Books again... grrr

[lighthouseacademy]

My son is so hard to find books for. He loves to read but is awful picky. He liked 21 Balloons, enjoyed 3/4 of Trolley to Yesterday and then decided it was boring, loves Beverly Cleary (which is below his reading level), anything Roald Dahl (I think he has read the BFG 20 times!), He likes adventure stories and if it has something funny. He loved EB White. He liked the first 3 Little House books and then lost interest. He also liked Tales of the 4th Grade Nothing. He loved Holes but doesn't really seem to get into Harry Potter. I can't find rhyme or reason to his choices personally.

[OhElizabeth]

Besides historical fiction, my dd likes anything that is FUNNY or has an adventure. And if it's a DARING adventure with imaginative exploits, so much the better. Humor and adventure seem to run through the books you listed. Just a thought.

As for what that means, I have no clue. I just try to keep all kinds of books going at her to see what sticks. It always surprises me, lol.

[MandJsMama]

My son is also a picky reader and seems to have similar interests. I recommend The Moomintroll Series with Jove Tansson. My son laughs out loud as he reads them.

Pippi Longstocking also had him laughing out loud.

[nmoira]

Pippi Longstocking also had him laughing out loud.Both of Lindgren's Karlson (sometimes Karlsson) books are back in print: Karlson on the Roof (http://www.amazon.com/Karlson-Roof-Astrid-Lindgren/dp/0192727729/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1250302430&sr=8-4) and Karlson Flies Again (http://www.amazon.com/Karlson-Flies-Again-Astrid-Lindgren/dp/0192727745/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1250302430&sr=8-1). They're a hoot.

Some other suggestions:

There Be Monsters -- Alan Snow
Joan Aiken's Arabel and Mortimer series and short stories
Paddington
Nurse Matilda
Freddy the Pig series by Brooks
The Fire Thief trilogy by Terry Deary
Edward Eager
Hank the Cowdog
Jules Feiffer
Professor Branestawm series
some Eva Ibbotson
Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat
Howl's Moving Castle
some Margaret Mahy, especially The Great Piratical Rumbustification
Measle series by Ogilvy
Lemony Snicket
Polly and the Wolf stories by Catherine Storr
James Thurber

[JenneinAZ]

My son likes:

Poppy by Avi (there are others in the series)
The Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien

We have tried others but these are his favorites.

[Phoatogirl]

The Lightning Thief series

My son reads and rereads it. We bought the first book (The Lightning Thief) for my neice and now she is really into it. The movie of this title will be out soon, so you might consider reading it before then.

[OhElizabeth]

Ooo, my dd LOVED the Freddy the Pig series!! They were oop, but I think Queen Homeschool (or someone, I forget) has hardbound new versions of them.

[KristenS]

FWIW, don't worry about his favorites being below reading level. *I* still read all those books on a regular basis myself. :)

The Phantom Tollbooth is good.
Gordon Korman has a series about a school called Macdonald Hall ... those are a riot ... he might like them.
(Forgot the name) Klise has a lot of funny books out right now ... all in the form of letters, newspaper articles, etc ... fun to read and solve the mysteries.
The Three Investigators (the older ones, not the teen-looking ones) are good mystery adventures.
Lloyd Alexander perhaps?

You might just take him to the library shelves, start at "A", and find a handful that look interesting. Let him put aside the ones he doesn't like, if he starts them and finds they aren't so good. Work your way to "Z" ... bound to find some good ones that way. (I tried this myself once with our library ... read a lot of really interesting things I wouldn't have otherwise picked up ... didn't get all the way through the alphabet though.)

I know in just the A section you'll find David Adler's mysteries, Avi's adventures, Lloyd Alexander's fantasies, and a whole lot of other great stuff. I found a fascinating cowboy biography (not sure why it was with the fiction) and a bunch of other random obscure stuff. Some of the Three Investigators (the part written by somebody Arthur). Joan Aiken. You might find the old "Three Boys" series by Agle, or all the Louisa May Alcott books, or some juvenile mysteries and sci-fi by Isaac Asimov.

[nmoira]

Ooo, my dd LOVED the Freddy the Pig series!! They were oop, but I think Queen Homeschool (or someone, I forget) has hardbound new versions of them.You might be thinking of Overlook Press which has released hardcover editions of all the Freddy books and many in paperback as well. The paperbacks in particular are a tactile delight and are well worth the money (yeah, I like to feel books). I've been picking them up remaindered or used as I find them.

Also in humour: Overlook has also published gorgeous editions of P.G. Wodehouse (http://www.overlookpress.com/wodehouse.php), including the complete Jeeves novels. DH and I aren't big on first editions or matched collections, but we have made a point to get every one of these.

[lighthouseacademy]

Thank you. If there are anymore suggestions, I will take them! Anyway, as for reading level, mostly I am concerned that he is a bit stuck reading down at this point. Perhaps that is fine since he is 7 1/2... but I have noticed a tendency in him to reach a point where everything is easy and refuse to try for anything else. In other words- if it isn't easy it isn't worth it. On the flip side, when he isn't being challenged, he is a bear to be around! So I am working to strike a balance to continue challenging him but just enough to keep him happy without making him feel over stretched and rebel!

[Country Girl]

My ds has really enjoyed the Mysterious Benedict Society books and is looking forward to the 3rd one to be released.