Books for Kids

[Snipe]

I have been reading to my 7 year old at night since he was 5. We went through the whole Harry Potter series (except the last one). I read to him for about a half an hour before bed. He can't get enough. Some of those Potter books took a couple months to get through.

We are finishing up the Spiderwick Chronicles and I am looking for a book or a series that would be good to get into. We have done the Hobbit. That was good. I am holding off on Lord of the Rings because that is a bit much. That will be a great one though and that book could last me three months. I can't wait to get that started.

Looking for something that is relatively clean, not too gory, not too mature, but still is a good story that captures the imagination.

Any recommendations?

[The Artist]

Not sure if this would fit, but my favorite book about that age was James and the Giant Peach.

[BBC 08]

The Boxcar Children is a great series for kids. I lived with one of those books or a Goosebumps in my backpack at all times.

[wkrq59]

How about The Princess Bride? Just kidding. "Mawwrydge is what..." and ROUSess (Rodents of unusual size.).
A relatively short and lite book is Raspberry Ink. Might be nice for a change of pace. I used to read my grandson to sleep with it. Of course I made up songs form some of the poems.

[Stonebreaker]

I always liked the 'Great Brain' book series from John Dennis Fitzgerald. They are the BEST, and around 7-10 yrs is a great age to read them.

# The Great Brain (1967)
# More Adventures of the Great Brain (1969)
# Me and My Little Brain (1971)
# The Great Brain At The Academy (1972)
# The Great Brain Reforms (1973)
# The Return of the Great Brain (1974)
# The Great Brain Does It Again (1976)
# The Great Brain Is Back

[Snipe]

Thanks for the suggestions and keep them coming.

Stoney,

The Cincinnati Library only has "More adventures of the Great Brain". They don't have any of the other books in the series.

I faintly remember the Boxcar children. I will look into that. This week we will move on to James and the Giant Peach.

[Juice]

If your child like sports, you could always read the classic Matt Christopher stories. I always read those as a kid.

[Araceli]

If you can find them, I suggest the SECRETARY HAWKINS series. My brother tells me that they have been published again recently. The series was written during the 1930-1940 period and are along the lines of Huck Finn. The series really describes the Ohio River area, the Steamboats etc. I had the full collection as a kid and regretfully lost everything during a move from Spain to England. Your kids will start reading and won´t stop.

[KC4X]

Not all kids are into educational books, but my 2 sons loved when I read books about insects, plants, spiders, and dinosaurs to them. They had me read them over and over and really learned from them. One of my favorite short story books is The Giving Tree. I think it's good for all ages.

[Muskie73]

The Chronicles of Narnia series might also be a good bet. It's timely in that the movie came out a year or two ago and your child may recognize the name.

[Stonebreaker]

Thanks for the suggestions and keep them coming.

Stoney,

The Cincinnati Library only has "More adventures of the Great Brain". They don't have any of the other books in the series.

I faintly remember the Boxcar children. I will look into that. This week we will move on to James and the Giant Peach.


Yeah, I read the Boxcar Children and James and the Giant Peach. My favs were Great Brain books and Tin Tin.

http://www.retrotrader.com/catalog/images/new030%20036.jpg

[MADXSTER]

I'll report in tomorrow. I always have told my kids that they could stay up as late as they wanted as long as they were reading. I just checked and my 8 & 15 year olds are still up reading in bed. My 13 & 10 year olds have fallen asleep with books laying in their beds. They are all very good students and I attributte that to letting them read whenever they want.

My 13 year old will have books and authors for you. He's a very reliable source when it comes to these matters. I'll let you know.

Good job on reading to your kid. It's priceless.

[Stonebreaker]

Oh yeah......I read the Tom Swift books alot too.

http://www.timewarptoys.com/tswift.jpg

[Kahns Krazy]

The Chronicles of Narnia series might also be a good bet. It's timely in that the movie came out a year or two ago and your child may recognize the name.

That would have been my suggestion also.

Other books I remember from being little: The toothpaste millionaire (pretty short), The Judy Blume books. The phantom tollbooth.

My brother was a big "Hardy boys" fan.

[Muskie]

Charlie and the Cholocate Factory and then the lesser acclaimed Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator

[XUglow]

Self-help books that I recommend AGAINST reading to kids:

Self Medication Guide - by Lindsey Lohan
Lose Unwanted Weight Fast - by Mary-Kate Olsen
Final Four Success - by Ben Howland
Raising Kids - by Britney Spears
The Presidency Made Simple - by George Bush
Invest Without Fear - by Bernie Ebbers
Growing Up Normal - by Michael Jackson
What's For Dinner? - by Jeffrey Dahmer
Anger Management - by Russell Crowe
T-E-A-M: Team - by Kobe Bryant
Fun with Dogs - by Michael Vick
Make Everyone Happy - by Rosie O'Donnell
Guide to Dating - by DC Muskie
Win-Win TV Packages - by Linda Blutarsky

[chico]

I have all girls, but my oldest (9) and number 2 (6) love the Magic Treehouse books. The oldest has also been reading Nancy Drew books for a couple years, so maybe Hardy Boys would work for your son.

I'd also second the Boxcar Kids.

[Xalias]

There is a series of books called "The Sisters Grimm" that is really terrific. Don't let the "sisters" in the title dissuade you from getting them for your son, I've given them to both boys and girls both have loved them and are always looking for the next book in the series to come out - five have been published and a sixth is due next month.

The concept of the series is very creative and will make you as well as your children laugh. The series was Al Roker's pick for the Today Show Book Club, NY Times bestseller and has won a bunch of awards. As a note of disclosure, the author is a friend, despite that, the books are great. www.sistersgrimm.com

[The Artist]

The Chronicles of Narnia series might also be a good bet. It's timely in that the movie came out a year or two ago and your child may recognize the name.

The Chronic-WHAT-cles are Narnia!

[xeus]

Snipe - this happens to be right up my alley.

First, you really can't go wrong with the Newbery Award winners. Chosen annually by American Library Association, these books are, through the years, some of the very best in children's literature:

Newbery Award winners (http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/newberymedal/newberyhonors/newberymedal.cfm)

Of that distinguished list there are some better than others, and the reading levels range from chapter books (Frog & Toad) on up to young adult, but they are always a good (and safe) bet.

I don't even know where to begin on my personal recommendations, but I will give you a list that I think you will enjoy. You should let me know what kind of themes you are comfortable with, and I can tailor a list for you. You want to make sure he's engaged in the reading, so a good mix of chapter books and 8+ fiction is the way to go. I'm doing this by author, but please PM me if you need more info on the books - some of these recommendations may be heavier than you want.

Christopher Paul Curtis: Bud Not Buddy, and The Watsons Go to Birmingham.

Kate DiCamillo: Because of Winn-Dixie, and other books.

Winston Rawls: Where the Red Fern Grows.

Any and all of the Dr Seuss books - although he is 7, and these may seem like "baby" books, you may really enjoy helping him see some of Dr Seuss's themes in books like Bartholomew and the Oobleck.

The Beverly Cleary books are always great. The Ramona books are classics, and so are the Henry books. These are a nice reading level for your son also - they are a little longer but accessible like a chapter book.

Matt Christopher: any of his sports book

JD Fitzgerald: the Great Brain books

the Boxcar Children series.

Lemony Snicket: The Series of Unfortunate Events books

CS Lewis: The Chronicles of Narnia.

Louis Sachar: Holes and other books.

Jon Scieszka: "The Time Warp Trio" series.

Jerry Spinelli: Maniac Magee, Crash, and other books.

Gail Carson Levine: Dave at Night, and other books.

Andrew Clements: Frindle, and other books.

Donald Sobol: the Encyclopedia Brown series.

Roald Dahl: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and other books.

E.B White: Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little.

Gary Paulsen: Hatchet, and other books.

Katherine Paterson: Bridge to Terabithia, and other books.

Richard Peck: A Long Way from Chicago, A Year Down Yonder, and other books.

Sharon Creech: The Wanderer, and other books.

Ann Cameron: The Stories Julian Tells

Jeff Brown: Flat Stanley

Paula Danziger: Amber Brown is Not a Crayon

Lynne Reid Banks: The Indian in the Cupboard series

Judy Blume: Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing and the other Fudge books.

Sheila Burnford: The Incredible Journey

Frances Hodgson Burnett: The Secret Garden.

Edward Eager: the Half Magic series

Louise Fitzhugh: Harriet the Spy.

Jean Craighead George: Julie of the Wolves, My Side of the Mountain.

Marguerite Henry: the Misty of Cincoteague series

Brain Jacques: The Redwall series

EL Konigsburg: From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler

Norman Juster: Phantom Tollbooth

Patricia McLachlan: Sarah, Plain and Tall

Scott O'Dell: Island of the Blue Dolphins

Phillip Pullman: His Dark Materials series (1st book OK, 2 and 3 get HEAVY, so wait maybe - but this is absolutely one of the best series ever and a personal favorite)

George Selden: The Cricket in Times Square

Mary Pope Osborne: the Magic Tree House series

Theodore Taylor: The Cay

Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Little House series.

Franklin W Dixon: The Hardy Boys series.

And don't forget nonfiction - there are some great biographies, science books, history books - I especially recommend getting some good picture book format history books.

And of course the classics - Peter Pan, Wind in the Willows, Alice in Wonderland, Call of the Wild, etc ...

OK, I think that's a pretty good start for you, but please let me know if you have any specific questions - some of these picks are more or less accessible for a 7 year old, and some are more intense thematically. Just PM me if you have any questions.

[joebba]

I liked the Henry Reed children's books. Sort of a lighter Hardy boys.

[KC4X]

OK, Xeus has inspired me to root through my book shelves... some of his suggestions brought back great memories. Here's my list to add to his:

-Magic School Bus series
-Berenstain Bears series
-Captain Underpants series (I know, but the boys loved them.)
-Many, many dinosaur books (any I could find), but the favorite was: "The Visual Dictionary of DINOSAURS" - Eyewitness Visual Dictionaries - I highly recommend any of the Eyewitness Visual Dictionaries... a lot of pictures and very educational. (My boys loved the one about plants, too.)
-"Extremely Weird Bats" - John Muir Publications, Text by Sarah Lovett - This one is worn out they loved it so much.

I also had some great spider books but must have given them away. They pretty much loved any book about them.

Also, if you're reading to him and he enjoyed Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl may be OK. I'm not sure how age-appropriate it is, though. My son just read one of them in the past year and he is 13.

[xeus]

Yes, the Captain Underpants books are awesome. And Snipe, you could read those with both your boys and you'd have a blast.

[X-band '01]

Katherine Paterson: Bridge to Terabithia


That's a great book (and made into a mediocre movie, IMHO), but I think the themes of that particular book are more pre-teen to teenage children than they would be for a 6-year-old, mainly because one of the lead characters suddenly dies about 2/3s of the way through the book.

Another series of books I would recommend - The Indian In The Cupboard, The Return of the Indian, and The Secret of the Indian by Lynne Reid Banks. The books center around a 12-year-old boy who takes an Indian figurine, locks it into a cupboard, and transports an 18th-century Iroquois brave into the 20th century. It's sort of like the Back To The Future movies, except one person gets pulled forward in time.

[X-band '01]

How about The Princess Bride? Just kidding. "Mawwrydge is what..." and ROUSess (Rodents of unusual size.).
A relatively short and lite book is Raspberry Ink. Might be nice for a change of pace. I used to read my grandson to sleep with it. Of course I made up songs form some of the poems.

"When does it get good? Where's the sports? ......

Is this a kissing book?"

[Stonebreaker]

I read Little House on the Prairie.....but (in my defense), I've always been a history buff.