Lol. I'm aware of what reading is and what children of various reading levels require. I simply wanted to point out that stating that special needs kids need books with simple words and pictures is a misconception, as many of them are quite smart. Not all struggles fall under the umbrella of academics.
In any case, this is not the purpose of this thread, so back on topic we go!
well I never said special needs kids werent smart, its if the need is to READ then it has to start basic.
You never stated what the 'special need' in particular was so its not a misconception. If its dyslexia, then there are actually specially published books for that problem, with a particular font, spacing and coloured paper for those who have trouble reading. Some books are actually way to difficult for someone with dyslexia to decipher, and even an literate person might have problems reading it. Dyslexics are the ones who benefit the most from audiobooks.
but if the special need isnt dyslexia then what is it? Not trying to argue with you but what is the purpose of the thread. All children like books that appeal to them, but whether they can actually read them is another matter!
Currently children the world over are into Diary of a Wimpy Kid, a 16th volume is coming out soon. What makes this series good for reluctant readers is that it has pictures as well as words. It looks cartoony, and has a hero who is a flawed but very relatable. Its funny. Greg is a middle child who gets picked on by his older brother and never gets the attention that his younger brother gets. He can be real rotten to his best friend Rowley Jefferson. Hes immature. He wants to be popular. He gets into scrapes and can be lazy. In other words hes just your average middle-class 12 year old kid trying to navigate middle school...so its actually the perfect middle grade novel. The parents, though well intentioned, often OVER parent and end up making things worse for Greg.
When I was young I recall the Ramona series by Beverley Cleary . It was about a girl called Ramona and how she had an older sister Beezus and she was a bit of a little sister pest to her. The incidents were just ordinary everyday family situations. But I do recall relating to Ramona being 9 years old. We had the same hair cut!
I read soo many books when I was young but dont recall the plots of all most of them! I read Garfield comics, I read classics, I read whatever my sister had on her bookshelf. I recall being especially sad when hearing that Roald Dahl died. As a child, his books were always definitely on the side of the kids, not the grown ups. Grown ups often did nasty things to kids. They abandoned them, left them to starve, neglected them,
put them down. Practically every classic childrens novel was about orphans trying to survive on their own. With no adults around, they get to make the decisions. I think that appeals to kids because kids are often powerless.
eg Harry Potter, Anne of Green Gables, Annie, Pippi Longstocking, Series of Unfortunate events, The story of Tracey Beaker, David Coppefield, The BFG, The Secret Garden
David Walliams has this nasty grown ups thing down pat but also children fending off nasty siblings and monsters. I think every child likes to feel like they are a hero and that justice will prevail in any given story.
anyway I could go on, but I will stop her cos obviously I would hijack the thread..I am a childrens librarian cos really what would I know about childrens books and what they like to read eh? What you find being published now is going to be quite different from what was published years ago. Some children will be fantasy and sci fi addicts and others only want to read true life stories. I think its good to have variety but it does need to be at a level they can read. The satisfaction of being able to finish an entire book is something many overlook, a lot of books you may start and not actually finish, or you will skim parts. People can be like that with the Bible. They often 'read' the Bible but really they dont they kind of just skim over it. Then when you discuss with them you find out they missed bits out...
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