kiheicat
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posted on October 17, 2000 10:53:13 AM new
My kids are voracious readers. They've poured through all 4 of the released Harry Potters and I just got Louis Sachar's 'Holes' (which I poured through in a day...great book!), and have a bid on eBay on The River. My older son is actually reading my Grisham and Gilstrap books when he runs out of good reads, so I'm continuously surfing around looking for good adventure/suspense books for older boys (ages 8 and 9...10 next month... but higher level readers).
Does anyone have any 'must read' reccomendations for kids that are thirsty readers?
[ edited by kiheicat on Oct 17, 2000 10:54 AM ]
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njrazd
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posted on October 17, 2000 11:12:59 AM new
kiheicat...congrats on raising readers! That is a very important accomplishment.
My 8-year old loves the Jigsaw Jones series. Jigsaw is a 3rd grade private detective and they are written along the lines of Sam Spade. Very entertaining and the stories have been holding my son's attention really well. There are at least 5 books in the series and they are available through Scholastic.
I'd also like some direction as well. We're just starting Harry Potter now.
*************************
That's Flunky Gerbiltush to you!
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Zazzie
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posted on October 17, 2000 11:55:16 AM new
Try the REDWALL series by Brian Jacques.
They'll get hooked and there are lots of them---new one just out. The books are nice and thick.
My kid couldn't put them down.
Another great series
The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman
the 3rd in the series has just been released and it is The Amber Spyglass. He took forever to get the third book out---it's going under the Christmas Tree.
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kiheicat
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posted on October 17, 2000 12:02:38 PM new
njrazd & zazzie thanks! 
That Jigsaw Jones series sounds great for my 8 year old... and I'll look into the Redwall series as well.
I've heard about that Pullman series and it also looks good.
Nice to have them interested in something better for their brains than Nintendo (although that is a passion too, lol)so we must feed the hunger...
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mauimoods
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posted on October 17, 2000 12:17:30 PM new
Hey Zazzie! The Redwall books arent just for kids, lol. I love them, myself!!!
Another good one I love is TAILCHASERS SONG by TAD WILLIAMS. About a cat who battles an evil cat. Great book.
[ edited by mauimoods on Oct 17, 2000 12:22 PM ]
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kiheicat
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posted on October 17, 2000 12:31:39 PM new
I found that Tailchaser book on eBay... seller in Australia... hmmm; might bid anyway. Why pay retail?
My new fav author (for my own reading) is John Gilstrap...At All Costs and Nathan's Run. My older one is reading Nathan's Run, but if you let your kids read it, you would be wise to read it yourself first so you can help them jump over the squeamish parts...and only older kids, the young ones might freak out at some parts, lol Great writer tho...I'm hunting down his new release 'Even Steven' now...
[ edited by kiheicat on Oct 17, 2000 12:34 PM ]
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Shadowcat
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posted on October 17, 2000 12:59:14 PM new
Tolkien's The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings
Brooks' Shannara series
Lewis' Narnia books
Pratchett's Discworld series
There are a lot more but I can't think of them off the top of my head...
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Zazzie
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posted on October 17, 2000 01:08:54 PM new
Maui--Oh---I love them too and Tailchaser can be found on my bookshelf too.
You should also try them on some science fiction rather than the oh so popular fantasy.
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VeryModern
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posted on October 17, 2000 01:22:53 PM new
okay... so I am individual who has never read Harry Potter, and I have a question for someone who has.
I have a 5 YO, reads on a 7th grade level. Trouble with this is that she can read far more than she can fathom. She could read these books but I am assuming that she is too young to enjoy them properly even though they are the rage at her school.
I know other mothers who are reading the Potter books for children this age and my question is are they understandable to a 5 YO mind, or are these parents just offering the latest thing because it is the latest thing?
Her speed right now is Charlotte's Web. She can relate to a girl and pig and farm well enough, but I am not keen to have her stretch to consider concepts that are more appropriate for an older child. OTOH, if someone can tell me that they are not that intense, well I will pick them up tomorrow.
What age????
Thanks for insight.
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Zazzie
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posted on October 17, 2000 01:31:52 PM new
Why don't you have read some of the classics of 'yesteryear' rather than read the popular books of today??
Wizard of Oz series, Louisa May Alcott, Anne of Green Gables, Little House on the Praire, Narnia Series.
In my opinion there are some books that need to be discovered by a child at the appropriate age. I had one friend who read his son 'The Lord of the Rings' when he was 8---but I remember so vividly the wonder I had reading them when I was in High School.
Maybe Harry Potter is the same. J.K. Rowlings has said that the stories will become more sophisticated as Harry himself grows up.
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kiheicat
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posted on October 17, 2000 01:40:30 PM new
Interesting point Zazzie... I find the story of JK Rowling herself fascinating... single mother on welfare makes it to the big time
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kiheicat
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posted on October 17, 2000 01:42:39 PM new
VeryModern, I agree that the Little House on the Prairie series might be a good selection for your daughter... then maybe she can work her way into some Nancy Drews! I used to LOVE Nancy Drew!
edited to add I still remember learning cool new words like 'cajole' and 'coax' from my Nancy Drews.
[ edited by kiheicat on Oct 17, 2000 01:44 PM ]
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snowyegret
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posted on October 17, 2000 01:46:28 PM new
Very Modern: Also, Alice in Wonderland
A Child's Garden of Verse(or Verses) by Robert Louis Stevenson
Wind in the Willows
My oldest was a very advanced reader at 5, and I looked for somewhat gentle stories for her.
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Zazzie
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posted on October 17, 2000 01:48:23 PM new
kihecat---she was only on welfare for a couple of months. I read somewhere that she is very very tired of that being a major part of her biography.
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bunnicula
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posted on October 17, 2000 01:56:32 PM new
I agree that the Redwall series by Brian Jacques is a great one!
As for Pullman's trilogy, the first two (Golden Compass & Subtle Knife) are also incrdibly good fantasy. BUT: I must warn you that if you are touchy about religious matters (& Christianity in particular), the third book (Amber Spyglass, just released) may not be for you. This is a book that I expect to be challenged &/or banned as it becomes more widely read. The depiction of God, alone, will have some foaming at the mouth...
Other fantasy/adventures you kids may go for are those by Dianna Wynne Jones. Especially good is The Nine Lives of Christopher Chant.
Any of the magic/fanatsy books by E. Nesbit and Edward Eager (the latter are easier reads).
For straight adventure, just about any by Gary Paulsen is first class.
I also recommend:
Danger Dog
Castle in the Attic
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh
The Black Stallion
The Phantom Tollbooth
Treasure Island
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Men of Iron
Ma & Pa Dracula
Eat Your Poison Dear (& other Sebastian Barth mysteries by James Howe, author of Bunnicula )
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kiheicat
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posted on October 17, 2000 02:02:14 PM new
bunnicula The Black Stallion yes! Nuther good book!
Zazzie you're right about JK, still I love a rags to riches tale.
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bunnicula
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posted on October 17, 2000 02:02:20 PM new
VeryModern: at 5 years old, I doubt your daughter would enjoy Harry Potter all that much. Most of it will be over her head & she just won't "get" it.
You might try her on The Enormous Egg, Little House books, Peter Pan (original, not one the godawful Disney rewrites), Winnie the Pooh (ditto regarding Disney), Paddington Bear, Babe the Gallant Pig, Ramona the Pest.
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Zazzie
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posted on October 17, 2000 02:13:00 PM new
Dick King-Smith is the author who wrote 'Babe-the Gallant Pig' and he has a slew of fabulous books.
I loved the Ramona books!!!
Also try Roald Dahl--many books
and The Borrowers
[ edited by Zazzie on Oct 17, 2000 02:13 PM ]
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boysmommy3
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posted on October 17, 2000 02:20:24 PM new
Zazzie,
I totally agree. Unfortunatley no matter how hard I try my 10 year son cannot stand reading. He reads two grade levels above his but will not do recreationally.
I wish I had a daughter to share the Wizard of oz series books. I loved them when I was growing up. I also loved little house and S.E. Hinton. Of course Nancy Drew.
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bunnicula
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posted on October 17, 2000 02:26:49 PM new
BoysMommy3: offer your son non-fiction rather than stories. Many boys who are uninterested in reading *stories* come into their own reading about true things that interest them. And, uh, if your other two boys *are* into fiction, try them on the Oz books--they aren't just for girls
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mauimoods
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posted on October 17, 2000 02:44:43 PM new
Oh! Nancy Drew!!! Geroge and Bess and what the hell was the housekeepers name?....Em? Emmy? Nancy with her blue convertible! George, the tomboy and plump Bess!!!! I read all of the,. Hardy Boys too. Good books.
Zazzie, I loved Friti Tailchaser, but he wasted so much time looking for that lazy Hushpad, lol.
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mauimoods
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posted on October 17, 2000 02:46:09 PM new
Hardy boys.....Chet and...and...I cant think of the other friends name
I always thought Chet and Bess would get along well
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VeryModern
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posted on October 17, 2000 02:47:42 PM new
bunnicula - thanks for that list.
I am gonna run with it. She is a LITTLE girl. Also thanks for confirming what I suspected re: Harry Potter. The 8 yr old in the car pool is reading the series for the second time as I drive and the other 5 YO is having it read to him at home and I just had to ask. My daughter is not asking for it so that's a good thing.
Alice in Wonderland! What a great suggestion, and Wizard of Oz she has read. If anyone makes anymore recommendations for this younger age, please specify because I cannot tell by some of the posts, and this is a grand help. She is my oldest and I am out of the loop.
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kiheicat
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posted on October 17, 2000 03:38:51 PM new
boysmommy look for books that have an immediate hold in the beginning... slow starting books will make them go pslfffffst (the raspberry sound) every time. Get the book I just got for mine: 'Holes' by Louis Sachar. It's a Newberry Award winner about a juvenile detention 'camp'...very good read.
It also helps that I like to read and I also read to them before they could talk, with them peering over the page and we made games out of trying to figure out where I was on the page and what all of those funny little letters were trying to say.
Hardy Boys is another good idea...I might try them out on my guys.
[ edited by kiheicat on Oct 17, 2000 03:40 PM ]
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Zazzie
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posted on October 17, 2000 04:10:49 PM new
Verymodern---
Nancy Drew's are a lot of fun---but DON'T get the modern editions. Nancy Drew grows up a bit too fast in the newer editions....
stick to the ones editied for the 40's, 50's or 60's population.
Enid Blyton wrote some great books for older kids--The Famous Four etc
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kiheicat
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posted on October 17, 2000 04:49:02 PM new
Zazzie THANK YOU! I was just trying to think of that author's name. I remember reading a mystery book when I was about 10ish by Enid Blyton ... something about a craggy rock...
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thedewey
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posted on October 17, 2000 04:56:31 PM new
For pre-teen and younger teen boys, I would recommend Alfred Hitchcock's Three Investigators series. They're older books, but they are *great*!
For pre-teen and younger teen girls, I would recommend the Trixie Belden series.
For 8-10 year olds, the Happy Hollisters series is great. Also the Boxcar Children as well.
And for mid-teens who have an interest in science fiction/mystery/adventure, I highly recommend A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. Even as an adult, I still re-read it from time to time.
All of these books are older and may be a bit harder to find (look on eBay or at one of the online used book searches such as ABE), but they're worth it.
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mauimoods
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posted on October 17, 2000 05:38:32 PM new
Well, will someone put me out of my misery and tell me Frank and Joe Hardy's OTHER friends name? I remember Chet, but the other one escapes me. Or was there another one? And I remember Nancy's housekeepers name (the one that took care of her because Mr Drew was a widower)...Ettie!
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VeryModern
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posted on October 17, 2000 05:53:20 PM new
Zazzie - thanks for the warning. I brought home a slew of 10 cent yard sale kids books for my daughter last year. She was 4. One of the 40 or so books I got that day was called "Poisonous Animals".
She read it, I did not.
Turns out it had this little tidbit in it:
"2000 years ago European Women used to kill their husband's using poison from certain frogs."
So the first thing she asks me is "did they kill their daughters too?" I did not want to make a big deal and an even stronger impression, so I tell her very lightly "no honey, just the men I guess." I admit I was kind of smiling incredulous to myself, and thinking I was going to have a facinating life with her, I mean this is a 4 yr old.
Anyhow, she went to school (K) and informed her teacher of this little factoid.
The teacher had a hushed conversation with me when I picked her up that day and there really was no way to explain. This is the folly of early reading. You can't hide much.
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boysmommy3
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posted on October 17, 2000 06:08:56 PM new
Thank you for the tips.. I have tried everything from buying sports illustrated for kids to reading with him etc. If he wants to know he reads the paper etc. but otherwise to sit with a book is a major chore. He is an outdoor kid - Razor, bike, roller blades or gameboy etc.
He has an example to follow as I am an avid reader. I have subscriptions to 17 magazines and read for 1/2 - 1 hour every night no matter what -
His teacher this year gave him a book for his first book report - he actually liked it and wants to get another for the next report. They have to do one per month and read 30 minutes per night. The author is Matt Christopher and they are all sports stories. So if you have any girl or boy in 4-6 grades you may want to try one of these books.
I cannot remember the poster buy you said your daughter already read The Wizard of Oz - but has she read the entire series? Most people do not know there is about 8 books or so. Return to Ox is one. Anyway, I loved them when I was little.
Another great book is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
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