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Hand-picked by the LoveReading4Kids editorial panel · Last reviewed 12 September 2026 · Meet the panel
There's no such thing as a child who doesn't like reading - only a child who hasn't met the right book yet. The trick with a reluctant reader is to lower the effort and raise the fun: short chapters, big laughs, brilliant illustrations and a story that hooks them on page one. Get that combination right and "I'm bored" turns into "just one more chapter".
Three things make the biggest difference. Humour - funny books are read again and again. Pictures - illustrations and comic-strip panels carry the story and make a thick book feel friendly. And short, punchy chapters that deliver a win every few pages. Never worry that a book is "too easy": confidence is built by finishing, and a child who finishes a book they loved will reach for the next one.
“The 1st in the brilliant Wimpy Kid series that has taken the US, and now the UK by storm” Our review, by the LoveReading4Kids team
“Ten wickedly funny and wonderfully surreal stories of truly terrible children show best-selling David Walliams’s amazing gift for spinning entertaining stories” Our review, by the LoveReading4Kids team
“Multi- award winning debut of a real comic talent. Writing that is genuinely funny with the depiction of a relatable warm family relationship” Our review, by Andrea Reece
“These genius collaborative novels from Reeves and McIntyre are not just funny, they are exciting,absorbing adventures with a great cast of characters. This is a favourite, but you will want them all in your classroom” Our review, by Andrea Reece
“This addition to the Bunny vs. Monkey universe is a chaotic romp through outer space that will keep kids and adults laughing for ages” Our review, by Lucas Maxwell BEM
Every title here is chosen by people who know children's books inside out. LoveReading4Kids has recommended books on merit since 2005, and through our Schools Reading Programme we put books into the hands of real children every day - so we see what actually gets a reluctant reader turning pages. When you buy through us, up to 25% of the cover price can be donated to a school of your choice, helping fund the very books that create new readers.
Each is named, with a photograph and full biography, on our editorial experts page.
Members of the panel include:
Read alongside them, let them choose, and count comics, audiobooks and joke books as real reading - because they are. The goal isn't a particular book; it's the moment a child decides, for themselves, that reading is for them.
Low effort and high reward: humour, plenty of illustrations or comic panels, short chapters and a fast hook. Funny, visual books feel achievable and get reread - and finishing a book they loved is what builds the confidence to pick up the next one.
Not at all. Comics, illustrated fiction, joke books and audiobooks are all real reading. The aim is to build the habit and the love first; range and length grow naturally once a child sees themselves as a reader. Let them choose what appeals.
No. They're chosen by LoveReading4Kids' children's-book specialists and informed by our work in real schools through the Schools Reading Programme, so we see first-hand which books actually get reluctant readers reading. It's expert judgement, not a sales chart.
Yes - building reading for pleasure is the single biggest boost to reading at school. And when you buy through LoveReading4Kids, up to 25% of the cover price can go to a school of your choice, helping fund books for the classroom too.
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