Books that your boys enjoy reading

I also forgot some my sons liked. He is still reading the Geronimo Stilton books. Geronimo Stilton is about the adventures of a young mouse. He also has a sister named Theo and she has her own mouse adventures. I was surprised at how cute the mouse stories are written. They are a Scholastic book. It gives trivia, tells of real places that the mouse visits, ect… My son was asking me questions about places in Africa based on what he read in them. I highly recommend trying these cute books. 🙂

I haven’t went through this post yet (I’m looking forward to it!) but here are a few suggestions off the top of my head.

Where the Red Fern Grows

The Kingdom Series (I did see this mentioned somewhere above, my sons (10 and 11) have read the first couple of these and LOVED them, so they’re getting more for Christmas)

Swallows and Amazons-My ds11 has read the first two in the series and loved them

Narnia books-my boys read these more than once

My 11 year-old son and I have been reading the 100 Cupboards series — it’s not exactly an easy read, probably on par with the Narnia series as far as reading level.  It’s about a 12 year old boy who discovers a wall of cupboards hidden beneath the paster in his bedroom wall.  The doors all lead to other places and times, some in this world, many in others.  We are about half way through the second book. 

For independant reading he loves Encyclopedia Brown, Homer Price, and other similar books.  He will also read Geronimo Stilton, which is his 7 year old brother’s favourite, along with Encyclopedia Brown.   

My 11 year old is a reluctant reader in the sense that he doesn’t like to read anything new on his own — he will read the same books over and over, but I will have to read the first few chapters of something new to him or he will insist that the book looks “boring” and will flat out refuse to look at it any further.  I have My Side of the Mountain, but will have to start it with him — hopefully next week.  He likes fantasy, so we may have to try the Redwall books recommended by Suzukimom.  I’m also wondering about the How to Train Your Dragon series.   

I’ll second the Mr. Tucket series….my son flew through it, too.

My 14-year-old son recommends his favorite, The Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes – a great big thick book he has enjoyed reading for years – actually bought a copy with his own money after big brother took his copy to college. One of my 11-year-olds recommends the Narnia series – I’m not sure if this was already mentioned – and they all love the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Eragon. The other 11-year-old recommends Gentle Ben. All recommend Bruchko, a really exciting missionary story.

The few Sherlock Holmes stories I’ve read in that volume were fine with regards to language and theme; they are MUCH different than the movie, but I admit I’ve not read them all. The one exception I’m sure of is that it that he uses cocaine. We discussed the fact that at the time, cocaine was in all sorts of products and people thought it helped them think more clearly; it wasn’t recognized as a contraband, dangerous drug. My son is quite clear that this is bad and dangerous, and not something to be considered in this day and age, and he’s also expressed that he feels the drug doesn’t have a positive effect on Holmes – his view is in line with Watson’s, which you can read about below. I suppose you will want to consider this and decide how you want to handle it, and decide whether you think this book is appropriate for your son. Here is what Wikipedia says about Holmes’ drug habit – it does sound just awful spelled out like this:

“Holmes occasionally uses addictive drugs, especially when lacking stimulating cases. He believes the use of cocaine stimulates his brain when it is not in use. He is a habitual user of cocaine, which he injects in a seven-per-cent solution using a special syringe that he keeps in a leather case. Holmes is also an occasional user of morphine but expressed strong disapproval on visiting an opium den. These drugs were legal in late 19th-century England. Both Watson and Holmes are serial tobacco users, including cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. Holmes is expert at identifying tobacco-ash residues, having penned a monograph on the subject.

Dr. Watson strongly disapproves of his friend’s cocaine habit, describing it as the detective’s “only vice” and expressing concern over its possible effect on Holmes’s mental health and superior intellect.[21][22] In later stories, Watson claims to have “weaned” Holmes off drugs. Even so, according to his doctor friend, Holmes remains an addict whose habit is “not dead, but merely sleeping”.[23]”

I’m pretty sure there’s a thread around here somewhere where Bookworm lists her son’s Sherlock Holmes recommendations on a story by story basis. I’m pretty sure he said to avoid A Study in Scarlet – though I’ve been known to be wrong ;).