Don’t you just love reading on winter afternoons? Especially when it looks a bit like this?
Don’t hate me because I’m warm. (Or was warm, rather. It’s all a distant memory now.)
As you can see, I’m deep into A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book One
What Nate’s reading (age 12): Nate’s reading the Maximum Ride series
What Calvin’s reading (age 10): What isn’t Calvin reading? He reads so fast, I’ve been trying to convince him to buy a Kindle with his Christmas money, just to better keep him in books. He’s sailed through the Warriors series
What Toby’s reading (age 7): Toby is finally old enough to read the Magic Treehouse series and Junie B. Jones on his own, so naturally, he wants to fish in bigger waters. Therefore, I’m reading Collin’s The Underland Chronicles
Charlie’s reading more crime mysteries; I have no idea what right now, as he reads as fast as Calvin. Also on our nightstands are Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
my read shelf:
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Ooh, thanks for the list. Now I know what to get my hubby for Valentine’s day–he reads fantasy, but only “good” fantasy…the snob.
As far as 12-year-old classics go, I’m still traumatized by every Steinbeck book I ever read (The Red Pony!?!), so I vote ‘no’ on Of Mice and Men. What abut Tom Sawyer? Treasure Island? Robinson Crusoe? I loved all those around that age (along with many girlie books I won’t bother mentioning).
My 10-y-o just plowed through the Secret series, and has been dipping in and out of the Redwall series (which has the advantage of being like 25 books long), the six-year-olds are reading “In a People House” and Dick and Jane and I’m wading into a big tall stack of short story collections for my grad program. I think that beach would help a lot!
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We read Swiss Family Robinson together (that’s a dry read!) and I’ve suggested Tom Sawyer to him. I think I need to force that one on him and see what he thinks. And yes, I have so many girlie book loves, but alas…
I read the first chapter of A Game of Thrones (the first book), and decided, even though I AM a huge fantasy buff, that they weren’t for me. Weird, I know!
Does Nate like fantasy? I think I was around twelve when I started reading Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising Series … though the protagonist of that series is eleven at the start, so it might actually be better for Calvin. And yes, I second the Redwall recommendation! Calvin might also like, if you can find them, some of the really old Lone Ranger or Roy Rogers novels. I loved those as a kid. Hardy Boys? I read through my dad’s entire collection when I was between ten and twelve (Nancy Drew, in my considered opinion, was LAME).
Diane Duane’s Young Wizards series is another good one Nate might like if he does fantasy – the main characters are a boy and a girl, and even though they are mostly told from the girl’s perspective, the readers get to see enough of the boy that the books don’t feel at all girl-oriented.
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We’ll look for Young Wizards! Thank you! Calvin read through all the Redwall but not Dark is Rising; will look that one up too! I remember thinking Nancy Drew was dumb, too! I was a Hardy girl, myself. ;)
Thank you for the ideas! I have a 9 year old and finding books that are at his reading level and suit his interests has proved to be very challenging. I will have to check some of these out!
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It’s so hard! Especially when half of my favorites are girl-centered, and not of interest to him.
My 9 year old is currently reading Where the Red Fern Grows, and loving it.
We read that one aloud. Loved it. Cried, too, of course.
Did you read the Redwalls aloud? ahhhh those were the days! : )
How about Lloyd Alexander, Madeline L’Engle, Konigsburg, Katherine Paterson, Jean Craighead George, The Giver; A Single Shard; Bud, not Buddy; Watership Down; the sequels to Indian in the Cupboard; Words by Heart by Sebestyn………
Great list! We’ve covered some of this territory, but will be downloading Kindle samples of the rest!
Okay, Amy, freaking out! Love goodreads. Never heard of it before tonight, but way cool. What an awesome idea! Looked at your list. Yes, yes, yes, Gone With the Wind. One of the best books I’ve EVER read. Read it when Phoebe was little. 3 or 4 months old. All I had to do was breastfeed and read. I didn’t see Cold Mountain on your list. Another of my all-time favorites. But Gone With the Wind…I just so wanted Rhett and Scarlet to be a thing! Another great read where the author died before the next great novel was written was Cold Sassy Tree. And another good romance where the guy gets the girl, Pride and Prejudice. Now I hope I see you tomorrow.
We’re so in sync! I also loved Cold Mountain AND Cold Sassy Tree. And of course Austen. My Goodreads list is woefully incomplete, but it was taking too much time! How is it possible you hadn’t heard of it?! :)
Have your boys tried the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan? Those books are very good, and action packed. My 12 yo boy loved them!(So did my 14 yo daughter.)
Yes, they loved those, Amie! I enjoyed reading them aloud, too!