Reluctant reader is defined as a student who shows little to no interest in reading, act out in some way when asked to read, or simply rebel. I personally dislike this term because it started with a negative premise when viewing these kids. 

Some people think reluctant readers are lazy. The line of “kids these days would rather play video games or movies” comes out. People assume that reluctant readers aren’t the kind for reading, or maybe they should just try harder. 

Did you know that the word reluctant can mean unwilling, hesitant, and disinclined, it also comes from the Latin meaning writhing and offering opposition?

Reluctant comes from the Latin verb reluctari which means struggling against. 

In Latin, re- expresses intensive force and luctari means “to struggle.”

We often think of reluctant readers as not wanting to or not interested in reading.

But what if reluctant readers are in a battle to read? 

Maybe reluctant readers are in an intensive, full-blown war when they read, but we can’t see it so we don’t understand the effort when they stumble over words for 10 minutes. 

Maybe reluctant readers have the wrong tools, like a dagger instead of a sword, to fight when sent off to battle. These tools could be anything from learning styles to even just the wrong sort of book. 

When you view a reluctant reader as someone waging war, it should challenge you to give them the tools they need to win.

I’m speaking from experience. One of my girls struggled with reading from the start. She had always loved books and stories, so I was completely shocked when she didn’t take to reading like a monkey to a tree. 

It has been a long path. Some days I thought we would never make it. Some days ended in tears. Some days even I couldn’t take sounding out the phrase Cat sat on Rat any more. 

I’m still finding my way. We still have a long way to go. 

However, just the other day when I told them to play outside, and my reluctant reader looked up from her book and said, 

“Just one more page, Mom!” 

One tiny battle won!

I don’t have all the answers. But these five suggestions will give you encouragement and a place to start as you join the battle to turn your reluctant reader into a bookworm.

1. Find their passion.

My reluctant reader lived on non-fiction, especially anything to do with dolphins and orcas. I scoured the library for any books on these subjects within her level of reading. I was shocked one day when she shared a fact about dolphins that I had never heard of. Sure enough, she was reading a book that I had considered a bit too hard for her, and she was actually reading it. 

Then one day, I ran out of books at what I thought was her level. I had a more advanced book on dolphins with just a few pictures. The next day she was reading new facts to me out of the book. She could read at a far deeper level than I had assumed. 

Find their passion. Guns, archery, animals, history, fashion.

2. Accept sugar books.

There are certain books that are just like candy. They do nothing for your brain or health, but boy, are they fun! I don’t really like or encourage sugar books. I want meaning and depth. However, my reluctant reader moved from nonfiction to superhero books. Now I do not condone or encourage Wonder Woman, but I had to celebrate that my daughter was reading. These led her to Princess in Black (and the following nine books in this series) and then Sophie Mouse (and the following nineteen books in this series). Princess in Black was, to me, pure sugar. There were no lessons, no truths, to discuss. But she was reading and begging for more. 

I don’t like sugar books. But just maybe they serve a small purpose. They entice the reluctant reader to pick up the book and continue to the end. Any time that happens with a reluctant reader, that should be celebrated. For more of this, SimplyCharlotteMason.com has an excellent post about “twaddle” books. You can read it in this post.

 3. Read and discuss great books out loud.

We have always read great books out loud. Books like Babe and Charlotte’s Web led to discussions about loss and stereotypes. We read aloud Red Sails to Capri and we talked about following social norms and doing what was right. We read Treasures of the Snow, then we talked about forgiveness. Twenty and Ten brought up discussions about if it is ever okay to lie, even to save the lives of other people. 

Discussing the material you read aloud is so important. Reading aloud shows them that there is a vast world in books that they can discover at some time. Discussing the books you read aloud teaches them to read critically and sift truths and worldviews. Find a book that you loved as a child and begin with a chapter a day.

(If you can’t think of one, try The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Johnny Tremain, or Heartwood Hotel.)

4. Practice every (school) day.

There is a great argument to be made about letting the mind rest so it can gather itself and secure new knowledge into its long-term storage. However, I have found that my reluctant reader did better when we read a little every day.

Maybe we selected a fun book like Elephant and Piggie, and we each read one of the characters. Maybe we swapped sentences with her reading one sentence, and I would take the next one. Maybe we would play a reading game that worked on some phonetics that she needed. But every school day, even if we missed some subjects, we always spent some time working with reading.

Now suddenly she knows words I never taught her. She’s reading more and more on her own. It just took baby steps forward.

5. Praise any progress.

Everyone likes a compliment, but when you’re struggling and manage to improve even slightly, any acknowledgement makes a huge impression. I didn’t care if we had worked for twenty minutes and she still struggled to sound out a word with that particular sound, I still praised her. Any page she read with hesitating or wanting to give up, I praised her. 

Find creative ways to do this. The reading program we use has words on flash cards. Every so often, I pull out the cards we worked through and say, “Look at how many you’ve learned this year!” If we worked through a story that was 5 pages long, I would find a story we read that was 2 pages long and say, “Wow! Look at how much you read! You’re doing great!” 

If you have a reluctant reader at home, just remember that he or she is in a battle to read. And what does a soldier need? Proper tools to get the job done, training on how to use those tools, knowledge of the mission, understanding the terrain, and also a place to rest. 

And when the soldier has all the tools he or she needs, most often they come back from their mission victorious. 

Good luck with your soldier. May you be victorious.

And P.S. If you’re looking for great books to read, check out this list of ultimate fantasy books for Christian kids.