A Must-Read Book List For Boys (Girls too!)
Is your Lego-building, light-saber-wielding, Nerf-gun-shooting boy ready to jump into the world of chapter books? Take a look at this must-read book list for boys. Oh, girls love ’em too!
When my son is finally worn out and ready for a bit of “quiet time”, he likes to read. He made the leap into chapter books over the summer. So the other day I asked him what “Must-Read” book list he would recommend to other kids his age. He got all excited and began writing his list. When he handed me his list, I was surprised to see that it was mostly made up of just a few book series.
Even at the tender age of 8, my son has found a variety of genres that appeal to him! Fab! Once reading became smoother and easier, the first thing he enjoyed was non-fiction. He was captivated by science and history books. He was/is a sponge for facts of all kinds. Now just a year or two later, he has finally catapulted into the world of chapter books, both fiction & non-fiction.
Since we made our move overseas, we don’t have a large number of books on the bookshelf (yet). Most have been from the local charity shops with a few new ones received as special gifts. And we use our Kindle a lot! Many of our favorites can be found on Amazon. Some we even find on LibriVox. Librivox is a great resource for audiobooks and they even have an app. For beginning readers, reading along with an audiobook is a great way to introduce chapter books, while mastering reading skills. Gutenberg Project is also a great place to look for the public domain, classic books. I love the classics!
Looking for a high school British literature curriculum with a must-read book list? Grab all the details for the era your teen wants to explore in these posts.
An 8-year-old’s Must-Read Book List
Horrible Histories.
Yep! Both my kids love them! The way Terry Deary writes these just makes kids remember history. And science, geography, and math. The subjects covered really come alive, so put these books at the top of any “must-read” book list for boys.
The Farside Gallery.
What boy doesn’t like comics? The attraction to The Farside sparked when we were on holiday and forgot the Kindle. While in a charity bookshop, my son decided this was the book to enjoy on our long holiday weekend. Now he keeps it on his nightstand.
The Redwall Series.
This series was given to my daughter. When my son saw how much she enjoyed it (Let’s just say there were several scenes of “Will you PLEASE play with me?” followed by, “No I’m reading Redwall. Maybe later.”), he decided he needed to check it out too. It’s the series that catapulted him into the world of children’s literature in a way only clever, imaginative writing can do. There are several editions available, so don’t be fooled by the different covers.
The Chronicles of Narnia.
My son’s book collection would not be complete without this series. It is another “go-to” book series for him. He picks it up for a few days, enjoys it, and then moves on. Reading it in small chunks is perfect for him. This book can also be found with both classic covers and more modern ones, but they’re the same enjoyable stories.
The Action Bible.
This one surprised me a bit. It’s comic book style and he loves it. It’s visual. He can enjoy it in manageable sections and can come back to it regularly. We have the Kindle version, so it’s easily accessible.
Dead Famous.
These books are similar to Horrible Histories, except their focus is on telling the stories of famous people or groups of famous people such as inventors and writers. You get the idea!
If you want to broaden your child’s world and mix in some fun with some subjects that might otherwise get a bit dry at times, this booklist (a collection chosen by an 8-year-old) is a fun foundation that will inspire a love for reading that will last a lifetime.
Now, back to lightsabers and Legos!
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Must Read Book List of Quality Literature
Your kids studying anything about England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland will enjoy A United Kingdom Reading List For Tweens & Teens.
You will also want to check out these literature resources in the shop.
Literature
A Book Report Bundle to go with your must-read booklist
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My boys have read many of the books you’ve listed here, but in my mind one of the important things we can do as parents is to encourage our boys to read books about girls. I argue this for many reasons:
1) It is a way of encouraging boys to see things from different perspectives.
2) It allow boys to enjoy “feminine” things (without in any way suggesting that they aren’t boys for doing so. We’re getting better as a society in saying that girls can enjoy “boyish” things. We should be doing the same for boys.
3) It lets our daughters to know that their interests are not somehow lesser things that are good enough for them but not for their brothers.
Oh, I totally agree! This list is a list my son chose to read. This week alone he also read about Eleanor of Aquitaine, Joan of Arc and finished up Pollyanna (I think) and he LOVED the Secret Garden even though he was convinced he would not. He thought it was going to be all about tea parties under a tree ?. Yes, it is so, so important to read to gain a broader worldview, especially one that includes girls and their unique perspective. Next on his list is Little Women & Jo’s Boys.