How do you get kids to read chapter books?  Once your children can actually read it can be a challenge to keep them reading as a habit.  They need to read not only as part of their education but also as a means of relaxation.  Three tips to get them started on developing a reading habit are:

1. Make sure they see you reading.  Whether it is magazines, newspapers or books - lead by example.
2. If the intensity of text in chapter books is intimidating then get them started on comics, graphic novels or lighter chapter books with illustrations.
3. Introduce them to books their favourite movies are based on.  Many of these are part of a series of books that could hook them into reading 4 or 5 books. A list of 10 popular titles is given further down the page on the right hand side.
4. Find books on topics that interest them be it ponies, dinosaurs, greek gods, time travel, boyfriends, fairy tales, sport ... whatever it is you'd be surprised how many books there are available on some of the online book stores.  Use the search engines of the online stores (like the Fishpond one below right) and you'd be amazed at how many books they have access to either in New Zealand or overseas on their favourite topic.

---

Greek Gods in the Modern World

The Percy Jackson series brings Greek Gods into the modern world. Percy discovers he is the half-blood son of Poseidon and stands accused of stealing Zeus's Lightening Bolt.  Together with his friend Grover (a satyr) and Anna-Beth the demi-god daughter of Athena they seek to find the stolen bolt and return it to Zeus to avoid a catastrophic war of the Gods.  This is the first in a series of five books with a movie of the first book having been released to hook them in to reading the rest.  It is also available as a graphic novel.

Click to see the range of Percy Jackson books

---

Ellie's War Adventures

Elle is the heroine of this series of books about an invasion of Australia set in the near future.  Elle and her teenager friends become the local resistance to an invading force who, deprived of resources in their home land, have taken over the land of plenty.  Australia's current allies fail to rush to their defence other than the Kiwis and our three fighter jets (ok a few more than that - but not enough).  

Click to see the full Tommorrow Series books

---

The Cherub Series

Eleven year old orphan James is recruited to become a child spy - not a James Bond, gadgeted super hero - but rather an ordinary kid embedded into the lives of the children of terrorists and criminals.  Exciting yet realistic, "The Recruit" starts Robert Muchamore's new "CHERUB" series.

Click Here to see the full Cherub series from Robert Muchamore

---

Harry Potter & More

It is astounding the number of books written about this young wizard - not just the six books in the series but  an amazing array of companion books and literary critiques.   Harry Potter is not just for the young, although it is definitely not for the very young.  The sequels get into some very dark themes but my son read them first as an eight year old and has re-read them three times getting more and more out of them each time. 

If you know someone with a real Harry passion - you'll find some magically rare extra books on the internet.  Type Harry Potter into the Fishpond or Gumboot search engines below and you'll discover some great books exploring the impact of J.K. Rowlings' most successful character on popular culture and evaluations from a literary perspective.

www.fishpond.co.nz

---

Alex Rider Series

Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider series,  is James Bond for kids complete with all the gadgets any kid-spy would need.
The series starts with "Stormbreaker", which was also made into a movie, and is followed with lots of sequels to keep them hooked

---

Who Dunnit for Kids by Kids

Having grown up on Encycopedia Brown it's great that its still around to be enjoyed.
Each book has a series of short who-dunnit stories for younger readers that engages them as they try to puzzle out the solution for themselves.
The books encourage them to think as they read and not let the details pass them by because the answer always lies in the details.

---

Dangerous Reading

Some boys just don't take to fiction and yet there are still plenty of books to encourage them to read. 

This book will have little and big boys hooked for hours as they read about navigation, codes 7 ciphers, pinhole projectors, tieing knots, coin tricks, conkers, skimming stones and famous battles from history.  There's even a section (yes a whole page and a half) titled "Girls". 

---

---

The Fig Tree

In the fine tradition of folktales, fairy tales and parables, Diana Robinson writes of the simple lessons in life in a charming format that can enchant children and amuse their parents or grandparents. The Fig Tree is a collection of short fiction broken into three sections - fables, tales and stories and looks at themes such as love, growing up, magic and music.

---

---

Jane Eyre

This is classic fiction that today's teenagers can still enjoy.
Jane Eyre has to fend for herself and make her own way in the world before discovering a seemingly fairytale romance.  But further adversity awaits.

---

---

Go Ask Alice - for teenagers

The true diary of a young girl hooked by LCD that lead her on a spiral of self-destruction.  Thirty five years on and the dangers faced by Alice are much the same as many youth still face although her drug LCD has today been changed to another with one letter - P.  Read first-hand her experiences, hallucinations, hopes and fears as she battles to survive her demons.

---

---

Girl Power

"The Daring Book for Girls" is the manual for everything that girls need to know--and that doesn't mean sewing buttonholes Whether it's female heroes in history, secret note-passing skills, science projects, friendship bracelets, double dutch, cats cradle, the perfect cartwheel or the eternal mystery of what boys are thinking, this book has it all. But it's not just a guide to giggling at sleepovers--although that's included, of course Whether readers consider themselves tomboys, girly-girls, or a little bit of both, this book is every girl's invitation to adventure.

---

www.fishpond.co.nz

10 Popular Kids & Teen Movies based on Books

Listed below are 10 movies popular with older kids and teenagers and all apart from the last three are part of a series of books.  If they saw and enjoyed the first movie there are more books to hook them into reading.  If they haven't seen the movie then try them out and follow it up with the book.

---

---

---

---

---