Reading suggestions

[jenpetronus]

Would really appreciate some suggestions for DS1 - he's 11, & has always been at full time French school - though we've tried hard to encourage his English reading and writing, and I would say he's about parallel with UK educated boys of a similar age in terms of ability - not beyond. He's recently finished the Harry Potter series which he loved with a passion, and I've started him with the Hunger Games trilogy - first one went down well but we're struggling a bit with number 2.
I'm really keen to hold his interest, but not frighten him with anything too difficult, any suggestions would be hugely appreciated - I'm very out of touch! tia.

[learnandsay]

Has he read The Hobbit, followed by The Lord of the Rings.

[jenpetronus]

He hasn't learnandsay it's a good idea, and just because I couldn't stand the Hobbit as a child doesn't mean he won't like it

[Izzy82]

There is a book called Holes that my class (of Year 6) absolutely love.

[jenpetronus]

Is it this one Izzy82?

[Izzy82]

Yes- it's a lovely book. I enjoyed reading it as an adult too. The kids in my class are also really in to the Hunger Games. i have read it myself and can see why all of them love it (though it does contain a bit of mindless killing.

[gfrnn]

I'd think any of the following might be worth a try with someone who has finished HP:
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
The Earthsea Quartet - Ursula Le Guin
The Dark is Rising Sequence - Susan Cooper
Journey to the River Sea & the Star of Kazan - Eva Ibbotson

Also worth having a look through the list of Newbery medal winners - "Holes" is in there, but lots of other crackers too: The hero and the crown, The Westing game, etc.

[jenpetronus]

Thanks all, loads to go on. Will get onto Amazon when I've got more time. Appreciate all your suggestions.

[Ferguson]

Hi - retired TA (male) here :

I always recommend Arthur Ransome books, as they are interesting, well written, and impart a lot of information about children and life in the 1930s, without being too difficult or seeming like they are teaching history.

Swallows and Amazons was the first, of course, and is set in the Lake District but not in an exact location.

If he likes history or geography, then Coot Club is brilliant because all the locations are real, in the Norfolk Broads. The Ordnance Survey 2-1/2 inch map of the Broads shows all the places the children visit, and allowing for a few new roads and less railways, it has hardly changed. I found it fascinating to read the story while following the rivers and route on the map. The social history of the area is also covered: the children want to send a letter to friends in a nearby village, and say if they post it in the morning, it will arrive in the 'second post' the same afternoon! They buy provisions in a riverside shop, and all their purchases are carried down to their boat by the 'shop boy'.

Another book with a real location setting that can be found on maps is Watership Down. The housing development that destroyed the rabbits' home is on the outskirts of Newbury : www.lionking.org/~watership/

If he likes poetry, some of John Betjeman's collections might be a possibility, and I have done bits of Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood with young able readers.

[jenpetronus]

Thank you Ferguson lot's of really useful suggestions I hadn't thought of - I like the Geography related idea - really keen to try and keep up his knowledge of the UK - if he liked it the book we could tie in with a future holiday plan too!
Thank you again for such a helpful post, and to everyone else who has made brilliant suggestions