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Books for Boys

I'm always on the lookout for great books for boys. I thought maybe we could keep a running list of books that our boys really like, connect with, are motivated by, etc.

Big Nate series by Lincoln Pierce
Zapato Power series by Jacqueline Jules
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney

Replies to This Discussion

group leaderPermalink Reply by Becky on May 12, 2011 at 10:16pm

Great idea, Dawn!

These are texts I've used in tutoring with boys:

SECOND GRADE LEVEL BOOKS

Ronald Morgan books by Patricia Giff
Nate the Great books by M. Sharmat

FOURTH GRADE LEVEL BOOKS

Hank Zipzer books by Henry Winkler
Hatchet (or other books in that series) by Gary Paulsen

I also have them read non-fiction texts on their level about topics in which they are interested (I can't remember any titles off-hand).

Becky

www.thisreadingmama.com

group leaderPermalink Reply by Becky on May 14, 2011 at 8:22pm

Just thought of these a few minutes ago:

Beverly Cleary's Mouse books or Henry books
Blume's Fudge series or Freckle Juice
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
Stink series by Peter Reynolds
Barbara Park (author of Junie B. Jones) has some out for older boys (ages 8-12)- Skinny Bones, The Kid in the Red Jacket, etc.

Becky

Permalink Reply by Dawn Little on May 15, 2011 at 8:16pm

Nonfiction is a huge draw for boys! National Geographic has some really great new nonfiction that my son enjoys. I'll try to find some titles to share. Thanks, Becky, for your thoughts! We love Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume here! We will have to check out the Hank Zipzer books.

group leaderPermalink Reply by Becky on May 16, 2011 at 10:21pm

Hi Dawn,

You may already know about these 2 websites. I used these with my boys in tutoring. They are totally non-fiction & free!

Time For Kids- articles written for 2nd through 6th grade; just click on the grade level and you can see all the past articles as well
Science News for Kids - more for upper elem. and middle school

Becky

group leaderPermalink Reply by Becky on May 16, 2011 at 10:27pm

I just checked out National Geographic's website and they do have some articles on there, too. Looks promising! Thanks for the tip! I'll bookmark their page. I think I'm going to do a series on my blog soon about non-fiction. I'm going to include these sites.

Permalink Reply by Jana on June 11, 2011 at 8:53am

My son who's almost six loves the following two chapter books series: Dinosaur Cove by Rex Stone and The Magic Tree House books by Mary Pope Osborne. He's not quite ready to read them on his own, so we read them to him. He also enjoys the Adventures of Riley (by Amanda Lumry) and Magic School House (by Joanna Cole) books. For Level 1 easy-readers he can master by himself, he enjoys the Lego City books, such as Calling All Cars! and All Aboard! For non-fiction books, I find us checking out books by Dana Mechen Rau a lot.

Permalink Reply by Tracy on June 23, 2011 at 7:30pm

I second Dinosaur Cove and Magic Tree House books. We also like the Dragon Slayer Academy chapter books and while at the library last week were introduced to A to Z Mysteries. So far so good. Also there are some leveled readers with Star Wars themes that my boys like.

Permalink Reply by Sarah VanderVort on July 19, 2011 at 6:33am

Upper Grades

Rick Riordan Books (Percy Jackson, Red Pyramid, Heroes of Olympus)

39 Clues Series

Found and Shadow Children series by Margaret Peterson Haddix

NERDS by Michael Buckley

Shedderman Series by Wendelin Van Draanen

Graphic Novels (especially the Bones series)

Sasquatch by Roland Smith

BFG by Roald Dahl

Captain Underpants Series by Dav Pilkey

Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy

Almanacs/Record Books

Non-Fiction Books (You Choose Interactive History Adventures, Steve Jenkins, Weird insects and ocean animals, Titanic, Rocks and Minerals, Military, Cyrptids and Mummies tend to be the favorite)

Younger or Struggling Readers

The Legend of Spud Murphy by Eion Colfer

My Weirder School Series by Dan Gutman

Roscoe Riley Rules Series by Katherine Applegate

Beast Quest Series by Adam Blade

Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown

Non-Fiction (Dinosaurs, Things That Go, Insects, Magic School Bus)

Geronimo Stilton Series by Stilton

Stinky Cheese Man by Jon Scieska

Permalink Reply by Dawn Little on July 20, 2011 at 10:32am

Thank you all for continuing to add to the list! Keep the ideas coming!

My son just recently read and loved

Squish #1: Super Amoeba
Squish #2: Brave New Pond

Both of these are part of a new series of graphic novels about an amoeba (ties into science content) by Matt and Jennifer Holm, (brother and sister) authors of the Babymouse series.

Permalink Reply by Julie Long on July 20, 2011 at 10:36pm

In addition to many of the books already listed, my 9 year old son has enjoyed the following books/series over the past year or so. Some we have read aloud together and some he has read on his own.

Cricket in Times Square (and other books with these characters) by George Selden

Indian in the Cupboard by Lynn Reid Banks

Shiloh (and the two books that follow it) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Raymond and Graham books by Mike Knudson(maybe not quite a series yet, only 4 so far but he's loving them and keeps asking for more!)

Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary

Pain and the Great One books by Judy Blume

Chet Gecko Series by Bruce Hale

Frindle by Andrew Clements (and many of his other books too!)

Matt Christopher books- (sports themed fiction books- I think there is a book for any sport you can imagine- he recently read Mountain Mike Mania)

My 7 year old is still discovering exactly what books he enjoys but so far he has liked:

Magic Tree House Series, (he especially enjoys the research guides, nonfiction books that accompany some of fiction stories)

Horrible Harry Series by Suzy Kline

Jake Drake Series by Andrew Clements

The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo by Judy Blume (especially great for a middle child)

On a side note... this summer I'm finding it thrilling and so interesting to watch my sons develop as readers. My 9 year old is devouring books and recently asked, "Why is reading so good now?" (Yes it made my heart nearly skip a beat, I was so happy and proud!) I suppose it's because he's at the point where reading is less work and he can now enjoy the story with less effort. My 7 year old can read well but is less motivated to read on his own because at this stage it still takes a good deal of effort to decode, comprehend, and reflect on what he is reading. I keep reminding myself he'll get to a point where reading is fun for him as well, as long as I continue to give gentle nudges- after all he is two years younger than his brother. Any suggestions for keeping younger readers motivated as they develop their reading skills? This list is helpful- it reminds me to pull out our Captain Underpants books and try some graphic novels. I think high interest books are key.

Permalink Reply by Dawn Little on August 2, 2011 at 10:35am

I have a review and giveaway of Horrid Henry Wakes the Dead on Literacy Toolbox this week. The Horrid Henry series are great books to hook boys, too! Giveaway ends on Sunday, August 7th!

Permalink Reply by Julie Tichonchuk on August 20, 2011 at 4:01pm

I love this idea!

I need suggestions. My son is 8 and beginning the 3rd grade. He is a strong reader but can't fall into a book. He reads Magic Tree House books and graphic novels in a day or two. They just aren't challenging him. He recently finished book five of How to Train your Dragon. Yet, it took him many months because he had lost interest. He has read Cleary's Mouse books already. He isn't interested in Stink or Hank Zipster. I tried those. I even got him Sir Fartsalot Hunts the Booger by Kevin Bloger. He liked the book but didn't love it. So I had to say, "It's time to read."

I am introducing more genre identification this year. This is in hopes that he can begin to identify what he enjoys reading. Any other ideas or suggestions?