Brilliant Books for Dyslexic Children (The first of our new weekly blog series).
It can be a challenge to find the right books for dyslexic children or adults, whose intellectual abilities and maturity will usually outpace reading ability. While we offer some general advice on dysbooks.com under different age bands and on different ways to read (including listening to audiobooks) we have always aimed to provide reviews for specific books for dyslexic readers. It’s just been difficult for us to find the best medium to share this content. We think that blogs are probably the best way to go with the resources we currently have.
So, without further ado, Dysbooks presents our first selection of great books for dyslexic readers.
This week’s theme is Chris Riddell – an amazing illustrator and author.
It might seem odd to choose a person as a theme, but all the books below have the same dyslexia friendly features in common, due in part to having Chris Riddell involved with creating them:
- Lots of interesting, amusing, and detailed illustrations to break up the text. They also aid with understanding the stories.
- Larger font size and good spacing between lines or words.
- All these books are fairly slim with fewer words per page while still being content rich, so they are not too intimidating.
- There are short chapters to break books up into more manageable chunks.
- The physical versions are beautiful and exciting objects that encourage people to look at or through them.
Fortunately the Milk – Neil Gaiman
This is a book that will appeal to not only children but also adults. It is the incredible story of one dad’s quest to bring home milk for his family.
On his journey Dad meets aliens, dinosaurs, vampires, volcano gods and even pirates. The story is told by Dad to his son and daughter, who are somewhat skeptical about some of the things he claims to have got up to.
Approximate Reading Age/Target Age: 5-7
Would still appeal to older children and adults.
The Sleeper and the Spindle – Neil Gaiman
A retelling of a combination of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. There are lots of lots of twists on the original stories, magic and action.
The female characters certainly do not let others decide their fates for them. There are darker elements but there is just enough sense of threat for excitement – similar to that found in most traditional fairy tales, so it should not upset more sensitive readers. Gentle humor helps keep the book charming.
Approximate Reading Age/Target Age: 7-12
Would still appeal to older children and adults.
Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse – Chris Riddell
Victorian style gothic literature for children (including big ones).
This is the story of Ada who lives in a huge mansion with her father. He believes children should be heard and not seen, so she wears noisy boots. These sort of amusing references to common sayings and other literature make it a brilliant book for older readers as well as younger ones.
There are some darker elements but nothing too scary for young readers. This is the first in a series.
Approximate Reading Age/Target Age: 5-7
Would still appeal to older children and adults.
Ottoline and the Yellow Cat – Chris Riddell
Ottoline is a little girl who like puzzles and investigating things with her best friend – Mr Munroe, including crimes.
There is lots of mystery and action.
This is the first in a series detailing Ottoline’s many adventures, including her first day at a very unusual school and under the ocean.
Approximate Reading Age/Target Age: 5-7
Would still appeal to older children and adults.
Check out our next children’s book blog on Wednesday or join us on Friday for reviews of great books for dyslexic writers.
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