Any reading suggestions for my kid...?

[dannyboy121070]

I ended up starting him on Dahl's THE BFG while we waited for my order of Clive Barker's THE THIEF OF ALWAYS to arrive. I was reading Stephen King when I was 9, but Mikey is...not me, lol. I'll probably stick to slightly less adult stuff with him. I keep trying to convince him to try THE HOBBIT, and I'm going to look into all of your suggestions, which I truly appreciate.

[Martin]

I ended up starting him on Dahl's THE BFG while we waited for my order of Clive Barker's THE THIEF OF ALWAYS to arrive. I was reading Stephen King when I was 9, but Mikey is...not me, lol. I'll probably stick to slightly less adult stuff with him. I keep trying to convince him to try THE HOBBIT, and I'm going to look into all of your suggestions, which I truly appreciate.

Based on that I will suggest two series I read when I was younger than he is but they shaped my reading habits going forward. The Wizard of Oz series. For a child they are horror stories. I have since re-read them and am genuinely surprised they scared me as much as they did. The other is an odd series of books called The Great Brain. I really loved those as a child. They are about a boy who encounters all sorts of things that require him to think his way out of. I moved from LA to Portland when I was 11 and could not find any proof that the series existed. When I was on my mid 20's I had about convinced myself that I was remembering the series wrong. I asked a man at a used book store if he knew of them. He immediately said 'yes, the Mormon books. I think they were recently put back in print.' He said he thought Barnes and Noble were carrying them. I was certain he was incorrect as I remembered no religious messaging, just really fun reading. Well I went into a Barnes and Noble and read the first chapter of the book. Turns out he was right. The stories provide strong moral messaging but they are fun reading.

[Ben Staad]

I also read the Narnia series of books when I was fairly young. I remember liking them but hadn't revisited them since.

[dannyboy121070]

Based on that I will suggest two series I read when I was younger than he is but they shaped my reading habits going forward. The Wizard of Oz series. For a child they are horror stories. I have since re-read them and am genuinely surprised they scared me as much as they did. The other is an odd series of books called The Great Brain. I really loved those as a child. They are about a boy who encounters all sorts of things that require him to think his way out of. I moved from LA to Portland when I was 11 and could not find any proof that the series existed. When I was on my mid 20's I had about convinced myself that I was remembering the series wrong. I asked a man at a used book store if he knew of them. He immediately said 'yes, the Mormon books. I think they were recently put back in print.' He said he thought Barnes and Noble were carrying them. I was certain he was incorrect as I remembered no religious messaging, just really fun reading. Well I went into a Barnes and Noble and read the first chapter of the book. Turns out he was right. The stories provide strong moral messaging but they are fun reading.

I'm gonna go look these up right now...sounds interesting!

[dannyboy121070]

I also read the Narnia series of books when I was fairly young. I remember liking them but hadn't revisited them since.

Wow, that should have been a no-brainer for me, since I have a boxed set of the series about three feet away from me right now. (They've been three feet from my desk for a decade and a half, and I still haven't read them...Might be a good team read for me and Mikey.) Thanks, Ben.

[Splync]

Has he read A Series of Unfortunate Events? I think I was around his age when I read that series and they are very fun books to read!

[dannyboy121070]

Has he read A Series of Unfortunate Events? I think I was around his age when I read that series and they are very fun books to read!

I floated those past him a few times at Barnes & Noble in the past, and was always shot down. Maybe I'll pick up the first book and see how that goes. Thanks!

[Martin]

Has he read A Series of Unfortunate Events? I think I was around his age when I read that series and they are very fun books to read!

I read these as an adult and enjoyed them.

[St. Troy]

Has anyone mentioned...Harry Potter?

Other than that, the best thing I can recommend is probably the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer (the first is titled Artemis Fowl).

The Thief Of Always by Clive Barker is quite good (Barker has other child-oriented things, but I'm not familiar with them).

I think the two Kings mentioned above (The Eyes Of The Dragon and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon) are not suitable for readers that young, but mine is only one opinion.

Two things that might be a bit young for him, but I include them because sometimes simpler things appeal to less enthusiastic readers (and I still enjoy them myself):

The House With A Clock In Its Walls by John Bellairs

The A Series Of Unfortunate Events series

[Martin]

Has anyone mentioned...Harry Potter?

Other than that, the best thing I can recommend is probably the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer (the first is titled Artemis Fowl).

The Thief Of Always by Clive Barker is quite good (Barker has other child-oriented things, but I'm not familiar with them).

I think the two Kings mentioned above (The Eyes Of The Dragon and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon) are not suitable for readers that young, but mine is only one opinion.

Two things that might be a bit young for him, but I include them because sometimes simpler things appeal to less enthusiastic readers (and I still enjoy them myself):

The House With A Clock In Its Walls by John Bellairs

The A Series Of Unfortunate Events series

The Harry Potter mention amazes me in that, none of us had come up with that one yet. Really good series!

[Ben Staad]

I know I am in the super minority on this but I did not care for Harry Potter. I like the movies but the books, that I read, bored me to pieces.

[Martin]

I know I am in the super minority on this but I did not care for Harry Potter. I like the movies but the books, that I read, bored me to pieces.

I like the movies but loved the books.

[dannyboy121070]

Has anyone mentioned...Harry Potter?

Other than that, the best thing I can recommend is probably the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer (the first is titled Artemis Fowl).

The Thief Of Always by Clive Barker is quite good (Barker has other child-oriented things, but I'm not familiar with them).

I think the two Kings mentioned above (The Eyes Of The Dragon and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon) are not suitable for readers that young, but mine is only one opinion.

Two things that might be a bit young for him, but I include them because sometimes simpler things appeal to less enthusiastic readers (and I still enjoy them myself):

The House With A Clock In Its Walls by John Bellairs

The A Series Of Unfortunate Events series

My wife and I bought him the first three HP books when they started putting out the deluxe illustrated hardcovers a few years back, and my wife read them to him before bed every night...he didn't connect with the books because he had already seen all of the films, so his attitude was "What's the point?" Same for THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN IT'S WALLS. I bought it for him after he saw (And loved!) the movie, but he has no interest. (I'M interested, at least!) He is making big progress with THE THIEF OF ALWAYS, but claims that the way that it is written is confusing to him, which I can understand...Barker isn't for everyone.

I'll probably take your comments to heart, Troy, and skip the two King books that I was on the fence about...I read them too long ago to remember if there was inappropriate content.