On Tuesday, the government announced its plan to get more children reading. It takes the form of a competition, aimed at seven- to 12-year-olds and slated to kick off in September, that will reward the young readers who devour the most books: the clear intention, as schools minister Nick Gibb put it, is "to give a competitive spur to reluctant readers".
Both boys and girls will be eligible, but as boys make up the majority of these "reluctant readers" – one in 10 British boys are now leaving primary school with the reading-age of a seven-year-old – Gibb added that he hoped boys in particular would be inspired "by a bit of healthy competition".
So which books should the nation's boys be reading if they want to get a headstart? Here's a handy guide to the 10 best books for boys aged seven to 12, chosen with the help of Ellen Ainsworth, a retired children's librarian and mother of two grownup sons who has more than 33 years' experience of getting boys reading.
1. Alex Rider Anthony Horowitz's series about a 14-year-old boy recruited by the British secret service has proved phenomenally popular: there are nine novels, from 2000's Stormbreaker to Scorpia Rising, released last March, suitable for readers aged around 10 and over; a number of spinoff short-story collections; a film; and a video game. "Definitely my No 1," says Ainsworth.
2. Harry Potter No list would be complete without JK Rowling's much-loved novels about a teenage wizard battling the evil Voldemort, while getting to grips with Quidditch, strange spells and first love. Their addictive qualities are likely to have young boys (and girls, of course) wanting to devour all seven in a row, quickly putting them ahead in the competition.
3. Young Bond Covering similar ground to Alex Rider, Charlie Higson's books – suitable for ages 10 and over — act as a compelling prequel to Ian Fleming's Bond series: here, we meet Bond as a 13-year-old at Eton in the 1930s. "007 should certainly give Harry a run for his money" was the verdict of Observer associate editor Robert McCrum on the second book, Blood Fever.
4. Horrid Henry Younger boys will love Francesca Simon's series about a perpetually naughty young boy and his butter-wouldn't-melt brother, Perfect Peter. Though unpopular in Simon's native US, over here we might even be permitted to call them a phenomenon: 20 books, a number of joke books, a series for early readers, a film, a stage show and a CITV cartoon series.
5. Flat Stanley This classic children's book, written in 1964 by Jeff Brown, tells the decidedly surreal tale of a boy named Stanley Lambchop who is flattened in the night by a collapsed pin-board. He makes the best of the situation by using his newly flattened state to slide into locked rooms, be used as a kite, and even posted in a letterbox. "A lot of boys of seven to nine are still not reading very well," Ainsworth says. "This book is really likely to engage them."
6. Artemis Fowl The anti-hero of Irish author Eoin Colfer's seven novels (the last is due out this summer) is like the Blofeld to Higson's Bond: a teenage criminal mastermind named Artemis Fowl II. "This is in the solid nine-12 years category," says Ainsworth.
7. Diary of a Wimpy Kid Boys aged seven and up will relate to American author Jeff Kinney's tales about a hopelessly uncool boy named Gregory. There are six books in the series, which originated on the website FunBrain.com, where it scored 20m hits over five years. "My own boys loved these books," Ainsworth says.
8. Captain Underpants In Dav Pilkey's series of amusingly illustrated novels, two primary-school boys accidentally hypnotise their headteacher, turning him into the eponymous superhero. Exuberant fun for younger boys.
9. The Cherub series Bestselling author Robert Muchamore became the subject of controversy last October, when a north London junior school cancelled his scheduled visit, citing a number of complaints from parents about the challenging subject matter of his books about a group of orphaned teenage spies (anyone sensing a pattern here?). "I always call it the EastEnders test – that broadly speaking nothing happens in my books that doesn't happen in an episode of EastEnders," Muchamore said in response.
10. Holes Louis Sachar's award-winning 1998 novel about a 13-year-old boy named Stanley Yelnats, sent to the juvenile detention centre Camp Green Lake after being wrongly accused of stealing a pair of shoes, will appeal to boys of 10 and over.
Can you do better? What's your essential read to win over reluctant boys?
