One of my 8-yr-olds has decided that reading is his favorite thing and he’s looking for some new books. He’s reading at the Magic Tree House, Boxcar Children level. He enjoys “action or adventure” type books. He loves to listen to the living books we read for history and science, but for his free reading he wants “stuff that’s fun and not boring.” He’s also looking for books a little longer than Magic Tree House (I think he wants to feel more grown up) and series are cool too.
We just finished up the Lloyd Alexander series that starts with The Book of Three. It is five books long and has a male hero – my 8yo DD loved it. It has it all – action, adventure, romance, tragedy, victory.
I also love the Redwall books, but haven’t tried them with my kids yet. They may be a higher reading level.
And don’t forget the Hardy Boys. 😉 They are tried and true.
The Sugar Creek Gang series by Paul Hutchenson is fabulous. They’re great moral adventure stories, but not at all preachy. We own them on audio by Paul Ramseyer and they’re wonderful, too
One more thought, he might be ready for the Chronicles of Narnia or The Hobbit if his reading is advancing quickly, I read those around his age. Oh, and I “second” Gem’s Hardy Boys suggestion!
Oh, I love all of these great books. I’m trying to put together a master list of books that I’d like the kids to read (or at least choose from). I’m combining the SCM and AO lists with the lists from the Higher Up and Further In blog and that doesn’t count the Bookfinder or your awesome suggestions….Oh, the books…
Sometimes it saddens me to think that I will never be able to read all of the books that I would like, but then again, the joy of heaven will overshadow my sadness. 🙂