Books for 10 year old son?

[krcit]

Hi. I'm looking for some book series for my son. He loved the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. He also enjoyed the A-Z Mysteries. He is not a very strong reader so the books can't be too difficult. Any suggestions? Thanks

 

[HM]

Hatchet
My Side of the Mountain

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

Dragon Slayer Academy (series)

How to Train Your Dragon (series)

Little Wolf (series)

All three are goofy and fast paced.

 

[kissesbykim]

My DS loves Captain Underpants!

 

[cornflake]

Ender's Game.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

Anything by Rick Riordan and Brandon Mull will probably work.

The Mysterious Benedict Society books are popular.

 

[Uptown Girl]

At that age Hoot was a popular book with our kids and their friends. There are a couple others by the same author, Carl Hiaasen. The also liked "Because of Winn Dixie".

 

[MrsDuck]

If his reading level allows it, the Harry Potter series!

 

[linnylu]

My ds is turning 10. He just started the Percy Jackson series and is enthralled. It is the first time ever he didn't ask me to play Xbox and instead sat and read his book.

 

[Magic Mom]

Maze Runner trilogy. It is a teen series and a little scary, but nothing too bad.

 

[mom2maggie]

My daughter love the Bailey School Kids books and Captain Underpants books - either of those would work great for a boy!

 

[HugsForEeyore]

Big Nate series by Peirce - done in a similar style to Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Big hit here at my library.

 

[tigerdragon]

Bone by Jeff Smith. It's a long series and my DS loves them. My son is 11 and not a strong reader either and he read the entire series. He's a Diary of a Wimpy Kid fan too.

 

[dawson5]

Does he like sports? Mine loved just about anything by Lupica and that baseball card series. Cannot remember the name, but the kid could travel in time by holding the card. He does more than this though

I volunteered in the school library for a year. As some of the PP's mentioned, Riordan and Rowling were always big. Also, if he likes that genre, Eragon series is great. Some liked Shiloh. Not sure if it's his age group or not, but Henry Winkler does a series that they seemed to like. (I was in there for several age groups, can't remember what age group borrowed what. Those were the ones that seemed to get a lot of usage though.)

Have you called the school librarian to get some ideas? Or possibly go in during his library time and volunteer to see what he enjoys.

 

[OceanAnnie]

The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster. Excellent book. Classic. Kind of like an Alice in Wonderland for boys, but more complex. The boy in the story is about 10 years old IRC.

 

[AverageDiser]

Lemony Snickets' A Series of Unfortunate Events is a great series that's easy to read but right on for content level. You may also want to check out "The 39 Clues" series, again easier to read, but more mature content. The Olympian series by Rick Riordan is great, as are the Potter books, but they may be intimidating because of the lengths. He may also get a kick out of graphic novels, if you ask at your local bookstore/comic book store they can prob point out some appropriate choices for his age. DD(10) enjoys the Pokemon ones.

 

[MNdisneymom]

You've had some excellent recommendations, some I would have suggested myself. I have a few more, mostly authors:

1. Dan Gutman.
2. Andrew Clements. ...both good mid-level authors, books aren't too long, but very fun.
3. Zombie Chasers series...forget the author, but there are only 2 or 3 books in the series. Silly and fun, not gory.
4. Mary Downing Hahn...ghost stories for kids. Many books, DS has only read a few.
5. Guys Read...a series of books (Funny Business is one, Thrillers is new). Short stories written by well-known kids authors. DS is getting the Thriller one for Christmas.
6. Ghost Hunters series by Cornelia Funke. Fun, silly, ghosts. What more could a kid want?
7. Warriors series by Erin Hunter. Cats living in clans in the forests, battles galore, 15 + books. The reading level is a little higher on these, but reachable.
8. You Wouldn't want to...series of history books, lots of facts, but fun and with great comic illustrations. (You Wouldn't Want to be a Civil War Soldier is DS's favorite.)

HTH. Good luck!

 

[K and K's Mommy]

I'm going to second (or third) the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. They still might be a little hard, but they would be a great interest level. If he's not quite able to read them yet, I would read them to him. Adults like them, too! I've seen two reluctant readers start loving to read because of this series. The whole series is a little easier than the whole Harry Potter series. Having said that, the first Harry Potter book is probably 4th grade level. Because of its length, kids need some stamina though.

I also love Brandon Mull - the Fablehaven series or Candy Shop War. My kids have also liked the oldie, but goodie, Encyclopedia Brown series. I think those are 3rd grade level.

 

[krcit]

Thank you all so much!!! You've given me some great ideas. I am going to go look at these on Amazon to get a few for Christmas but I am keeping the list and getting some from the library also.


Keep 'em coming!!

 

[Uptown Girl]

The Charlie Bone books might be good too if he want some Harry Potterish books that aren't as long or as difficult to read.