MeganW Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Is there a book series like the American Girl book series, but geared toward boys? My crew is reading on about a 3rd grade level. Looking for something with kids with decent attitudes, decent grammar, some new vocab, learning about a period in history through a story, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poiema Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily_Grace Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 I wish. The closest we get is My America, the younger Dear America series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Yeah, there really aren't many history teaching series for young children. Horrible Histories and Magic Treehouse are the only others I can think of off the top for the younger crowd, but neither of those fit your specifications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 I would like to find something like this as well. I've heard about the Childhood of Famous Americans series--maybe those would work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily_Grace Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 My dream someday is to put together book packages for boys. Like the AG thing, but no dolls. :) If I can't find series then good lit like Carry On Mr. Bowditch, My Side of the Mountain, A Single Shard...and each coming with a map, 2-3 activities or toys, and a historical notes/nature study book. Fun stuff that's not girly. I keep doing it for my own kid and it gets expensive, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 There is the "Who Was" series. http://www.us.penguingroup.com/static/packages/us/yreaders/books4boys/series_whowas.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama2two Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 My 8 year old boy enjoys reading AG books. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 Not really. But there are tons of wonderful hist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 Not really. But there are tons of wonderful historical fiction. You just have to find them. 1000 good books, SL, HOD and all have great ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinivanMom Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 Not really. But there are tons of wonderful historical fiction. You just have to find them. 1000 good books, SL, HOD and all have great ideas. I agree. There aren't any good series for boys, but there are many wonderful historical fiction books with boy protagonists. You just have to do the research to find them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LearningMomm Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 I would like to find something like this as well. I've heard about the Childhood of Famous Americans series--maybe those would work? My ds7 *loves* the Childhood of Famous American series. When I gave him each book, I found a little toy or something to go along with it. He loved it. I'm actually giving him the last books (because he's been reading them to go with our history studies) with something to go along with each as a first day of school present in January when we start. :) There isn't something exactly equivalent as AG dolls for boys, but as others said there are a lot of other options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 My ds7 *loves* the Childhood of Famous American series. When I gave him each book, I found a little toy or something to go along with it. He loved it. I'm actually giving him the last books (because he's been reading them to go with our history studies) with something to go along with each as a first day of school present in January when we start. :) There isn't something exactly equivalent as AG dolls for boys, but as others said there are a lot of other options. I just finished reading the book about Wilbur and Orville Wright. I happened to have the gyro-scope mentioned in one of the chapters, so that was neat. I hope I like the books in the "Who Was" series even better since my library is going to buy them for me. I don't think I can now convince them to buy the "Childhood of Famous American" series also since it's older. (We are also in Canada so that isn't a perfect fit. Have you read books from both series? Do you have a preference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 My 8 year old boy enjoys reading AG books. We have AG books on our to read list but haven't gotten to it yet. DS is fascinated by the dolls and series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSUBuckeye Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 I'm not a boy, but rather a girl who loved inventors at that age (Ben Franklin, Edison, Wright Brothers, Einstein), and Childhood of Famous Americans was a historical fiction series I loved (based on the real historical figures, but full of childhood dialogue that wasn't actually recorded). The black-and-white & chapter book feel to them made them take longer to read than an American girl book (I could cruise through an AG book in one sitting, but CoFA's took a day or two). However, they're excellent for that transitional stage into full chapter books - Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys was my next step in reading level after the Childhood series. And boys tend to gravitate toward more non-fiction, and these books, while fictional, have the feel of non-fiction. The authors do a good job of explaining the historical context of the situation, like Dr. Seuss's book talked about German-American businesses closing during World War I or changing to more American-sounding names due to discrimination. This is done by talking about the local bread-maker and the other people within the context of the story. The Childhood series is great too because they tie in moral lessons that are kid-appropriate and related to why the person became famous. Edison had a chemistry lab kit that would blow up from time to time, and he worked selling newspapers on a train to make money, both of which lead to his persistence as an inventor; Abraham Lincoln didn't have much schooling, so he self-studied books; Susan B. Anthony didn't appreciate that only boys were taught long division so she learned it anyway. Later she became an advocate for women's suffrage. Other book recommendations... Dear America's boy books (the Civil War one was good) Bull Run, by Sid Fleishman - Civil War Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (the narrator is a girl, but the most memorable character is a boy) - 1930s south, civil rights Bud, Not Buddy - 1930s Great Depression Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1960s civil rights Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwg Posted December 25, 2012 Share Posted December 25, 2012 I have not read these yet so ymmv! However some friends are checking these out: I Survived series http://www.amazon.com/Survived-Bombing-Pearl-Harbor-1941/dp/0545206987/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1356478396&sr=8-3&keywords=pearl+harbor+books+for+kids Boys of Wartime http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Wartime-Daniel-Siege-Boston/dp/0142417505/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356478894&sr=1-1&keywords=boys+of+wartime My ds read the Roman Mysteries series and learned a lot about ancient Rome. I am interested to hear others! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 I have not read these yet so ymmv! However some friends are checking these out: I Survived series http://www.amazon.co... books for kids Boys of Wartime http://www.amazon.co...boys of wartime My ds read the Roman Mysteries series and learned a lot about ancient Rome. I am interested to hear others! Both of those look promising and they both show how a boy equivalent would need to be different... disasters and war being one potential model. Mysteries being another. It would be cool to see a series that was all boy-focused mysteries or maybe adventures in different time periods. When I heard Valerie Tripp talk about the inception of the AG books and the dolls, I really took away how the extension of the books outside to a tangible thing was important for many kids, so I think maybe if there was a toy to go with it, that would be cool. Action figures? Playmobil tie ins? Something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen. Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 I just looked at www.boyscampbooks.com that talks about stories for boys inspired by the American Girl books and may have been written by Valerie Tripp. I couldn't find anything else about thes books or where they're sold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macmacmoo Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 I just looked at www.boyscampbooks.com that talks about stories for boys inspired by the American Girl books and may have been written by Valerie Tripp. I couldn't find anything else about thes books or where they're sold. I think I found the first one: http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Camp-Book-Zacks-Story/dp/1620875284 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRC Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 I’d encourage you to let your son read an AG book! He might enjoy the series instead of having to find a substitute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 ANOTHER new poster resurrecting a ZOMBIE THREAD... clearly, the Zombie Apocalypse is upon us... 😂🧟♂️ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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