MeganW Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 James loves to read almanacs & other nonfiction (especially lists of facts rather than sentences), but has had a lot of trouble getting going on stories. He will read them if required to, but not voluntarily. His phonics are solid – he can easily read the words in books on a 5th grade level, but just has no clue what is going on in those higher level books. He recently picked up “The Robinson Crusoe Reader†by Julia Cowles & Michael McHugh. This is a Christian Liberty Press book that is considered 2nd grade. I don’t know if it is the reading level, the number of words on the page, the pictures, or the more boyish adventure theme, or what, but suddenly J is actually interested in reading. He says he will only read this one book though b/c it is the only interesting book there is. :( I would love suggestions for books that are similar in difficulty and boyish themes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 My public school friends are suggesting "Captain Underpants". I'm not that desperate. Yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 My ds is enjoying the Classic Starts Robin Hood. There are lots of other Classic Starts as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 How about the Secret Seven books and Hardy Boys books? http://www.enidblyto...ecret-seven.php http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Hardy_Boys The font size for Secret Seven is larger and the books are thinner compared to Hardy Boys. ETA: Famous Five books too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Zac Powers - there are a range of levels and the cool gadgets seem to appeal, Horrid Henry (not adventure but funny),magic treehouse?, secret seven? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4Kiddos Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Maybe he would like the Billy and Blaze books by C.W. Anderson? My boys have also enjoyed and been highly motivated by the vintage Benefic Press Readers. They love Cowboy Sam (western), Dan Frontier, Tom Logan (western), and Peter and the Rocket. They are leveled readers so the beginning ones might be too easy for him but the later ones might be perfect. I found mine through eBay. They also love "Stories of Robin Hood Told to the Children" by H.E. Marshall. I think this one might be at a higher reading level though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cagirlintexas Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Logan enjoyed zac powers, captain awesome, franny stein, Nate the great, cam Jansen they have 2 levels of these, captain underpants (yuck), Roscoe Riley rules, magic tree house, my fathers dragon (3 of these), zac power test drive was easier he read that on the kindle. Was going to try the secret seven series just trying to figure out how to order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Encyclopedia Brown and Hardy Boys (the old original Hardy Boys...not the newer ones). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 the Andrew Lost series Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Encyclopedia Brown and Hardy Boys (the old original Hardy Boys...not the newer ones). Hubby read the Hardy Boys and now my boys are reading from the library. Is there a reason to avoid the newer ones? What would be considered the old orginal Hardy Boys? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 There are some good ones by Clyde Robert Bulla: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_pg_1?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aclyde+robert+bulla&keywords=clyde+robert+bulla&ie=UTF8&qid=1363896866 The Bears on Hemlock Mountain was another one he enjoyed. Dahl has some shorter ones as well like, Giraffe, Pelly and Me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esse Quam Videri Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Little House Animal Adventures (and others) Who's That Stepping on Plymouth Rock (and others) Stone Fox Dolphin Adventure The Bears on Hemlock Mountain Tornado These are ones that my nonfiction-only-son enjoyed (kind of) from HOD's reading lists. They are all bridge books from early readers to longer chapter books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
three4me Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 I just read the first Moongobble and Me book to my kids. Really short chapters, semi-exciting storyline but pretty tame. My 3 and 5yo loved it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Encyclopedia Brown or How to Train Your Dragon are great young boy books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Hubby read the Hardy Boys and now my boys are reading from the library. Is there a reason to avoid the newer ones? What would be considered the old orginal Hardy Boys? To me...the original are the hardbacks, like this (although, I suppose it's possible they are also in paperback, I'm not sure). The newer ones are called Hardy Boys Undercover Brothers and are written by someone else...and I heard that they are more "up to date" and have things like dating and stuff like that...that I just don't think are necessary in the books. There is the Hardy Boys Secret Files series too...which I don't know much about other than that they are for younger kids. My 9 year old just checked out a Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew (which is the girl version of that secret files series) this week from the library. At first she didn't want to get it (because she is 9 and the Nancy in the book is 8)...but she decided to get it anyway and to her surprise she is really enjoying the book. She told me all about it last night....which took like 20 minutes. :huh: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 The Akimbo series is a good one for that age. My son devoured it when he was seven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Our DSs really loved that Robinson Crusoe Reader, too! I think it's that combo of survival/inventiveness. :) They also tended to enjoy non-fiction "exploded view" books and non-fiction stepped readers at that stage. They also enjoyed books with a lot of humor; and one DS really liked detective/mystery works. Does James have any area of particular interest? (animals? mysteries? history? science? Since James is not naturally interested in fiction, I'd suggest keeping him well supplied with non-fiction for solo reading enjoyment, and then do the fiction together out loud "popcorn style" ("you read a page, I read a page"), for about 15 minutes a day as part of school. It really helps them understand what is going on. One more idea; for solo reading, try starting the book as together reading, and leave off in a very exciting moment. Often, children want to run off with the book to finish it on their own to see what happens. ;) Also, allow lots of solo reading books that are below his actual reading level; when children can easily read and complete books, it increases confidence, and helps them build up towards stepping into harder books later on. Below are some book ideas for you of ones that our DSs thought were particularly interesting, exciting, or humorous. BEST of luck in your reading adventures! Warmest regards, Lori D. READ TOGETHER Survival/Inventiveness 2nd grade reading level - The Secret Valley (Bulla) -- pioneer children during the Gold Rush discover gold - A Lion to Guard Us (Bulla) -- Colonial children sailing to the New World are shipwrecked - The Little Riders (Shemin) -- WWII occupied Europe -- girl outwits Nazi occupiers - Brendan the Navigator (Fritz) -- first discoverer of America -- 500 years before the Vikings! - The Wright Brothers (Reynolds) 3rd grade reading level - Robert Fulton, Boy Craftsman (Henry) -- he invented stuff even as a boy! - Dolphin Adventure (Grover) -- scuba diver befriended by dolphins - Dolphin Treasure (Grover) -- dolphins save the scuba diver while he dives for sunken treasure - Dolphins and Me (Grover) -- same scuba diver trains dolphins at an aquarium - Baby Island (Brink) -- 2 girls and 4 babies are shipwrecked and have to survive - Escape North! Story of Harriet Tubman (Kulling) - Toliver's Secret (Brady) -- Revolutionary War girl disguised as a boy to get a message through - Sybil Ludington's Midnight Ride (Amstel) -- true story of a female Paul Revere - Secret Soldier: Story Of Deborah Sampson (McGovern) -- true story of a female Revolutionary War soldier 3rd/4th grade reading level - The Kite Fighters (Park) -- 1400s Korean brothers invent a fighting kite 4th grade reading level - Om-kas-toe (Thomasa) -- Blackfoot boy who first tames a horse for his tribe - Sign of the Beaver (George) -- Colonial boy and Native American boy: friendship, survival 5th grade reading level - Incredible Journey (Berry) - My Side of the Mountain (George) Fun Tall Tale (humorous) 3rd grade reading level - The Whipping Boy (Fleischman) - McBroom's Wonderful One-Acre Farm (Fleischman) - Henry Huggins (series) (McCleary) 3rd/4th grade reading level - Ben and Me (Lawson) - Mr. Revere and I (Lawson) 4th grade reading level - By the Great Horn Spoon (Fleischman) - Trumpet of the Swan (White) - Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series (Betty MacDonald) Fictional Adventure 2nd grade reading level - The Courage of Sarah Noble (Dalgliesh) -- Colonial / Native American - Hannah (Whelan) -- blind pioneer girl 3rd grade reading level - The Mouse and the Motorcycle (McCleary) - Skippack School (de Angeli) -- Colonial boy adventures SOLO READING Survival/Inventiveness - Louis Braille (Davidson) -- creator of the Braille alphabet for the blind - Helen Keller (Davidson) -- how she learned to communicate Non-fiction - Animals 2nd grade reading level - The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto (Standiford) -- dog sled race to deliver a vaccine - Barry, the Bravest St. Bernard (Hall) -- dog who rescued people from avalanches - Buddy, the First Seeing Eye Dog (Moore) -- first seeing eye dog - Billy and Blaze -- series (Anderson) -- a boy and his horse adventures - nature/animal books by Thornton Burgess -- series 2nd/3rd grade reading level - Christian Liberty Nature Readers (non fiction) - Five True Dog Stories (Davidson) - Seven True Horse Stories (Davidson) - Nine True Dolphin Stories (Davidson) 3rd grade reading level - subscription to Ranger Rick magazine - A Horse Named Seabiscuit (Duvowski) - Man O'War: The Best Racehorse Ever (Mckerly) - Horse Heroes (Petty) Non- fiction -- true history and science events 2nd grade reading level - Gargoyles (Dussling) - Greg's Microscope (Selsam) - Titanic: Lost and Found (Donnelly) - Tut's Mummy: Lost and Found (Donnelly) - Hill of Fire (Lewis) - Pompeii... Buried Alive! (Davis) - Dinosaur Hunter (Alphin) - Giant Squid: Mystery of the Deep (Dussling) - Tentacles! Tales of the Giant Squid (Redmond) 3rd grade reading level - Race Into Space (Arnold) - Moonwalk (Donnelly) - Ice Mummy: Discovery of a 3,000 year old Man (Dubowski) - Civil War Sub: Mystery of the Hunley (Jerome) - USS Monitor: Iron Warship That Changed the World (Thompson) - Finding the Titanic (Ballard) - Mountain Climbing: Scaling the World's Highest Peaks (Martin) - Days of the Knights: A Tale of Castles and Battles (Maynard) - Pirates: Raiders of the High Seas (Maynard) - Spies! (Pratt) - The Daring Escape of Ellen Craft (Moore) -- adventure of slaves escaping the South - Buffalo Bill and the Pony Express (Coerr) - Jumbo: World's Biggest Elephant (Worth) -- P.T. Barnum's circus elephant (WARNING: elephant dies!!) - The Great Houdini: World Famous Magician (Kulling) -- adventures of how the great magician created his tricks - Little Sure Shot: Annie Oakley (Spinner) Humorous -- non-fiction - Fly on the Ceiling (Glass) -- how DesCartes created the graphing grid system - Ben Franklin and the Magic Squares (Murphy/Walz) -- how he created this fun math puzzle - Riddle series (Eisenberg & Hall) -- riddle books, each on a related topic (i.e., puppies; rabbits; etc.) Humorous -- fiction - Commander Toad series (Yolan) - Miss Pickerell (series) (MacGregor) Fictional Adventures - Flat Stanley Worldwide Adventures series (Brown) - Great Illustrated Classics series Historical Fiction Adventure 2nd/3rd grade reading level - Viking Adventure (Bulla) -- Viking times - Sword in the Tree (Bulla) -- Medieval England - Minstrel in the Tower (Skurzynski) - Phoebe the Spy (Griffin) -- true story of a girl who saves Washington from a plot in the Revolutionary War - Riding the Pony Express (Bulla) -- boy rides the Pony Express for his sick dad - Snowshoe Thompson (Levinson) -- mailman to the pioneers of the west; survival/hardships/adventures - Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie (Roop) -- girl keeps lighthouse going - The Big Balloon Race (Coerr) -- 1890s European hot air balloon race - Stone Fox (Gardiner) -- boy and his sled dog try to win the big race to save the family land (WARNING: dog dies!!) 3rd grade reading level - Eric the Red and Leif the Lucky (Schiller) -- Viking times - The Arrow and the Apple (Buff) - Tales of Robin Hood (Claybourne) 3rd/4th grade reading level - The Trojan Horse: How the Greeks Won the War (Little) - The Trojan Horse: The World's Greatest Adventure (Davies) - Days of the Knights: A Tale of Castles and Battles (Maynard) - Buttons for General Washington (Roop) -- Revolutionary War spy Fun Tall Tale 2nd grade reading level - A Grain of Rice (Pittman) - The Bears on Hemlock Mountain (Dalgliesh) - The Whipping Boy (Fleischman) - McBroom's Wonderful One-Acre Farm (Fleischman) Detective/Mystery 2nd grade reading level - Nate the Great series (Sharmatt) 2nd/3rd grade reading level - Jigsaw Jones series (Prellar) - Cam Jansen series (Adler) - Third Grade Detective series (Stanley) 3rd grade reading level - Boxcar Children series (Warner) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 I had good luck assigning my child * Magic Treehouse books, which have a reasonable dose of adventure. Also * Third-Grade Detectives (less adventure), and now he is rather addicted to * Droon (popular with the brick-and-mortar children 'round here). My public school friends are suggesting "Captain Underpants". I'm not that desperate. Yet. ... if you become that desperate, be sure to look at the Funny-Gross books thread. :) A librarian rec'd Captain Underpants as a step up from Droon, and now A. is nearly through the series. I will say that, despite the ridiculous nature of the books, the vocabulary is good and the essential character values are strong. We're not talking Christian Liberty here, though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3 Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 My brother was the same way. Here are some books he enjoyed: 1) Narnia series (C.S.Lewis) 2) Swiss Family Robinson - if he likes Robinson Crusoe, these might be right up his alley... And some I've enjoyed reading with my son: 1) The Apple and the Arrow - adventure, suspense, historical fiction, an air of mystery 2) The Wright Brothers - Scholastic Biography 3) The Whipping Boy - dry humor, short chapters 4) Geronimo Stilton (series) - humor, action, suspense, short chapters, lots of pix/color, fast-paced 5) Thorton Burgess series (Reddy Fox, Johnny Chuck, etc.) 6) Captain's Courageous (more advanced than 2nd grade, but a great adventure/survival/coming-of-age story for boys) 7) Treasure Island (also more advanced, but maybe an abridged version...?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunnyDays Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 I'll second the Magic Treehouse series. My son loved those books for a long time! A point of interest: many of the titles in the series have non fiction companion/guide books. For example, Mummies and Pyramids is a NF companion to book 3 of the series, Mummies in the Morning. Since your son likes non fiction, perhaps offering a few of them together would be a good hook!! Definitely start with number one in the series, as each is a standalone adventure but there is a larger story progression. Huh... now I'm kind of sad my guy is done with these, LOL!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSUBuckeye Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Roald Dahl - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and Bo (his boarding school autobiography, full of candy and unlikable adults, rhetorically inspiration for his fantasies). Louis Satcher's Sideways Stories from Wayside High. Since they are anecdotal snippets, you can pause each few pages as needed. Encyclopedia Brown (each detective case is a stand-alone four page "chapter") Childhood of Famous Americans. These are chapter books, but with a sketched picture every couple pages and a font size perfect for new chapter book enthusiasts. They are good for building stamina and learning good moral examples told from a following a child who ended up becoming well-respected for those qualities. ETA: just reread your post. My suggestions are NOT for the second grade reading level, except as readalouds. Fourth grade, maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 My 8yo second grader likes Beverly Cleary's Henry and Ribsy books, and the Ralph S. Mouse books. He also likes Magic Treehouse, Time Warp Trio, and Ready Freddy. I think he'd enjoy Carolyn Haywood's books as well, especially about Eddie. He just started this book (Survivors series, by Erin Hunter), because Big Sister is reading one from the cat series, and he wanted the dog one. I have my doubts about whether he'll get through it or not, though, but I'm not discouraging him. http://www.amazon.com/Survivors-1-The-Empty-City/dp/0062102567/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363923778&sr=8-1&keywords=erin+hunter This is the other book he's reading; the librarian said 4th-5th grade level, and it was a stretch for him in the beginning, but now it's not so much of a stretch. Plenty of adventure in it for him, and lots of historical detail. http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Wartime-Will-Battle-Gettysburg/dp/0525421459/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363923956&sr=1-2&keywords=boys+of+wartime He liked the Burgess books a lot a few years ago; I'll have to see if he likes reading them to himself now. And thanks to the person who reminded me of the Childhood of Famous Americans books -- DD liked them, and I'd forgotten them until now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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