My son has loved the Captain Underpants books and the Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot books (also by Dav Pilkey). I will see if he likes the other books by Dav Pilkey, but I wondered what I could try that's just a teensy bit more challenging. He reads them so fast!
Any ideas on something he might like? I'm hoping some of you might have had a son who liked these books.
Both of my sons love to read (so I really can't complain), but they hate going to the library. They like going to Barnes and Noble, but I'd much rather check the books out from the library than buy them :-)
I really appreciate any suggestions!
ETA - My 8 year old is the one on the Autism Spectrum who goes to a different school. His school does not have a library (weird). The people at our public library are very nice and will help the kids find a specific book, but they have not been helpful at giving them suggestions.
my munchkin liked the Magic Treehosue series at that age along with Captain Underpants, Big Nate and the Diary of A Wimpy Kid books
My son loves sports, so he has read tons of books by different sports authors. Matt Christopher is his favorite, but he also like Mike Lupica, Tim Green, and Derek Jeter.
Big Nate, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Calvin & Hobbes are popular comic books.
My son also read almost every book by Andrew Clements - I've read a few and really enjoyed them, too. Start with Frindle.
Series that he likes:
Escape from Mr Lemoncello's Library
Mysterious Benedict Society
Harry Potter
The Penderwicks
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (and other Fudge books)
Ramona Quimby
Candymakers
Lemonade War
The Genius Files
Percy Jackson
I Survived...
Louis Sachar has a lot of good books (Sideways Stories from Wayside School is very funny). Jerry Spinelli has some good ones, too.
Other books:
Charlotte's Web
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
The Chocolate Touch
The Indian in the Cupboard
Both my son and daughter loved those books. They also loved the Big Nate books and all the Calvin and Hobbes books. My son loved the Catwings books at age 8. He also loved the Artsy Fartsy books. The Boxcar Kids has been a big hit. When he was about age 9/10 he really loved all the Eragon books about dragons.
My 8 yr old boy loves the "I survived" books. I survived hurricane Katrina, Japanese tsunami, 9/11. They're from a child's perspective, pretty cool. 😊
my brother really liked the hardy boys series, but i cant remember what age he was reading them, i have a few that are his and plan on seeing if my son wants to read them, my son is 7 and loves captain underpants.
my son also likes nate the great, abc mysteries, and just started the pippy series and seems to like those. he does not know it but i told his grandmas to get him the minecraft books for christmas (he is obsessed with minecraft these days so i know he will like those)
Ask his teacher, the school librarian and the children's librarian at the public library. That's what they are there for, they love helping kids find "just right" books based on authors and genres they already enjoy!
ETA: they hate going to the library?! Sad and surprising, especially if they like to read, I mean, it's FREE and pretty much unlimited. Why do they hate it???
After Dav Pilkey my son went on to all the Roald Dahl books, Tin Tin, Series or Unfortunate Events, Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl. The longer books (like Harry Potter) I read aloud to him at first but it didn't take long for him to start reading on his own.
He also loved classics like Mr. Popper's Penguins and My Father's Dragon.
My son fell in love with Diary of a Wimpy Kid series...he also liked the Choose Your Own Adventure books...um, he was very into Minecraft so the player's guides and then the Diary of a Minecraft Zombie and other Minecraft fiction titles.
If our library doesn't have a title but another location does they can order it on hold and we will usually get it with in a week or two...
We go to the library every Sunday afternoon whether the kids want to or not and they end up with all sorts of books. I am surprised that you don't have a children's or teen specialized librarian. Good luck!!
I love our library our tax dollars at work to our advantage for once. Oh, if it is a very very very favorite that gets checked out multiple times it will end up being purchsed at some point as a gift.
G., I asked this same question a few months ago and got some great ideas. My son still likes Dav Pilkey best - he's moved on to the Dogman series now. He also like the Horrible Harry books and Big Nate, which I got as suggestions on my post. I think he'll like the Dan Gutman My Weird School Daze books too, if I can get him to start one of them to try it out. Below is the link to my question if you want to look at some of the answers.
Does he like baseball? I have a 10 year old girl and an 8 year old boy and we all loved (I think we've read them all) the Ballpark Mystery series. They are about a boy and girl cousin who solve mysteries at different ballparks around the nation. They are fun and age appropriate. My kids also like the Capitol Mystery series. It's about a little girl who becomes the First Daughter when her mom marries the president and she and her closest friend (a boy) solve mysteries all around Washington DC. Those are also a fan favorite around here.
Star Wars has a graphic novel collection that my son enjoys. I don't know if they are more challenging, but they are fun. Dog Man is another popular Dav Pilky series, but it's also a graphic novel.
I'm shocked the librarians haven't been helpful! Usually they are very knowledgable and have tons of recommendations! I would ask the librarian at your other child's school for recommendations. Just stop in or email her and explain his school doesn't have a library.
I know you said they enjoy the book store more, but my kids just like to wander the stacks at the library and pick out things that catch their eye. My daughter has found a few series she loves that way. I also go through and pick out books I think they'd like (or we'd like to read together) and we end up leaving with 40 books or so. We usually get to most of them, but not always and it's just fun! Maybe if they can see they have an endless supply they'll get into it! Ha! Also, you may want to keep a list of books they find at B and N and then look for them on Amazon. Amazon has way more paperbacks and cheaper options. Also, inquire at both schools about Scholastic book orders. Only one teacher (or even the librarian) has to be willing to send home the flyers. You can order on line and then search the entire library of books on Scholastic so you don't have to just shop the flyer or grade level that was brought home. The only problem is you can't order on line unless a teacher is willing to submit the final order and receive the books at school. They don't ship to home. Usually I talk to my kids' teachers and volunteer my services for separating the flyers (they come in a booklet and are SO easy to do) and separate the books into the individual orders when they arrive and they are more amenable to doing it! :)
We are major Dr Seuss fans.
