Recommendations needed for a Dutch girl learning English

I'm giving a daughter of a friend some help with her English and want her to read more. The problem is that I need some simple books that do have a story. "Spot goes shopping" is not much fun for a fourteen year old.
I read fantasy myself mostly, but ofcourse she hates it (always happens) so Terry Pratchett and Eoin Colfer are out of the question.
Please give me a hand here it's a sweet kid and I'd hate to see her fail this year.

14, so that is 3rd or 4th year... - She is probably not ready yet for the "thick books". I think I was reading the simplified versions of books then. Here in Germany they are published by Reclam and Langenscheidt, I am sure there are publishers like this in the Netherlands.
Something I have read at that age was Arthur Hailey's "Airport" and Nevil Shute's On the Beach, both simplified and with explanations.

If she's in the States, you might want to check out some of the Orca Soundings titles. This is a series of books that are high interest, but low reading level. Lots of good stories to keep a teen interested and engaged, but with easier to read language for those who aren't good readers yet!

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll check out the simplified books, but I really hope there is something to capture her there. I have seen to often that peolple are put of reading by their teachers because they are forced to read books that don't interest them.

Kidsilkhaze, maybe I should have been clearer, we are both in the Netherlands. English is a compulsory subject here. Problem is she is very gifted in sciences, but not in languages. She likes reading, but really books written for her age. However I've found a shop that offers Orca Soundings (American Book Center). I'll certainly check them out.

I don't know if she's ready for adult books yet but there's a series of adult books called Quick Reads published by Accent Press Ltd which might be good if any of them are suitable for a 14 yr old. They're written by famous authors such as Ruth Rendell but only about 90 pages long. They're on Amazon.co.uk for about £1.99.

Sorry if adult books are no good - just a thought!
Jennie

What exactly is her level of English?

I'm still trying to think of YA books, but an author who might work is Paulo Coelho; although his books are targeted towards adults, his writing style is very simple and clear. I'm trying to read The Alchemist in another language; it might be a possibility for her.

Another option is books by Margaret Peterson Haddix: some examples are Running Out of Time and Among the Hidden. Lois Lowry is also classic children's lit.

Since she's not in to fantasy I would suggest the book Shug by Jenny Han which was pretty good. It is a bit of a coming of age story but it was pretty simplisticly written and not overly thick. It might interest her.

Sorry, Easterbreak is rather annoying...
Ehm, adult might be possible if the English is simple. Thanks for the tip Jennie!
Csoki637: Her level is in one word bad. She has had two years of English at highschool (or at least our type). I'm currently trying out Johnny and the dead by Terry Pratchett. It is pretty slow going. I've cured her at least of grabbing a dictionary for every word she doesn't know :). The titles you mention sound like possibilities, I'll look into it!
Demonlover: I'll see about that one. Haven't found it at a bookshop yet, but I'll keep it in mind

Thank you all for these suggestions! More are always welcome!

Consider No Flying in the House. It may be a below what her level would be in her native language, but it is a 'chapter book' and certainly above 'Spot Goes Shopping.'

In "such cases" I usually recommend Holes by Louis Sachar and Coraline by Neil Geiman. Both are fun to read and not too long.

lesezeichen: Gaiman sounds good, I like his books, which would mean we could talk about it easier (more fun anyway).
She seems to like Johnny Maxwell, which came as a bit of a surprise. I hope she isn't just humouring me....
csoki: I looked up the book and it sounds like fun. I just hope she looks further than the magic, which she doesn't really like (Johnny Maxwell rather surprised me). As for the level, it's almost impossible to find something that is her level. Her English is primitive, even for the second year of highschool.

Anyways many thanks again for the recommendations!

Another thought if she likes mysteries is to try the Nancy Drew books. Those are pretty easy reads, and a lot of fun.

harry Potter! Likely she's read them in Dutch so maybe learning them in English would interest her. Okay I'll shut up now.

You may also want to try the Orca Soundings and Orca Currents books, which are from a Canadian publisher (Orca) and have low reading levels while telling stories that are interesting to teenagers. They average about 100 pages long so they are quite brief, and I can't keep them on the shelves here at my high school library!

The Dutch girl I was tutoring loved *Ella Enchanted*. I think she read it about eight times. It really is a good book.

Sorry, to be absent for so long, had to spend a coulpe of days in bed.
Pollysmith: I'm hesitant to admit she hates Harry Potter... Thats how I found out she didn't like fantasy. For the rest she is a very nice kid, honestly.

I checked out the Orca lines and she is reading one of them now (she finished Johnny). It's slow going and I have to sit next to her quit often. A dictionary next to a book isn't working, takes to much time and breaks the story up in chunks.

I might check out Ella Enchanted, but it has a strong fantasy theme and for some reason she doesn't like those. I can't really find out why, she doesn't give very clear answers (shy, very, very shy).

Ok this may seem like a silly suggestion but what about Anne Frank The Diary of a Young Girl? I know she's probably already read it in Dutch but that's why I suggested it. I think already being familiar with the story might make reading it easier.
The Princess Diaries and The Travelling Pants series might appeal to her too.

Hi, I am also Dutch and i was wondering if you are familiar with the blackbirds series. Maybe i stupid question, but it might be helpfull. The blackbirds are the english titles in the Dutch 'lijsters' series. They are books published by Wolters-Noordhoff especially for schools. (see www.lijsters.nl). There are early blackbirds (12-14 years) and young blackbirds (14-16 years). There's always a vocabulary on the last pages. The school library might have them but they are also easy to find second hand. I have one young blackbird here. Batman can't fly by David Hines. it's 90 pages, but i am not sure if the english is easy enough. if you want to, i can send it to you for free.
Good luck!

>18 Floddertje:

Have a look in De Slegte - there are often Blackbirds mixed in with the English paperbacks.

I have written a book about being an exchange student in Japan that is only 78 pages long, but deals with many issues of learning a foreign language and culture. I'm not sure if your daughter's friend is an exchange student or an immigrant, but this book may entertain her while she learns English.

'Eating Soup with Chopsticks: Sweet Sixteen in Japan'
by "Ruth Pennington Paget"

Best wishes,
Ruth