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I need some GREAT read-alouds for boys...any suggestions?


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My son is so excited that we will not have 'scheduled' read-alouds this next year. We have used SL for several years and though they have some great read-alouds, my son is getting a tad tired of so MUCH historical fiction. So, since we are using TOG year 1 this next year and they do not schedule actual read-alouds, we are going to pick some of our own and just read for the sheer pleasure of a good story. I would love some suggestions! He really likes adventure, but he's not into war stories (think Henty). He liked Johnny Tremain OK, but it wasn't a huge hit with us like it is for some. Not one he'd want to read again.

 

He LOVED Sign of the Beaver, Jason's Gold and it's sequel Down the Yukon, also Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry, Little Britches, and Carry On, Mr. Bowditch. Those were some very favorite, favorites. I think he likes human interest stories that have adventure as well as heart.

 

Oh, and he just finished reading Redwall and LOVED IT! He wants the whole series.

 

I would love some suggestions! The only book I know I will be reading aloud this next year is God King. It was my oldest sons' favorite book from SL Core 6 and one I could read again and still enjoy myself. ;)

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And there are so many Redwall books, that will keep him going for quite a while!

My son has begun reading a series by Frank Peretti called 'The Cooper Kids Adventure Series". There are 5 or 6 books in the series. They are advertised for ages 10 - 14.

 

Joyce:D

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My ds has enjoyed these

 

Larklight by Philip Pullman. It is set in Victorian England, except that the Victorians have discovered how to build space crafts and the English Empire now stretches across the galaxy.

 

101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith. This is so much better than the Disney version and there is a sequel.

 

Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. Again, so much better than the Disney Version.

 

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke.

 

Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke.

 

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

 

The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer

 

Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

 

 

Those are just some of the books that I have read aloud to my son in the past 6 months. He has really enjoyed them all.

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He has all of the Narnia books on CD, and has listened to them all...so my reading them aloud would not even compare! :D

 

The Cooper Kids series is good. We have a few of them already.

 

In searching Amazon I have run across a book that looks interesting: The Mysterious Benedict Society. My son has read the entire Lemony Snicket series and loved it. This one seems to be along the same lines. Has anyone read it? Is it too much in the lines of 'twaddle' to be considered good literature? I guess that is what I am looking for in a read-aloud; quality literature.

 

How about some good boy classics along the lines of Gentle Ben (another one we read and loved!). Is Treasure Island good? I have personally never read it. How about Rascal? I have looked at it many times but it seems rather dull(?) Adventure is a must! ;)

 

Thanks for the suggestions so far! Keep um comin'... ;)

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has been a success here. I have an 11 yo boy too. I second the Little House series-he couldn't get into reading them himself (except Farmer Boy) but as recorded books, they've been a big hit. I also listen to a recording of William Steig's wonderful chapter book, Dominic, every summer in the car, but it is slightly young for my ds-he loves the tradition anyway. The bravery of Dominic, the happy ending, the wry humor, make that story a perennial favorite here.

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We're loving Tom Sawyer right now. My very reluctant to listen to me read aloud 8 year old son, is actually enjoying it, too. Granted, I have to translate some for him.

I think Treasure Island would be good...and also Robinson Crusoe--We read two books this year where the character read Robinson Crusoe (Sign of the Beaver and another Sonlight one) so I'm thinking we should check it out.

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My son is so excited that we will not have 'scheduled' read-alouds this next year. We have used SL for several years and though they have some great read-alouds, my son is getting a tad tired of so MUCH historical fiction. So, since we are using TOG year 1 this next year and they do not schedule actual read-alouds, we are going to pick some of our own and just read for the sheer pleasure of a good story. I would love some suggestions! He really likes adventure, but he's not into war stories (think Henty). He liked Johnny Tremain OK, but it wasn't a huge hit with us like it is for some. Not one he'd want to read again.

 

He LOVED Sign of the Beaver, Jason's Gold and it's sequel Down the Yukon, also Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry, Little Britches, and Carry On, Mr. Bowditch. Those were some very favorite, favorites. I think he likes human interest stories that have adventure as well as heart.

 

Oh, and he just finished reading Redwall and LOVED IT! He wants the whole series.

 

I would love some suggestions! The only book I know I will be reading aloud this next year is God King. It was my oldest sons' favorite book from SL Core 6 and one I could read again and still enjoy myself. ;)

 

If you haven't read the entire Ralph Moody series (Little Britches is only the first, that would be a MUST, imo.

 

Penrod is a fun book for boys starring a mischievous (but well-meaning) boy of 12.

 

Shadow Hawk by Andre Norton was a favorite as well--it is also published by Bethlehem books.

 

Ali and the Golden Eagle is a riveting story (published by Sonlight) that centers around an American businessman befriending an Arab boy who trains a golden eagle like others train falcons. Fascinating look at another culture.

 

The Hobbit held the interest of my family for many weeks while we read it aloud.

 

Kidnapped by RLS is a classic that we just recently read aloud and was enjoyed by all.

 

And while we are on classics, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is an another worthy read, just right for the ages of your children. (It is much more lighthearted than Huck Finn).

 

Rolf and the Viking Bow ranks in my top 10 of historical fiction for kids--lots of twists and turns as well as discussion fodder on justice and law.

 

How about some of James Herriot's stories since you mentioned being burnt out on historical fiction? They are an engaging look at life as an English vet meets up with many colorful characters.

 

For comic relief, look into the humorous stories of outdoor life by Patrick McManus. He's written many titles over the years; I think the older ones are better than the newer ones. One possibility: They Shoot Canoes, Don't They?

 

Have fun reading!

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Some all time favorites of our boys. Enjoy! and happy reading! Warmly, Lori D.

 

 

FANTASY

 

- The Reluctant Dragon (Grahame) -- short, light, funny

- The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (Aiken) -- very fun; "Charles Dickens-like" adventure

- Chronicles of Narnia (Lewis)

- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Carroll)

- Half Magic; Magic by the Lake, Knight's Castle; Time Garden; Seven Day Magic (Eager)

- Five Children and It; The Phoenix and the Carpet; The Amulet (Nesbit)

- The Book of Dragons (Nesbit) -- 7 short stories; very fun and creative

- The Father Christmas Letters (Tolkien) -- fun and funny!

- Secret of Platform 13 (Ibbotson) -- a little like Harry Potter, but much gentler, kinder, moral

- City of Ember; People of Sparks (Du Prau)

- The Ordinary Princess (Kaye) -- VERY fun and funny!

- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Fleming)

- Charlie & the Chocolate Factory; Great Glass Elevator (Dahl)

- The Never Ending Story (Ende)

- The Hobbit (Tolkien)

- Farmer Giles of Ham (Tolkien) short story

 

 

 

FUN TALL TALE

 

- The Whipping Boy (Fleischman) -- very funny

- By the Great Horn Spoon (Fleischman) -- very fun and funny

- Just So Stories (Kipling)

- Adventures of TinTin (Herge)

- The Great Turkey Walk (Karr)

- Holes (Sachar)

- The Twenty-One Balloons (DuBois) -- Jules Verne-like story, 1800s inventor

 

 

 

MYSTERY / DETECTIVE

 

- Detectives in Togas; Mystery of the Roman Ransom (Winterfeld) -- 4 ancient Roman boys solve a mystery

- Ghost in the Tokaido Inn (Hoobler) and others in the series -- 1700s Japan boy and a samurai/judge "Sherlock Holmes"

- Case of the Baker Street Irregular (Newman) -- 1890s boy helps Sherlock Holmes

 

 

 

ADVENTURE IN THE PAST -- very exciting; did not feel like historical fiction

 

- Twenty and Ten (Bishop) -- WWII French children hide Jewish children from Nazis

- Snow Treasure (McSwigan))-- WWII Norweigan children hide the country's gold from Nazis

- Adam of the Road (Gray) -- Medieval England boy travels trying to find his stolen dog

- The Master Puppeteer (Paterson) - 1700s Japan boy

 

 

 

REAL LIFE ADVENTURE

 

- The Toothpaste Millionaire (Merrill)

- From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (Konigsburg)

- In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson (Lord) -- funny

- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Robinson) -- funny

- Island of the Blue Dolphins (O'Dell) -- true story; Indian girl marooned alone on an island

- Naya Nuki: Shoshone Girl Who Ran (Thomasa) -- true story; Indian girl escapes slavery to another tribe and travels 1000 miles to get home

- Behind Rebel Lines (Reit) -- true story; teen girl disguised as a boy was a Union spy in Civil War

- Born in the Year of Courage (Crofford) -- shipwrecked teen Japanese fisher boy

- The Secret Garden; The Lost Prince (Burnett) -- classics from just post-Victorian times

 

 

 

ANIMAL ADVENTURES

 

- Rikki Tikki Tavi (Kipling) -- short story

- The Black Stallion, The Black Stallion Returns, Island Stallion (Farley)

- My Side of the Mountain (George) -- boy living in the wild on his own

- Ben and I (Lawson) -- funny; mouse who was the "brains" behind Ben Franklin

- The Rescuers, Miss Bianca, Miss Bianca in the Orient (Sharpe) -- very fun adventures; nothing like the Disney films!

- Basil of Baker Street (Titus) -- a Sherlock Holmes mouse

- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (O'Brien)

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Wow! You have all been a great help!

 

I was able to get

Peter and the Starcatchers

Summer of the Monkeys

The Hobbit

Freddy goes to Florida

Freddy the Detective

and Rascal all free on Paperbackswap.com :D

 

Saved in my Amazon cart I have:

Hostage Lands by Douglas Bond

Penrod

Tucket's Travels

Way Back in the Ozarks

and Man of the Family by Ralph Moody

 

Saved for later use in my cart (for TOG's Year 2) are:

Knights Castle and

The Hidden treasure of Glaston

 

I have stayed clear of adding in too many fantasy novels. We like some fantasy, but are, in general, not big fans of it.

 

Wow, what a list...keep them coming, you guys are great!

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Some all time favorites of our boys. Enjoy! and happy reading! Warmly, Lori D.

 

 

FANTASY

 

- The Reluctant Dragon (Grahame) -- short, light, funny

- The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (Aiken) -- very fun; "Charles Dickens-like" adventure

- Chronicles of Narnia (Lewis)

- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Carroll)

- Half Magic; Magic by the Lake, Knight's Castle; Time Garden; Seven Day Magic (Eager)

- Five Children and It; The Phoenix and the Carpet; The Amulet (Nesbit)

- The Book of Dragons (Nesbit) -- 7 short stories; very fun and creative

- The Father Christmas Letters (Tolkien) -- fun and funny!

- Secret of Platform 13 (Ibbotson) -- a little like Harry Potter, but much gentler, kinder, moral

- City of Ember; People of Sparks (Du Prau)

- The Ordinary Princess (Kaye) -- VERY fun and funny!

- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Fleming)

- Charlie & the Chocolate Factory; Great Glass Elevator (Dahl)

- The Never Ending Story (Ende)

- The Hobbit (Tolkien)

- Farmer Giles of Ham (Tolkien) short story

 

 

 

FUN TALL TALE

 

- The Whipping Boy (Fleischman) -- very funny

- By the Great Horn Spoon (Fleischman) -- very fun and funny

- Just So Stories (Kipling)

- Adventures of TinTin (Herge)

- The Great Turkey Walk (Karr)

- Holes (Sachar)

- The Twenty-One Balloons (DuBois) -- Jules Verne-like story, 1800s inventor

 

 

 

MYSTERY / DETECTIVE

 

- Detectives in Togas; Mystery of the Roman Ransom (Winterfeld) -- 4 ancient Roman boys solve a mystery

- Ghost in the Tokaido Inn (Hoobler) and others in the series -- 1700s Japan boy and a samurai/judge "Sherlock Holmes"

- Case of the Baker Street Irregular (Newman) -- 1890s boy helps Sherlock Holmes

 

 

 

ADVENTURE IN THE PAST -- very exciting; did not feel like historical fiction

 

- Twenty and Ten (Bishop) -- WWII French children hide Jewish children from Nazis

- Snow Treasure (McSwigan))-- WWII Norweigan children hide the country's gold from Nazis

- Adam of the Road (Gray) -- Medieval England boy travels trying to find his stolen dog

- The Master Puppeteer (Paterson) - 1700s Japan boy

 

 

 

REAL LIFE ADVENTURE

 

- The Toothpaste Millionaire (Merrill)

- From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (Konigsburg)

- In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson (Lord) -- funny

- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Robinson) -- funny

- Island of the Blue Dolphins (O'Dell) -- true story; Indian girl marooned alone on an island

- Naya Nuki: Shoshone Girl Who Ran (Thomasa) -- true story; Indian girl escapes slavery to another tribe and travels 1000 miles to get home

- Behind Rebel Lines (Reit) -- true story; teen girl disguised as a boy was a Union spy in Civil War

- Born in the Year of Courage (Crofford) -- shipwrecked teen Japanese fisher boy

- The Secret Garden; The Lost Prince (Burnett) -- classics from just post-Victorian times

 

 

 

ANIMAL ADVENTURES

 

- Rikki Tikki Tavi (Kipling) -- short story

- The Black Stallion, The Black Stallion Returns, Island Stallion (Farley)

- My Side of the Mountain (George) -- boy living in the wild on his own

- Ben and I (Lawson) -- funny; mouse who was the "brains" behind Ben Franklin

- The Rescuers, Miss Bianca, Miss Bianca in the Orient (Sharpe) -- very fun adventures; nothing like the Disney films!

- Basil of Baker Street (Titus) -- a Sherlock Holmes mouse

- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (O'Brien)

 

Thank you Lori! What a fabulous list! We have already read many of these over the years, but there are a few newbies that I'll definitely check out. ;)

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We read three of them last year and we all LOVED them! Lots of great adventures with Ralph and his family. I actually cried at the end of them!

 

jeri

 

I know what you mean Jeri! We read Little Britches this year and I had to hand the book to my son several times to read aloud because I was just too choked up to finish. Especially at the end! I just couldn't read it, my son had too.

Whenever I get all teary-eyed in a read-aloud, which can be quite often, he'll say with an exaggerated roll of his eyes, "Geez, hand it over mom, I'll read it." And then he'll make fun of me for DAYS. LOL!

Boys, ya gotta luv um. ;)

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Hi Melissa,

 

I haven't read all your replies but here are some my ds likes. We read Little Britches this year in sonlight and we are currently working through the sequels, right now we are reading Home Ranch. Roll of Thunder also has sequels. What about the Gary Paulson books? These have lots of adventure in them and include Hatchet, Dogsong, Brian's Winter, and others.

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Hi Melissa,

Roll of Thunder also has sequels.

 

Thanks Paula! I had no idea that Roll of Thunder has sequels! I have just put the next book, Let the Circle be Unbroken, in my Amazon cart. :D

 

I have also added in The Wolves of Willoughby Chase to my cart and due to an Amazon promotion will get it free of charge.

 

After always relying on Sonlight Cores for my read-alouds, I am finding that picking out our own books is rather fun! :w00t:

 

Woohoo! I am excited to start reading!

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Well, my son (9) is really enjoying Swiss Family Robinson. The language is challenging, but it is full of fascinating information, and right up any boys alley with all the great contraptions they build to make life easier on the island. We started it a year ago (we were building a tree house and I thought it was appropriate) and it has taken a while to read (my fault mostly, but like I said, it is not a book you fly through), but we are about to finish up, and even my 7yo daughter has enjoyed listening to it. It usually inspires my son to go look up a picture of some animal they discover, or read about some plant or decide to build his own chairs for the treehouse. I think it is a GREAT summer read aloud. My last blog post listed some of our summer reading list if you want to check it out also: St. Theophan Academy

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Rolf and the Viking Bow ranks in my top 10 of historical fiction for kids--lots of twists and turns as well as discussion fodder on justice and law.

 

 

I'm going to have to read Rolf and the Viking Bow soon....ds said this was one of his favorites; he read it 2 or 3 times. He also liked another book by Allen French, The Red Keep.

 

And a few more:

 

Ones we've read aloud....

 

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame -- The author wrote the story after telling it to his son for many years, so it was meant to be read-aloud.

 

The Light Princess by George MacDonald -- Ds, dd & I liked this fairy tale; there are lots of little things to "chew on" afterwards. The tale is about a princess who has lost her gravity and how she gets it back. This is in the literal sense (she floats around like a helium balloon) and in the figurative sense (as in, she doesn't quite understand the gravity of the situation).

 

A few that ds11 enjoyed this past year (read independently):

 

The Wanderings of Odysseus by Rosemary Sutcliff (it has a historical setting, but the various creatures & characters makes this more like fantasy fiction, IMO)

 

The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang and several other color fairy books (some of these are available free online; I'll link a recent post w/the list & links here)

 

For read-alouds, we all love books by Hilda Van Stockum. Our favorite series is the Bantry Bay series: The Cottage at Bantry Bay, Francie on the Run, and Pegeen. These are realistic fiction set in Ireland, maybe in the 1920s. (Even better if read aloud in your best Irish accent.:001_smile:)

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I know I started this thread asking about boys read-alouds, but since so many are gleaning from it, I thought I would add a few more of our personal favorites.

 

Blackthorn Winter by Douglas Wilson (a Veritas Press Exclusive) My youngest son absolutely loved this book and did not want to put it down. There are two more in the series, but this is the first.

 

The My America Series:

My America: Elizabeth's Jamestown Colony Diary by Patricia Hermes

My American: Joshua's Oregon Trail Diary by Patricia Hermes

My America: Hope's Revolutionary War Diary by Patricia Hermes

Each of these have a series of about three books. He read these for fun alongside his regular scheduled SL reading. They were very much enjoyed!

 

The Story of Eli Whitney and Carry on. Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham

Justin Morgan Had a Horse by Henry

Robert Fulton, Boy Craftsman by Henry

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Speare

The Sign of the Beaver by Speare

The Matchlock Gun by Edmonds

Meet George Washington by Heilbroner

The Seventeenth Swap by McGraw

By the Great Horn Spoon by Fleischman

 

My older boys very much enjoyed:

Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer by Twain

A Single Shard by Park

God King by Williamson

Master Cornhill by McGraw

The Great & Terrible Quest by Lovett (Sonlight Published, I believe)

Moonshiner's Son by Reeder

Slopes of War by Perez

Nothing to Fear by Koller

Murder on the Orient Express by Christie

All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque

Fallen Angels by Meyers (Sonlight Core 300) Very intense, a lot of language, but riveting. My son could not put it down.

Frankenstein by Shelly (My 17 yo REALLY enjoyed this book, much to his own surprise ;))

 

There were, of course, others that they enjoyed, but these were their top, top favorites that I can recall.

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My 9yo son also loves the Great Brain series (I think there are 8).

Also:

Broken Blade - Durbin

Hatchet (I edited a bit as I read, but great story!)

Chronicles of Narnia

Indian in the Cupboard

Akavak and Eskimo Journey (and other James Houston stories)

Henry Reed books

Soup books

Jackie and Me (Gutman)

Baseball books by Matt Christopher

Call of the Wild

Various Classic Starts (abridged classics)

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