Top 10 Hi/Lo Booklists for Reluctant Readers If you have kids or teens who are reluctant readers because they read below grade level and can’t find books they can read that interest them, try some of these hi/lo books. The books are at the reader's interest level (“hi” stands for “high interest”) but written at a lower reading level (“lo” stands for “low readability”) to encourage reading. Kids and teens reading below grade level are more apt to want to read a book if it is not only at their reading level but also at their interest level. These three long unannotated booklists come from The Middle Grades Reading Network, which is funded by the Lily Endowment Inc. and located at the University of Evansville in Indiana. The Network “is dedicated to the promotion of voluntary reading of books, newspapers, and other print materials among young adolescents.” The booklists of hi/lo books are for middle school students who read at the third, fourth or fifth grade level.
If you are looking for books that will interest your struggling reader who is in grade 4, 5, or 6 but reads at the grade 2.2-2.5 or below reading level, these books may be just what you want. HIP Junior Novels are published by High Interest Publishing (HIP), a company that publishes novels for reluctant readers from ages 8 to 18.
Keystone Books from Capstone Press are for the students with reading levels of grades 2-3 and interest levels of grades 5-9. They include science fiction, sports, horror, suspense, and humor. Titles include Alien Abduction, Killer Sharks, and Skateboard Power. The more than 20 books are all Accelerated Reader selections.
Orca Currents, middle school fiction for reluctant readers, is published by Orca Book Publishers. These hi/lo books are designed for an interest level of 10-14 years and a reading level of grades 2.0 to 4.5. If you are looking for short, high-interest novels, check these out.
Orca Soundings, teen fiction for struggling readers, is published by Orca Book Publishers. These hi/lo books are designed for an interest level of 12+ years and a reading level of grades 2.0 to 4.5. You’ll find more than 30 titles in this series of contemporary stories, including some Accelerated Reader selections.
More than 20 novels are available in this series by High Interest Publishing (HIP), a company that publishes novels for reluctant readers from ages 8 to 18. The reading level of these books range from grade level 2.8 to 4.0, with most of the books for a reading level between 3.2 and 4.0. The interest levels on five of the books goes up to grade 12. If you are looking for gritty contemporary teen fiction, these books may suit your needs. Kids In Between features high interest - low vocabulary versions of five of Shakespeare's plays, including Romeo and Juliet, plus a variety of other books, including fiction and nonfiction. This annotated booklist from Madison Public Library in Wisconsin is taken from taken from More Rip Roaring Reads for Reluctant Readers, an excellent book by Bette Ammon and Gale Sherman. In addition to interest level and reading level for each book, there is a very brief summary of the plot.
This four-page annotated booklist for high school students comes from the Multnomah County Library in Oregon. Most of the books are about teenagers, but they range from teenaged immigrants to a teenaged vampire. Familiar children’s, young adult, and adult classics have been adapted and target an interest level of grade 3-adult and reading levels of grades 3-6. Titles include Little Women, Heidi, Moby Dick, and War of the Worlds. This site also includes adaptations of Shakespeare, a series of mini-mysteries, and more.
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