Why do so many kids stop liking reading around age 9?
You're not imagining it. Reading for fun drops off right around third and fourth grade, and it's been getting worse:
- Scholastic's Kids & Family Reading Report finds that reading for fun and positive feelings about reading decline as kids grow, with marked drops by age 9 that don't bounce back. Enjoyment falls from 70% of kids ages 6 to 8 to 46% of kids ages 12 to 17.
- The Nation's Report Card found that 39% of 9-year-olds read for fun almost every day in 2022, down 14 points since 1984. Another 16% said they never or hardly ever do.
- In the UK, the National Literacy Trust's 2025 survey of nearly 115,000 young people found that only 32.7% of 8- to 18-year-olds enjoy reading in their free time, the lowest in the 20 years it has been asking.
Scholastic points to a big reason: reading now competes with games, apps, and busy schedules. A book has to pull harder than it used to. That's where scary stories come in.
Why do scary books work for reluctant readers?
Scary books hand a reluctant reader a reason to turn the page. A kid who won't read 20 pages because they're told to will read 50 to find out what's in the locker.
- Suspense does the work. Scary stories end chapters on a question. Scholastic says Goosebumps' fast plots and cliffhanger endings keep newly independent readers going.
- Kids already love scary. In a 2025 survey of 1,600 parents, 93% said their child enjoys some kind of scary fun, and stories were one of the favorites. See Why Is My Child Obsessed With Scary Things?
- Interest beats assignment. When the National Literacy Trust looked at what would motivate young people to read, reading that matches their interests and hobbies was near the top, at 37.1%.
- It's something to share. A kid who finished a scary book has a story to retell at lunch, and that feels good.
What are the best scary books for reluctant readers?
Start easier than you think. A quick win matters more than reading level, and you can move up once your child is hooked.
| Book | Publisher's range | Why it works for reluctant readers |
|---|---|---|
| Eerie Elementary #1: The School Is Alive!, by Jack Chabert | Ages 6–8 | Part of Scholastic's Branches line: easy text, fast plots, and pictures on every page. Good for a 9-year-old who reads below grade level. |
| The Notebook of Doom #1: Rise of the Balloon Goons, by Troy Cummings | Ages 6–8 | Also Branches. A new kid finds a notebook full of monster secrets. Funny and spooky. |
| Ghosts, by Raina Telgemeier | Ages 8–12 | A graphic novel at 300L, so the pictures carry much of the story. More heart than fright. |
| The Last Kids on Earth, by Max Brallier, illustrated by Douglas Holgate | Ages 8–12 | Monsters and a fortified treehouse, with illustrations. Common Sense Media calls its violence cartoonish and funny. |
| Zombie Puppies (Scaremoor Scribbles), by T.L. Griffith | Ages 8–10 | A kid's notebook with a picture on every page and short entries. As scary as Scaremoor, and funnier. |
| Night of the Living Dummy (Classic Goosebumps #1), by R.L. Stine | Ages 8–12 | The next step up, at about 590L. There are more than 40 classic Goosebumps books, so a hooked kid won't run out. |
| The Haunted Locker (Scaremoor #1), by T.L. Griffith | Ages 8–12 | A new kid gets locker 113, which has a terrifying history. Every Scaremoor book stands alone, so kids can start anywhere. |
For more picks sorted by how scary they are, see Scary Books for 4th Graders.
How do you get a 9-year-old to like reading?
Start with what they already love, keep it short, and keep it fun. A few things that help:
- Follow their interests. If they love monsters, hand them monsters. In the National Literacy Trust survey, the top motivators were reading linked to a favorite film or TV show (38.1%) and reading that matches their interests (37.1%).
- Let them choose. A kid who picks the book has a stake in it, even if it's not the book you'd pick.
- Make the first win quick. Short chapters, pictures, and a book they can finish in a few days build stamina.
- Keep reading aloud. Most parents and kids in Scholastic's survey called read-aloud time special. You can read the hard parts, and your child can take over when the story grabs them.
- Try listening. The first six chapters of The Mask Room are free to hear on its book page.
- Find a series. Once one book lands, the next one in the series is an easy yes.
- Let them see you read. Scholastic finds that frequent readers are more likely to say the people in their lives enjoy reading.
What if a scary book is too scary for a reluctant reader?
Step down, not out. A book that's too scary can turn a reluctant reader off again, so match the scare to your child. Funny-spooky books like The Notebook of Doom and The Last Kids on Earth are a safe middle ground. For signs a book is too much, see Are Scary Stories Good for Kids? To match the scare to your child's age, see How Scary Is Too Scary?
Where can you start for free?
Try a scary story without buying anything. The Forgotten Door is a free Scaremoor short story, sent by email, that you can read together in one sitting. Scaremoor's free reading passages are the first chapters of six books, and each one stops on a cliffhanger, which is often all it takes. The Scaremoor quiz picks a first book in a few questions.
