Our 11-year-old son hates to read. We've tried and tried over the years to find something he'll enjoy, with only Diary of a Wimpy Kid coming close. He tried Harry Potter in 3rd grade but didn't like it then. Suddenly in 5th grade, he tried again and absolutely loves the series. He's on the 5th book now.
As an avid reader myself, I'd love to keep the interest in reading going. However, I'm not one who's into young adult series, so I don't have a clue what he should move on to. He likes active, violent types of material (he doesn't get nightmares) and reads well above his grade level.
Anyone found something after Harry Potter that was just as enthralling for their kids? I figure we'll ask the librarian next time we're at the library, but also wanted to get input from parents.
Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials series
The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit
Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series
Lots of great suggestions here! I would add the Redwall series by Brian Jacques, maybe the Inkheart trilogy, Riders of Pern series, maybe even the Dune series if he is a pretty solid reader.
Re-reading favorites and finding new ones is one of my favorite parenting perks :)
My son loved the rangers apprentice books by john flannigan
also
the brother band series by john flannigan
gregor the overlander series by suzanne collins(author of hunger games)
the hunger games series by suzanne collins
the charlie bone series
Try the CS lewis narnia series. The books are so much better than the movies. Start with the magician's nephew - it has freaky parts, magical stuff, mythical creatures, etc. Then go from there. I began reading them to my kids before the movied came out and had no idea what they were about. Now my kids get excited when each new movie comes out.
He might like the Charlie Bone (Children of the Red King) series.
And he should love all the Percy Jackson books!
Rick Riordan's books...the Percy Jackson series and then Heroes of Olympus. Awesome!
You've got some great suggestions already. I just wanted to second the Lord of the Rings books. Those are great books. My brother red them in 5th grade, and so did I.
Another thought I had was Watership Down, written by Richard Adams in 1972. Here is a description of the book from Amazon:
"A phenomenal worldwide bestseller for more than forty years, Richard Adams's Watership Down is a timeless classic and one of the most beloved novels of all time. Set in England's Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale of adventure, courage, and survival follows a band of very special creatures on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of brothers, they journey forth from their native Sandleford Warren through the harrowing trials posed by predators and adversaries, to a mysterious promised land and a more perfect society."
I also loved the book. Happy reading!
Definitely the Rick Riordan books. My 11 year old daughter loved Harry Potter, and she couldn't put the Rick Riordan books down.
I think the children's librarian will have some good ideas, also the reference librarian. They both know the contents of that building.
Sounds like you've really put a lot of thought into this. Good job finding what he likes. I'd go to Hastings and find who's over the kids books and talk to them, they are the ones who know that area. Sometimes the regular employees work the whole store and don't know much about any particular area.
Richard Riodan - Percy Jackson & the Olympians (5 books and 1 movie), The Heroes of Olympus (4 books and 1 due in Oct), and The Kane Chronicles (3 books) with one mini novel where the characters of the different series intersect (The Son of Sobek). The first two series are set in the US and update Greek mythology, and 3rd series is set in England and the US and updates Egyptian mythology. Riordan is a witty writer and my daughter devours his books. However, if you are a purist about mythology his take on Greek and Egyptian gods may irk you.
My daughter also loves the Redwall saga (23 books) by Brian Jacques. These are set in the British countryside with anthropomorphic animal societies. The animals speak in a variety of dialects and the author has quite a way with dialogue. There a lot of warring and carnage and heroics.
Personally, I loved the EarthSea trilogy by Ursula Le Guin (there is a second set of three tales I haven't read), where magic powers are recognized and fostered (except in one area where magic is banned).
You can look these up on wikipedia for story plots.
There are tons of great books out there. I'm sure you will get lots of suggestions that will keep your son enthralled. He has crossed the threshold in the magic world of reading, where you can be instantly transported to another realm.
-L.
Maybe he'll like the Hunger Games Trilogy.
:)
Lloyd Alexander's "The Chronicles of Prydain" and Susan Cooper's "The Dark is Rising" series - both AWESOME!!
An absolutely terrific, and often underused, resource is your son's SCHOOL librarian! I worked for several years volunteering in our elementary school library and was amazed at how well the librarian knew what appealed to kids, what was popular, and what wasn't popular but was still wonderful. She produced lists for the kids such as "If you liked the Harry Potter novels, you may also like..." So get to school and see the librarian or email him or her. Even better, ask if you can volunteer in the school library. They usually do need help. You will learn SO much about what's out there for kids!
Meanwhile: Yes, the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. Start with the five-book series that begins with "The Lightning Thief." Riordan has a couple of other series since then (including a new "young Olympians" series and another one based on Egyptian mythology). If your son digs the magic in Harry Potter, he might well like the mythological beasts and gods in the Percy Jackson books. Entertaining!
Try "Eragon" and the "How to Train Your Dragon" books (though the latter may be too young for him--?
If he likes fast-paced mysteries and exotic locations: Try the "39 Clues" books; again, several different series; the "39 Clues" ones are the originals.
Charlie Bone occurred to me too; someone else mentioned it. My daughter only read the first book and wasn't that into it BUT I know a lot of kids (both boys and girls) enjoyed it. I might wait before suggesting that one to your son; it's similar in setting to Harry Potter (academy for kids with special powers).
In the non-magical realm, try humor, especially humor revolving around kids his age. Anything by the author Louis Sachar is great - his best known novel is "Holes" and he also has a series of very funny short stories about "Sideways School" that really appeal to kids. Is your son into the environment? If he is, and is ready for some pretty smart novels, he might try Carl Hiassen's books like "Hoot" and "Flush" in which kids break some rules to help out wildlife and the environment in very funny ways.
My daughter hasn't read them but I know kids who ate up the "Series of Unfortunate Events" books.
Ask the school librarian to round up a good handful of books she thinks he might like based on the fact he likes Harry Potter.
One other thought: I've read a couple of articles about studies showing that boys often prefer nonfiction to fiction in the elementary years. So encourage your son to read nonfiction that interests him as well. What's he into? Arts, sports, drawing, jokes, history, animals? There are great kids' books on all the above at the local and school libraries. I saw many boys check out "list books"- things like the Guinness Book of World Records or "Top 25 Football Teams" etc. and that's still reading, even if we parents wish they'd read novels. Also very popular with both boys and girls were "how to" books - how to draw Pokémon, how to play chess, how to make origami Star Wars figures (for real!), and so on. Even those are still reading. Don't limit what you suggest to just novels. Have fun!
I also think Rick Riordan. My 11 loved Harry Potter and loved the Rick Riordan books too!
The 5th grade students I have worked with love the Percy Jackson series. It seems to be a good next series for kids who liked Harry Potter. They also like Rick Riordan's other books.
Kids that age also like The Hunger Games series. The Maze Runner is also another good series.
5th grade kids I'm working with this year LOVE the book Wonder and the book Because of Mr. Terupt. Earlier today I also recommended the book Night of the Howling Dogs.
Definitely talk to a librarian or bookstore clerk. You can also go to the Scholastic website. They have a Book Alike feature where you put in a title and age or reading level and it will recommend similar books.
The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan!!!!!!!! I read them the first time in 6th grade, and am currently reading them to my own children. I love them, they have it all, war, magic, friendship, love, you name it. And there are a lot of books in the set so it will keep him busy for a long while.
Another great one I saw suggested was the Hobbit and the one ring trilogy, and they are excellent. It was actually reading the Hobbit that started my love of fantasy books I still have to this day :)
We read the first Percy Jackson to my kids and they both enjoyed it, but if you follow up with the movies just be prepared, the movie does not follow the book at all, but it was still decent enough, the book was better.
My son read and LOVED Lord of the Rings and the Eragon (dragon) series after Harry Potter. His favorite were the Eragon books.
My son did the Harry Potter books in 5th grade. Also the Lemony Snicket series. Others that he has enjoyed -
- Chronicles of Nick by Sherrilyn Kenyon
- The Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth _ yes, there is a movie based on it, but the books are great
- Mortal Instruments series - there are spin offs that are good also
- Zoo by Robert Patterson - it is a stand alone - but amazing
- Patterson has a series of young adult books, that I can't think of right now, and a number of "everyone" books.
I'd introduce him to Tolkien by giving him The Hobbit. I would NOTgive him Lord of the Rings. It's too hard and will discourage him. The reading level of LOTR vs HP is night and day.
Another mom mentioned the Redwall Series. I bought all those books, thinking my kids would love it because they loved The Rats of NIMH. They didn't, and I ended up giving brand new books away. I'd check books out of the library rather than buying them, just in case.
Narnia series by CS Lewis is good. His Dark Materials Trilogy is something you should keep in the back of your mind for when he's a little older. The movie is NOTHING. Don't show him the movie. I never saw the movie for Eragon, but my kids didn't like it. They loved the book.
I just finished the Percy Jackson series, and it was fantastic! I read it so fast because I just couldn't put it down, much the same way I read Harry Potter. I would start there and see where he wants to head. The Eragon series is also very popular with this age group, but I Haven't read it yet.
IN 5th grade, my son devoured the books in the series, The Last Dragon Chronicles by Chris D'Lacey.
Take him to Books-a-million and let him walk the "young adult" section.
See if he like the "You Choose" interactive adventure type books, where you get to pick where the characters go next (If you go into the cave, go to page 25, if you go into the water go to page 106), and there's usually different endings to go with each scenario.
My son is reading 3 different series - one series is all historical, another is outer space where you meet fictional creatures, and the other is more extreme adventure where you wrestle with sharks and snakes. I can't think of them off hand but your librarian should know about these books.
I REALLY recommend the Pendragon series. Really great adventure, really great characters. I read all the various books series to my kids and this one really stuck out. Everybody couldn't wait to move on to the next book.
