Kid's books
 

My 8 year old ds is getting into reading. He is reading around a grade 3-4 level. He's been doing all of the Magic Tree House books, but I'm just getting sick of them and they are really not challenging him anymore. I'm looking for good suggestions for what to offer him to read this summer.

Also, do any of you remember reading a book series about kids who go on mystery hunts through the woods? I think it was while they visited their grandpa or something. I thought it was called Keys in the Wood, but when I search for that title I don't find anything.

If he has a third or fourth grade reading level, I would suggest the Percy Jackson series


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My 9 year old reads mostly humor and non-fiction. Here are his recommendations:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (and other Dahl books)
Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading
any of the I Survived Books
Holes (this one will be a stretch to read on his own, but it's my son's favorite)

I think around the time my kids liked the Magic Treehouse, they also liked the Hank the Cowdog series. They are funny and also mysteries.

I have an 8 year old who also reads at a 4th grade level, but mine is a girl. I'm sure your ds
wouldn't be interested in most of what my daughter is reading. ;-). However, I volunteer at the school library during her class time so I get to see what the kids pick out for books. Popular among the boys are:
I Survived
39 Clues
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
My Life As A Book
Harry Potter
And basically any graphic novel


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This probably isn't it, but the only series of mysteries I remember reading that had a grandfather was The Boxcar Children. My 4th grade DS liked those when he was about 8.

My 4th grader has always been very picky about books. When he was 8 he loved some of the Star Wars series (Jedi Apprentice, Jedi Quest, and Last of the Jedi). He also loved (and still loves) the Origami Yoda series. Some of the I Survived books were favorites, along with any other natural disaster/plane crash/etc books he found that weren't part of a series. If your DS likes sports, he'd recommend books by Mike Lupica and another author I'm blanking on...Matt Christopher, I think. He loved Harry Potter, but wouldn't have been ready to read the whole series at 8. (DH read them to him then, and he read them independently in 4th grade.) I've heard good things about Gregor the Overlander, Warriors (a series about cats), Artemis Fowl, and Percy Jackson, but we haven't managed to convince DS to read any of them yet. He's even pickier about books than food, and that's saying something!

I like this series by Candace Ransom. It's similar to the Magic Tree House in that they travel to different time lines on a mission. I like these better though. There are 3 kids and it has a fun Thomas Jefferson, Virginia connection: http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Tower-T...rds=Time+Spies There are several books in the series.

My son likes Geronimo Stilton which is fun, but not particularly deep. I much preferred the Thea Sisters (A Geronimo Stilton spin off) because they travel to different cities and countries around the world, but they are written for girls so they have girls as the main characters. My 7 year old likes these too.

We've also read the moon gobble series which is more of a dip into the fantasy/magic type genera. They have some good boy hooks (like the magician that turns everything to cheese because he can't really do a spell). And a lot of the obstacles or monster type things they run into actually end up being their friends and helpful in the end. http://www.amazon.com/The-Weeping-We...rds=Moongobble

My absolute favorite though is Betty Birney and the Wonderful World of Humphrey. I think this though might be more of a 5-6 grade reading level, but I'll put it out there anyway for your 'future' list: http://www.amazon.com/World-Accordin...words=humphrey There are some 10 or 11 books in the series about a classroom pet that is a hamster and all the things that go on in the classroom and the kids lives he's with.

Thanks ladies. I've requested a bunch of these from our library. Hopefully some will catch ds' eye.

my nephew looooved the warriors books ... and it seems like there are a lot of them. he also loved the percy jackson series.

I LOVE these books- I read them to my 2nd graders every year. (They were my faves in elementary school, too.)

Clues in the Woods
Key to the Treasure
Haunted House

All by Peggy Parish. :)

ETA: I guess there are more! http://www.fictiondb.com/author/pegg...tery~15812.htm

LOL - I had two of the titles mixed up. Thanks. :)

I ran across these older books in the library and then looked them up on Amazon where they have great reviews. Perhaps this series is what you are remembering: Happy Hollisters

My nearly 14 y/o STILL loves the Warriors books. He reads well beyond that level, but he's invested in the series.

My boys have read and loved the Warriors books, Percy Jackson, Wimpy Kid, How to Train Your Dragon series.

I was going to suggest The Boxcar Children. I loved those books as a kid. I had almost all of them! they were my favorite.

Probably not for 8-year-olds, but I read Enid Blytons books as a kid. She wrote mystery-kid-detective series, like The Five Find-Outers, and other types of stories. I'll link you up when I get on my computer.

Here's the Five Find-Outers:
http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/five-find-outers.php

The Wishing Chair:
http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/wishing-chair.php

I think for 8-year-olds, The Wishing Chair suits better than The Five Find-Outers series.

My younger sister loves the Usborne children's books. They have books for different reading levels. You can check them out here: http://www.usborne.com/catalogue/usb...e.aspx?area=YR

When my son was 8, I introduced him to the "Encyclopedia Brown" Series of books. He loved them but they are quite easy reading.

I second Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. My son is now 13 and he still loves to read the Big Nate books along with Diary of a Wimpy kid (new one coming in November!)

I also would recommend the Hardy Boys if you can find them. I grew up reading those and they are great.

Hello
 

Good topic.

My boys love the Diary of a Wimpy kid series...
They also enjoy Tom Anglebergers Origami Yoda series.
39 Clues
Harry Potter books took them a little longer because they were on the high end of their reading level, but they made it through and actually enjoyed them more than the movies.

Currently my 9 year old has been reading James Patterson's kids series books, The Middle School series is a good one, as well as the I Funny series (both are similar idea as Diary of a Wimpy Kid), and he LOVES the "Treasure Hunters"... and is very much looking forward to book 2 soon being released.

Personally I like trying to get him to read books that I loved at that age... I got him "Tales of a 4th Grade nothing" not too long ago, then he went to the library and was excited asking if I knew that there were more books to that series.... LOL