case I'd ease up for a while before trying paper books again. She might turn it around in say 3 months or so.

[Primrose123]

There's a series called my story books, quite short and easy to read. They are each written as a diary of a young girl (usually), all set in different times in history. There's one about workhouses, one about the plague, one about a Victorian girl working in a mill, and loads more. Try this link, my daughter loved them at that age.

www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=My%20story&x=0&y=0&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

She also loved the Roman mysteries. 'Ballet shoes' and 'white boots' are great, by Noel Streatfeild.

All the Enid Blyton books, especially the Malory Towers and St. Clare's series - I've just reread them myself! You might have to explain to her how old fashioned they are though!

Hope this helps!

[BloooCowWonders]

And reading aloud to each other is a great idea. You both benefit and the dc get special time with mum ( except when the others creep in to listen too!)

[crazygracieuk]

My almost 9 year old dd really enjoyed Pippi Longstocking. She gave it a go after I told her how much I loved it when I was a girl and thought it was hilarious. For an "easy read" she picks books about animals (books like "The Lost Puppy") , the Judy Moody series, the Daisy and the Trouble With... series, The Worst Witch and loved reading her old annuals.

Audiobooks that she has enjoyed are Hitch Hiker's Guide To the Galaxy, Horrid Henry and Doctor Who. She would never pick them to read but likes the voices of the people who read them.

[G0ldenbrown]

Primrose123's idea is a good one, the My Story books are great and there are a fair few linked with Tudors. Just thought I'd give you a heads up that some of them could lead into conversations which you may or may not be ready for. One of the Tudor ones talks quite a lot about the girl in question 'becoming a woman' and it took me until the mention of bleeding to realise that it meant periods. I'm not saying you should avoid them for this reason, just thought I'd point it out so that you know.

War horse is a great book, and brings in the possibility of watching the film after she has read it. This is something I often do with my class and it makes them very keen to read the book and then they really get something out of comparing the two, generally they say they prefer the book!

[DilysPrice]

Wimpy kid is good because the audiobook is clearly no substitute. Ditto Horrible Histories and Asterix.

Percy Jackson (Rick Riordan) is like narrative crack for that age group, well worth a try.

[DilysPrice]

And second Malory Towers.

[severnofnine]

geoffrey trease is good for historical books and very readable- i do remember the one set on jersey in ww2 was a bit harrowing

[Pagwatch]

Ooh, lots more - thank you all!

Primrose, those look great. That may be right up her street, linking in the Tudors while she is so interested.

Bloowcow, yep - i agree and i love an audiobook but I am going to try now because I don't think it will help if she keeps picking up books at school that don't interest her. I can't say 'no paper books' as she has to chose reading books at school. I want to try and balance the 'worthy, wordy classic' that is turning her off, with books that are fun to read.
I am happy to go back a step in her reading ability to give her books she xan read really quickly chasing a great story.

Goosey, thanks. She has read a worst witch. I will ask her. I have looked at Eva Ibbotson. I might pick one up and have a read as an Eva Ibbotson is on her class book list. It would help if her school book was more compelling.

Thanks again

[Pagwatch]

Sorry, I managed to miss the last few posts.

I will look at wimpy kid, Percy Jackson and Jeffrey trease as well. I have looked on amazon but I think I will grab a coffee and hit waterstones tomorrow. I can get a feel for them then.

Thanks. Such a great help.

[BloooCowWonders]

Mine (now 9, 11) love the Percy Jackson series.
I'd certainly second Primrose's suggestion - there's a huge range of them that cover every part of history it seems!
We also keep going back to Road Dahl for the subversiveness that appeals... (the Twits comes to mind, or George's Marvellous Medicine)
For picking up and dipping into, I've found that the Girl's book of... (everything/ glamour/ how to be a etc) are always popular.
And not sure if they're available over here, but anything in the American Girl series is worth looking at. There are fiction series and non-fiction books which are all worth getting. DD keeps returning to them!

[scaryteacher]

Just looked on Amazon and it looks as if they are republishing the series by Barbara Willard starting with the Lark and the Laurel. I has these when I was 9/10, and I still have them and am now 46. Great story from the War of the Roses concerning a girl of about 11 who is left with her aunt.

It look as if they have published the first two. get them. I still love them now.

Geoffrey Trease as well I remember from when I was about 9/10. Great stories if history is your thing.

[SecretNutellaFix]

If you can get hold of a copy of Shadow the Sheepdog, by Enid Blyton, that might be of interest.

I lent my copy to a colleague for her reluctant reader and he loved it. He was just 9 when I lent it.

[SecretNutellaFix]

If you can't- PM me and I will gladly lend it to you.

[HandMadeTail]

Let her listen to the audio books. She is getting exposure to books at her intellectual level, and when she does read the book, she will know the story, which will make the actual process of reading easier.

Have you had her tested for dyslexia etc? Or perhaps her eyesight?

There may be an underlying reason why she doesn't like to read, as she obviously enjoys fiction.

[strawberrypenguin]

Can you just take her to the local library and let her browse? If the library is a good size they should also have someone on staff who 'knows' children's books and can point your DD in the right direction based on what she likes.

There is a publisher called Barrington Stoke who publish books aimed at children with dyslexia/other reading issues. They are great stories, not dubbed down at all but printed in a way that is easy on the eye and generally not too long, might be worth a try.

[richmal]

What about the "How to train your Dragon" series by Cressida Cowell. The audio CDs are narrated by David Tennant. Could you let her listen to some and see if she then wanted to read others in the series?

[sicutlilium]

Fun stuff:
Fattypuffs & Thinifers - Andre Maurois
Doctor Dolittle (series) - Hugh Lofting
Uncle the Elephant (series) J P Martin
Professor Branestawm (series) -Norman Hunter
The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster
My Friend Mr Leakey - J B S Haldane
Carbonel - Barbara Sleigh
Worzel Gummidge - Barbara Euphan Todd
The Borrowers (series) - Mary Norton

More historical:
Smith - (and others) Leon Garfield
The Sword in the Stone - T H White
Over Sea Under Stone (series) - Susan Cooper

Something different:
Elidor (and others) - Alan Garner
A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine l'Engle
A Wizard of Earthsea (series) - Ursula Le Guin

[pointythings]

Seconding Percy Jackson - my 11yo is hooked, she hardly speaks, and my 9yo is about to start.

If she's into histories you should think about trying the Roman Mysteries series - there are some more mature themes, but the language is pretty accessible and there's lost of insight into Roman life.

I am seconding T.H White, Susan Cooper, Alan Garner and Ursula leGuin too, though on Alan Garner I would suggest starting with The Weirdstone of Brisingamen rather than Elidor.