Book suggestions for children who have dyslexia
The team at Dyslexia Ireland have put together our book recommendations for dyslexic children and young people of different ages. We hope that this list inspires them to engage with and enjoy reading!
Remember, there are lots of ways to explore stories including audio-books, condensed versions, graphic novels and dyslexia-friendly editions. You could also go with your child to your local library and borrow a book or audio book, as well as Bookshare and Borrow Box. And you can use text to speech tools to listen to digital books.
Each child will find different topics interesting, so we have tried to include recommendations for everyone. From football, animals, sci-fi, mystery, comedy, magic, fairies and spies!
Books for ages 5+
- The Story Machine by Tom Mclaughlin
- The Monday Mystery by Elaine Heney
- Evie and the Animals by Matt Haig
- The Runway Tortoise by Holly Webb
- Carnival of the Clocks by Nick Sharratt
- The Snake who Came to Stay by Julia Donaldson
- The Moonshine Dragon by Cornelia Funke
Books for ages 8 – 10
- Nina Peanut is Amazing by Sarah Bowie
- Wildsmith: Into the Dark Forest by Liz Flanagan
- Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl
- Charlotte’s Webb by E.B Webb
- Head Kid by David Baddiel
- The Summer I Robbed a Bank by David O’Doherty
- Tim Gates: Yes! No. (Maybe..) by Liz Pichon
- Unicorn Academy by Sophie and Rainbow by Julie Sykes
- How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
- Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
- The Day My Family Disappeared by Jo Simmons
- The Secret of Kells by Eithne Massey
- The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
- The Amazing Edie Eckhart by Rosie Jones
- The Forgotten Horse by Elaine Heney
- Dog Man by Dav Pilkey
Books for ages 10 – 12
- Finding My Voice by Aoife Dooley
- The Small Things by Lisa Thompson
- Wider Than the Sea by Serena Molloy
- Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
- Josh the Flyer by Paul O’Flynn.
- The Amazing Edie Eckhart by Rosie Jones.
- Wonder by R.J. Palacio.
- Into the Wild (Warrior Cats series) by Erin Hunter
- The 1,000-Year-Old Boy by Ross Welford
- Friend or Foe by Brian Gallagher
- Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
- Waiting for Anya by Michael Morpugo
- The Brilliant World of Tom Gates by Liz Pichon
- The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Rauf
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone by J.K Rowling
- Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B Alston
- Skulduggery Pleasant: Scepter of the Ancients by Derek Landy
- Letters from the Lighthouse by Emma Carroll
- Fish in a Tree by Linda Mullaly Hunt
- The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson
- The Summer I Robbed a Bank by David O’Doherty
- Finding My Voice by Aoife Dooley
- A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll
- The Wordsmith by Patricia Forde
- Josh the Flyer by Paul O’Flynn
- Hank Zipzer 1: The World’s Greatest Underachiever and the Crazy Classroom Cascade by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver
- What I Need by Tiffany Jones
- Every Word Tells a Story by Tom Reed Wilson
- Go, Johnny, Go! By Paul O’Flynn
- Needle by Patrice Lawrence
- Mixed-Up by Kami Garcia
Books for ages 13+ (Young Adult)
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- Declan Someone by Kate McElderry
- Welcome to Camp Killer by Cynthia Murphy
- The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien
- Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman
- Too Nice by Sally Nicholls
- What Magic is this? By Holly Bourne
- Jellybean by Eve Ainsworth
- Maze Runner by James Dashner
- Letting Go by Cat Clarke
Books for children about Dyslexia, Neurodiversity and or Reading
- Dyslexia Explained by Mike Jones
- It’s Called Dyslexia by Jennifer Moore-Mallinos
- Dyslexia and Me (Mindful Kids) by Amy Rainbow
- Meet The Dyslexia Club! by Margaret Rooke
- Mission Dyslexia by Julie McNeill, Paul McNeill and Rossie Stone
- The Bigger Picture Book of Amazing Dyslexics and the Jobs They Do by Kate Power
- Dyslexia: A Teenager’s Guide by Sylvia Moody
- How My Brain Learns to Read by Dr. Duncan Milne
- How Your Brain Learns to Read by Denise Eide
- Wonderfully Wired Brains by Louise Gooding