BOOK RECS FOR YOUR PRETEEN

The other week on Instagram we were chatting about book recommendations for preteen boys, specifically. I don’t know about you guys, but lately I’m finding it difficult to find solid books for my 10-year-old soon to be 11-year-old boy. When he was younger it was almost effortless to find beautiful life giving picture books and short stories. Now, he is obviously in that chapter book age group. He’s able to comprehend more in depth story lines, but a lot of the books just leave me feeling kind of, “eh”

They are either cheesy or they have subjects and contents within the book that just aren’t things that I really want my son to be filling his mind with. When I was his age, my face was always in a book. There are so many stories I look back on with fondness. Back then and today I feel that it is much easier to find really great chapter books for girls.

I decided to ask my friends on Instagram what their favorite books were for their pre-teen age boys. My Insta pals definitely didn’t disappoint. I had so many suggestions and today I’m going to share that list with all of you.

I do want to preface this post before I share the list of books. I’m familiar with some of them. I’ve read some of them myself and my son has read some of them already, however I have not vetted all of them and I am not promoting them or recommending them for your family and your child without you first researching the book and vetting it for yourself. I think it’s very important as parents and individuals to take responsibility for things and not necessarily just take someone’s word for it. I am a huge advocate for researching things for yourself. I do believe many of these recommendations are solid, however I know everyone has their own personal convictions, so please be sure to do your own due diligence and research/read the book yourself before having your child read it.

BOOK LIST

• Boxcar Children
• Imagination Station – we have read some of these and enjoyed them.
• The Hardy Boys
• Little Pilgrims Progress – we read this aloud twice, however I do think I’ll have him read it independently.
• The Cricket in Times Square – by: George Selden
• Homer Price by: Robert McCloskey
• Because of Winn Dixie by: Kate DiCamillo
• Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder (we’ve read this one)
• The Borrowers by: Mary Norton
• Henry Huggins by: Beverly Cleary
• Chronicles of Narnia by: C.S. Lewis (read these)
• Baker Family Adventure by: C.R. Hedgcock
• Sugar Creek Gang by: Paul Hutchens
• Gone-Away Lake by: Elizabeth Enright
• Ben and Me by: Robert Lawson
• Green Ember Series by: SD Smith (we started the first book a couple years ago as a read aloud, but my boys weren’t really into it. I am going to try again now that they are older)
• Billy and Blaze by: C.W. Anderson
• My Father’s Dragon by: Ruth Stiles Gannett
• Sign of the Beaver by: Elizabeth George Speare
• Redwall by: Brian Jacques
• We Were There Series
• The Hobbit and LOTR by: JRR Tolkien (we read some of the Hobbit and I’ve read all of these many times)
• Encyclopedia Brown Series
• My Side of the Mountain by: Jean Craighead George
• Call of the Wild by: Jack London
• Treasure Island by: Robert Louis Stevenson
• Hatchet by: Gary Paulsen
• Cabin Creek Series (says ages 7-9)
• 100 Cupboards by: ND Wilson
• The Wingfeather Saga by: Andrew Peterson
• Where the Red Fern Grows by: Wilson Rawls (we read this last year)
• Tuttle Twins (we love these!)
• Paddington Series by: Michael Bond (my son read these last year)
• Ralph Moody Series
• Charlotte’s Web by: EB White (a family favorite)
• Mr. Poppers Penguins by: Florence and Richard Atwood (my son read this one this year)
• Stuart Little by: EB White
• The Trumpet and the Swan : EB White (my son read this one this year)
• Secret of the Hidden Scrolls by: MJ Thomas (these are probably my son’s favorite stories)
• Bash and the Pirate Pig by: Burton W. Cole
• Wolf Called Wander by: Roseanne Parry
• Ambleside Online offers a book list work checking out as well.
• Unlikely_Homeschool (Jamie Erickson) was also recommended as a resource for book recommendations.

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today. I hope this list helps you find some great new books for your kiddos.

Blessings,

Bree