kentuckymom Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 My son discovered the TinTin books over the summer between 4th and 5th grade. He read all of them, and he's still saying all the other books he reads are disappointing because they're not as good as TinTin. For good or for ill, TinTin started a graphic novel obsession with him and that's what he prefers to read, but he reads on grade level and reads standard books for school without a problem. He just hasn't recently found any that interest him enough to read them for pleasure. So is there some great book or series I can recommend that he might love as much as TinTin? I asked him this morning what it was he loved about the series, and he said he loved that it was about a boy having adventures with his dog. I read a lot as a kid (and still do) but I don't remember any boy/dog adventure books. I thought about trying to turn him on to the adventure books by Lloyd Alexander that I loved when I was about his age (I think the main character was named Vesper Holly?) but the main character is a girl and I don't remember any dogs being involved, so I don't think they would meet his criteria. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Boy/dog stories: Lassie Come Home Lad Bob: Son of Battle White Fang Silver Chief, Dog of the North Lloyd Alexander's Prydain series has a boy protagonist. No dog but a funny, furry pet/person named Gurgi. Boy and a hawk story - My Side of the Mountain Boy and racoon - Rascal Boy and owls - Owls in the family Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Not a series but a great boy and his dogs book - Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls and Gary Paulsen has a lot of great books that my boys enjoyed at that age: Tucket's Travel:Francis Tucket's Adventures in the West The Haymeadow - this one has dogs! were a few of their favorites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Graphic novel-wise, you might try the Mal and Chad books. Let me think what options I have for books with dogs where the dog does NOT die. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kentuckymom Posted January 22, 2016 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 Graphic novel-wise, you might try the Mal and Chad books. Let me think what options I have for books with dogs where the dog does NOT die. Yeah, that's the problem, There are so many beautiful classic dog books that end with the death of the dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilda Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Scout the dog series by Piet Pins! Set in WWII Holland, full of adventure and close calls. There are a few lines that are cheesy preaching, but easy to skim over. http://www.goodreads.com/series/59922-scout-the-dog 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 (edited) And there's nothing wrong with dead dog books in moderation, just... you don't want all of them to be about death! How about Ribsy, and the Henry Huggins books? Or, for a stretch, perhaps the Swindle series by Korman? Edited January 22, 2016 by Tanaqui 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Oh, look, a short list of middle grade books where the dog doesn't die. There are a few more in the comments as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kentuckymom Posted January 22, 2016 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 Scout the dog series by Piet Pins! Set in WWII Holland, full of adventure and close calls. There are a few lines that are cheesy preaching, but easy to skim over. http://www.goodreads.com/series/59922-scout-the-dog This sounds really good, though a search shows our library doesn't have them, sadly. I can get the first one on Amazon for $4, though, so maybe I'll order it for his birthday and see what he thinks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 The dog does die in so many... I was all set to say Tommysaurus Rex, which is another graphic novel, but the dog dies. Since he loved Tintin, he'd probably really like Astrix and Oblex. Same old fashioned graphic novel style. I'd try him on other animal books too though. Warriors is all cats. Poppy is mice. The Travels of Thelonius is a hybrid graphic novel/novel that's all different animals. Redwall is mice. Airborn is bats. Guardians of Ga'houle is owls.... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kentuckymom Posted January 23, 2016 Author Share Posted January 23, 2016 The dog does die in so many... I was all set to say Tommysaurus Rex, which is another graphic novel, but the dog dies. Since he loved Tintin, he'd probably really like Astrix and Oblex. Same old fashioned graphic novel style. I'd try him on other animal books too though. Warriors is all cats. Poppy is mice. The Travels of Thelonius is a hybrid graphic novel/novel that's all different animals. Redwall is mice. Airborn is bats. Guardians of Ga'houle is owls.... Thanks for all the great suggestions! The Travels of Thelonious looks like an almost sure bet. He adores squirrels (hence his nickname on here) and chipmunks are a type of squirrel. Our library actually has a copy of that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I remember my kids liking both the book and the movie, Big Red, though I can't remember if the boy dies or not! There's The Incredible Journey, about three pets who travel on an adventure. My ds loved the Redwall series, which are not about boys and dogs but little animals (such as mice) who are like Robinhood and his band. http://www.amazon.com/Redwall-Book-1-Brian-Jacques/dp/0142302376 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Albert Payson Terhune wrote a number of dog books; they're not necessarily a series, and they're a little wordy, but they're still pretty good. Jim Kjelgard wrote a boatload of books. Three of them were a series about Irish setters: Big Red, Irish Red, and Outlaw Red. I don't know if any of the others are series or not, and they're not all about dogs, but still..:-) If he'd settle for boy-and-his-horse instead of boy-and-his-dog books, there's always Walter Farley's Black Stallion and Island Stallion books. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knitmama Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 At that age, my kiddo ate up everything by Marguerite Henry and the Oz series (L. Frank Baum)... And anything by Geraldine McCaughrean. (None of these are graphic novels, though.) You just never know what's going to be a giant hit--at least, I never know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald Stoker Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Graphic novels with kid (girl, though!) and dog: http://www.jaspercomics.com/ Somebody above mentioned Owls in the Family, but there's also The Dog Who Wouldn't Be; the other Farley Mowat books are great, too (and Lost in the Barrens has boys and dogs!). Another dog book: Black Flame, by Gerelchimeg Blackcrane. More dog books: Sheila Burnford's Bel Ria: Dog of War; Alfred Ollivant, Bob, Son of Battle. More graphic novels (fun, though no dog): the Dan Dare series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Dare I'm not sure if they're still in print, but we used to buy them from Book Depository back in the day when the kids were little. William McCleery, Wolf Story! Best.Book.Ever. (though wolf and not dog....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 What about James Herriot's dog stories? There are several of those books and they are an easy read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 My kid loves animal books and is very hard to choose books for - she is super picky, but when she loves something, she devours it and reads it over and over. Right now her obsessions are the Mr. & Mrs. Bunny books by Polly Horvath - these are hilarious, just as fun for me to hear as for her to read (she's currently reading the second one aloud to me), and the Nanny Piggins series. She passes on 90% of what I suggest, but she loves these. I still haven't figured out what her criteria are, but I know it involves snarky & sarcastic humor, and definitely *no* animal death. Or mother death, which is another hard thing to avoid in children's books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kentuckymom Posted January 23, 2016 Author Share Posted January 23, 2016 Albert Payson Terhune wrote a number of dog books; they're not necessarily a series, and they're a little wordy, but they're still pretty good. Jim Kjelgard wrote a boatload of books. Three of them were a series about Irish setters: Big Red, Irish Red, and Outlaw Red. I don't know if any of the others are series or not, and they're not all about dogs, but still..:-) If he'd settle for boy-and-his-horse instead of boy-and-his-dog books, there's always Walter Farley's Black Stallion and Island Stallion books. I've tried to turn him onto the Walter Farley books, because I adored them and own all of the original series, but so far he hasn't bitten. Thanks for the other suggestions! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kentuckymom Posted January 23, 2016 Author Share Posted January 23, 2016 Wow, there are so many great suggestions I can't comment on them all individually. Thanks for your help! Hopefully my picky kid will like at least one or two of these :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 There's not much boy in it, but the Hank the Cowdog series is fun. They're all narrated by a dog. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 I've tried to turn him onto the Walter Farley books, because I adored them and own all of the original series, but so far he hasn't bitten. Thanks for the other suggestions! The Black Stallion and Island Stallion books aren't *great* literature; you have to really love horses to enjoy reading the adventures of the Black and Flame. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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