madteaparty Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 I think I ask this same question every two years, really. The last books he actually willingly read and enjoyed were The Last of the Great Whangdoodles, Diary of a Wimpy kid (to my chagrin), and the kid version of Les Miserables. He also finished all of the Beverly Cleary ones and even read a Judy Moody one What are your 8/9/10 year olds reading? I'm desperate for suggestions. Many thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homemama2 Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 How to train your dragon series and Encyclopedia Brown were big hits in trying to get them interested in reading here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Oh, oh, I know. The Secrets of Droon. :) The series is LONG, which is great in some ways. It also starts off with shorter books, the first 8 books are only 80 pages and according to AR has a reading level of around 3.0. The plot is very action packed. But the books aren't predictable in the same way as other series (Box car children, ...) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secrets_of_Droon This is the series that has my son reading. He went from reading for about 15 minutes a day because he had to - to reading for almost an hour a day. Once he finishs a book I then read it out loud so we can all share in the story. (Then Dh reads it out loud a little later) Other series I recommend that might work for you: (Ds has read 3 books in all these series. He has never went past three books due to lack of interest - unless otherwise noted. But he is now starting his 28th Droon book) Franny K. Stein (Ds read them all. Short books. Really funny. Great pictures) Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot (Ds read them all. Very short books, but fun) The Littles by John Peterson Moongobble by Bruce Coville The Dragon Slayers Academy by Kate McMullan Roland Wright by Tony Davis (Has only 3 books, but Ds was done at that point) Or you can go the graphic novel route Star Wars Clone Wars Adventures (Note the word Adventures, Dark Horse makes a series without the word Adventure in the title which is a littler darker, and the plot line doesn't carry over book to book. Series is 10 books long) Asterix Star Wars Omibus books I have heard also of the following graphic novels, but we never tired them - yet. Amulet Bone Warriors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 Thank you both. He found Encyclopedia Brown really dull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 My two enjoy Calvin and Hobbes and anything about bugs, dinosaurs, electricity or machines that is non-fiction. They are reading Stuart Little for school. They just finished Cricket in Times Square and enjoyed it. For the record, my DH is the same way. He just doesn't do fiction of any sort. He might read a fiction book once every ten years. On the other hand, he likes non-fiction histories. And like the boys, comic books are his "escape" fiction. Just my two cents, but if your boy doesn't like fiction, go whole hog on the non-fiction resources. Also take a look at what I would call "boy" books. One of the stories my boys really enjoyed hearing at eight was Call it Courage by Armstrong Sperry. He's got another one All Sail Set that I'm going to use after Stuart Little. I just checked out The Invention of Hugo Cabret for my mechanically minded child and The Enormous Egg for my dinosaur boy as additional reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 My two enjoy Calvin and Hobbes and anything about bugs, dinosaurs, electricity or machines that is non-fiction. They are reading Stuart Little for school. They just finished Cricket in Times Square and enjoyed it. For the record, my DH is the same way. He just doesn't do fiction of any sort. He might read a fiction book once every ten years. On the other hand, he likes non-fiction histories. And like the boys, comic books are his "escape" fiction. Just my two cents, but if your boy doesn't like fiction, go whole hog on the non-fiction resources. Also take a look at what I would call "boy" books. One of the stories my boys really enjoyed hearing at eight was Call it Courage by Armstrong Sperry. He's got another one All Sail Set that I'm going to use after Stuart Little. I just checked out The Invention of Hugo Cabret for my mechanically minded child and The Enormous Egg for my dinosaur boy as additional reading. This is interesting. He has been into "100 most dnagerous things on the planet" type books. What non fiction do you recomend? He did read Cricket in Times Square. We started that on 3 times before the time was right. Sigh. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 My 8yo prefers series. He loved reading all of the Magic Treehouse books. Not my favorite, but they turned him into a reader. He just finished the Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. He recently read Bunnicula in an afternoon and thought that was great too. He has been reading through Augusta Stevenson's Childhood of Famous American biographies, and he seems to find those inspiring. My ds really likes a lot of the snippets from the WWE series, so I use those as launch pads for some of his literature reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brookspr Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Mine doesn't like Encyclopedia Brown or the Choose Your Own Adventure series either. My 10yo son reads #1- anything Star Wars related. For free reading that is not associated with his lessons he has recently read: Lemony Snicket Series of Unfortunate Events books (read the whole series) Hugo Cabret (huge book but lots of whole-page pictures) and Wonderstruck, both written by Brian Selznick Wonder by R.J. Palacio (son and daughter both read in 5-6th grade and enjoyed it) Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements Travel Team by Mike Lupica The Rick Riordan Lightning Thief series March Toward the Thunder by Joseph Bruchac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 My recommendations would be anything heavily illustrated in the non-fiction camp. For a while my dinosaur child was into giant squid. His favorite book (checked out by me four times or more from the library for reading and re-reading) was Here there be Monsters. It wasn't an easy book for him. But the content was so interesting to him that he was willing and enjoyed working his way through it. For my child with the electricity fascination his favorite one has been a short book called Electricity. I went through several books before I found one with the right combination of text and pictures. Eyewittness books have not been favorites. I suspect the tiny text mingled with the pictures just bogs them down. I try to look for text with a picture on the next page, or about a half page illustration with text below. The layout really seems to have some effect on whether an interesting book gets read or not, particularly with my younger son. He's hFA, so that sort of makes sense to me. Any encyclopedia like tome seems to be a winner as well. One of our books this week, a second time check-out, is The Golden Treasure of Natural History. I'd find it dead dull. It's an encylopedia! Both boys were interested. Little boys are just a really different variety of the species, at least it seems that way to me. And, hey, I am not above making it worth their while to read fiction, if you know what I mean! We plan a treat or toy or day off of some kind to celebrate school readings. I don't do that for everything, but when I've got a lit book we are working on, complete with question/answer sessions and narrations for each chapter I think it pays to celebrate completing it. At any rate, after Cricket in Times Square(which they were sure they would hate, but ended up liking), they were both eager to get their "next prize book." It's like capturing a treasure ship. Hard work, you have to stick to it, but the rewards are great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 My 8yo prefers series. He loved reading all of the Magic Treehouse books. Not my favorite, but they turned him into a reader. He just finished the Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. He recently read Bunnicula in an afternoon and thought that was great too. He has been reading through Augusta Stevenson's Childhood of Famous American biographies, and he seems to find those inspiring. My ds really likes a lot of the snippets from the WWE series, so I use those as launch pads for some of his literature reading. WWE--Writing with Ease, correct? Thank you. Also, did he find Lemony Snicket very sad/depressing? i am torn on what I read on that one. On the other hand, we finished the HP series (as a read aloud mostly), so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted February 20, 2013 Author Share Posted February 20, 2013 Thanks again critterfixer. One my (and this is strictly my own) struggles is that my son is not really obsessed with anything. He goes through very short-lived phases... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 The Great Brain Series Brixton Brothers series Nicholas series (by René Goscinny) Freddy the Pig series Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Non-fiction history Horrible Histories Horrible Science Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 My 10 year old is reading The Last Dragon chronicles. They look really dumb to me. He also has recently enjoyed anything by Richard Peck, all the Percy Jackson stuff, the Pecos Bill newberry winner, Hatchet, anything by grace Lin.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 At that age, my ds loved A Series of Unfortunate Events. The books are well written, IMO, and engaging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 That age my ds liked the first Little Britches books by Ralph Moody. We did Island of the Blue Dolphins as a read-a-loud (me to him.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hwin Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 My son recently enjoyed The Pig Who Saved the World and The Pig Scrolls. It's okay writing (I having a hard time figuring out what kind of juvenile lit is "good") and there are a lot familiar faces from Greek mythology. Has the kind of humor boys typically enjoy. I'd say it was a similar reading level to the Lightning Thief books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheApprentice Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 American Chiller Series Homer Price The Whipping Boy Captain Underpants Series Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 WWE--Writing with Ease, correct? Thank you. Yes. Also, did he find Lemony Snicket very sad/depressing? i am torn on what I read on that one. On the other hand, we finished the HP series (as a read aloud mostly), so. No, not at all. The sad/depressing events aren't realistic at all. HP was on an entirely different level than A Series of Unfortunate Events. Snicket writes with tongue-in-cheek humor which my ds enjoys. Every so often in the book, Snicket warns something along the lines of, "You should put this book down now and read something else." :laugh: I loved the siblings' warm relationship, their tenacity and resourcefulness, and the advanced vocabulary Snicket liberally adds to the story. It's easy to read b/c Snicket puts the definitions right into the story. I suppose that could annoy an older kid, but my ds loved his humorous definitions. FWIW, I read the first two or three out loud and my ds devoured the rest on his own. My 10yo dd had no interest in independently reading any of the books, so they certainly don't speak to all kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaOz Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 My ds8 is not a strong reader as yet but he has been enjoying the Boxcar Children series and an abridged version of Robin Hood. It's good to see him enjoying these books because, for a while there, it didn't seem like he would ever get into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Thanks again critterfixer. One my (and this is strictly my own) struggles is that my son is not really obsessed with anything. He goes through very short-lived phases... Not at all. I'll trade you. How about one with very, very eclectic interests? I have checked out every book in two library systems on powerlines. Not electricity mind you. Powerlines. Before that it was fans. Not windmills. Not helicopters. Oscillating table top fans. I jumped for joy when he got into moths and spiders. But that was very short lived-a few weeks at best. Oh, and then there was drain-pipe (not laying pipe--just the pipes) and about two weeks of sea urchins (not other echinoderms)... Now you see why I offer rewards for books completed that I pick out! But, I'll say this. Reading has the potential to stimulate interest in something that previously wasn't interesting at all. After Cricket in Times Square, insects came up again as a thing of interest. Not every reading will do that, but I was pleased when a book on crickets and grasshoppers got interest as in, "Hey, Mom, look! Chester!" So while I don't just go out of my way to pick "boring, MOM!" books, I've been known to reward sticking with it, and sometimes a new interest sprouts where there wasn't much of anything before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 My ds8 is not a strong reader as yet but he has been enjoying the Boxcar Children series and an abridged version of Robin Hood. It's good to see him enjoying these books because, for a while there, it didn't seem like he would ever get into it. The Boxcar Children books turned my 10yo into a fluent reader and book lover. 😠I thought the series would never end. I was ready for her to move onto bigger and better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moniksca Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Ds loved Roald Dahl books, he reading the How to Train a Dragon series as well. He also like The Indian in the Cupboard series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFM Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Non-fiction history Horrible Histories Horrible Science Same here add in Roald Dahl, the Warriors series and just recently Hardy Boys and Animorphs.He LOVES encyclopedias! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 DS1 turned 8 last week and is reading the Will of Gettysburg book in the Boys of Wartime series. It's his first really big book (like, aside from easy chapter books like Ready Freddy, Magic Treehouse, and Time Warp Trio, all of which he has also liked), and he's really, really enjoying it. (It does probably help that it references a lot of places he actually knows, but I skimmed it and thought it was a very good story.) His older sister is reading the first of Erin Hunter's Warriors books (warrior cats -- what could be better?!), and when DS1 heard that there was a series about warrior dogs by the same author, he asked for it. I'm not sure if it will be too much for him or not, but I've requested it from the library, so we'll see. He LOVES Percy Jackson, but we're doing those as family readalouds, so I don't know if he'd be quite up for reading them on his own or not. He also gets interested in some of the snippets from WWE2, such as Ginger Pye. I think he'd also like Carolyn Haywood's books about boys, such as the Eddie books or Peter and Penny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sade Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Egyptian Diary by Richard Platt (and he has other "Diary" books, too that we haven't read yet but plan to); Jeremy Strong has some really funny chapter books We loved, loved, loved The 26 Fairmount Ave series by Tomie dePaola Trumpet of the Swan was another favorite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 We loved, loved, loved The 26 Fairmount Ave series by Tomie dePaola My 10yo loved this series when she was younger! We had read most of his picture books before she started the chapter series. My 8yo won't even open the book. So disappointing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbanSue Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Roald Dahl is popular with my 8yo. I'm from the town where the Boxcar Children books take place--it's one and only claim to fame. That's a long, not-very-difficult and engaging series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Also, if you are not strictly opposed to graphic novels, my 8yo really likes the Tin Tin books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Also, if you are not strictly opposed to graphic novels, my 8yo really likes the Tin Tin books. Seconding. 'round here Droon has dramatically improved love of reading, trumping Magic Treehouse ... and now :leaving: ..... 'cause Droon is not high literature. but it's sparked an interest in things castle-related for some reason .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Definitely Roald Dahl. A HUGE favorite here. At 8, oldest DS almost passed out laughing while reading George's Marvelous Medicine. Dahl gets boys. Also, around that age, DS loved Harry the Poisonous Centipede and sequels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chloe Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Definitely Roald Dahl. A HUGE favorite here. Yes! My 10 yo son enjoys Dahl's books as well. Others he's enjoyed lately are The Borrowers, The Great Brain, The Enormous Egg, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, The Boxcar Children and Kensuke's Kingdom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 books ds 8.5 enjoyed reading in no particular order: Dragon Rider Harry Potter Lightning Thief Farmer Boy A Year Down Yonder A Witch Family (by Estes I seen this at Goodwill after we did Ginger Pye as a read aloud and he seemed to really enjoy it) Umm, and now I'm drawing a blank. I have a huge shelf full of books in his room and when he finishes one I tell him to pick out another and he can read pretty fast if he is interested. I'm always searching for finds of classic or interesting newer books at Goodwill and such so when he has quiet time I have him pick out something to read for awhile. Right now he is reading one by James Patterson that mil bought him called , "I Funny," it looked pretty silly to me but he seems to be enjoying it ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Anything by Sid Fleishman was a hit--the action moves fast and they are really funny. Roald Dahl here, too--The Twits is a very quick read and hilarious, but in a gross and fantastic way. Others are more realistic. BFG was a fav. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lots of boys Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 My ds 9 is reading the 39 Clues series. This is the first series he was willing to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Definitely Roald Dahl. A HUGE favorite here. Dahl is my 8yo's favorite author, but he hasn't read any of the books independently. I've read them all out loud b/c they are so fun. The BFG is hard to read out loud. Dahl has a couple great picture books (with higher reading levels) that would be great start into his books. The picture book(s) we've read were as entertaining as the chapter books, so that may spark a love of Dahl if your ds is a bit hesitant with the chapter books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 You also may want to consider more advanced phonics work...reading is more enjoyable if it is easy. Here are some reading grade level tests, anyone who is reading below a 12th grade level can benefit from higher level phonics. http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/readinggradeleve.html The things on my how to tutor page or my online phonics lessons have advanced phonics topics. If you want a different resource, I also like Megawords and Marcia Henry's Words, or working through the 1879 McGuffey readers, starting a bit below level. The difficult words are marked and highlighted so you work on those first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomemom Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 I wonder if he'd like the Redwall series? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katie Jean Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 I wonder if he'd like the Redwall series? Both my ds 10 and 13 love these Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katie Jean Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 "We plan a treat or toy or day off of some kind to celebrate school readings. I don't do that for everything, but when I've got a lit book we are working on, complete with question/answer sessions and narrations for each chapter I think it pays to celebrate completing it" (Please forgive my pathetic iPhone html attempt to quote without quoting the entire post) Fabulous idea! I have a hard time getting my ds10 to branch out for deeper literary works. He just finished the Christopher Paolini series and The Lord of the Rings. He really likes fantasy and dragons etc. He is reading Mossflower by Brian Jacques right now. I try to be grateful he is reading period-he has a great vocabulary but I don't want him missing out on great titles for his age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuddleJumper1 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 My ds absolutely loved Hank the Cow Dog books at that age. His laughter rang through the house. I failed to see the extreme humor but he loved them :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgrubbs Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I have a reluctant reader and I'm assuming your son must be also? My oldest was an advanced reader once he finally learned how but my middle son just doesn't like to read. I'm going to give you suggestions that the middle son has enjoyed - The Stink Moody Books A-Z Mysteries - Ron Roy - simple and straightforward and there are 26 of them! This is the series that got my oldest reading alot in 2nd grade, but my middle son has read some of them in 4th grade Sign of the Beaver - he read last fall as assigned schoolwork but really enjoyed it. We discovered a movie version at the library this week and that was fun to watch. Eli Whitney, Boy Mechanic Magic Tree House books. He likes the more recent ones the most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisabees Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 DD9 has recently loved the Anybodies series. She is currently reading From the Mixed Up Files and Any Which Wall. I agree with the PPs about non-fiction. It's worth a shot. Dahl has been an especially great hit here. Here are some random ideas for you. Bunnicula Wayside School stories Ralph S. Mouse (not sure if your ds has read those by Cleary) Chocolate Touch, Chocolate Fever, Freckle Juice Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist The Name of This Book is Secret series Moomintroll series Emil and Karlson books (and any others) by Astrid Lindgren Magic Thief series George's Secret Key to the Universe series Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 He stayed up late last night reading "The tell-tale start," featuring homeschooled (I didn't know! Honest!) twins Edgar & Allan Poe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sade Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Wise Guy The Life and Philosophy of Socrates by MD Usher Funny, wonderful illustrations (William Bramhall) and written in an interesting way, not dry and boring at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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