How to Find Books Your Child Actually Loves (Step by Step)
How to Find Books Your Child Actually Loves: A Step-by-Step Guide
Start from your child, not a list. Match books to their interests, check the level, avoid five common mistakes and help them build a taste of their own.
By Jaswanth Nalluri, Co-founder of Bookstaken23 March 20268 min read
Bookstaken pairs kids with caring mentors who turn reading into engaging conversations, inspiring them to eventually write their own stories.
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In a large US survey, four in ten children aged 6 to 17 said they have trouble finding books they like. Among children who rarely read for fun, it was nearly six in ten (Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report, 2019).
So a child who "doesn't like reading" often just hasn't met the right book yet. Children rarely fall for reading in general. They fall for one book, and then want another like it. Here is how to find that book.
In short
Start from your child, not a "best books" list. What they watch, play and talk about is the best clue.
Match how a book feels to read, not just what it's about. Format matters too.
Check the level. Books they read alone should feel comfortable; read harder ones aloud.
Let them choose, and let them stop a book that isn't working.
Ask what they liked and what they didn't. Their answers build a taste of their own.
Step 1: Start from what your child already loves
Before you look at any list, look at your child. What do they talk about, rewatch, play and ask questions about? A child who watches every cricket highlight, rewatches the same space video or plays detective games is telling you where to start.
Their personality is a clue too:
If your child…
They may be…
Try
asks "why" about everything
a curious explorer
Non-fiction about their favourite topic, how-things-work books, true stories of inventors
lives in made-up worlds
an imaginative dreamer
Fantasy, myths, magical adventures
has lots of energy and gets bored fast
an action seeker
Fast adventures, short chapters, graphic novels
notices people and feels things deeply
a people person
Step 2: Match the feel and the format, not just the topic
Two books about space can feel completely different. One is slow and full of description; the other is short, punchy and packed with pictures and surprising facts. A curious child may enjoy both. An action seeker will only finish the second.
So ask how a book reads, not just what it's about: short chapters or long ones, lots of dialogue or lots of description, pictures or none. Format counts as well. A child who won't touch a novel may race through the same kind of story as a graphic novel, an illustrated chapter book or an audiobook. All of it is real reading, and our post on comics and "real" books explains why.
Step 3: Check the book isn't too hard
A book that takes constant effort stops being fun, however good the story. A quick check is the five-finger rule: ask your child to read a page aloud, and hold up a finger for each word they can't read or don't understand.
Zero or one: easy. Good for confidence and speed.
Two or three: about right for reading alone.
Four: a stretch. Fine if they're keen, with you nearby.
Five or more: too hard to read alone for now. Read it together instead.
Easy books are not a waste of time. They build fluency, and a child who finishes books starts to feel like a reader. Our guide to whether a book is too easy or too hard goes into more detail.
Step 4: Let your child choose
In the same Scholastic survey, 89% of children said their favourite books are the ones they picked out themselves. Choice is one of the strongest pulls towards a book.
Browse together. A library, a bookshop or a friend's shelf lets them judge covers, read blurbs and flip through the first pages.
Offer a shortlist. If you'd rather steer, pick three books you're happy with and let them choose one.
Let "silly" choices through. Joke books, comics and the tenth book in a series all count.
Our free book hunt suggests books matched to your child's interests, which makes a good shortlist to start from.
Step 5: Give each book a fair try, then let it go
Give a new book ten minutes, or the first chapter. Then watch.
Signs it's working: they lose track of time, laugh or gasp, ask questions, or read on when they could stop.
Signs it isn't: fidgeting, rereading the same page, or closing the book at the first chance.
If it isn't working, let them put it down. Adults abandon books all the time, and finding the right one often takes three to five tries. Making a child finish a book they dislike teaches them that reading is a chore. If your child starts lots of books but rarely finishes any, see how to help your child finish books they start.
Step 6: When a book clicks, find the next one
The book they can't put down is the most useful clue you'll get. Use it:
The rest of the series. Series keep children reading, because they already know they like the world and the characters.
The same author. Look at what else they've written.
The next-door genre. A mystery fan might enjoy an adventure with a puzzle in it; a fantasy fan might enjoy myths.
Help them build their own reading taste
The long-term goal is a child who knows what they like and goes looking for it, without you choosing for them. Psychologists describe interest growing in stages: first something catches a child's attention, then, with support and chances to explore it, it becomes an interest they follow on their own (Hidi & Renninger, 2006).
You can help it along:
Ask about their opinions, not the plot. "Did you like it? What was the best bit? What would you change?" beats "What happened in chapter four?"
Point out patterns. "You seem to love stories where a kid solves the mystery." It helps them see themselves as a reader with a taste.
Keep the shelf varied. Leave different genres and formats around, with no pressure to finish them.
Let their taste be theirs. If they love something you find repetitive, let them. Taste widens over time, especially when nobody fights it.
Five common mistakes when choosing books
Choosing what you loved as a child. Your favourites may not be theirs. Offer them, but don't insist.
Picking for "educational value" over enjoyment. If reading feels like more school, children read less. Enjoyment comes first, and the learning follows.
Choosing books that are too hard. Stretch books are better read together. Books they read alone should feel comfortable.
Ruling out comics, graphic novels or short books. For many children, these are the way in.
Insisting they finish every book. It turns one bad book into a reason to avoid the next.
And one more: tastes change fast. The series they loved at seven may feel babyish at nine, so keep checking what they're into now.
Someone to talk books with
Children work out what they like by talking about what they've read: what worked, what didn't and what they want more of. Every honest opinion is a clue to the next book.
This is what our 1:1 online reading classes are built around. Every session, your child reads a real book picked for their interests, talks it through with a trained college mentor, gives their own verdict and writes their own story. For ages 6–14; the first session is free.
Frequently asked questions
What if my child doesn't seem to like any books?
Start with stories rather than reading: audiobooks, comics, joke books, or non-fiction about their favourite thing. If reading the words is hard work for them, talk to their teacher. Our guide to why children don't like reading covers what to try next.
Are easy books a waste of time?
No. Easy books build fluency and confidence, and children who enjoy reading move on to harder books in their own time. Read harder, more exciting books aloud alongside them.
How many books should we try before we find the right one?
Often three to five, sometimes more. Keep the tries short and low-pressure, and treat each book they drop as a clue about what to look for next.
Should I choose books for my child or let them pick?
Both. Let them choose freely most of the time, and when you want to steer, offer a shortlist of books you're happy with. Children are far more likely to enjoy a book they picked themselves.
My child only wants one kind of book. Is that a problem?
Stories about friendship, family and school
loves puzzles and working things out
a puzzle solver
Mysteries and detective stories
Most children are a blend, and their tastes change as they grow, so treat this as a starting point. Our guide to book genres for children goes through each genre and the kind of child it tends to suit.
No. Many keen readers go through a phase of reading nothing but one genre or one series. Let them, and offer next-door books alongside: the same kind of story with something new in it.
How do I find books for a child who reads above their age?
Look for books that stretch their thinking, not just their vocabulary: longer stories written for their age, well-loved classics, and non-fiction on topics they care about. Check that the themes suit their age, and talk the books through with them.
