Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Elementary School Exciting action books for a 5yo?

This is one of my son's all time favorite books ! (he's almost 10, but first read it a few years back)

My 5 year old son is a great reader, but he resists books with more than a few lines on each page. If i use a piece of paper to cover up the rest of the words, he will read it, but it seems like he gets tired or intimidated by longer sections of words with smaller letters.

I dont want to push him, and just want him to continue to be a happy reader, but i do want him to have the confidence to read any books he likes.

What do you guys think?

DS6 began reading silently this past year, he really enjoys reading anything to do with science, he also is into superheroes-
and
he LOVES diary of a wimpy kid!

am I absolutely horrible parent to let him read "diary" series?? books are written in a fun way and though a bit mature, DS seems to get it mostly, asks Qs as needed and mostly loves the "potty humor" ie farts and moldy cheese jokes. I know an English Lit might cringe but he's 6!! I want his reading to be fun!

for good measure though, I admit we are reading Snicketts "series of unfortunate events" together. he reads out loud or I do. mostly him. and we talk about what is happening, and it leads to many of his own imaginated adventures.
*is "imaginated" a word ? no. I don't believe so. but hahaaa it is now!

Definitely, I think imaginated is a more concreticized version of imagined which is kind a soft flufftastic word without the encapsification of the realish thought-work.

As to Diary... we ran across a later book, like book 6 and it was a little too "um, I just noticed girls" to hit DS7's list as that is fairly far out of his interest/context.

zen luvIt!

and yah, DS just finishing up diary #1, where yes it does allude to fact the kid has always liked girls etc, but he's not too into them. yet.
hmmmm i just bought him the rest of the series, maybe i will need to hold off on bk#6!!

Well, my 5-year-old is a Captain Underpants devotee, so I'm not going to condemn you for Diary of a Wimpy Kid! It is probably in our future...

I believe any book that excites a reader is a worthy book. Our DS loved Diary of a Wimpy Kid series as well as Big Nate, Geronimo Stilton, Captain Underpants, NERDS, Dragon Breath, etc. We mixed in some finer literature to create a balanced reading diet. There was nothing more rewarding than watching DS jump up and down when a new "fun" book arrived. Nothing except watching him jump up and down (inside) for the meatier books now that he's older.

I just read some of books mentioned here and needless to say DS was very excited when I said "Capt Underpants"!!

Looks like a library visit is in order!

My DS also loved Secrets of Droon at that age!

You might also check out Dragon Slayers Academy books. He loved those too, but they were a little harder to find at our library.

My DD(5) has loved The Indian in the Cupboard and its sequels (has some violence in it though) and the Narnia series. She has also enjoyed many of the Enid Blyton adventure stories.