Attention please Roisin or mums of pre-teen boys please

[janeite]

Hello! I am looking for book recs that are boy friendly, for ages 11 and 12, some of which might also appeal to KS3 boys but with reading ages of 7-9 and others for boys with reading ages to match or be just above chronological. Not the obvious ones like Horrowitz, Young Bond, Artmeis Fowl, as I know those but ones that are maybe newer than that or older with lasting appeal.

Thanks ever so.

Other than that we have lots of books from Barrington Stoke, who publish books aimed at teenagers with very low reading ages. Short pages, dylexia-friendly font and cream rather than white pages, etc.

I wouldn't particularly name any one book as being the best, but they are generally good for the purpose.

Thanks Roisin.

I also use books of short stories, especially ghost stories (as we then do a written piece). And I'm trying to think of the name of the one I use most, but failing atm.

The other thing I use a lot with great success, which I'm sure you have already, is books of plays written for 6-8 parts. These are very popular.

Jennings: Unbelievable This isn't the one I was thinking of, but it we do have a set of these and they go down well.

PandaG - the thing with Cherub as well is they are wildly addictive. So if he starts reading them he may want to read them all, and some of them are quite grim. In the latest one the book starts with a young child seeing his family being gunned down, or stabbed, I can't remember. It is fairly graphic and quite disturbing.

what KInd of sex..

The thing is a reading age of 7-9 is very young. It's not the 'average' reading ability of 7-9 yr-olds, and certainly not mumsnet 7-9 yr-olds!

err... I'll shut up now, shall I?

funny roisin
ds loved cherub( i can see why!) but found henderson too violent
and cried at teh blardy chipmunks film

well my DS loves the Mr. Gum books so I would recommend them.

Haven't read the thread, but just in case no one's mentioned them, Cressida Cowell and Mr Gum

yes, if DS starts reading a series he will want to finish it, hence I held off letting him start Harry Potter for a while. I will proably buy and keep to one side for a while!

However, he is really keen to read Conan Doyle after reading the Baker St Boys books (and listening to Study in Scarlet on the radio with us) I need to reread to see if he would cope with them, can't remember if they are too gory for a child who does picture it in his head!

Janeite, thanks for starting this thread. Useful for you and plenty of others too! Seems a long time since I was teaching English and had more idea of what was current

at 'what kind of sex'

Have got Deep Water and the LPU is brilliant.

Roisin - They are to read as guided readers, just for the fun of reading at this point: no writing involved (says the English teacher!).

Have looked at Barrington Stokes but it's hard to know what they are like from just a pic and blurb. The Rising Stars books are good but I'm looking for a bit more challenging than that in terms of length and story. We have a couple of play texts but they are difficult to track down - or at least, good ones are.

if you can remember the ghost stories title, that would be great.

Thanks again everyone.

ds1 has just read The Knife of Never Letting Go and its sequel both rated as 5 star books by him! Currently devouring the Cherub books and ds2 is happily pottering through the Edge Chronicles - lots of pictures which keeps things moving

They also both loved Philip Reeve's Larklight trilogy

also, would Mortal Engines be too complicated?

The Michael Lawrence Jiggy McCue books may be suitable - they're funny, and age relevant but have slightly larger font and more white space - not so thick as some of the others either.

Also try 'The Machine Gunners' by Robert Westall.

Andy Griffiths is popular with reluctant boy readers, also Morris Gleitzman.

There is also a new Usborne series called 'Meteorite Strike' - give that a try.

For something slightly more classic try "The Indian in the Cupboard".

Wimpy Kid is really popular with boys of all ages in the bookshop where I work.

Hope this gives you a few suggestions.

Oh yes roisin we have got those Barrington Stoke books for DS1.

Yes Cressida COwell Dragonese, DS1 actually likes these, quite a lot of graphics etc so not too daunting but still long enough to look like a real book IYKWIM.

(Maybe just too long for Janeite's purposes tho?)

Janeite, IF graphic novels are acceptable, look here!

Are Dragonese and Mr Gum not a bit too young for y7s? I think the covers and the marketing are aimed at primary aged children?

Wrt sex in Cherub books. One of the good things in the books is the main character is - like many teenage boys - somewhat homophobic and also has some questionable attitudes to girls. This is dealt with well and he gradually learns to amend these faults. One of the other close charaters is gay and I think these issues are dealt with in a great way - very accessible for teenagers.

I saw the reading age 7-9 and thought, as Dragonese and Mr Gum appeal to my 8 year old, my 14 year old AND to us they might fulfil the requirements!

How about some Alan Garner?

The Inkheart series is quite good/challenging.

Aquila by Andrew Norriss is good for older boys with slightly younger reading ages,as is all his stuff.

Thanks all.

Inkheart is brill but too long: they will be reading in twenty minute chunks, so it's too complex for that I think; ditto The Knife oF Never Letting Go (God I love that, though - haven't read the sequel yet).

Not heard of Andrew Norriss, so will deffo look at him.

Mr Gum too babyish, I think, yes. But thanks anyway!

I also use this with my intervention group students.
Free!

It's a collection of short stories based around the Declaration of Human Rights. Some of the language is quite challenging for them, but it's a great opportunity to include SEAL stuff and the stories are always thought-provoking. Today we didn't get through the one I'd planned as we ended up discussing human rights. On the back of this we also revise formal letter layout and they write letters to one of the authors.

opoh i love a book thread for boys

Thanks again.

Charlie Higson's The Enemy is brilliant for 10-13s, very gripping - it's horror but good horror for the age group and very easy to read vocab-wise although a thick book. Or Steve Cole's Z-Rex, aimed at older children (10+) who have grown out of Astrosaurs. That's a thick book too as well. Demon Defenders by Jake Lancing is lots of fun and much shorter and easy to read - there are some great characters and it's hard to put down.

my dyslexic 12 yr old has enjoyed Diary of Wimnpy Kid and is now happily tcuking into Terry Pratchett.
He secretly loves to come and listen when I read Cressida Cowell books to ds2. (9)
Stoneheart trilogy (Charlie Fletcher)
Percy Jackson
Horrible Histories