Upper Primary/ Year 7, 8 Reading Recommendations

I’ve had many parents ask me over the years about what they can do to get their child reading more. That their child just wants be online, play video games, etc. This can be a very complex topic, but I’d like to only discuss one aspect here.

One of a few keys to getting your child to read more is to find a book which is well-written, and which has a story which will hold their interest. I will recommend several here.

The first of these is Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo. Or really anything by her. We read this in my Y6 class and they loved it. If you are interested in this book, you could check out the style of story by watching the film, Because of Winn-Dixie (based on another one of her books), which is available online.

The second of these is Resist by Tom Palmer. My class has also read After the War by the same author. Both of these titles are WWII related. I also recommend this because last year my class participated in an online discussion with Palmer and he answered some of their questions. We hope to do the same this school year.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. This is a classic from the 70s which I remember reading in school. But it holds up well and was made into a film a few years back.

Trigger warning: this book does contain the death of a young main character, but it is handled very sensitively.

Here are some others your child may find intriguing and inspirational: