Some of our Favorite Books

When my daughter started reading, it seemed like there were so many outstanding options out there. Maybe it's just because I'm also a girl (and a heavy reader), but I could reel off a list of great books for her to try just from memory. We started with the Little House on the Prairie books, scooted through all the American Girls books, threw in some Puppy Place, Royal Diaries, Magic Attic Club, and horse books (The Black Stallion, Pony Pals, Saddle Club, Misty of Chincoteague) and she was set for a couple of years. This doesn't include the classics we also read (sometimes together, sometimes her on her own): Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Phantom Tollbooth, Anne of Green Gables, Caddie Woodlawn, Charlotte's Web, The BFG, Julie of the Wolves, and Mouse and the Motorcycle. The past year as she has gotten older, she has fallen for the Warriors series (about a society of tribal cats), Guardians of Ga'hoole (a society of owls), the Golden Compass series, and a host of Dragon related books (Dragon's Milk, The Fire Within, and her all time favorite book The Last Dragon).

It's been harder to find beginning reading material for my son. We are in that no-man's-land right now between Early Reader books and longer chapter books. Ponies and stories about young girls just isn't gonna cut it. What to do? Well, I've got a lot of reading material at home (maybe too much), but he just hasn't been interested. I started bringing him to the library weekly in the hopes that one of these times he would discover something to "float his boat". Sure, I've read out loud to him the Percy Jackson books and we are working on Harry Potter right now together, but I felt like we just needed something compelling enough to get him to want to actually pick a book up and read it on his own without prompting. He quickly got bored with the early readers, and there are only so many picture books to go through (I think we may have read most of the libraries stock!). One day he surprised me by bringing home Geronimo Stilton. After that first book he was hooked. I think what he liked the most about them is that there are pictures, and a lot of the words are colored or in funny type, and they are full of "cheesy" puns, and yet it's a chapter book and he can feel pretty proud about that. Next, a friend of his told him he should read the Beast Quest books. This series is a little more like Percy Jackson, but a lot simpler and shorter. The type is a little smaller and there aren't any pictures, so I feel like he's moving up in the world.

Who knows where he will go next, but if there is anyone out there with some good suggestions for books for boys just starting out, please post them here. We'll probably give it a try!

In the meantime, here are some other good books I could recommend. These are all chapter books and in no particular order. All are good for young audiences, though some deal with serious issues. Can you tell I have an unhealthy book obsession?

Cricket in Times Square
The Tale of Despereaux
Ginger Pye (and Pinky Pye)
Savvy
Music of the Dolphins
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles
The Poppy Stories (Poppy, Poppy and Rye, Ragweed, Ereth's Birthday, Poppy and Ereth)
A Dog's Life
Holes
My Side of the Mountain (also On the Far Side of the Mountain and Frightful's Mountain)
The Magic Tree House Series (of course)
Dear America series (historical fiction)

Finally, if you are looking for homeschool related books and reviews, this site is a pretty good source:

http://www.homeschoolliterature.com