Parents up and down the country are facing a growing problem. No, it’s not that their child spends too much time playing video games. It’s that their child will only read Tom Gates books.
The simple, humorous and comic-book style of the books makes them an easy and appealing read for a child but a worry for parents.
First and foremost, my advice is to let your child read as many of these books as they like. Although the books don’t feature particularly sophisticated vocabulary, they do help your child to get into the habit of reading and to practise the act. This will contribute towards their academic success.
In addition to continuing to supply the books, I advise you do three things:
1. Build vocabulary separately
2. Try to introduce a range of more challenging graphic novels
3. Introduce more sophisticated stories on audiobook
Many parents don’t realise that activities are four times more effective than reading when it comes to building vocabulary. As such, it isn’t the disaster people think it is when children won’t read books with advanced vocabulary. That said, it is good for children to have some exposure to advanced vocabulary as it reinforces the meaning and usage of words they’ve already learnt. That’s why I encourage you to use graphic novels and audiobooks alongside a solid vocabulary strategy.
After reading Tom Gates books, graphic novels should be a relatively easy sell to your child. These days, there’s a good range of challenging books in this genre that will contain some of the challenging vocabulary you’d expect to see in a traditional novel.
For those that want to introduce their child to the classics, there are a growing number of graphic novel versions of these, such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. With a bit of luck, your child may even be enticed into reading the full book once they’ve read the graphic novel.
Look below for my list of graphic novels to try with your child. As usual, I recommend getting these from a library, if possible, as it will give your child the opportunity to read try a few and see which ones they like.
At this point, I sound like a broken record (or should that be mp3?) when it comes to audiobooks, however, they’re so under-utilised that I feel the need to repeat myself. If you’ve already heard my audiobook rants, please feel free to skip the next paragraph.
Audiobooks give your child the opportunity to encounter books that would otherwise have been too challenging (or, perhaps, too boring) for them to read in book form. Children love Tom Gates books for their humour, so start with some humorous audiobooks, if you can (David Walliams books are usually a hit). Once audiobooks have become a part of your routine you can start to introduce a wider selection of material.
Recommended for Year 3 and early Year 4 readers.
Despite their comic book-style, the books slip in a number of sophisticated words that every child should know, e.g. assignment, snout, plagued and corruption. Despite this, they’re still an easy and funny read that provides a natural progression from the Tom Gates books.
Recommended for Year 4+
Although the vocabulary in this novel isn’t particularly challenging, the storyline is a little more sophisticated than most graphic novels. The storyline lends itself to discussion, which will develop your child’s comprehension skills.
Children that enjoy this graphic novel may be more inclined to read the popular Alex Rider book series afterwards, suitable for ages 9+.
See a sample chapter here – https://alexrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Stormbreaker-Graphic-Novel.pdf
Recommended for Year 4+
Written by former kids’ TV presenter, Konnie Huq, this book is designed to be humorous and is specifically recommended for Tom Gates fans.
Whilst this book has plenty of pictures, it contains more text than most of the graphic novel recommendations on this list, which makes it a great way to ease your child into reading larger chunks of text.
Suitable for Year 4 readers
There isn’t a huge amount of challenging vocabulary in this graphic novel, however, it is a gentle way of introducing classic texts to your child. If your child is excited by this story, I recommend following it up with the audiobook version of the original text.
If your child enjoys this book, there are several other classics turned graphic novels in the series. Click here to see the full range.
Suitable for Year 5+
Vocabulary-wise, this is probably the most challenging text on this list. It’s a wonderful and gentle introduction to Greek myths.
If your child enjoys this book, there are several other titles in this series to explore.
For Year 4+
Children will love the humorous, first-person narration style of this book.
As vocab-lovers, we were also pleased to see a subtle exploration of the -ologist suffix at the beginning of the book, too.
Suitable for Year 5+
Like the Alex Rider graphic novel, this book provides an easy introduction to the Artemis Fowl series of children’s novels. This is a darker text that won’t have the humour of the Tom Gates books, however, it does provide an engaging, adventure-based story that should be quite captivating for young readers.
The phrasing in this graphic novel is relatively sophisticated, so there will be some wider English benefits to be gained. It also includes some interesting vocabulary, such as “mishap”, “tinge” and “fatal”, all of which are worth discussing with your child and adding to a word bank.
