Boys. They can be a tricky bunch. When I asked about topics to discuss in relation to reading aloud, a whole lot of you came back with "boys!" I think that's because we all desire for our boys to become real-deal readers. To love to read the way we do. We want this because we know that really fine literature will bolster their strength, inspire them to greatness, and give them the tools they need to become good and courageous men. We also know that they need the highest quality fare in order for that to happen- Diary of a Wimpy Kid is just not going to cut it. We need books of a different caliber, the ones that will stir their burgeoning hearts and minds and set them on the road to life-long reading.I rely on my husband quite a lot when choosing books for my son- he is my best resource, for obvious reasons. But there are a lot of great books for boys out there that my husband has never read! This is where lists come in, and you all know that I just love me a good solid booklist.
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| (My son adores comic books. These are fine for his personal reading time, but when it comes to read-aloud selections, I am careful to choose good quality literature. I'm looking for male protagonists with strength of character and moral courage. Those are the kinds of examples I want to nourish his heart and mind with. But a little twaddle in there for rainy afternoons on the couch? That's okay, too.) |
Boy Booklists:
Here are some good booklists with titles chosen especially for our boys:
-Best Books for Boys: A Booklist Compiled by a Boy :: A Holy Experience
This excellent booklist was put together by Ann Voskamp's teenage son. Who can vouch for what appeals to boys better than a... boy? :) Notable about this list- there's not a hint of twaddle. I would be proud if my 14-year-old son called a list like this his own.
-65 Favorite Read-Aloud Books for Boys :: 4Tunate
It seems to me that most of the books on this (great) list have male protagonists. Hooray! Our boys need to relate to the main characters of their favorite stories. Lots of selections here for younger boys, too.
-Books for Boys & Other Children Who Would Rather Make Forts All Day :: IEW
This booklist correlates with Andrew Pudewa's fantastic talk, "Teaching Boys and Other Children Who Would Rather Make Forts All Day." The booklist is free, and you can download the talk for three bucks by going to this link. It is well worth it- this has to be one of the most helpful lectures I have ever heard. Highly, highly recommended.
Reading all together:
Another challenge we may have in reading to our boys is that, if we are reading aloud as a family, we likely have girls in the mix, too. Of course boys and girls often enjoy the same books, so this isn't usually a problem. Even the books I'm sure my son will hate usually appeal to him in ways I hadn't before considered. The American Girl series on audio is a good example of this. I would probably not choose these books as read-alouds if I had all boys, but I can tell you that my son enjoys the adventures in these stories just as much as my girls do! Likewise, my girls enjoyed My Side of the Mountain, even though I had chosen it with my son in mind.
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| My son was captivated by the cover of this book. Is it any wonder why? |
We don't have to separate boys from girls when we read-aloud, we just have to make sure that both genders are getting their needs met by the characters and plotlines of our stories. It's worth keeping in mind that boys and girls are stirred by different components in literature (enchanting characters and depth of emotion vs. riveting plots and high adventure, for example).
I do try to make sure that protagonists in the stories we read aren't all girls (that can be trickier than it sounds; pay a visit to your local library's children's shelves and you'll know what I mean). By doing this, the kids are exposed to a wide variety of titles they might not have chosen on their own, and they often discover that they have a broader taste in literature than they imagined!
Here are my questions for you this month:
1. What do you look for in a book for boys? Courageous heroes? Stunning virtue? Lots of action and adventure? What, in your opinion, makes a book for boys a really good book for boys?
2. Do you have some titles that your boys have loved? Share them with us- we're all ears!
3. Are your grown boys active readers? Tell us about it. We want to be inspired by your story.
2. Do you have some titles that your boys have loved? Share them with us- we're all ears!
3. Are your grown boys active readers? Tell us about it. We want to be inspired by your story.
Go at it in the comments. The combox is threaded, so you can reply to anyone. Make sure you check back to see if someone has a question or comment for you. I'll answer the questions in the combox, too. This is a place for community and conversation- come back and be a part of it!
Don't forget, you can find links to all of our past Revivals at the main page. Our March Revival is set for the last Saturday of the month (March 30th) . Go here to get the Read-Aloud Revival form if you'd like to track your minutes. There are no requirements to participate, of course. Just bring yourself, your desire to read-aloud to your kids, and a thing or two to say in the comments.
I'm so glad you're here!
I'm so glad you're here!
A great resource! Will be sharing a link to you on my blog's FB page and pinning it too. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI also write adventures & mysteries, that teach character, for readers 8 - 12, especially boys. http://booksandboys.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteOoh! I'll pop over and check them out! Thanks for the link.
DeleteI feel quite fortunate in as much as we don't pick books with gender in mind. I have a boy who is 9 and a girl who is 5, and it is age that factors in more - he can concentrate longer, and is better able to cope with traumatic events in the books he listens to than she can. But for read alouds, they take turns in picking from our shelves, and happily share the same passions for nature and history, so it works well for us. My eldest child actually complained to our librarian about books that were titled "the girls' book of xyz" or "abc for boys" - and if he wasn't adopted I'd think he got it from me, as I used to deliberately pick books from the shelves marked "Boys' Fiction" at our library when I was a girl.
ReplyDeleteI am really quite aghast that libraries would actually shelve books as "books for boys" or "books for girls." I am no raving feminist, but it strikes me as wrong somehow. What a way to turn some kids off of a good book.
DeleteCindy Rollins, who writes over at ordo-amoris.com, has several excellent lists for boys. I particularly enjoy her list literature of honor for boys. Since she has 8 boys of her own I figure she is a good resource. So far with my own boys, adventure is important yes, but more than that thhe stories that really impact are unlikely characters that rise up and do honorable things in dire circumstances. I think I read in the book Boys Adrift by Dr. Leonard Sax, the book Mr. Pudewa quotes significantly in that talk, that boys place themselves into the character they most admire and identify with. They really engage in the text on a personal level so it is important that the protagonist be a true man of honor. Thank you for all the encouragement and information I find here. Everytime I stop by I am left with more to ponder or encouragement on the path I am already plodding. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI'll go check those lists out, thank you. Yes, heroic characters who rise up out of dire circumstances- YES! That's what we're looking for. It's what made "The Mysterious Benedict Society" top notch, in my opinion.
DeleteWell we are all boy here {ages 6,8 and 10}. I can tell you that I really don't gear the read alouds to their being boys. Actually we just began "Little House in the Big Woods" and I was a little hesitant as it has been a loooong time since I read it and thought it may not be received well, but, they LOVE it so far. Probably because Pa has such a huge role in it. It is one of the few books that even my youngest will sit still for. This year our huge hits have been "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". "The Wizard of Oz", "Peter Pan" and "A Nest for Celeste." When I pick read alouds I really just pick it with what we would all enjoy in mind. When I pick out individual books for them to read independently I take more time to try to tailor it to their particular interests.
ReplyDeleteI always love to see new book lists and cannot wait to see what others have to share :-)
Here is one that I came across recently that has some great ones on it! Love Andrew Pudewa's list too!
My boys are active readers, but, I really think if I didn't give them the nudge, they would definitely be making forts all day, lol!
Thanks so much, Sarah, for doing this!
Did you mean to link to a booklist? :)
DeleteAnd, for what it's worth, the entire Little House series is what turned my husband on to reading as a child. Girl writer, girl protagonist, but the story is timeless! And Pa! He has to be the ultimate male role model. :)
Yes I did :-) We are in birthday mode today and celebrating my littlest one's sixth birthday and my brain is on mommy overload. lol! Here is the link...http://www.4tunate.net/2012/05/65-favorite-read-aloud-books-for-boys-readers-choice/
DeleteMeant to mention before...***Happy Birthday, Posy*** We were thinking of you all yesterday and hope she had a lovely birthday!
That is wonderful to hear that Andy loved the Little House series! I hope it has the same effect on my boys.
Here are my own answers to the questions:
ReplyDelete1. I look for heroic virtue in a male protagonist. I really like what austen_n_burney says in the comment above- that especially good are characters who rise up and do honorable things in dire circumstances. That's what made The Mysterious Benedict Society so very very good, in my opinion. My son likes a lot of action and some humor, too, so those are great additions to boy books in our home.
2. Some boy favorites around here have been: My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George, Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder (best as on audio, I think), By The Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman, The Bears on Hemlock Mountain by Alice Dalgliesh, and The Matchlock Gun.
3. I don't have any grown boys yet- that's why I want to hear from all of you! :)
Oh this is a great podcast for free talking about literature for boys. She specifically mentions the little house series and Pa as the hero. These are not just girl books. circeinstitute.org/2012/04/april-2012-podcast-cindy-rollins/
ReplyDelete1. Would it make sense to say that I look for male protagonists who are, well, manly? I look to place positive male role models before my boys in real life and in literature as well. I want them to see what courage looks like, what defending those weaker than you means, what it means to be a strong leader who inspires others rather than bullies them... I want them to see portraits of perseverance in the face of hardship, of men relying on God. Is that too much to ask for? I am heading over to look at those book lists after I comment here to glean some good ideas, and I'm looking forward to seeing people's favorites here, too!
ReplyDelete2. Sarah already mentioned it, but I think it bears repeating; some of our favorite family read-alouds are the Little House series. I loved these as a kid and thought when my first 3 children were boys that I might not have the joy of reading these aloud to them and enjoying them together as a family, but I couldn't have been more wrong! There's so much in those books for boys to love--hunting, building log cabins, exploring the frontier, Laura's exploits, the warmth of hearth and home--and that Pa is just the kind of male protagonist I want my boys to encounter!
Historical fiction over this school year has offered both compelling stories as well as real-life historical figures who surmounted obstacles and exhibited great courage...books on Christopher Columbus and Daniel Boone, Lewis and Clark, John Smith... these weren't chosen by me for "pleasure" reading, but the boys never wanted me to put them down.
The Burgess Books, Rascal, My Side of the Mountain, Julie of the Wolves have all been greatly enjoyed here this year (a very outdoorsy theme to those books, eh?). Redwall is our current audio book, and the boys don't want to get out of the car when we arrive at our destination, so I guess it's a big hit.
And then there's Harry Potter. I love Harry Potter; I think he is a protagonist who uses his brain, cares for his friends, does the right thing even when it's difficult, overcomes obstacles with courage, faces evil and doesn't back down. The problem with Harry is that book 1 was targeted at the 8-12 age group, but by book 4 or 5, they deal with more mature themes. I'm curious to hear how others pace this series with your family. When they were originally released, they had their own built-in pacing since they were released at least a year apart. It's much more difficult for a child who starts the series now with all of them sitting temptingly on the bookshelf...
I agree about Harry Potter: when they were published my eldest was just the right age for them, as they came one by one (he's 24 now). With my younger kids, currently 13.5 and almost 11, it has been different. The later books are definitely not for younger readers, in my opinion. My daughter wasn't allowed to read the fourth book or beyond until after she turned twelve. With my son who is almost 11, he will be allowed to go on to book three when he has his birthday. In terms of how to manage it: I lay the rules. They are obedient, and also we talk about how they have mature themses and how he will enjoy the books more when he is older.
DeleteMy oldest is 23 and grew up 'with Harry'. Second daughter is 17 and was able to read the final two books when they came out after spending a year catching up with the others. My husband read the whole series to my son when he was between nine and eleven, which is much earlier than I would have let him read them on his own. With Dad reading them aloud, though, it was fine. He re-read them on his own once he was reading fluently a year or two later, and was affected in a different way by things that went over his head when he was younger.
DeleteMy 12yod read through the series in time to see the final movie in the theatre. Again, it was younger than I would have liked, but it was her last chance to see a Harry Potter movie on the big screen, so she read them on her own but I kept tabs on where she was in the books and we had plenty of discussions along the way. Funny enough one of the things in the books that concerned her the most happened in the first book and was not a scary episode at all. Harry disobeys his teacher and flies on his broom, is seen by another teacher, but instead of being punished he is given a spot on the Quidditch team. She plays rep ice hockey at the elite level, so knows how strict the rules are around making a team, and just couldn't get over it. Her response of "Oh well, I guess that's why the call it 'fiction'" had us laughing for weeks :)
The HP books, Little House books and the Anne of Green Gables series are all ones that I insist my kids read again when they're older. All three series follow the main characters as they grow into adulthood, and the later books are just not appreciated when they are younger.
Thank you both for your thoughts. I was trying to figure out how to set the pace for my son, and I think reading them again myself will help me determine what's appropriate for him when. Reading aloud may be a good option for allowing him to hear the books and discuss with mom or dad as things come up, or that we think require some discussion, and then allow him to re-read them on his own a bit further down the line. (He's already re-read the first 3 books several times each as he "treads water" waiting to be allowed to move on.) Reading aloud may also help to slow the pace that we finish each book as well, since he often disappears for hours and plows through a book much more quickly than I could ever read it aloud to him :)
DeleteI don't have kids, so take these recommendations for what they are worth :-) I also have to recommend the Redwall series. Fantastic for read-alouds and my brother (who shares Snap's love of a good Calvin and Hobbes collection, as I do myself) absolutely devoured them. I'd also recommend the James Herriot books, Little Men by Louisa May Alcott, and the Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald. For a series which is more targeted at younger readers but enjoyable for all ages, the Paddington Bear books are fantastic. Hopefully some of these are new suggestions, but even if they aren't it was fun to remember them. Yay books :-D
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if you've addressed this elsewhere, but how do you handle read-alouds with toddlers? I have a 2 year old and a 5 month old, and the 2 yr. old boy is very, very active. Do you let your little ones play while you read? Or do you not use read-alouds with that age?
ReplyDeleteI have a busy 3 year old. For me I read aloud at breakfast & lunch, at least pictures books so that he's gets something but when we are reading chapter books he's allowed to play quietly or in his room. I think it just takes lots of practice to get through books & we just keep trying. Praying someday I have a living room full of kids reading!!
DeleteMargaret, do you only have little ones? If so, you may want to ease into chapter books by starting with longer picture books or chapter books with lots of pictures. My 2 and 3 yr olds greatly enjoyed the "Mercy" series by Kate DiCamillo. It's got colorful pictures on every page, and each "chapter" is only a few pages long, so we can read 1 quick chapter if that's all they'll sit still for, or keep going. I found with my most wiggly toddler that he liked to "talk"about books rather than have me read the words on the page, which was fine, too, since we were snuggling and sharing a book and talking about the pictures with mommy occasionally reading a sentence or 2 before he turned the page on me...
DeleteAlso, play-do is a great way to keep little hands busy but quiet so you can read aloud. Most definitely start reading aloud now, even though your little one may not like to sit still. Don't wait until he's less fidgety--that could be years down the line, and reading aloud is so so valuable! You could also try putting audio books on while driving--that's how we started chapter books when my oldest was 2. He's a captive audience buckled into that chair! There was an earlier read-aloud revival that addressed those wiggly toddlers. You may want to peruse those posts and see what other nuggets of wisdom they contain...
Yes, I only have 2 little ones. This is so very helpful- thank you! I do read at meals, while he's in his high chair, but sometimes he whines so I'll stop. It's frustrating, to say the least. The Mercy series looks wonderful- I've never seen those before. Ordering for his Easter basket for sure. We've never had play-dough before, but I'm definitely going to try that soon- I've just never wanted to deal with the mess :)
DeleteI've thought of audio books and will definitely get some from the library- I teach Latin and we often have our Latin CD in the car and he likes that a lot, so I bet he'd love the audio books. Thank you!!
Margaret my kids STILL play while I read aloud! :) There is a printable at this link with lists of ideas for things your little ones can do while they listen. I would most definitely let them do things with their hands (and whole bodies) while you read- it will be more pleasant for everyone! There are also some ideas at the October Revival. :)
Delete1. Like you Sarah, I tend to rely on my husband for my little guy, he's 3. I want a strong male lead that has high moral standards. I try to skim through picture books before bringing them home from the library but my husband, I'm thankful, advices the chapter/longer books.
ReplyDelete2. Lately because my little guy is 3 he is loving the Box Car Children books. They are simple mysteries, with good character qualities, and short chapters that he can sit through. At first I felt silly reading him these books, feeling like it wasn't "strong enough literature" but I have since realized that it gives us snuggle time, he hears words that we don't say in everyday conversation & he loves the mystery part! With baby #4 on the way I'm thankful for this time with him.
This is an interesting list...more for teen boys http://artofmanliness.com/2008/05/14/100-must-read-books-the-essential-mans-library/
ReplyDeleteMy 12yrold boy loves almost everything he reads and he reads constantly. I use to think that would never happen, but something clicked and he was off. He really enjoyed Anne of Green Gables. He picked that one up himself and wants to read the rest. He did Little House in a week. He seems to just simply enjoy a good story.
Now my boys that aren't so voracious in their reading they won't touch Laura Wilder...they do seem to need the male protagonist. They are barely letting me get away with animal characters i.e. Animal Farm and Call of the Wild. However some more contemporary types like The Outsiders, Wings of Heroes by Peck, and the like, they can get into those characters.
My boy is a mere two so most of the books that I read to him right now feature trucks, bears, dinosaurs, or Curious George very prominently! : ) I have three girls and we read all sorts of books that I think would fit very well for boys. I want books where the main character does the right thing, isn't afraid to do what's right, even when it's not popular.
ReplyDeleteSome of my favorites:
- Homer Price by Robert McCloskey
- Henry Reed series by Keith Robertson (one of MY favorites as a girl. Loved these!)
- Mysterious Benedict Society
- Wildwood and its sequel by Colin Meloy
- The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place by Maryrose Wood
- My Father's Dragon series
- Winnie the Pooh (my little guy has JUST discovered Pooh)
- Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck by Brian Selznik
- Island of the Blue Dolphins
- Lewis and Tolkien
- If you like Narnia/LoTR, you will LOVE the Wingfeather Saga by Tolkien. Excellent fantasy adventure with boys that rise to the challenge.
This are just off the top of my head but I'll be watching to add to my own list here!
Answering questions:
ReplyDelete1) I haven't really given much thought to "books for boys" specifically. We just read or listen to what we read and everyone joins in. So far I have had no complaints.
2) I asked Johnny and he said that Peter Pan has been his favorite so far. Of course it is our current read aloud -- not even done with it. So take that for what it's worth.
3) Not a reader yet, but working on it.
LibriVox.org for Boys
ReplyDeleteThese are a few of the “boy” books my three sons (ages 5-9) have enjoyed aloud (live)and via Librivox:
Librivox Reader: Adrian Praetzellis
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (version 2)
Librivox Reader: Meredith Hughes
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
(The Second Jungle Book is equally exciting, however…. It is read by various readers on Librivox. My boys still love it, though I find a few of the readers hard to listen to.)
Librivox Reader: Mark F. Smith:
The Wind in the Willows (version 2) by Kenneth Grahame
Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
(Note: I would have NEVER thought of this book, and my husband insisted on reading it aloud last year. It is much better than I imagined it would be… and the boys loved it!)
White Fang by Jack London (version 2)
The Adventures of Pinocchio (version 2) by Carlo Collodi
Librivox Reader: Andy Minter
The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald (vers 2)
Librivox Reader: various (last half of book read by Mary Anderson)
Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
But like others mentioned, boys just love a good story! Laura and Mary Ingalls (along with Almanzo), Pollyanna, Heidi, Alice (and so many more) should find a place on every boy’s reading/listening list. Here’s a few Librivox audios with girls that my boys enjoyed.
Librivox Reader: Karen Savage
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Librivox Reader: Kara Shallenberg
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
Librivox Reader: Mary Anderson
Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter
I would love to hear of any Librivox.org recordings other families have enjoyed!
Thanks for this. I especially appreciate the names of the readers- a big help! :)
Delete1. I've a 9-year-old boy and I don't really pay much attention to whether the protagonist is male or female - I just look for solid books of excellent quality all the way around.
ReplyDelete2. Some favorite read alouds ... hmmm, let's see. He claims to love them all :) Those that I remember him really enjoying are The Lions Paw, My Side of the Mountain, Little House series, Harry Potter series, Narnia, The Secret Garden, Ben & Me (and others by the same author that were similar), Toliver's Secret, By the Great Horn Spoon (and others by this author), The Pushcart War, Snow Treasure. I could keep going, but I'll stop here ;)
3. He's not grown, so I shouldn't comment here! But he is most definitely a reader and I don't see that changing at all! I really do think it is all the reading aloud. My husband is not a reader, but was as a youngish child. I asked him when he stopped and he said it was around 3rd grade when suddenly everyone (his mom, his teachers - because they were encouraging them to read on their own to learn and made it work) stopped reading aloud to him. He kind of lost interest in books as something fun at this point because they suddenly became a part of school and not longer about pleasure. Now he won't pick up a book at all. My brother-in-law on the other hand is very much a reader. Same parents, same school, but five years age difference. My MIL realized the first time around how much she missed reading aloud with Ken (my hubby) and kept reading aloud even after she was encouraged to discontinue it by his teachers, and read aloud well into his middle school years. He also had a fantastic 5th grade teacher that chose to read aloud to her students every single day after lunch for 30-minutes. She'd often read the first book in a series and the students would race to the library for the rest. She'd introduce them to fantastic authors and they'd seek out more of their work.
So KEEP reading aloud for FUN!!!!!!!!
I'm truly excited about this post. I have three boys (14, 12, and 4). I'm always on the look out for good books for them and am glad to see some posts and ideas.
ReplyDelete1. When I choose a book, I tend to choose something that I think will be a topic of interest to them but is not twaddle. Both of my older boys are outdoorsy and I usually try to find books that will appeal to their interest in that. We tend to gravitate towards books about Native American, animals, biographies, and historical fiction. I have found this is what works for our older boys. My youngest son usually loves anything we read to him.
2. Some of the books that my older boys have enjoyed:
White Fang by Jack London
Moccasin Trail by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
The Lewis and Clark Expedition by Richard L. Neuberger
Homer Price by Robert McCloskey
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
Shades of Gray by Carolyn Reeder
They have also enjoyed the Little House books, Anne of Green Gables, and many biographies.
3. I wish I could say that my older two boys love reading as much as I wish that they did. But they don't. They do enjoy read aloud time. However, outside of school reading, they just don't gravitate towards books. That's why I am excited about reading these links to see if we can spark that fire that might lead to them reading a bit more! Our four-year-old is not a reader yet but loves to thumb through books so maybe he will enjoy reading as much as his mom. :)
My boys have loved pretty much every Bethlehem book published. Bethlehembooks.com
ReplyDeleteFunny enough my 13 ds really enjoyed "They Loved to Laugh" and "Little Women" ( little men too). Madeline Takes Command was a huge hit for all the kids ( boys and girls)
Some favorites:
ReplyDeleteJohnny Tremain – I can still remember my teacher reading this aloud to us during our Revolutionary War studies. Thrilling adventure, boy protagonist, Revolutionary War, and some real moral lessons. My boys ate this up.
Call it Courage- I hesitated to read this to my own boys (it seemed so sad- the protagonist’s mother had died when he was a baby!)- but my husband remembered it so strongly and so fondly that I dove in. And it is sad in parts! But the title really says it all- it’s about courage (and big adventures!)and my boys loved it!
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler- Family favorite- both mine when I was young (with 4 brothers and no sisters!) and now a big time favorite in my own family.
Love these comments, thank you! I'll have to make time to click through and pin those links for the future :)
ReplyDelete1. I'm pretty similar to what the others have expressed...heroic virtue, clear morality, and no confusion of archetypes. I think I would add that I try not to introduce unwanted behavior with books that are trying to teach a lesson. Especially with the little ones, I remember having to stop reading picture books right in the middle because so many of them seem to feature a child misbehaving then somehow learning from that. Sounds good except that I realized I was giving ideas to a certain child who was a natural pleaser and had never even THOUGHT to lie or hit his brother or whatever. And I don't allow books where there is attitude or nastiness. I began reading the first Magic Treehouse and didn't like the vibe at all which was a bummer because otherwise they'd be neat books.
2. Narnia is definitely a favorite. The Mistmantle Chronicles are a huge hit with my oldest and he's always asking me to read them to him. Some very intense topics and violence, though, so not for the under 8 or so crowd. Definitely the Little House books. John Paul loves the Childhood of Famous Americans series. It's an old one that I picked up at a school closing sale. We're excited to introduce the LOTR trilogy in a few years but I don't think he's ready for it yet.
Grateful for all the ideas!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do not have any sons, it is safe to say Athena's reading habits are those of a boy. She is not interested in "princesses who just sit around waiting to be rescued" (her words) but is always much more interested in strong characters. For this reason she adored the Billy and Blaze series. A little old, but most good books are old, in my opinion, but still easy to find. She loved Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat. Two boys adventures again. Anything by Thornton Burgess. The animal stories are the best. And if you can get them, the Canadian Flyer Series is awesome. A boy and a girl find a sled which takes them on adventures in different periods of history.
HI Sarah,
ReplyDeleteAs an old "boy" I'm glad to see folks like you promoting books for boys. I grew up nearly living in the local library and don't understand why boys won't read. Maybe the wrong kind of books, or too much electronics. Thanks for helping boys.
Having had four girls first (all adults now) and three boys, I will say that our reading list differs a bit. I know that boys *can* enjoy Pride and Prejudice, but I just don't see it right now (my daughters loved it!!) And the Ann of Green Gables series and Grandma's Attic... I don't want to be seen as politically incorrect, but there is a difference.
ReplyDeleteHowever, an adventure story like "Island of the Blue Dolphins" was a favorite of my girls and my boys. "Bears of Blue River"- not so much. My girls would have been horrified. My one daughter, who would read almost anything, thought that "My SIde of the Mountain" was boring. My boys thought it was fantastic.
I think there are generalizations when it comes to reading preferences. There is nothing wrong with "boy books" and "girl books". As long as those titles are used to find good books that appeal to a particular group. Keeping mind that many books can be on both lists (Little House Books, Peter and the Star Catchers), and that any child's taste should dictate what he or she reads- not their gender.
Here is our list of "boy books" that I kept from about 2006 - 2010 started when my oldest son was about 6yo.
http://www.amazon.com/Favorite-read-aloud-books-for-boys/lm/R3JO7IGXALU863/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full
I don't have time to be as long-winded as I usually am about books and reading aloud (you're welcome :), but I thought I'd answer your questions real quick.
ReplyDelete1. I don't specifically look for 'boy' books for my son, so I'm not sure how to answer this one. If it's a good book and has characters you care about, it will draw the reader in and they want to keep reading, so it's quality I look for more than content. That said, we're quite picky about what books our kids are exposed to, and since we read aloud so many we can discuss any issues that come up along the way.
2. My son is in his teens now, so this list will be pretty far-reaching :)
- My Father's Dragon series (especially the first one)
- The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet
- Summer of the Monkeys
- Tintin
- Moomintroll books
- Redwall series
- Narnia series
- Little House books
- Anne of Green Gables (he *loved* this- laughed out loud through most of it :) He's reading the rest of the series for 'school' this year)
- The Search for Delicious (one of the books we couldn't read when his friends couldn't make it to our evening read aloud time :)
- The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings
- Harry Potter
- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
- The Gammage Cup and its sequel
- anything by Robert Louis Stevenson (in particular Treasure Island)
- Wind in the Willows
- Hunger Games series
- anything by Rick Riordan
- John Christopher's Tripod Series
- The Phantom Tollbooth
- Robin Hood by Pyle
- The Goose Girl series and others by same author
- Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn
- The Ranger's Apprentice series
- Rowen of Rin series
- Prydain Chronicles and others by Lloyd Alexander
- Freddy the Pig series
- The Borrowers series
- Charlotte's Web and others by E. B. White
- anything by Robert McClosky
- most (but not all) by Jack London and Farley Mowat
- Sherlock Holmes
- Robinson Crusoe
- Oliver Twist
- everything by Jane Austen (wonderful male characters- both to emulate and to avoid being like :)
- Ender's Game
- the Moffats series
- Half-Magic series
- The Little Duke
- Understood Betsy (one of his all-time favourites)
- Mr. Popper's Penguins
- The Door in the Wall
- Adam of the Road
- Just David
- Hans Brinker
These are off the top of my head- I'll have to take a look through our bookshelves to refresh my memory.
3. My son is 15yo, and loves to read. He has quite severe APD and dyslexia, and didn't read fluently until he was 12. We read aloud as much as we can every day, and his exposure to great books helped tremendously when he was finally able to manage them on his own. He literally went from reading the BOB Books to Tintin overnight, and Harry Potter a month later. He enjoys quite a few newer books as well as classics, which I think is important in a well-rounded reader, though he's very discriminating and will ditch a book that he feels is not worthy of his time and effort.
I was just about to post a few of our faves, and noticed you have almost everything on my list! Mine has a few that weren't on yours, so I am posting anyway! No particular order....
DeleteLaura Ingalls Wilder (Little House series)
E.B. White -Charlotte & Trumpet
Robert McCloskey - Homer Price series
Thorton Burgess -read a few alound - they read them all as silent reading
Hugh Lofting - Dr. Doolittle series
Walter R. Brooks (Freddy series) - MAJOR FAVORITE!!!
Lloyd Alexander (The Chronicles of Prydain)
Carol Ryrie Brink(Caddy Woodlawn and Andy Buckram's Tin Men)
Eleanor Estes (Moffets Series)
Jean Creaghead George (My Side series)
Hilda van Stockum (Mitchells series & Bantry Bay series & Day on Skates)
Fr. Francis J. Finn (Tom Playfair series)
Brian Jacques (Redwall series)
Leonard Wibberley (Treegate series)
Donald Sobol (Encyclopedia Brown - only have read the older ones)
Andrew Lang (Color Fairy Books) (also available on librivox.org)
CS Lewis (Chronicles)
Mr. Popper's Penguins
The Phantom Tollbooth
Johnny Tremain
The Hobbit
Robin Hood -Howard Pyle
The Cricket in Times Square
Swallows and Amazons
King of the Golden City - a must for children receiving sacraments! We just finished for 2nd time around.
Okay, these 2 lists have some great titles that I had either forgotten about or not yet considered. Making a list from these lists right now!
DeleteMy oldest is an 8 year old who is not fluently reading yet. A bit disconcerting for me, but I do believe that had he been reading a lot earlier, I would have had a lot less motivation to do read alouds. As it is, they are now a firm part of our family living and learning. A BIG hit with my son was Old Yeller- he must have listened to it on audio at least 8 times. It took me a while to realize that so much of the story centers around the oldest son (who was 14 maybe?) taking on pretty much the entire responsibility of caring for his mother and younger brother while his father is away. The witness of Almanzo in The Long Winter (I think?) still haunts me- how he risked his own life so that the town could have food to eat, and without him they might have starved. How many men today can we say have that kind of moral backbone?? I haven't thought a lot about the question of what kind of heroes are in the books that we read aloud, because it seems like--with the good stuff--you don't have to go looking and they are naturally there. Another point- Martin Cothran of Memoria Press pointed out in a lecture I heard that you don't need to be afraid of your kids reading/hearing about a character who is really bad, thinking that they will go out and do those things. It is almost like, through this character, your child is able to see what bad choices those were, and through other people viewing them as bad, to think, "I don't want people to see me that way." I guess the danger would be those books who DON'T portray bad actions and choices as bad, and have those around him affirm those choices...
ReplyDeleteSwiss Family Robinson is a big hit right now, with all the details about living off of the land...I appreciated a previous post saying that her son loved Anne of Green Gables- that gives me the green light there :) thanks for all the additional insights. Though he isn't reading, it is truly a joy to be sharing wonderful books with my son, and to realize how rich I am making his world through the books. It is such a shared family experience as well, as we are all able to refer back to the books and know what the other is talking about.
I forgot to throw out this question in my previous post--because of all the bad literature in libraries today, I haven't found going to the library as a family to be a very enriching experience, and my strategy right now has been to select books for read aloud myself, put them on hold, and then run in to get them. I would, however, like my kids to have a regular library experience growing up. No joke, when I was younger and wanted to read a book, I never thought of the library, but would always buy it! How do you make going to the library a good family experience without coming home with a lot of poor quality books?
ReplyDeleteThis is SUCH a great question, Caroline. I struggle with this myself, although I do haul my troops into the library every single week. I'd love to get some ideas on how to do this without coming home with loads of garbage.
DeleteLet's make it the next Read-Aloud Revival topic, shall we?
Everyone think about LIBRARY VISITS and we'll chat in March! :)
I had such an unfortunate incident at the library lately (well, two). I don't generally take all 5 kids to the library very often (though my husband does.) We have alot of good books at home, and I really try to protect them from outside influences (we home school.) Well, they had piles of books, and as we were checking out, amidst all the confusion, one caught my eye (about families) that I meant to intercept later. But I forgot. And they read it. And it was a piece of propaganda saying all families are special, including, well you can guess. The other time, my 11 year old found in the changing table of the FAMILY restroom a handbook of immoral 'sex'. I use the term loosely, since it wasn't directed at married people, but was of the unnatural variety (directed at females.) Not the kind of thing I want on my daughter's radar. I was pretty horrified, and discouraged, because if you can't take your kids to the public library, where can you take them?! In the first case the book was specifically geared at kids (very insidious) and in the second, it wasn't like they found it on the bookstacks in the adult section. Could it have been planted? sigh. I hope your library experiences don't follow mine!
ReplyDeleteMy boy is 10 weeks old, so he's only listening to the books his older sisters choose at the moment. However, there's an author/series that I haven't seen included in any of these lists who I'm amazed was overlooked. I loved the stories as a girl, but really, I think they're boys stories (if you want to be gender specific) and definitely ones I want my little guy to be exposed to someday. The Little Britches series by Ralph Moody is GREAT!
ReplyDeleteI have five boys, the oldest is 18. He has always loved reading--and tested out of his Analyzing and Interpreting Literature without even really studying (3 college credit hours!). These are my son's absolute favorites--his go-to books all the time--and I agree. I love all of these, too--so I was surprised to not see them in any of the comments or the lists (admittedly, I only scanned), except for the comment just above (Ralph Moody). Here are our absolute favorites!
ReplyDelete-The Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz (nail-biting action/adventure of a boy "spy"--seriously, I could not even put these down!)
-Little Britches series, by Ralph Moody (Man of the Family, Fields of Home, Mary Emma and Company, Shaking the Nickel Bush, Horse of a Different Color, etc.) These books really inspired my son to become a harder worker--just by the example of character in the books!
-G.W. Henty historical fiction novels (He especially loves the dramatized audio versions--and these were great for boosting his reading level at age 12, as he listened to these while he mowed the lawn).
-Almost all the books offered by Lamplighter Publishing, but most especially:
That Printer of Udell's
Ishmael, and its sequel, "Self-Raised"
The Hidden Hand (my son wants to name his firstborn daughter after the heroine in this book, "Capitola!")
The Lost Clue
The Wrestler of Philippi
Titus, Comrade of the Cross
.... and dozens more of their titles, many perfect for boys
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Where the Red Fern Grows
The Chronicles of Narnia
Calvin & Hobbes (of course, I had to put serious limitations on how much he could read these!)
The Far Side
Happy reading!
I skimmed all the way down to be sure the Ralph Moody books were on the list, and now I'm your third comment in a row to mention them! Definitely on our tip-top favorite read alouds (I have five boys, ages 1, nearly 7,8,11,12, plus a girl who is 3), along with the Lord of the Rings and the Narnia books.
ReplyDeleteOne other one that we recently discovered and I don't think I saw this mentioned above, is the series by Elizabeth Enright that starts with The Saturdays. We started the series a month or two back and are on the third one now and we all love them! The protagonists are the Melendy siblings, two boys, two girls, so it has plenty of appeal for the whole family, and we've all laughed right out loud (including my husband), which is a huge winner for a family read aloud :)
Gretchen
I've just discovered your blog today (March 2013) and am enjoying reading back through the archives! We love read alouds at my house and books for boys is a great topic. A bit about us, we've always homeschooled, we lean toward Charlotte Mason with lots of living books, and I'm expecting my eighth child in July. It will be my 6th son! My 2 girls are age 11 and 7, with the boys being 8, 5, 4, 2, 1, baby coming in July.
ReplyDeleteSome favorites at my house:
By the Great Horn Spoon
Narnia series
Fablehaven Series (with brother/sister main characters)
Swiss Family Robinson (we're nearly finished with this one)
The Twenty One Balloons
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz plus a few sequals
Little Men (sequel to Little Women, awesome for boys!)
The Story Girl by LM Montgomery (she wrote Anne of Green Gables. THis one is about some cousins a mix of boys and girls, written from one of the boys. Sweet, funny, wonderful!)
Oh, and I nearly forgot we also love the books by Rick Riordan. Really great to kick start an interest in mythology! He has 3 series. First is the Percy Jackson series of 5 books beginning with The Lightning Thief. Greek mythology abounds. He's working on a second series of 5 (3 are out) that follow that series and is called Heroes of Olympus. This explores Roman mythology that correlates to the Greek. Third series is a trilogy called The Kane Chronicles and it focuses on Egyptian mythology (which means some magic is involved too). Also interesting but I've not read it to my younger kids yet, though 11yo enjoyed them.
DeleteWe like Madeline L'Engel books (Wrinkle in Time, etc.)
ReplyDeleteMy family seems to really go for the fantasy genre (which they must have inherited from my husband, the sci fi afficionado). So they are all happily eating up the Lord of the Rings trilogy (having finished the Hobbit), which they read aloud at "tea time", winding down before bed, while I make myself scarce since I have zero interest.
They have also enjoyed E. Nesbit (she also has a retelling of Shakespeare that I got), as well as Edward Eager books. They really got immersed in the Rats of NIMPH, which they were reading to each other. We have some of the Borrowers series on our shelves, as well as The Wind in the Willows, which I may get around to breaking out one of these days, if I can get a word in edgewise between the ongoing Lord of the Rings.
My favorites growing up were Beverly Cleary, still as fresh as ever; enjoyable reading again, this time as adults. Otis Spofford is laugh-out-loud, funny, as is Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, by Betty MacDonald.
-Colby S.