Books For Young People Who Don't Like Reading
Is there a child or teen in your life who just doesn’t enjoy reading?
Maybe they’ve tried various times to get into reading without success, or perhaps they’re so convinced that books aren't for them, that they’ve yet to properly give them a go!
They may also have a print impairment such as dyslexia, ADHD, Down syndrome or anxiety, for example, which sometimes can make reading feel almost impossible.
Here at Listening Books, we have seen time and time and again that audiobooks can make reading enjoyable for those who never would have considered themselves bookworms before trying audio. While of course literature isn't for absolutely everyone, we have learned first-hand that sometimes all it takes to conquer an old issue is to approach it from a new angle!
That's why we’ve compiled some creative lists of book ideas for kids who don’t typically enjoy reading! We've got buckets of brilliant titles that we’re sure will get the young folks in your life hooked on a good book.
Please be aware that book suggestions in this article include titles for a wide range of reading ages, including children's and young adult books. Please make sure that any book you recommend or give to a young person is age-appropriate!
Read on to browse our suggestions, or click the links below to jump to specific sections.
1. Books Related to Films or TV Shows
2. Books That Make Learning Fun
3. Books with Relatable Characters
5. Audiobooks with Music and Sound Effects
6. Audiobooks with Famous Narrators
1. Books Related to Films or TV Shows
If there is a young person in your life who enjoys films and TV shows, but is not so sure about reading, why not introduce them to books featuring stories they already know and love from the screen? The familiarity of the characters and plotlines is likely to get them interested, while making them feel more comfortable with exploring stories through a different medium.
We recommend:
Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman
Tales of Terror by Jacqueline Rayner et al.
The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
Tales of Beatrix Potter by Beatrix Potter
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
Star Wars: The Force Awakens by Alan Dean Foster
The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
2. Books That Make Learning Fun
Young minds are like sponges - constantly trying to absorb knowledge and information - so it's no wonder that some kids prefer to read non-fiction! If there is a child or teen in your life with a hobby or special interest, introduce them to a book that feeds them facts in a fun way.
We recommend:
Absolutely Everything! by Christopher Lloyd
How the Incredible Human Body Works by Richard Walker
Would You Believe... the losers were killed in Mayan football?! by Richard Platt
How to Make a Universe with 92 Ingredients by Adrian Dingle
Stone Girl Bone Girl by Laurence Anholt
How Loud can you Burp? by Glenn Murphy
The Rock Factory by Jacqui Bailey
Horrible Geography: Violent Volcanoes by Anita Ganeri
Murderous Maths: The Brain-Bending Basics by Kjartan Poskitt
Horrible Histories: Awesome Egyptians by Terry Deary and Peter Hepplewhite
The Horrible Science of Everything by Nick Arnold
The Usborne Official Astronaut's Handbook by Louie Stowell
What Is Feminism? Why Do We Need It? and Other Big Questions by Louise Spilsbury and Bea Appleby
London on Fire by John C. Miles
Where on Earth? by James Doyle
You Wouldn't Want to Live without Bees! by Alex Woolf
I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Lauren Tarshis
The Kids Way to Learn French by Donald S. Rivera
How We Got to Now by Steven Johnson
A Black Hole is Not a Hole by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano
Exploring Ecosystems with Max Axiom, Super Scientist by Agnieszka Biskup
3. Books with Relatable Characters
Children and teenagers are much less likely to enjoy reading if they're consuming books that don’t reflect their lived experiences in some way. If you know a young person who belongs to a group that is frequently underrepresented in literature, introduce them to a book featuring characters and experiences with which they can identify! This could open up a world of reading that had previously seemed closed off to them.
We recommend:
Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon
If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann
Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen by Debbi Michiko Florence
Where Three Oceans Meet by Rajani LaRocca
Specs for Rex by Yasmeen Ismail
An Emotion of Great Delight by Tahereh Mafi
Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton et al.
Listen, Layla by Yassmin Abdel-Magied
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
Can I Tell You about Autism? by Jude Welton
Out of my Mind by Sharon M. Draper
Fantastically Great Women who Changed the World by Kate Pankhurst
Dyslexia is my Superpower (most of the time) by Margaret Rooke
Stories for Boys who Dare to be Different by Ben Brooks
What Is Gender? How Does It Define Us? and Other Big Questions For Kids by Juno Dawson
4. Books Exploring Wellbeing
We can all benefit from a bit of mindfulness! An increasing number of young people are experiencing high levels of anxiety - if there's a child or teen you know who sees no point in enjoying books for fact or fiction, they may still find them to be a useful tool for de-stressing and learning healthy ways to process worries. Studies have shown that audio is especially helpful for this - being read to can have a calming effect that young people find very soothing.
We recommend:
My Heart Fills with Happiness by Monique Gray Smith
I Believe I Can by Gracer Byers
What If, Pig? by Linzie Hunter
Sam Wu is not Afraid of the Dark by Katie and Kevin Tsang
Social Media and You by Honor Head
The World Needs Who You Were Made to Be by Joanna Gaines
Beating Stress and Anxiety by Honor Head
Scaredy Squirrel by Mélanie Watt
My Anxiety Handbook by Sue Knowles et al.
Just Breathe by Mallika Chopra
Looking After your Mental Health by Alice James and Louie Stowell
Sitting Still Like a Frog by Eline Snel
Positively Teenage by Nicola Morgan
The Confidence Code for Girls by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman
How to Like Yourself by Cheryl M. Bradshaw
It's Not Okay to Feel Blue and Other Lies by Scarlett Curtis
You Are Enough by Jan Petro-Roy
5. Audiobooks with Music and Sound Effects
Reading or listening to stories is boring for some young people because the constant stream of words can get quite monotonous. That’s where audiobooks with music, sound effects and full casts come in! A more diverse soundscape brings a story to life, as the listener can experience a story unfolding around them as if they are in the room with the characters.
We recommend:
Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
The Story of Tracy Beaker and The Dare Game by Jacqueline Wilson
Willo the Wisp by BBC Audiobooks
The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne
Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
The Further Adventures of the Owl and the Pussy-cat by Julia Donaldson
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
You Make Me Happy by Smriti Prasadam-Halls
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
6. Audiobooks with Famous Narrators
In all honesty, we would listen to an audiobook of an oven user manual if Stephen Fry were narrating it! By the same logic, we figured that young people may be more interested in a book if it’s being read to them by a voice they know and love.
We recommend:
The Heart and the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers, narrated by Helena Bonham Carter
I Don't Want to be Small by Laura Ellen Anderson, narrated by Justin Fletcher
Into the Spotlight by Carrie Hope Fletcher, narrated by Carrie Hope Fletcher
Serpentine by Philip Pullman, narrated by Olivia Colman
The Danger Gang by Tom Fletcher, narrated by Tom Fletcher and Tom Felton
The World's Worst Parents by David Walliams, narrated by David Walliams et al.
Future Friend by David Baddiel, narrated by David Baddiel et al.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming, narrated by David Tennant
David Attenborough's New Life Stories by David Attenborough, narrated by David Attenborough
The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl, narrated by Stephen Fry
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, narrated by Miriam Margolyes
Rover by Michael Rosen, narrated by Michael Rosen
Christmas Dreams by Giovanna Fletcher, narrated by Giovanna Fletcher
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, narrated by Wil Wheaton
The Dancing Bear by Michael Morpurgo, narrated by Ian McKellen
Caspar Lee by Caspar Lee and Emily Riordan Lee, narrated by Caspar Lee et al.
The Snowman and the Snowdog by Raymond Briggs, narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch
Ask an Astronaut by Tim Peake, narrated by Tim Peake
Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen by Jazz Jennings, narrated by Jazz Jennings
All the titles listed in this article are accessible through Listening Books' charitable audiobook lending service, available to people of all ages across the UK whose illness, mental health condition, physical disability, learning disability or learning difficulty make it more challenging to read or hold a book.
If there is a young person in your life who fits our eligibility criteria, you could give them access to over 10,000 audiobooks with an online Listening Books membership costing just £20 a year. Or, if this fee would be unaffordable for you, free memberships are also available!
To learn more about getting a Listening Books membership for an individual, please click here.
We also offer a service for schools, who can give 10 or more students access to our audiobooks, both at school and at home. Teachers from our member schools also get lots of extra audio goodies, such as suggested reading lists, discussion prompts, reading journals and posters, with more resources being added to our teacher dashboard on a regular basis.
If you are interested in getting a Listening Books membership for a school, please click here.
Author: Emily Pye
