ideas for reading books for a 12yr old boy

[Slug_killer]

i thought terry pratchett was aimed at adults ...

Doesn't Emagggie's current post "Why Men are Just Happier People!" have something along the lines that men can be boys all their life ?

[Slug_killer]

[Slug_killer]

A few ideas from The Big Read  - http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top200.shtml

But ... at the end of the day, you can take a son to a book store, but you can't force him to read.

What kind of TV programs does he watch ? Many popular TV progs have books to go with them
eg Dr Who, Startrek, Tracy Beaker, ...


The Big Read series was broadcast on BBC Two from 18 October to 13 December 2003.


1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
102. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett
104. Dracula, Bram Stoker
107. Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz
112. The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾, Sue Townsend
119. Shogun, James Clavell
120. The Day Of The Triffids, John Wyndham
126. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett
128. The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
132. Danny The Champion Of The World, Roald Dahl
133. East Of Eden, John Steinbeck
134. George's Marvellous Medicine, Roald Dahl
135. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
137. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
138. The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan
145. James And The Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
148. Men At Arms, Terry Pratchett
150. Skeleton Key, Anthony Horowitz
151. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett
152. Thief Of Time, Terry Pratchett
153. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett
159. Kim, Rudyard Kipling
161. Moby Dick, Herman Melville
169. The Witches, Roald Dahl
170. Charlotte's Web, E. B. White
171. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
177. Fantastic Mr Fox, Roald Dahl
193. The Truth, Terry Pratchett
194. The War Of The Worlds, H. G. Wells
197. Witches Abroad, Terry Pratchett

[SamLouise]

How about The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier?

I first read this when I was about twelve and again a couple of years ago.  It's fascinating and definitely hard to put down once you get reading.  Read some of the reviews on Amazon (link below) and see what you think (also, it's not too long a book to start with)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silver-Sword-Puffin-Books/dp/0140301461/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/203-9023418-2761519?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194948413&sr=8-2

[Lindsay]

I had a similar problem with my daughter a few years ago when she was 10, so took her to a big bookstore and let her browse.  She came up the "Horrible Histories" and "Horrible Science" books, (there are plenty in the "Horrible" series) and read nearly all of them.  She needed to be learning at the same time as reading at that point,  and I decided that as long as she was reading, it would be a good thing.

Letting her choose gave her the taste for reading  She then moved on, read Roald Dahl, J K Rowling and Agatha Christie and is now moving into the more classical literature, dare I say it, Charlotte Bronte, Thomas Hardy etc.  So don't worry about it - let him choose!

[cambourne7]

Hi

Not on the list but i would recomend the following which i have read, sometimes young adult fiction is better than adult stuff

- John Flanagan - hes written a number of books under the title the rangers apprentis which are a great read and all about boys of that age. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Flanagan_%28author%29

- Charlie Higson has written a couple of books about james bond as a teenager which are good http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Bond

- Eoin Colfer the story of a teenage supervillan who sees the error of his way and the story involves fairys, trolls, dwarfs and goblins. Its very funny and thrilling.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_Fowl
http://www.artemisfowl.com/

All these books are available from the local libary so if he does not like them you have not lost any money.

Cambourne7

[Ceratonia]

Lot of good suggestions here -  my 8yr old and his friends all very much enjoy the the Anthony Horowitz books (Alex Rider series), the Charlie Higson Young Bond books, the Eoin Colfer (Artemis Fowl) series, Eragon series by Christopher Paolini.

They're all books that teenage boys I know enjoy too, so definitely suitable for a 12 year old and for some of these there are playstation/film on DVD tie-ins that may give a bit more incentive to read the book?

Silver Sword is a great book and my son read it and enjoyed it, but I think you get a lot more out of it with a bit more history/geography background, so maybe not the place to start for a reluctant reader?

Philip Pullman Northern Lights trilogy is what he's reading at the moment (as the film is out next month) and I think they're amongst the best children's books ever written, but I agree with melbourne12 that as well as the straightforward adventure story there's a lot of science/philosophy/religion in there as well as a lot of made-up words and maybe more suited to someone who doesn't need persuading to read.

[SueSteve]

You could also go for

Marcus sedgwick
Eva Ibbotson
Michelle Paver

I have read lots of these!!

[Barnowl]

I agree withe recommendation of the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. They aren't classic fantasy (Lord of the rings etc), have a streak of earthiness and some fun technology.

Otherwise why not be a bit old fashioned and go for the Henry Treece's Viking Trilogy (Viking Dawn, The road to Miklagard (now Istanbul) Viking Sunset)  - very boys' own: no-one else will have read them and you don't really need to know any history? And/or something by Rosemary Sutcliffe like the 'Eagle of the Ninth' - one of the all time greats.

I don't think any of them have been made into film or x-box games :)

[CoffeePot]

Can I vote for Artemis Fowl too, please? My 11, 13 and 19 year old all really like them and re-read them - so do I   ;D They're a really good read.

My eldest read the Harry Potters and enjoyed them (me too again) but the younger two were't really interested, they found them a bit hard going and would rather watch the films.

Roald Dahl books seem to appeal to most children too, don't they, my daughter (11) loves them.

[RosieMcPosie]

i'm going to try to buy books for all the children in my family this year- and have quite a range to cater to. the armetis fowl books sound like they would appeal to my cousin, 13, turing 14 on Christmas day!

[manicscousers]

Callum, 9 really likes horrid henry, also the alex rider series, now he's reading the rincewind trilogy, terry pratchett  ;D

[debster]

thats a good idea

[Lady of the Land]

What about Lemony Snicket books my son has read these over and over again

[sarah]

asterix and tintin? my eight year old cant get enough of these.

[Kea]

My older son like Garth Nix about that age but my boys are unusual for boys they are passionate readers. My younger son loved the Alex Rider series and The edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell, Darren Shan and Corniela Funke, The Hitchiker's guide by Douglas Adams.

[debster]

i can see this is gonna cost me a fortune lol though evenif he wont read them i will thanks everybody ;D

[mrf94]

check out some of the books by H RIDER HAGGARD.

She, Zulu, King solomons mines, etc.


They were among my favorites, but im in my 60s now so maybe not.

[debster]

every easter i buy the kids an egg and give them a book token i dont give them money cos they can spend it on anything and i insist they buy a book my nephew is severely dyslexic but he still loves books. i have bough Elliot (step son) a Roald Dahl for christmas and im going shopping this weekend to the book shops may be gone for a while may emerge sometime in the spring lol  ;D

[OliveOil]

Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black - the film comes out in the new year and the books are quick and easy with great illustrations by Toni DiLezzeri (sp)

Anthony Horowitz

Darren Shan

Phillip Pullman

Michael Morgurgo

Sophie McKenzie - six steps to a girl is written from a boys perspective

[ellkebe]

Debster - only just saw this thread so will pm you too.  I find that a lot of the reluctant readers I get amongst the year 7 and year 8 boys respond well to the first Darren Shan series of books about vampires.  The first one is called Cirque du Freak.  They are short, story driven and at an easy reading level.  There are about 12 in the series and if they get hooked, the kids race through them! 
Shan is now onto the Demonata series which, again, is proving very popular with the boys.  My son is 11, dyslexic and not a keen reader but has just read his way though the most recent in this series cos he was so keen to know what happened. (We were reading him a different book at bedtime so otherwise he was going to have to wait for that one to be finished.)