DS7 STILL would love books covered in pictures. I just had him start the invention of Hugo Cabret, because I'm sure it's 2/3 pictures, but there's still plenty to read in there. Wow - great book. I wish we could get illustrated Harry Potter. I know he would love those books if I could get him through book 1, but he refuses based on size and lack of pictures.

I know a woman who reviews children's books for a living and she said it is a new trend for more difficult books to now have illustrations/pictures. I hope she's right!

And I've come to the conclusion - I have no idea what DS's reading level is?? The lexile numbers I get when I look up books he chooses are anywhere from 3rd grade to high school. They have him assessed at 4th grade level at school, but I'm quite sure that's too low. Actually - I think that's just where they stop assessing 1st graders. It's probably time to keep a log of what he's reading.