My wife and I adopted our son from foster care in the spring of this year. Chronologically he's 12, but with his ADHD, developmental delays, and not being enrolled in school until he was nearly 8, he's not your typical 7th grader.
When he moved in with us in Feb '24, he couldn't even write his name, let alone read or do basic math. He's worked so hard the last few years, and while he's still behind his average peers, he's now reading and writing at a 3rd grade level! Which is honestly huge.
We have a (very full) bookshelf of titles covering various age ranges, and go to the library at least once a month. We've moved through the stages of my wife or I reading to him, having him read short easy reader books to us, to now he picks books up to relax and enjoy on his own!
He gravitates towards graphic novels and comic books, which is great, but doesn't exactly help with his reading ability as he defaults to pictures and making his own story. He's devoured every Wimpy Kid, Dog Man, Fly Guy we can find, but he definitely speed reads – tries the words he knows, skips the ones he doesn't, goes for the jist of the plot. Most recently, he's been reading some of the new Babysitters Club books but I fear we'll max those out shortly too.
I guess I'm just struggling to find some books that would continue to push him a little bit. He scoffs at the early/easy reader titles now, but is intimidated by anything without any pictures. I'm at a loss for a good middle ground.
Any and all suggestions would be lovely and appreciated!
by Illustrious-Win-2989
1 Comment
The Magic Treehouse books might be a good shout for him if he still needs a shorter/easier read. He might also like the Percy Jackson books.