recommendations for 4th grade boys books to read

[HouseofWool]

That's nice to hear. I found it terribly frustrating. I want to encourage reading (duh), and you'd think I'd be the last person banning certain books, but man - I could directly link their attitude/behavior to having read those things! GAH!

Not to mention most of the shows on cartoon network.

[Amiens]

Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull, The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander (dh said he loved this when he was 3-5th grade), Hardy Boys.

I have told my daughter that on her school library days, I don't want to see "Baby Mouse" or "Captain Underpants."

Not to mention most of the shows on cartoon network.

Cartoon Network was banned 2 years ago (around the time I first instituted Amish Days). I have to remind the IL's every time they have the kids: NO CARTOON NETWORK!

I read to 4th graders during two lunch periods a week and these are some of their favorites at school

My side of the mountain
The Good Master (needs occasional editing regarding "gypsies")
Swallows and Amazons (the hands-down favorite - first of a 12 book series by Arthur Ransome, written in the 30's)

Thought of another: DH really liked the Hatchet books (Gary Paulsen). Those might be a little older than 4th grade though.

Yes! DH read Hatchet in 5th grade, and twenty-something years later he is still obsessed with that book!

[madeintaiwan]

Peggy,
J is in the 4th grade. If you go to my blog, I have a page "The Boy and his book roll" that has a list of all the books he has read. He really likes the Warrior Series by Erin Hunter. He is on the 5th book of her 3rd series. He's read all the Narnia's and LOTR books as well.

[madeintaiwan]

Among the Hidden series

Jack London and Peg Kehret for a boy who likes adventure

Oooh, Jack London. I forgot about him. We'll have to put some of those books on his list at the library. I wonder if it's still popular. The popular books can take some time to get.

[peggyfromwastate]

Thanks for all the recommendations!

There are so many series that Izzy can get into---

Steven just seems to love reading the pokedex and *how things work* etc, etc.

Kelly, is the Magyk series that someone referred to the same one that your son got really into? I remember you specifically talking about some series of books. It's driving me bonkers. They were mystical types...

[houseelf]

Magyk wasn't me, it was Angie. Some of DS's sons are into it. We talked about this trhead and he said he most recommends the Percy Jackson and How to Train Your Dragon series followed by the City of Ember (Kris' middle son's recommendation).

Please keep these suggestions coming!

[peggyfromwastate]

Wow Kelly- You're a grandma? J/K I know what you mean...

Thanks for all these suggestions!!! Awesome stuff. I think I'm going to have to get the books and give them to DS-- at least they are *assigned* 15 minutes reading a night, and I enforce the *no Pokedex* and *no diary of a wimpy kid* rule... I have to take away Geronimo Stilton now too-- they are really too easy and silly. Like a glorified picture book...

I just picked up the first book of How to Train Your Dragon today -- hopefully it's a hit here, too. Also, I think I'm going to try to institute that the school-mandated reading must be a chapter book, not the Geronimo Stilton / other tiny books like Peggy mentioned. That way they will eventually work through, and hopefully get hooked enough to just want to keep going.

[DCJenn]

As I posted in the girls section- there are the Bobbsey Twins for younger readers and the Hardy Boys mysteries for the older readers- I also remember my brother loving the Mad Magazine books and also there was a series of books where you got to choose how it went- those were really fun to read.

Jenn

[peggyfromwastate]

We have some of the choose your own adventure books. He chose one of those tonight. He likes them that most of the endings are really abrupt, and they strike him as funny. Example: You get eaten by a shark. You die. The end...

[oceanchild]

Haha, when I read those Choose Your Own Adventure books, I always ended up with the boring, un-adventurous endings. So then I'd go back and read them again.

DH adds the Hardy Boys, the Boxcar Children, and the Happy Hollisters as some of his favorites.

[houseelf]

I don't think this is applicable to anyone here, but for the truly uninspired readers, the literacy experts advise parents to allow boys to read comic books, manga, and magazines about video games. It gets them into the habit of entertaining themselves by reading.