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#1
08-06-2010, 02:20 PM
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Book ideas for 8 or 12 yr old boys
My boys are not huge readers and I am trying to turn that around. I think the biggest obstacle is finding books that they enjoy but everything I suggest, they turn their nose up at them without even giving it a chance. UGH!!
I am looking for book or book series suggestions that will be good for an 8 year old boy, books that will be good for a 12 year old boy or maybe some that would be good for both. They have read all the Magic Treehouse books seemed to like those and my 12 year old seems to like the Warrior books. Other then that, I am clueless. Help!!
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Melissa
   
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#2
08-06-2010, 02:24 PM
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How about geronimo stilton or boxcar children for the 8yo? How about the percy jackson books for the older one (lightening thief etc)...DD is really loving the 39 clues series may appeal to either age group.
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Sarah Creating for Sugarplum Paperie, Scrap Stacks, Amy Wolff, Michelle Godin, Heather Joyce, Little Butterfly Wings, Two Tiny Turtles and blogging for One Little Bird.
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#3
08-06-2010, 02:27 PM
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My 7.5 yo son - who likes books when I read them, but is not much of an independent reader -- was very into the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. Maybe because they had the pictures, it seemed more fun to him.
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#4
08-06-2010, 02:30 PM
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My almost 9 year-old daughter is not a big reader either but the Geronimo Stilton books are turning that around! She loves them. They are a huge series. Her teacher told me the kids in her class couldn't get enough of them.
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~Jenn~
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#5
08-06-2010, 02:32 PM
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My boys (9 and 11) have read everything mentioned so far and loved them. They also have read the Harry Potter books, Eragon (older), Bunnicula (younger), Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, and bunches more I'm forgetting right now.
What first got them hooked on reading were comic books and Pokemon books (both the statistics books as well as the stories). Once they got hooked, they haven't stopped reading. They love to read about bugs and animals, too. One thing that helped, I think, is that we don't have TV and limit the time spent on electronics. In fact, they haven't had their DS's in months. About all they have left to do is play with their legos and read. 
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#6
08-06-2010, 02:34 PM
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I'm in the same boat with my 9yo son. He's read a few of the Hardy Boys books and liked them OK.
The book that he seemed to enjoy the most was The Cricket in Times Square. I remember that he was laughing out loud while reading it. I was just now (like 5 minutes ago!) was trying to get him to read a Hank Zipzer book I checked out of the library for him. He's resisting. I thought I would search YouTube videos for the Fonz to show him.
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**Mimi**
I tried to make my siggy as fancy as possible without opening up Photoshop. This was the best that I could do.
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#7
08-06-2010, 02:35 PM
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I got some good suggestions in this thread a while back too. My 10-year old is not much into reading either but it's getting a little better this summer with these suggestions. I just have to find ways to make it fun for him! And limited his "screen" time helps but that's not always easy for me to do when I'm trying to get things done
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KIM
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#9
08-06-2010, 02:45 PM
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Diary of a Wimpy Kid
39 Clues Series Magic Treehouse books Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary Goosebumps (a series of books) How to Train a Dragon (I can't remember who the author is but there is actually a series to this that is really good) Those are just a few that I could think of off the top of my head. I hope that helps!
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#11
08-06-2010, 03:02 PM
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Do the size of books impede them at all? It might help to start with smaller-looking books, too.
Older: Percy Jackson Gregor (Suzanne Collins) Mysterious Benedictine Society Artemis Fowl Star Wars books 39 Clues Hank the Cowdog (we actually get the audio for these and my 7yo giggles up a storm) Anything by Gary Paulsen Harry Potter My Father's Dragon Eragon My younger son is a terrific reader, he just doesn't like to do so. He's in love with Magic Schoolbus books right now - half comic/half text. He also likes Encyclopedia Brown. He much prefers to listen to audio or be read to.
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#12
08-06-2010, 03:08 PM
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#14
08-06-2010, 03:29 PM
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8 yr old: Secrets of Droon (series), Roman Mysteries, Chet Gecko mysteries, Geronimo Stilton
12 yr old: Percy Jackson series, Pendragon series, Artemis Fowl series, Gregor the Overlander series, any of Margaret Peterson Haddix's series
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#15
08-06-2010, 03:30 PM
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Tales of a 4th grade nothing
Mouse & the Motorcycle The Beezus & Ramona books The Fudge series All the above are pretty fun. For your older son - Roald Dahl books are awesome, James & the Giant Peach, etc. Many (most?) boys are not going to choose to read over video games or tv - you need to prod them along if you want to make them readers. Some things I do: certain time of day that is reading time. Period. You need to read. letting them read in bed in the evening before sleep - this totally made my 2nd son into a huge reader (granted you need to get them in bed sooner than later - if they are outside playing until 9:00 it's hard to get that reading time in) have them read and then come tell you about it (go read one chapter, then come tell me everything that happened) - this helped my kids get into the book and took away some of the alone factor, they looked forward to telling me what happened next HTH
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 EmmyHomeschooling mama to 4 little monkeys and 2 little sweeties! Our crazy boys are 11, 9, 8, 5 and our sweet twin girls are 2!
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#16
08-06-2010, 03:51 PM
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I think age 9 is when my own DS got into reading. Before that he HATED it! I think it is because the school books were so boring. The one that made him think wow! books can be fun was The Diary of a Killer Cat by Ann Fine (we're a cat household). He read a couple of similar smallish stories then we hit upon The Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. Oh my word! We never looked back. These books are full of black humour but my son adored them and he was so eager to get through the series there was no stopping him.
He then progressed at a very rapid rate to things like Eragon, the Darren Shan series (vampires for boys), Alex Rider, The Hunger Games. Goodness, I wouldn't know how to list everything he has read now. He is 15 and still his first love is his XBox but books aren't far behind. Unfortunately the libraries around here have such a poor selection for teen boys, so I end up buying them all. However, he can read the same book many times over so he does get value for money.
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#17
08-06-2010, 04:15 PM
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I have to second the Percy Jackson series, and the Gregor the Overlander series!!
My DS (12 years old) was a very reluctant reader...and those books changed everything for him. I loved them too!! I made him wait to read them, until I finished the book. LOL
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#19
08-06-2010, 04:18 PM
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 Penny
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#20
08-06-2010, 04:19 PM
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Also, the Chronicles of Prydain series (2 Newberry books in that one) by Lloyd Alexander are fabulous.
William Sleator also does some great ones (my husband's favorite book at that age was Interstellar Pig).
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Chelsey -------  
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#23
08-06-2010, 04:34 PM
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I also loved the Phantom Tollbooth. Still do.
I'll keep trying to come up with more ideas and will post when I think of them. This is something I'm passionate about, so I hope it doesn't get annoying!
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Chelsey -------
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#24
08-06-2010, 04:43 PM
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Here are some more:
Where the Red Fern Grows or Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls The Giver by Lois Lowry The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatly Snyder The Chronicles of Narnia Holes or Sideways Stories from Wayside School, both by Louis Sachar Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH The Indian in the Cupboard The Invention of Hugo Cabret The Westing Game Sign of the Beaver Maniac Magee Mr. Popper's Penguins
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Chelsey -------
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#25
08-06-2010, 05:42 PM
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JP's read pretty much everything in Darcy's posts. He's a voracious reader, going through several books a week. I worried about comprehension, but it's not a problem so far as we've seen.
Anyway, outside of the books Darcy mentioned, JP has also read and enjoyed: Fablehaven by Brandon Mull (all five books are great!!) Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadows/Hunter Brown and the Consuming Fire by the Miller brothers (Christopher and Allen--this series is Christian based, I had a friend write me a scathing e-mail for recommending 'such drivel' to her son.) Chet Gecko (they both love these, and Andrew and I love the titles) The Floods (Series) by Colin Thompson Edgar & Ellen (series) by Charles Ogden and Rick Carton Ranger's Apprentice (Series) John Flanagan Devin, on the other hand, swears up, down and sideways that he LOATHES reading (his word choice, not mine). It's a shame that he feels that way, he's a very good reader; he's been reading since he was three. If we are able to get him to sit down with a book (he doesn't even want to be read to at this point), he seems to prefer non-fiction books to fiction. The last two books HE chose at the library were fact books on bees and ladybugs. He's also enjoyed the You Wouldn't Want to Be series of books a lot.
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#26
08-11-2010, 03:47 PM
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I wish I could get DS 10 to read more, but he too has really enjoyed the Percy Jackson series and How to Train Your Dragon. For our six year old who isn't reading quite yet, we get the audio books and he's listened to all the stories--DS 10 actually LOVES the audio and has listened to a lot. He is also currently reading Tales of the Odessey by Mary Pope Osborne and really liking that. He's listened to the Odessey and had wanted to read it. This is a nice compromise for him. Otherwise, Roald Dahl is one of my favorite all-time authors. I've seen a set of his books at Costco recently for about $20 too.
Good luck! I think once you find that genre or series that clicks, it'll go well. For us it was definitely Percy Jackson that DS into readin fiction. Oh, I've heard a lot of good reviews on the Redwall series too. Might be good for the 12 yo.
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#28
08-11-2010, 04:32 PM
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LOVE your list, Chelsey! (and i love Phantom Tollbooth too...wish they'd release the movie version on DVD)
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