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Perhaps these are all the reasons why his reading ability seems to be going backwards.
Or perhaps the books that have been chosen for him by his female teacher don't interest him, don't fire his imagination or ignite his curiosity.
Perhaps the fact that there is not a single male teacher at his primary school skews the curriculum and teaching atmosphere towards girls, with their collaborative creativity, rather than boys and their competitive urge to be top dog.
My son's teacher is great, but I do wonder how a 25-year-old woman with no kids of her own manages to tune in to the very different and conflicting demands of a class of 30 kids, roughly divided 50:50 between boys and girls.
Her professionalism is not in question. But is it beyond the realms of possibility that young women teachers find it easier to teach girls rather than boys, because they instinctively 'get' what makes their own gender tick, especially when those girls sit in adoring attendance, yearning-to-learn and constantly pushing their hands up, desperate to please 'Miss! Miss! Miss!' while the boys chase each other around the classroom with rulers-for-swords?
Perhaps this is the reason why my son (and his male friends, I hasten to add) are going backwards in the reading department, whereas the girls are striding forward?
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Whatever the reason, my son is not alone in his struggles with reading. Nationally, boys do fine in maths and science, but lag behind girls in reading by six percentage points and writing by 15 percentage points.
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I've seen this through my own children's experience. My son's sister is three years older than him: she is a brilliant reader. She's been reading since she was five years old. When she was seven, she was devouring Roald Dahl, Daisy Meadows and Beatrix Potter. And now, at nearly 10, she goes to bed with Holly Webb, Astrid Lindgren and J.K. Rowling.
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My son, meanwhile, would rather cut off his nose to spite his face than stick it into the books he brings home each week.
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'Look, if you don't read, you'll never be able to read the instructions to all those computer games you love,' I say to him.
And he just shrugs.
'LOOK, if you don't read, you're NOT having a Fab lolly.'
And he shrugs again.
Which just ends up with me losing my temper, him in tears and me getting a stern telling off from his mother when she gets home from work.
But I can't really blame my son because I believe there are other factors at work.
Choirmaster Gareth Malone explored this in his BBC TV series Extraordinary School for Boys. He found that boys are easily bored and are keen to take risks. They need instant rewards; immediate sanctions. And more than anything, competition. Boys have to prove who's best. Girls, on the other hand, are much more collegiate: they want to get along with each other; not prove who's Numero Uno.
This is why I think the lack of male teachers in our primary school isn't very beneficial for the development of our sons.
The solution would obviously be to recruit more men to the profession, but apparently suitable candidates are put off by fears of being labelled as paedophiles by slow-witted idiots.
Therefore, it is down to us parents to improve our own sons' chances by taking their extra-curricular education into our own hands.
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We can start this process by actively involving our boys in which books they read. Some of the material my son gets sent home with is either too complicated in its concept or too boring to grasp the imagination of a little boy.
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For example, the other day he brought home a book called: 'Think of an Eel.' It's all about eels having elvers and swimming upstream, all in poetry. It's probably a classic, but my son's first question was: 'Dad, what's an eel?'
I described this to my friend Juliet, a mum of 11 year-old twin boys. She went through the same frustrations with her own sons. 'Our tipping point was a book which had a couple of children arguing over, of all things, a cushion. 'My cushion.' Turn page, 'No, my cushion.' Turn page, 'No my cushion.'
She shared this insight: 'My sons didn't 'get' reading until they were seven: they cracked it with Asterix cartoon books, Captain Underpants and non-fiction on dinosaurs, planets, and electricity! Now they gobble books up – Harry Potter, Percy Jackson.'
From now on, I'm taking my son's reading development into my own hands. We started last night, with a book he chose himself: 'The Incredibles!' from the Disney Wonderful World of Reading series.
'Da-ad,' my son said to me, after he'd raced through the book at the speed of Dash. 'That Mr Incredible...he's just like you.'
Yes, I think we're going to enjoy reading from now on.
- Pippi longstocking<p> This classic, featuring adventurous and incredibly strong Pippi, has been given a modern makeover, thanks to Lauren Child’s vibrant and distinctive illustrations. Ideal for girls who aren’t entirely pink and princessy –they’ll appreciate a character they can identify with, even if they can’t quite lift a horse one-handed.</p> <p> <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pippi-Longstocking-Gift-Astrid-%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20Lindgren/dp/019278241X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1300875569&sr=1-3" target="_blank">Pippi Longstocking Gift Edition</a>, by Astrid Lindgren, with illustrations by Lauren Child, £9.99, published by OUP Oxford<br /> <br /> </p>
- The global garden<p> Part of an imaginatively designed series which brings non-fiction subjects to life via pop-ups and plenty of other interactive features.<br /> <br /> The Global Garden explains which everyday products come from which plants, picking up on questions which hit the spot with kids, such as ‘where do my jeans come from?’, and ‘what does a chocolate tree look like?’</p> <p> <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Global-Garden-Kate-Petty/dp/1903919169" target="_blank">The Global Garden</a>, Kate Petty, illustrated by Jennie Maizels, £12.99, published by Eden Project Children’s Books.</p> <p> <strong>Other favourites by the same author:</strong><br /> <br /> The Wonderful World Book.</p> <p> </p>
- Horrid Henry<p> You might not like Henry’s horrid exploits (just hope your child doesn’t start to copy them!) but there’s no denying he’s hooking kids into reading. The HH titles are particularly popular for newly independent readers just starting on ‘chapter books’.<br /> <br /> Set them off with this, the original story and they can then plough through the series – there are 19 books so far. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Horrid-Henry-Francesca-Simon/dp/1858810701/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1300887571&sr=" target="_blank">Horrid Henry</a>, Francesca Simon and Tony Ross, £4.99, published by Orion.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p>
- The enchanted wood and Faraway tree<p> Three book series of timeless classics about siblings Joe, Beth and Frannie, and their adventures at a very special tree amidst The Enchanted Wood. There they meet Saucepan Man, Silky and Moon-Face and encounter the magical lands of Birthdays, Goodies, Do-As-You-Please and more.<br /> <br /> Controversially, some of the characters’ names have been changed in recent years - Fanny and her cousin Dick are now Frannie and Rick, whilst Dame Slap has become the more PC Dame Snap (she no longer goes round slapping either) but all the enjoyment of the original remains. <br /> <br /> 'It's about a magic tree with lands at the top. I love the little people who live in the tree and the slippery slip they slide down on,' says Isabella, 5.</p> <p> <strong>Other favourites by the same author:</strong><br /> <br /> The Famous Five<br /> <br /> The Wishing Chair series<br /> <br /> Malory Towers</p> <p> <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1405230274/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=103612307&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=074974801X&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=0TW66B70PEY5XVZ027R7" target="_blank">The Enchanted Wood/ Faraway Tree series</a>, Enid Blighton, £5.99, published by Egmon.<br /> <br /> </p>
- Charlie and The Chocolate Factory<p> The perfect place to start among Roald Dahl’s many magnificent children’s books, although younger children will need this reading to them, rather than managing it by themselves. Reclusive and eccentric to say the least, Willy Wonka decides to let five children into his factory for the day, where ‘marvellous surprises’ await but be warned, they’re not always pleasant.</p> <p> Will Charlie make it to the end of the day and change his, and his impoverished family’s lives? A hugely enjoyable and imaginative morality tale of how good wins over bad.<br /> <br /> 'I have read it and watched the film too. The funniest bits are when the chocolate palace melts on the prince’s head and when Augustus Gloop goes up the pipe!' says Luca, five.<br /> <br /> <strong>Other favourites by the same author:</strong><br /> <br /> All of them! But particularly:<br /> <br /> James and the Giant Peach<br /> <br /> Matilda<br /> <br /> The BFG<br /> <br /> Fantastic Mr. Fox<br /> <br /> The TwitsCharlie and The Chocolate Factory,</p> <p> <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Charlie-Chocolate-Factory-Roald-Dahl/dp/0141322713/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1300971321&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Roald Dahl</a>, £6.99, published by Puffin.<br /> </p>
- Flat stanley<p> The extraordinarily-named Stanley Lambchop is squashed by a falling bulletin board. Far from squashing his enthusiasm for life too, being flat opens up all sorts of possibilities. He squeezes his way under gaps in locked doors, doubles as a kite and perhaps, best of all, can be posted to California. Well, it saves on the airfare.<br /> <br /> <br /> Later books see his adventures evolve – Stanley becomes invisible in one and visits outer space in another. A wonderful series for the upper end of this age group to read alone.<br /> <br /> <a href="http:// http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1405204176/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=103612307&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0061129046&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=1BN0H0NK7XGD1P22QT6C " target="_blank">Flat Stanley</a><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1405204176/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=103612307&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0061129046&" target="_blank">, Jeff Brown</a>, £3.99, published by Egmont.<br /> </p>
- Riddle of the Raptors<p> Two favourite themes of this age group – dinosaurs and space – collide resulting in a series which has been a massive hit. Boys in particular seem to love the mix of fantasy, silliness and adventure.<br /> <br /> With 19 titles to get through, Astrosaurs are responsible for transforming many a reluctant reader into bookshop/ library/ Amazon regulars.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Astrosaurs-Riddle-Raptors-Steve-Cole/dp/1849411492/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1300974429&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Astrosaurs series</a> –shown here Riddle of the Raptors, Steve Cole, £4.99, published by Random House</p>
- Ballet<p> Whatever your child is into – from ballet to bin lorries and pirates to ponies - there’s probably one of Usborne’s excellent hardback guides on the subject.</p> <p> Carefully chosen language lets newish readers manage on their own yet keeps the 53 titles highly informative. Ideal for children who prefer fact to fiction, or who fancy a change from storybooks. Also worth a look are Usborne’s ‘Puzzle Stories’, such as Puzzle Train and Puzzle School - stories combined with puzzles as the name might suggest.</p> <p> <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ballet-Usborne-Beginners-Susan-Meredith/dp/0746074530/ref=sr_1_22?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1300974769&sr=1-22" target="_blank">Usborne Beginners</a> non-fiction – shown here ‘Ballet’, £4.99, published by Usborne.</p>
- The worst witch<p> Mildred Hubble isn’t exactly top of the class at Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches –she’s forever messing up her spells and crashing her broomstick.<br /> <br /> Impressively, this was written when Jill Murphy was still a teenager herself and has gone on to sell millions of copies. There are shades of Harry Potter to it (although this came long before) but it’s written for a slightly younger audience. One of a series.<br /> <br /> <strong>Other favourites by the same author:</strong><br /> <br /> Peace at Last<br /> <br /> Whatever Next!</p> <p> <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Worst-Witch-Young-Puffin-Story/dp/0141314508/ref=pd_ts_b_3?ie=UTF8&s=books" target="_blank">The Worst Witch</a>, Jill Murphy, £3.99, published by Puffin.</p>
- A bear called Paddington<p> 40 years on and presumably Mr and Mrs Brown are still regretting adopting this accident prone little bear, after finding him at Paddington Station.</p> <p> A charming, now classic story which will induce nostalgia in many parents and smiles in young readers.</p> <p> <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bear-Called-Paddington-Michael-Bond/dp/0007174160" target="_blank">A Bear Called Paddington,</a> Michael Bond, £4.99, published by Harper Collins</p>
