what are your nearly 12 year old and 9 yr old boys reading?

[mimsum]

my mum wants to get my boys a book each as a little pre-xmas present - what are your boys reading and enjoying? both mine are voracious readers and when I was in Waterstones yesterday I was struggling to find something they hadn't read and would enjoy

recent hits for the nearly 12 year old have been Dark Materials, both Skullduggery Pleasant, all Artemis Fowl, all Wolf Brother, everything by Cornelia Funke (Dragonrider, Inkspell trilogy etc), Eragon trilogy, Spartan warrior series

9 year old has also read most of the above except I think Phillip Pullman's a bit old for him

any good recommendations? neither likes horror so no vampires or anything remotely girly

Have they read the Swallows and Amazons series yet? [I inherited them from my bros!]

no - mainly because I found them incredibly dull as a child! but thanks for suggestion

My 9 year old DS is reading the Jimmy Coates series written by Joe Craig ( a bit like Alex Rider). Has your 12 year old read the Windsinger books?

DS (9) devours books. In last week or so (I made a list for school) DS has read (in addition to others):

Abbot Daggers Academy and the Quest for the Holy Grail (part of a series)
The Spy Master, Jak Shadow
Transformers Novel (of the movie)
3 x TinTin Comics
Two Ghoul School books.
Haunted House (see here) by Mary Hooper

• Cosmic, Cottrell Bryce

• Machine Gunners Robert Westall, I think, Westall's written loads of WWII-related books, we are getting some in from the library, but many aren't really suitable for 9yos (but some would be for the 12yo, like Blitzcat and Kingdom by the Sea).

• books were winners of Carnegie Medal award for children's literature.

I found Swallows and Amazons quite dull, too. . Haven't bothered to hand it to DS, yet. Am mulling over when he might be ready for The Hobbit. I rarely buy books, get them from the library, I couldn't afford DS to read like he does if I actually bought them.

Michael Morpugo, Robert Swindells, supposed to be good for this age group, too.

Oh, Phantom Tollbooth, DS read it on a sick day recently. And you could consider Watership Down, and A Wrinkle in Time, for the 12yo.

Diana Wynne Jones? I recently re-read Dogsbody and it was wonderful (even better than I remembered). My (advanced reading age) friend's 11yo DD also read it and loved it. Also, The Iron Man, and The Iron Woman by Ted Hughes.

For the 12 year old the cherub spy books are meant to be simply fantastic. My nephew loves them.

Also skulduggery Pleasant is a great book, there are two of them now.

Also Lemony Snikett series
the Windsinger series
Alex Horowitz (either his spy or fantasy series)

Diana Wynne Jones is utterly amazing.

sorry hadn't read through properly that skulduggery already a hit but at least I am on the right lines. SOmething I forgot which I think he will absolutely love is the Bartimaus Trilogy, they are superb. I really recommend them.

And for the nine year old the Charlie Bone series is brilliant.

Honestly I could go on all day but so exciting to give people books that they might love.

DS is also about 100 pages into one of the Warrior Cat books (by Erin Hunter).
I am trying to coax him to read some of The Black Stallion books (Walter Farley) (about a 12yo boy).

ah, yes both have also had a Diana Wynne Jones fest, plus Phantom Tollbooth, plus Lemony Snickett (which really dragged towards the end) Blitzcat, Machine Gunners, loads of Michael Morpurgo, Hobbit, Lord of the Rings

will def try Windsinger, Charlie Bone and Cherub - and I have the Bartimaeus trilogy (which I read ) so that'll be good for the holidays

thanks for the suggestions - I really love the fact that they both devour books at such a rate but sometimes I'm scrabbling around trying to catch up - and yes, we're big library fans too otherwise I'd be bankrupt!

I lent a friend's 13 year old son the Earthsea books by Ursula Le Guin (more suited to your 12 year old probably) - I know he really enjoyed them.

ds1 read the earthsea trilogy (my favourite books as a child) and decided they were boring (sob) ds2 (a gentler child) loved them - both liked diary of a wimpy kid but I will also look at beast quest

windsinger is out of print grr

Oh yeah, DS has liked Hardy Boys and Famous Five books (never many in the library, mind).
Don't discount non-fiction, detailed fact books like how air-craft carriers work, Horrible Histories and Nasty Geography, etc.

Ds1 (11) loves the Cherub series mentioned here. It is controversial though - the books contain pretty serious reference to drugs, sex and violence.

Frank Cottrell Boyce is fab. Cosmic - mentioned earlier by lljkk - is his latest offering and is wonderful. ds2 (9) isn't such a keen reader, but even he was hooked. Older books by him include Millions and Framed.

Newer to us authors and books which have been particular hits this year are:
The Roar
Inside the Cage [content warning: not for 9 yr-old]
The Chaos Code
The knife of never letting go

ds1 (11) is starting to read our books, as well as teen books, and is enjoying Wyndham, (more) Pratchett, Ellis Peters (Cadfael), Anne McCaffrey. He was recently studying Henry V at school, so I bought him a copy of Bernard Cornwell's new book Azincourt [sic.] I haven't had chance myself yet, so can't comment, but he enjoyed it immensely.

We are big fans of Theresa Breslin, and I've noticed she has a new book out The Nostradamus Prophecy but we haven't had chance to get hold of a copy yet.

Holes by Louis Sachar was a favourite.

The "Noughts & Crosses" series by Malorie Blackman.

The Truckers Trilogy by Terry Pratchett?

9.5 (bit more now) yo ds has gone through Emil & the Detectives, and Emil & the Three Twins, again recently (he likes re-reading a lot). He's now re-reading a Terry Pratchett (Only You Can Save the World, I think) - that's a rich seam if it appeals.

Also goes back to Philip Reeve (not Pullman), Alex Rider books and, endlessly, Molesworth - he must know it all by heart now.

Recent new read, which surprised me because Dickens is really quite tough going, was A Christmas Carol - he knew the outline of the story already, so maybe that carried him through. Anyway he said he loved it.

My ds (9) is a great reader too (has read the Dark Materials etc), but he LOVES Captain Underpants.
It is below his reading ability, but he finds them so funny - he really ENJOYS reading them -you can hear him chuckling to himself.

I second the Pullman trilogy.

My 9 yo and my 13 yo DSs both enjoy these books by Walter Moers. They are fabulously inventive, and not many parents in UK seem all that familiar with them.

Philip Reeve's books are fantastic. We all loved Mortal Engines and the three that followed also his Larklight series is just as good.

What about Willard Price and the 'Adventure' books? (ie Tiger Adventure, Elephant Adventure, Gorilla Adventure, etc etc et ad nauseum).

About 2 boys (Hal and Roger) who go to exotic places (amazon jungle, Antarctica, etc) to capture animals for their zoo-supplying father. Like the Hardy Boys with more exotic wildlife and less strictly all-American crime-fighting.

The marvellous Book People (not a club, no commission, so I'm allowed to PLUG them and PLUG them endlessly) are doing a box set of Faber-published "Children's Classics" - £9.99 for TEN books including Ted Hughes' Iron Man, and Iron Woman, and Russell Hoban's The Mouse and his Child, and Marianne Dreams plus another Catherine Storr ...

Ds (9.5) is devouring. Latest one, which I read too and is divine, is The Midnight Fox. What a gorgeous story.

It's an American book of which I (being very Brit-parochial as a child) knew nothing (and having searched on here there is precisely ONE reference to it, as against 50000000 refs to anything by Roald Dahl), so has inspired me to do a separate thread about non-Brit classics ...

Ah, DS1 (10 and Y6) is reading 'The Midnight Fox' in his guided reading group at school and I don't know it. DS2 (7) has just read 'Emil and the Detectives' and is going to read 'Emil and the Three Twins' after he finishes volume 5 of the Lemony Snicket ones. He's also got 'The Trumpet of the Swan' on his reading list (least known one by E B White).

Must try Philip Reeves. DS1 is rather struggling through 'Truckers' at the moment and don't think he really enjoys it.

Will check out the other thread now.

This thread has given me some ideas for ds1 (9). He is a good reader but until recently has refused anything other than non-fiction. He has just started reading Biggles books. He is aeroplane/war mad so will be trying him on the WW2 ones mentioned. Also have been meaning to get hold of some Williard price ones - loved those som much as a child

Of course! E B White. Ds will get The Sword in the Stone more (even) than I ever did.

Is 'Truckers' Terry Pratchett?

oooooops
I meant T H White.
But, effectively, I meant "thank you for reminding me about T H White"