Books for Boys

Over the years of teaching, one thing I've definitely noticed is that girls typically like to read more than boys. It's harder to sell a boy on a book than it is to a girl. For some reason. Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus? Maybe. But if you start talking to a boy about what his interests are, he's essentially telling you what kind of books he would read. 

Some boys really like fictional humorous stories (like Diary of a Wimpy Kid) while others would rather read about whatever bug they're obsessed with or their favorite sports team. If they don't like reading fiction, give them more than just fiction to read, and see if you start getting a better response when you say, "Hey it's independent reading time!" or "Want to go to the library?"

Example: Last year in second grade I taught a little boy named Max who "hated reading." His mom thought she had tried every kind of book, every book that was popular, books his friends were reading, etc. He didn't like them because he "just didn't like to read." I was feeling frustrated as well, but after some digging, I found out one of Max's passions was building and inventing. He loved making little inventions out of whatever was lying around, or making giant structures with Legos. 

This was my light bulb moment.

I started finding some books on kid inventors or even just books with ideas of different things he could make- looking intentionally for ones that had written instructions instead of pictures. Did he love it? You bet! He loved it because it APPLIED to his life and he was INTERESTED in what he was reading. That's the key, folks! 

This was also a light bulb moment for his Mom. She thought he SHOULD be reading fiction and novels, because that's what you're supposed to read, right? You HAVE to read those books for some classes. While that is true, if a love for reading isn't even there yet, let's work on that first. Then they'll be a lot more willing to try out some other stuff later on down the road.  

If your boy says they don't like to read- I'm calling their bluff. They simply haven't found something that interests them...YET. 

Here's a list of books I found on readkiddoread.com especially for boys:

PAGETURNERS for ages 8-12

ASTRONAUT ACADEMY by Dave Roman

Hakata Soy leaves his past as the leader of a superhero team to attend Astronaut Academy, a school on a space station orbiting Earth.  He hopes to make a fresh start in life, but his heroic past keeps catching up with him.

CHARLIE JOE JACKSON by Tommy Greenwald

Charlie Joe shares the tactics that have gotten him all the way to Middle School without EVER reading a whole book. Reluctant readers ready to learn his secrets will find instead that they have just finished (and enjoyed!) an entire book.

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID (Wimpy Kid series) by Jeff Kinney

Writing and drawing his stick-figure pictures in his new journal helps Greg deal with middle school, overbearing parents, and two brothers.

THE HAUNTED SCHOOL (Goosebumps series) by R.L. Stine

Tommy has a hard time making new friends at his new school. And the school is big--so big, Tommy gets lost. And that's when he hears the voices, kids crying for help, coming from beyond the classroom walls...

HERO by Mike Lupica

Fourteen- year-old Zach Harriman knows he has a pretty amazing dad.  He accepts that his dad’s job as a government agent with a high security clearance means that Zachary must be kept in the dark about much of what he does.  When Zach’s father dies in an airplane crash, Zach starts to learn just how many secrets his dad really had, including his super-hero powers--and that the powers are hereditary.

 

THE LIGHTNING THIEF (Percy Jackson and the Olympians series) by Rick Riordan

Percy is about to find out the truth about the father he's never met. "Lost at sea" is all his mother has ever told him. Well, Percy's father is a god. A Greek god. A real one. And that makes Percy a demigod, a half-blood, and he's now in mortal danger. 

MIDDLE SCHOOL: THE WORST YEARS OF MY LIFE (Middle School series) by James Patterson

Middle School doesn’t begin well for Rafe Khatchadorian. Between run-ins with the school bully, Miller “The Killer” and a book of rules that the school actually takes seriously, to say Rafe is disillusioned with the educational system would be understatement. And so it’s totally understandable when his best friend, Leonardo, suggests that Rafe set out to break every rule in the book. 

SIDEKICKS by Dan Santat

In this graphic novel romp, Superhero Captain Amazing needs a new sidekick. Enter four super pets, all vying for the coveted spot as his right-hand man… er… animal.

 

THE STORM MAKERS by Jennifer Smith

Twins Ruby and Simon move to a Wisconsin farm, and suffer the consequences of the worst drought in history. Enter MOSS, the Makers of Storm Society, and Simon discovers he holds powerful weather-changing powers.

SWINDLE (Swindle series) by Gordon Korman

Griffin sells an old Babe Ruth baseball carp to a memorabilia shop, where the owner gives him 120 bucks for the card, claiming it is a knockoff made in 1967. What a liar! Griffin soon sees the dealer being interviewed on TV, showing the selfsame 1920 baseball card, worth a cool million. Griffin assembles a heist team and together they plan to steal back that card.

THE UNWANTEDS and others in the series by Lisa McCann

In Quill there are three types of people: Wanteds, Necessaries, and Unwanteds. Wanteds, as their name suggests, are the most valued members of society. Necessaries are tolerated for whatever menial skill they may possess. And Unwanteds, typically those showing a flare for creativity and resistance to conformity, are put to their deaths. Or so the Quillians think.

THE WITCHES by Roald Dahl

A recently-orphaned boy stumbles upon the yearly meeting of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children while staying at a posh hotel. But wait. These are not ordinary ladies. Alas, the group is actually made up of nasty witches, who are meeting to hatch a hideous plan to turn all of the children in England into mice.

 

BABY MAMMOTH MUMMY by Christopher Sloan

The discovery of baby mammoth Lyuba allows for a never-before-seen inside look at prehistoric Sibera, 31,000 years later.

EVERY DAY ON EARTH: Fun Facts That Happen Every 24 Hours by Steve & Matthew Murrie

Your taste bud cells are replaced at a rate of 50,000 a day. Almost 40,000 trees are cut down every day just to make paper bags. What else happens around the Earth in the span of a day? 

GREAT MOMENTS IN THE SUMMER OLYMPICS by Matt Christopher and Stephanie Peters

Relive great moments in Olympic summer sports history, especially in the games of Track and Field, Gymnastics, and Swimming.

GET THE SCOOP ON ANIMAL POOP by Dawn Cusick

There comes a time in every kid’s life when poop becomes an object of fascination, and this entertaining and informative introduction to coprology, the study of feces, is sure to satisfy every imaginable scatological curiosity. 

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS ALMANAC 2013

TRANSITIONAL BOOKS for ages 7-10

 

BAD KITTY GETS A BATH and other titles by Nick Bruel

You think you have a problem pet that rules your roost? Get a load of this quintessential bad kitty, a sleek, black, rowdy ruffian who is none too happy about getting a bath. OK, that’s an understatement. 

THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS (Captain Underpants series) by Dav Pilkey

George and Harold hypnotize their principal, mean Mr. Krupp, and turn him into their superhero creation Captain Underpants.

DINOSAURS BEFORE DARK (Magic Tree House series) by Mary Pope Osborne

A mysterious treehouse whisks Annie and Jack to the past--and in this first novel, that means the land of the dinosaurs. But how will they get home?

DRAGONBREATH: CURSE OF THE WERE-WIENER (Dragonbreath series) by Ursula Vernon

At lunchtime in the school cafeteria that day, Danny's overly large and bright red hot dog bites Wendell's finger. By the next day, Wendell's finger has turned candy-apple red, and his back is growing hair. Sneaking into the cafeteria's walk-in freezer to investigate, Danny finds an unusual package of hot dogs with the label "Were-Wieners, a product of Transylvania."

 

EVERY THING ON IT by Shel Silverstein

A new collection of 30 never-before-seen poems and drawings from the remarkable writer and artist Shel Silverstein.

THE FENWAY FOUL-UP (Ballpark Mysteries series) by David Kelly

Can Mike and Kate solve the mystery of who stole the Red Sox's star player's lucky bat, right in front of everyone's noses? Each book in this series is set in a different American ballpark stadium.

 

HORRID HENRY (Horrid Henry series) by Francesca Simon

Horrid Henry and his neighbor Moody Margaret set out to make the grossest sludge ever glopped together.

 

THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN by Katherine Applegate

Ivan barely remembers his life before the mall.  He has some wonderful friends: there’s Stella, the stoic elephant twice his size; there’s Bob, the homeless-by-choice dog who sneaks into the mall every night and sleeps on Ivan’s big belly; and there’s Julia, the human daughter of George the custodian, who does her homework by Ivan’s domain every evening and who shares a love of art with him. Yes, that’s right: Ivan is an artist.

SQUISH: SUPER AMOEBA by Jennifer Holm

Squish is an amoeba in elementary school with a good heart but facing a lot of obstacles. A mysterious enemy is threatening our hero, as if the usual pitfalls of weird parents, obnoxious bullies, homework, and more weren't enough. Kids will really identify with this unlikely hero who has to save the world even though all he really wants to do is get through the week.

THE TRUE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS by Jon Scieszka

Alexander T. Wolf would like to set the record straight. He says, "I don't know how this whole Big Bad Wolf thing got started, but it's all wrong . . . The real story is about a sneeze and a cup of sugar."

ENCYLOPEDIA PREHISTORICA by Robert Sabuda

A look at all things dinosaur, packing in facts on more than 50 species, and the six major watercolored pop-ups are spectacular.

HENRY AARON’S DREAM by Matt Tavares

Every kid has a wish–a dream for his or her own future. Henry Aaron was no exception.  He wanted to play baseball, but baseball stadiums in his hometown of Mobile, Alabama in the 1940s were for “WHITES ONLY.” It took perseverance, enormous talent, and courage for Henry Aaron to not only hold onto his vision, but also to make it a reality. 

WEIRD BUT TRUE: 300 Outrageous Facts by National Geographic Kids

Did you know that... The world’s oldest pet goldfish lived to be 43 years old? The world’s longest soap bubble was as long as four school buses? On Neptune, the wind blows up to 1,243 miles an hour? The whole family will be dazed and amazed by this remarkable assortment of crazy but very true facts.

YOU NEVER HEARD OF SANDY KOUFAX? by Jonah Winter

For six years, 1961-1966, Koufax was known as the greatest lefty pitcher ever. Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famer, Willie Stargell, said, “Hittin’ a Koufax fastball was like tryin’ to drink coffee with a fork.” In high school, this Jewish kid from Brooklyn aced every sport, and soon the scouts came calling.  This has to be the coolest-looking sports biography ever.

Happy reading! :-)