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Children's books

Join in for children's book recommendations.

10.5yo DD stuck between younger books and tween/teen books

17 replies

flipflopson5thavenue · 07/01/2023 21:01

My 10.5yo reads a lot, and he likes graphic novels in particular. He likes to re-read familiar books, and had lots of reference/non-fiction books, and enjoys things like the Beano and the Phoenix too.

He's the youngest in his year, and some of the girls in particular seem to have started reading some tween/teen/YA books - His Dark Materials, Heartstopper, Noughts and Crosses, The Hunger Games etc. I'm happy for him to read above his age, obvs within limits, and I actually think he's in a bit of a rut - he's def beyond the Tom Gates/Treehouse/David Walliams/Tom Fletcher etc stage, but perhaps not quite ready for something like the Hunger Games. He read Harry Potter til about book 4 - I might persuade him to revisit the later books when the characters are older. I'm currently reading 'Wonder' to him.

I know there are a gazillion other books out there, but I do feel he's sort of between ages at the moment, and needs a bit of inspiration. What is you 10/11yo boy reading? Thanks.

OP posts:
purplecheesecat · 07/01/2023 21:02

How about something like Goodnight Mr Tom?

Sandysandwich · 07/01/2023 21:09

The Alex Rider series?
Maybe the Percy Jackson books

Wallowingwendy · 07/01/2023 21:10

The robin jarvis deptford mice trilogy was good for me about that age.
Has he tried Asterix if he likes graphic novels?

GaladrielHiggins · 07/01/2023 21:12

How to train your Dragon? Or the Frostheart series? DS enjoyed all of those

Pythonesque · 07/01/2023 21:20

I think there are a lot of "children's classics" that could be really useful at this point. A bit of a random list off the top of my head: Swallows and Amazons series; Black Beauty; The Black Stallion (that'd be an easier read I think); the Narnia series; The Secret Garden; The Railway Children; 5 Children and It/the Phoenix and the Carpet/ the other one I forget;

Have fun exploring, I know what you mean about not wanting to get into "darker" themes or lots of relationship stuff.

Newuser82 · 07/01/2023 21:27

My nine year old loves Alex rider, Magnus chase, Percy Jackson, he has just read Frankenstein, also Phillipa Gregory has a series of books out that went down really well (he said they were better than Harry Potter!) called order of darkness.

Also how about Greek/Roman/Norse myths?

ChristmasCakeAndStilton · 07/01/2023 21:30

How to train your dragon, Wizard of Once, (Harry Potter), and Wings of Fire were read at top end of primary here.
We've just bounced back from about 6 months of very little reading with Rick Riordan. Not sure I'd be promoting it to a 10 yr old tho unless they were keen - nearly 12 here, but DS1probably read it around 10 - but he read everything he could get his hands on. That said naughts and crosses was a Y8 book at school, and he hasn't enjoyed it. Not sure I'd be pushing hunger games yet either.

WonderingWanda · 07/01/2023 21:33

My ds liked the Murder Most Unladylike series by Robin Stevens books in y6.

Swearwolf · 07/01/2023 21:39

My 10 year old loves Percy Jackson! And he really likes the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books even though they're a bit easy going (maybe because they are). And I'm seconding Wizards of Once!

Augend23 · 07/01/2023 21:42

At that age I read a lot of boy friendly books, and thinking of more modern books as well as older ones... I was a fairly precocious ready so some I would have read a couple of years before that but still enjoyed at that age.

At that age I would have loved:

Alex Rider
The Hardy Boys (also Nancy drew but not sure on the female protagonist)
I would have read young bond but you might want to vet them first
Sherlock Holmes
Percy Jackson
the other Rick Riordan books
C.H.E.R.U.B but again might need to vet them - the first couple are pretty okay (some drugs and death but nothing horrendous) but they might become too adult too fast
H.I.V.E (higher institute for villainous education).

Has he read the Enid blyton famous five/island of adventure/secret island type stuff? I definitely read that younger than ten but they're very good tales. I also enjoyed swallows and Amazons.

Then I'm not sure if they're too "girly" (female protagonist essentially) but the companions quartet by Julia Golding are quite good.

Mysterious Benedict society, probably the right age. Artemis Fowl maybe as well if he's not already read it? Harry and the Wrinklies.

I consumed books at a rate of about 15 a week at that age.

IsItMimi · 07/01/2023 21:47

The Usagi Yojimbo Saga graphic novels might be a good fit - fiction but based in Japanese folk tales and history, but really excellent stories. Also, has he read the Redwall series?

Britinme · 07/01/2023 22:01

Artemis Fowl and Percy Jackson strike me as good options.

He might also like the Australian author Morris Gleitzman - I highly recommend The Other Facts Of Life, which is very boy-friendly and very very funny.

Britinme · 07/01/2023 22:02

Another Australian author, Paul Jennings, is also worth checking out.

JessicaBrassica · 07/01/2023 22:46

D's is y6. Over the last couple of years he's loved Artemis fowl, Percy Jackson (any Rick Riordan), the graphic novels from his dark materials. Also Sophie Anderson - the girl who speaks bear, house with chicken legs etc. Recently he read day of the triffids with his dad recently and is now all over the Arthur c Clarke and Robert Heinlein juveniles.

BlueChampagne · 09/01/2023 13:14

Terry Pratchett graphic novels might lead him onto the books themselves.
A Wizard of Earthsea is much less daunting than a Harry Potter, sizewise.
The Hobbit?
You could try him on the recent podcast of The Dark is Rising.

BlueChampagne · 09/01/2023 13:16

The Amulet series of graphic novels was very popular when DC2 was in Y6.

jetSTAR · 10/01/2023 21:47

Anything by...
Piers Torday e.g. The Last Wild
MG Leonard e.g. Twitch
A darkness of Dragons series (can't remember the author)
Adventures on Trains Series - The Highland Falcon Thief is the first

To be honest imo there is so much wonderful new stuff out there at the moment you don't need to move on to YA/teenage books just yet.

Have a look at the Books for Topics website and look at Y6 book list.

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