Recommended Reading List for Boys by Librarians By Elizabeth Kennedy

My 13 year old son is hard to please.  He struggles to read, really struggles...and so I do alot of reading out loud to him.  This, he loves and I pray it will be the catalyst to his becoming a better reader!  We mix it up.   Sometimes he reads a bit and then I read, but if it's too tough, I'll take over and let him "travel through the story" without effort!  I define words for him that he doesn't know or he'll define them for me if he does know them.  We discuss plot, characters, setting and author's intent as we go, but just enough that it doesn't ruin the story.  He is hard to please though and so I'm always looking for something that might fit his interests.

So far we have read the following books together:
1.  "Harry Potter", books 1, 2, and 3

2.  "Skeleton Creek", books 1, 2, and 3  by Patrick Carmen (This is an exceptionally fun series to read with a child and youtube videos are included)!  P. S. Don't read them if you get scared easily!!! :)

3.  "Running Out of Time" by Margeret Peterson Haddix
4.  "Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry
5.  "Stone Fox" by John Reynolds Gardiner
6.  "Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins, (I skipped some of the more gorey details).
7.  "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen
8.  "Because of Winn Dixie" by Kate Dicamillo
9. "The 39 Clues" (in the middle of it)... This is a cool mystery series written by a varity of some of the best "mystery authors" around. 
10.  "On the Run" Chasing the Falconers by Gordon Korman
11.  "Bone" by Jeff Smith
12.  The Entire "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series 1-5 and counting   
13.  An endless number of picture books, nonfiction books, etc....

If you haven't spent any time at this web site, http://childrensbooks.about.com/, you are missing out.  Elizabeth Kennedy spells it all out, everything you want to know about kids' lit and more!  She is an expert and this is one site you don't want to miss out on.  Thanks Elizabeth for this amazing article on BOOKS FOR BOYS!

"If you are looking for books for boys, from young children to tweens and teens, you'll be interested in these reading lists of books for boys recommended by librarians.   The books on these reading lists for boys include children's books that will appeal to a large range of ages and interests. Even boys who complain they can never find anything good to read and, as a result, are reluctant readers should be able to find books they enjoy on some of these lists.

1. Great Books for Boys
   This article and list of books recommended for boys comes from The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance. It includes a list of books recommended by The Horn Book in these categories: Picture Books, Middle Grade Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Non-fiction Middle School/High School and Poetry.
2. Adventures in History for Boys
   This brief reading list from the Central Rappahannock Regional Library in Virginia includes cover art and a brief summary for under a dozen books of historical fiction recommended for older boys.
3. Especially for Boys
   This annotated reading list of recommended books for boys is from the St. Charles Public Library in Illinois. It includes cover art and a brief summary of 131 books for boys, from preschool age through eighth grade. To narrow your search, you can search by grade range, which is very helpful.
4. Good Books for Guys
   The Multnomah County Library in Oregon provides five reading lists, divided by grade levels: Small Fries: Pre-K, Young Guys: 1-3, Middle Guys: 4-6, Large Fries: 7-8, Older Guys: 9-12. While not annotated, the lists include cover art.
5. Chapter Books for Boys
   This annotated reading list from the Salt Lake City Public Library in Utah includes three dozen books. The list includes books by Louis Sachar, Dav Pilkey, Jerry Spinelli, Judy Blume, Garth Nix, Beverly Cleary and Rick Riordan, among others.
6. Good Books for Older Boys
   This brief list, without annotations, is from the Boston Public Library in Massachusetts. It has some excellent books for tweens and young teens on it.
7. Good Series for Younger Boys
   This booklist from the Boston Public Library in Massachusetts includes the title and author of more than two dozen recommended series for younger boys. This reading list includes The Time Warp Trio series by Jon Scieszka.
8. Good Series for Older Boys
   The title and author of sixteen series recommended for boys can be found on this reading list from the Boston Public Library in Massachusetts.
9. Nonfiction for Boys
   This is an annotated list from the Salt Lake City Public Library in Utah. The reading list includes 18 books on a variety of topics, including brain science, history, drawing characters, and jokes to tell. Click on “check availability” to see the cover art.
10. Picture Books for Boys
    The annotated reading list of 20 picture books includes Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. This is an annotated list from the Salt Lake City Public Library in Utah. Click on “check availability” to see the cover art."