Thursday, June 1, 2017

Luke's Reading List

Last week I mentioned our school's Accelerated Reader program (which makes you take comprehension tests after reading books) and lots of y'all wanted to know what Luke likes to read.  Let me preface with this, Luke hasn't always loved to read.  Last summer he discovered Captain Underpants and his love for reading really took off from there.  Captain Underpants is by no means great literature :)  There's a lot of crude humor and just elementary-boy jokes but he couldn't put it down.  He laughed and giggled and tore his way through the whole series - for fun!  After that we started looking for other series that he might like and it was from that point forward that his reading really took off.



With the AR program this year at school along with his teacher's monthly book club he has started reading more and more on his own and his selections have expanded.  He's also been more open to reading books I suggest. 


Yesterday Luke and I went up to his room and talked about the books he loved reading this year and here they are...


From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler was one of my picks for him and he ended up loving it.  I remember reading it as a kid and thinking how COOL it would be to be a stowaway in a museum and he loved it as well.  Love That Dog was one of his chat-and-chew selections from the year and he described it as "easy but good" ;)  It's written as a series of free-verse poems from the perspective of a little boy who didn't like poetry, but through writing it came to love it.  


The Secret Zoo is kind of like Narnia but a little bit more of a mystery.  Luke read this quickly and really enjoyed it.  The Best Christmas Pageant Ever was another chat-and-chew pick and the antics of the crazy crew that took over the pageant had Luke laughing as he read this one back in the Fall.  It would be something cute to read together and then have a night where you watch the movie.


Indian in the Cupboard was another favorite from my childhood (I'm pretty sure it was my first book report and I'm also pretty sure I typed the report on a typewriter and thought I was so cool! hahahaha) and The Whipping Boy is a classic - but can be a little bit confusing.  Luke had several questions when reading it - so while it's great - you might want to read through it first so you're prepared. 


Stone Fox and Shiloh are two of my favorites.  I feel like all kids can get behind a good dog book and these two Luke really enjoyed.  Another one of my favorites from growing up was Where The Red Fern Grows and I have that one in my Amazon cart for him right now.


Boxcar Children WAS my childhood and I'm so excited for him to read this one and hopefully fall in love with the series.  I ordered this one for him earlier but he hasn't made his way to it as of yet.  I can remember how in the books the kids kept their bottle of milk cold in the creek and I used to try to do the same thing in the creek that ran through our yard in NC :) 


The Black Lagoon series is another one that he read through voraciously.  They're easy and FUN and one of his absolute favorites.



I bought Luke several Choose Your Own Adventure books and then my mom brought over several from when my brother and I were little.  If you're not familiar with the concept you start the book and then get to a certain point where you'll get to choose from two different outcomes.  Then read a bit further and choose again.  It's fun because it's like having several books in one.


This is the stack next to his bed of the ones he's currently working through.


My parents bought Luke the Magic Tree House Series for his birthday last year and he's about 2/3 of the way through with them.  They're quick reads and in the books the main characters Jack and Annie have a magic tree house and every time they visit they are sent off on a new adventure.  He's liked that the characters stay the same but that all the adventures/settings/time period are all different.


The Dog Man books are written by the same author as Captain Underpants and I believe he finished these on the day they arrived ;)   They're written in the same "graphic novel" type style and are quirky and funny.



 I brought out my Chronicles of Narnia set from when I was a kid and am hoping he'll dive into these this summer...


... as fell as finishing off another couple books in the Harry Potter series.


He started and finished Diary of a Wimpy Kid yesterday and so the next 5 books are on their way to our house as I'm typing this :)  He also read a 39 Clues book from the library right before school ended and has the rest of that series on his wishlist as well.  The Star Wars Jedi Academy books are another series that he'd like to finish.

So there you go!   I really hope that this was helpful!  If there's interest I'll put together a post with some of our favorite picture books for the younger kids and I'll share what I'm reading this summer as I work my way through the stack I have going and weed out the not-so-great ones :)

I would love any recommendations that you have for kids as well... so be sure to leave them in the comments! 

Happy Thursday, friends!

PS - This post contained affiliate links.  Thank you so much for supporting my blog! :)

54 comments :

  1. I loved the Viking Quest series by Lois Walfrid Johnson as a kid! They are full of adventure while also being quite informational. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0802431143/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_5M-lzbY8FD6ST. The Trail blazer books by Dave and Neta Jackson were another favorite! With these you learn about a historical person (often a missionary), but it's an adventure as well. We could never put these down as a kid! Both authors have a variety of books and series and I'd highly recommend any of them!
    Stacy(not sure why it says "unknown" 😣)

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    1. Thanks, Stacy!!! I think he has a couple of those - but I need to check!

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  2. My Weird School by Dan Gutman. I read a few aloud to my second graders. Hysterical.
    https://m.barnesandnoble.com/p/my-weird-school-21-book-box-set-dan-gutman/1100565764/2675161937632?st=PLA&sid=BNB_DRS_Marketplace+Shopping+Books_00000000&2sid=Google_&sourceId=PLGoP4283&k_clickid=3x4283

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  3. Aww love that Luke loves to read! My favorite book series growing up was the Charlie Bone series. You should check it out cause I think Luke would really enjoy it! :)

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  4. Our kids (boy and girl) used to like the "I Survived" series when they were in elementary. These books are basically historical fiction for kids, and are always set during a time of hardship such as "I Survived the Hindenberg Disaster" or "I Survived Hurricane Katrina," etc. Super fun!

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  5. Oh I love this post. I'm hoping for lots of fun reading this summer and this is just what I needed for some great ideas. Thank you.

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  6. My youngest is going to be in 6th grade and she just hasn't taken off with her reading yet. We went to Barnes and Noble to pick out some new books that I'm hoping will get her going! Any tips you can share about how to encourage reading would be awesome!!! I feel like I've tried everything...

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  7. The Jigsaw Jones Mystery Series are similar to some of the books you described above and the Roald Dahl books (James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The Witches) can be pretty engaging. Also, the According to Humphrey series by Betty G. Birney is another great series. Enjoy :)

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  8. Hi! Love the metal, circular shelf. Where is that from? Thank you!

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  9. Ooo thanks for all these ideas!! I am going to get some of these for my son this summer!

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  10. Great book recommendations! I'm going to pick some of these up today! :)

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  11. Oh my gosh, I remember reading a lot of these books as a kid! The Boxcar Children was my favorite series!

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  12. I remember crying my way through Where the Red Fern Grows in 5th grade! Such a good book! Another good one that is a good history lesson is Number the Stars and then Slake's Limbo (but I read that for school in 7th grade, I don't remember the reading level...

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  13. All great books!! Some books he might like are the "Who was..." and "What was..." books- BUT I will say they do touch on some adult topics (I was reading The Neil Armstrong one to my first grade class when I realized it was about to start talking about how he got divorced 😲) so my advice is read them first so you can talk about a less than pleasant topic with him before he gets to it in the book!

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    1. Divorce is not an adult topic, it's a reality for many many kids, most likely some of your own students! Why is it tabu to talk about?

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    2. I don't think she is implying that it is a taboo subject. I think teachers or parents wouldn't want to share the details of his divorce to very young children. They can learn about that subject from their parents or family. Why expose them to every adult decision or topic at a super young age?

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  14. I'm furiously making notes because I cannot seem to keep my eight year old well stocked with new books. He has read a lot of these but some are new to me. Thank you for the suggestions!

    http://www.lettinginthelightblog.com

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  15. So, Elle is just starting to read. We are working through our third set of Bob Books currently. My big question is what comes after Bob Books? Any suggestions for like super beginning readers?

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  16. My boys have all loved the Magic Treehouse series and it has acted like a launching pad for their reading! We also like The King's Equal, Sarah, Plain and Tall, The Bear's on Hemlock Mountain, The Matchlock Gun, and The Sword in the Tree for shorter reads. For read aloud, or a bit higher reading level, I LOVE Moccasin Trail, all of the Ralph Moody books (the first one is called Little Britches-they are sort of like a "boy" Little House on the Prairie), and Summer of the Monkeys.

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  17. Thanks for this recap. Always helpful to get tried and true suggestions. My 8-year old is enjoying the "Battle Bugs" series by Jack Patton...

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  18. Oh, I almost forgot the Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing series with Peter and his annoying little brother nicknamed Fudge! Those books were awesome back when I was a kid in the 70s and still would be fun for kids today.

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  19. My favorite author as a child was Enid Blyton (my Mom read the books as a child when she was growing up in Scotland). Enid was a British author born in 1897. Most of her books were written in the 30's, 40's and 50's. My favorite series were The Famous Five and Adventure Series. I also absolutely loved Mallory Towers and St. Clares, but those two series are about girls boarding school (so might not be too interesting for a boy). Great wholesome reading!

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    1. Wendy--I adored the Enid Blyton books as a teen--I grew up in boarding school in West Africa so the stories were so interesting to me! How fun to hear of someone who loved the books too!!

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    2. I still have all the books! I soooo wanted to go to a boarding school and be Darrell (from Malory Towers). How neat that you went to a boarding school in West Africa.

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  20. Key to the Treasure by Peggy Parish was my very favorite book when I was a kid. I loved the mystery and scavenger hunt in it. I didn't realize until my daughter started loving it as well that it was a series, so I hopped on ebay and bought it.

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  21. The Boxcar Children is one of my favorites. And I am all about Captain Underpants (not great literature) but is always seems to keep boys entertained and they LOVE the books which I can appreciate. Diary of a Wimpy Kid is really popular in our house. After Maddi finishes a book then we watch the movie for a movie night (if possible). I loved this post.

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  22. The Hardy Boys were a throw back classic series when my son was younger. Also any of the Roald Dahl books.

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  23. My "I hate reading" son ( who will be 21 this month) and I were just talking about books he read when he was younger. He remembers liking the sports books by Mike Lupica and Matt Christopher. I also bought him many biographies about his idols, Michael Jordan and Walter Payton.
    As a teacher, I've done class reads with a few from the" I survived" series and they LOVED them. We also read The Boxcar Children, Stuart Little, Hatchet, Chester Cricket in Time Square and Mouse on a Motorcycle. I teach special ed and the kids are about 2-4th grade reading levels. We read the books together in class. They would tell you that the I Survived series are their favorites.

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  24. My brother and I loved the Redwall series as kids. I think they were about medieval animals? If he likes Harry Potter, he may also like Percy Jackson. Also, Bud not Buddy is another classic that I loved as a kid! It's so great that you are raising readers! :)

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  25. Here is an oldie but well loved at our house...Goosebumps! Tattered books mean they were loved! Berenstain Bears were always good. I loved Nancy Drew and all the Mark Twain Huckleberry Finn. Looking for good ideas for our one year old for books as she loves to look at them and first Birthday memorable gift ideas! Any ideas you could help me with?

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  26. My favorite book of all time is From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler! I was a Library Manager for 6 years at a pre-K - 8th grade school, and only had a few stundents read it (I am pretty sure they did it to make me happy). I am so glad Luke enjoyed it! You made some great suggestions and the above comments do too. The Hank Zipzer books by Henry Winkler are great. Another boy favorite collection is My Life as... by Bill Myers. There are tons of books with lots of adventures. My oldest daughter and all her guy friends adored The Ranger's Apprentice series by John A Flanagan.

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  27. Love so many of these! The two book series that I remember most from my elementary days are Hank the Cow Dog and Sideways Stories from Wayside School. I loved both of these so so much and can't wait for my little ones to get older and read them together!!

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  28. Ah, I work for the children's book publisher that publishes The Boxcar Children!! I love seeing those four kids on your list ;) I hope Luke loves them!

    This is a great reading list you both have cultivated. I love hearing that he enjoys Captain Underpants. Last year at a book conference I heard Dav Pilkey speak and he gave a lovely talk. He had a hard time reading growing up because none of his teachers would let him read the things he liked (like comics) just because they weren't "good" or weren't technically books. But is mom took him to the library a lot and told him he could read whatever he wanted as long as he was reading. That experience inspired him to create a series for reluctant readers because it gets them reading (!) and ultimately pushes them in a direction toward other types of books/literature. He's a cool dude. And good on you for letting Luke read what he enjoys!

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    1. My brother was a reluctant reader as a kid, but he LOVED comic books. When you're teaching kids to read for pleasure, they should always get to choose! His favorite thing was to stay up past his bedtime reading comic books by flashlight. As long as he was reading, my mom let him do it, too.

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    2. I agree! And your momma was a smart one!

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  29. Thank you!!!! My son is heading into second grade next year and I'm always on the hunt for fun boy books!

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  30. The Box Car Kids Series was my favorite growing up! My boys love the movie on Netflix and I can't wait until they are old enough to read the books with me! My guys are 6 (just finished kindergarten) and 3 so I'm writing some of these books down for future reference! Thanks!

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  31. You might want to read Where The Red Fern Grows to him instead of letting him read it by himself. I was a wreck after I read that in the 3rd grade. Also, the movie left me a sobbing, hysterical mess ha ha.

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  32. My son is 8 and has enjoyed Captain Underpants very much! I'm not a reader myself so I don't set a good example when it comes to reading but I should be more diligent about that. I'll look into some of your suggestions for my son. Great post!

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  33. My son is 9 and has loved the Treasure Hunters series by James Patterson. Check them out!

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  34. I love the books you shared! As a former librarian, I couldn't get the boys to read The Hardy Boy Mysteries, but they loved Nancy Drew. Go figure! I love both. I read the first 19 Boxcar Children to my own children several years ago and they loved them. After the author died, the series continued, but my children noticed a difference. I so love seeing boys and girls becoming avid readers! Have a great summer.

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  35. As a school librarian this post makes me so happy!! Love to see that Luke is such a reader and I love, love, love that you are reading so many books together! Love that Dog is an absolute fave!! I cried!! LOL

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  36. I teach fifth grade.....we do an annual competition called Battle of the Books. If you google Pikes Peak Battle of the Books and look up the book list there are 40 amazing books there. My all time favorite is Wonder.....boy main character and just an all our amazing book. Fish in a Tree is also a newer terrific book!

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  37. I had planned to start reading The Boxcar Children to my daughter today - how funny! Love this post! And I'd love to see a picture book post. My daughter is six and I'm trying to get her "into" chapter books, but she still very much prefers picture books. :)

    And I second the book Wonder. My teen daughter and I both read it a few years ago (although we are probably too "old" for it - haha) and it's a good one!

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  38. My 3rd grader (soon to be 4th) is finishing up the Magic Tree House books. He's on #48! You may already know this, but the series continues past the original 28 books with Jack and Annie's "Merlin Missions". Numbers 29-55 are a bit longer and some are more historical- a perfect progression for growing readers. The Humphrey series and Who was books have been favorites. Geronimo Stilton is also a popular series similar to the ones you've listed. Happy Reading and thanks for sharing!

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  39. I would love a post on favorite picture books! I have a 3 year old son and we love reading books together :)

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  40. The culdesac kids series was what got my boy hooked on chapter books. Now he's a voracious reader. He reads for fun for hours a day!

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  41. I love seeing what others are reading and what sparks their interest (children and adults alike)! Thank you for sharing! I am looking forward to your picture book selection and your personal selection! As a teacher, Summer is my biggest reading time so I'm always on the lookout for suggestions. I am also very interested in more details about his teacher's Book Club. I'm not sure if you are able to share that or not but it sounds fun and I would love to hear more! Thanks!

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  42. Matt Christopher has a great series based on sports.

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