Books for the Reluctant Reader When Wimpy Kid isn't Enough

I've been a reader my entire life, so it pains me to share that my son would rather cut off an appendage than read a book. He's a ten-year-old science loving, robot making, future engineer who finds no value in fiction. He'll read non fiction books about computers or electricity but just flat out doesn't enjoy a good story. So why do I keep looking for something he might like? Because fiction books will improve his problem solving and analytical skills. They will increase his vocabulary, comprehension, and ability to make predictions. I tell him until I'm blue in the face that fiction books will make him smarter!

My hunt for fiction books that he would like began a few yeas ago. I bought him all the usual high interest titles such as Big Nate, Magic Tree House, Timmy Failure and of course Diary of a Wimpy Kid. He read them all begrudgingly but he didn't really like them. Harry Potter, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Spiderwick Chronicles (books most kids love) were too scary for him and made him even more resistant. So now my challenge was to find something he would read AND like AND that would not be scary.

I came across a book that had a title he couldn't resist- Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading by Tommy Greenwald. Charlie Joe doesn't like to read either, but of course by the end of the story, he reluctantly finds value in books. My son devoured this  which was great because there are five Charlie Joe books! My boy read them all, and some nights I even had to force him to put them down and go to bed.

It's certainly been a long road of trial and error but I've since managed to find a few that he really truly enjoyed. Hopefully this list will help another reluctant reader!