My son needs to read for 30 minutes a night. We have been having problems finding books that keep him interested, but easy enough for independent reading. What are your 2nd to 3rd grade boys reading? I don't mind him reading something more challanging over the weekend, but would like him to have something a little easier for everyday.
Lemony snicket - series of unfortunate events
and from a former teachers point of view, anything is fair game. Find magazines In his interest like sport illustrated for kids. Ranger Rick. National geographic for kids. With a mag subscription he'll have something to look forward to in he mail, too. Kids are also fascinated by the guiness book of world records.
Find books that have humor in them. My son loved the
Hank the cowdog series. I would hear him laughing out loud while reading
Gregor the Overlander
James and the Giant Peach and pretty much anything by roald Dahl
(matilda, charlie and chocolate factory etc)
The Magic Tree House books are good.
The Narnia books by C.S. Lewis.
Oh, also the Redwall series. Both of my boys adored those books.
While he may be able to "handle" reading them I would avoid things like Harry Potter. As a teacher, I caution you to avoid pushing for "harder" books and ending up with them in over their heads. I cringe when I see little kids reading these books because while they can handle the reading level and get a little out of it, they can't truly appreciate the books. They miss so much and in many cases (not all, some kids love to reread) when they are old enough to appreciate them they won't read them because "I already read that." Plus, while the first book or two aren't TOO bad, as they go on they start killing off a lot of characters. Do you really want your 8 year old reading books about killing people?
My son loves Magic Tree House, Roscoe Riley, National Geographic for Kids, Ranger Rick, Geronimo Stilton. We also read a ton of nonfiction. We read a lot of easy nonfiction about animals and recently we found a great "A Visit To..." series about all the different countries.
When I taught third grade some popular series were Boxcar Children, the Ron Roy Series (A-Z mysteries, the Capital Mysteries), Encyclopedia Brown, Polk Street School Kids, anything by Matt Christopher. Two third grade books we read that the boys like: Stone Fix, The Stories Julian Tells. There is also a neat series about a mouse named Nicholas who is touring the states. This may tie in with some of what he is learning in school (may be more fourth grade). Magic School Bus (picture or chapter book series) is another favorite.
In general I have had good luck with silly books or nonfiction books with my son. Find out what books your son enjoys and go from there. Your library is an awesome resource. If you know of a book your son loves, you can tell the librarian and she can help you find more.
Also, like someone else said, don't get locked into chapter books. Magazines are awesome. Also, most picture books are written at a third grade level. It is nice that they can be done in one sitting though -- a healthy mix of longer and shorter books is good. Kids don't always need to be reading books that take them a long time and some kids shouldn't because they don't hold onto the info. Patricia Polacco is a great picture book author with third grade level books.
Another great resource I just learned about it www.lexile.com. If you know your child's reading level you can put that in, but if not you can pick a book that is perfect for him and type that in. It will then give you a list of other books at similar levels.
Here is a list of some books by level too: http://www.calcasieu.lib.la.us/SJWelshAR.pdf Again, if you know a good book for him you can use this to find similar level books.
Good luck -- I am so glad to hear you are keeping him reading!
L.,
It really depends upon your son's interests. My son hates anything with the magical Harry Potter/Magic treehouse type books. My son actually likes a series of books written in the 1950's. I have a mental block and I can't think of the name, but it is a mystery style series like the Hardy Boys. There are also a lot of great individual books (not series) out there (Because of Winn-Dixie, Are We There Yet?, Rabbit Hill,...) .
As another mom suggested, take him to the library. Ask for recommendations and then let him choose 2 or 3 to find what he likes. It is all about the reading - which he will do if it is of interest. So, as another mom noted, you may want to try magazines (Highlights, Nat. Geographic for kids, Ranger Rick) - anything that relates to his interests.
Good luck,
C.
Captain Underpants
Mercy Watson
Magic Treehouse
The Teacher from the Black Lagoon
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Percy Jackson series
You could always talk to the Librarian at the school or your local library to get ideas as well. There are so many fun books out there!
My 8 yrs old son loves to read Junie B Jones, Magic Tree House, Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
try doing a Google search of "books for 8 year old boys."
Or go to your local library and ask the Librarian what are popular books for boys that age.
The Dangerous Book For Boys will certainly keep his attention!
There is a series of books about school, one is Mr Klutz in nuts and another is Miss Daisy is crazy. They are silly books about the different teachers at school but my son loves them. The other series that is good is the Dairy of a Wimpy kid he has done well with both series. He's dyslexic so he gets frustrated with reading.
Magic Treehouse
Black Lagoon series
A to Z Mysteries
Anything by Matt Christopher (they're all sports related).
Good luck,
K.
Big Nate
Hoot
The BFG
First and foremost it depends on your child's reading ability. If your child isn't upaverage reading.. I'd skip the Harry Potter books. These have a challenging text with words for spells and potions that have greek roots.
If he is your average reader find books that interest him at the library or book store that are for 3rd grade reading level... there will be a 3L on the back or spin of most books.
If he is struggling, start with the Magic Tree House Series. These are adventure based.. kids go back in time to different eras.
At 8 mine started reading the Harry Potter series., and got hooked on reading because of them. I would also recommend the Artemis Fowl series, and there is a great group of books called the Warriors about tribes of cats. There's about 20 of those to choose from. Also Magic tree house books are great for the easier stuff.
My son is 8 and in the 3rd grade. He's always been into the Magic Tree House series, Stuart Little, Narnia too! I'd bring him to the library and let him choose something with chapters in the appropriate section. We've got a bag just for library books and I let him get 3 at a time. We keep them all together and when's done, get 3 more! There's so many cool series out there right now for this age group!!
Good luck :-)
Mine likes the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and also books by Mike Lucia (don't know if the last name is correct). They are books about kids and sports. They are pretty interesting.
EDIT: Sorry - it's Matt Christopher like another mom recommended. Don't know where I came up with the other name :)
I think the Magic Tree house series is great. I currently read them for my five year old since he can't read that material as yet, but wanted something more interesting for bedtime stories. We are now at book number 10 and think they would be great for a 8 yr old. The plot is not too complex and neither are the words. Each books is short enough that he would be able to complete one per week giving him a great feeling on accomplishment.
Do not overlook nonfiction let him check out books from the library on whatever topic he is interested in.
