Boys read too

Listen, I don’t subscribe to the idea that there are girl things and boy things.  While I may be what is typically called a “girly girl”, it’s by choice and not genetic shackling.

If my kids want to play with dolls, trucks or lab rats, I don’t care, as long as I don’t step on it in the middle of the night.

That being said, I’m probably not going to convince my son to read more by handing him my first edition copy of Sweet Valley High.

The holidays are coming and I think books make great gifts for kids.  Books are an especially good gift for boys who are so. not. impressed. with clothes (and really don’t need another video game.  Really.  Please.)

As of December 14th, I’ll have a 10 year old boy, so the focus of this post is “mid-grade” books for boys.  (Most of these books will work for girls as well, obviously, but I wanted to concentrate specifically on ideas for boys today.)  Let’s just pretend it’s not called “Buy Her” for a moment.

Gift Ideas For Boys:  10 Books

1. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

From Publishers Weekly:

“When the pilot of a small, two-person plane has a heart attack and dies, Brian has to crash land in the forest of a Canadian wilderness. He has little time to realize how alone he is, because he is so busy just trying to survive. And learning to survive, to plan on food not just for a day but until and if he is rescued, only begins when he stops pitying himself and understands that no one can help him.”

I remember this as an amazing story of a 13 year old boy stranded in the wilderness after a plane crash.  Reading the reviews again years later reminded me of the additional back story about a boy whose parents are going through a divorce.

It’s recommended for children 9-12.

2. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

Who among us does not remember the first time we read this book – and cried like babies?  I remember having it read to me in a classroom and being amazed as all the boys in my class sat beside me and cried just as hard as I did.  This is an especially wonderful book for kids with a soft spot for animals.

3. The Call of the Wild by Jack London

More animals, more nature.  This book is recommended for “young adults” but I would be happy to see my 10 year old curled up with this classic.  What makes this story different from the first two is that it’s told from the animal’s perspective.  It’s much more raw and complicated than the first two stories.

4.The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The very first sentence of this book reminds us that we first learned about Huckleberry Finn in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  Now it’s Huck’s turn.  It’s another great adventure story with young boys as the central characters.  If you’re having trouble getting your son interested in reading, having them read a story with a main character they can more easily relate to is helpful.

5. The Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald

The first in a series, this was one of my favorite books as a kid.  I adored the main character, J.D, and aspired to be as clever as he was.  I remember vividly the story of the first indoor water closet and J.D. selling admission to the flushable toilet to his friends and neighbors.  To my young mind, this kid was a genius.

6. The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

If your child is into mysteries (hint: was Scooby Doo their favorite cartoon?), there’s a good chance they’ll love The Boxcar Children Mysteries.  The stories center around four orphans, ages 5-15, and is a great starter for beginner readers.  The book was written in the 1942 by a teacher who cleverly used only the 500 most common words in the English language to create a very easy to read, yet exciting, beginning chapter book for 7 and 8 year olds.

7. The Hardy Boys by Franklin W. Dixon

There are dozens and dozens of books in The Hardy Boys series, and this starter set includes the first 6 in the series. The picture at the top of this post? That’s my son, enthralled in a Hardy Boy book and neglecting his beloved Nintendo DS in order to finish it.

8. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

My son read this book recently and we actually had a discussion about how much we would have to get paid to eat fried worms. That may sound like a small thing, unless you’ve had a 9 year old boy – who never wants to talk to his mother anymore. The book is hysterical and disgusting at the same time as the characters concoct a myriad of ways to eat big, juicy worms.

9. Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos by Robert Lawson

This was the book that got me interested in history and historical figures, although at the time I just thought it was really cool that this mouse thought he helped Benjamin Franklin do so much. I went on to read more “Insert Important Name Here and Me” books, and the historical events they covered were never more accessible to a young kid.

10. Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

OH, how I cried when Charlotte died. But I don’t plan on telling my son that. Instead, I’m going to lead with “it’s a story about a pig and a spider”. That should lure him in. If not, I’ll mention the potential slaughtering of said pig.

What favorites did I miss?

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