Grandson, just turned 11 and does not love reading. He did love the book that finished off his school year, Where the Red Fern Grows. He was also, at one point anyway, loving the Wimpy Kid books. It's been too many years and I haven't kept up with kid's books.

Any suggestions as what might be appealing to him would be greatly appreciated. I think my daughter is getting Old Yeller from the library soon. He loves dogs, baseball and basketball. And of course the insidious video games.

I have a daughter who is a tomboy. She used to love the "Captain Underpants" books. They are so stupid, but the kids love them!

Lisa

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"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

When my son was that age he really love the Goosebumps series of "scary" books for kids. I would suggest taking him to the library and looking in the sections with books about dogs, baseball, and basketball.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

My daughter has been thinking about the Goosebumps books, but he is easily frightened, so she has been holding off. But I think he's probably ready this summer. I'm not familiar with the Captain Underpants books, but will certainly look into them. Thanks for the suggestions.

The "other" Oz books are terrific. Ozma of Oz, Glinda of Oz, Patchwork Girl of Oz, and so on.

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If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't want to do it.

- Stephen Colbert.

Goosebumps, Scary Stories, and choose your own adventure stories for a boy.

My 10 year old daughter just finished and loved the Percy Jackson series of books. Lots of action and Greek mythology in them.

Magic Treehouse, lots of adventure.

I remember reading My Side of the Mountain about a boy who goes to live in the woods by himself.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

Thanks. Keep posting if you think of more. I've made a list and will go today and check the library.

Depending on how mature he is....I read The Giver in college and it was amazing. It is a young adult book, and my daughter read it and loved it, as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Giver-Lois-Low...9449765&sr=1-1

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

He's a boy, thus not very mature yet. Starts middle school in the fall and I'm not looking forward to that. I shouldn't project, but I think he's going to have a rough time. My daughter says if she knew now what she knew then she would have kept him home another year. And I tend to agree.

Hank the Cow Dog and 39 Clues.

Without knowing his reading level, here is a couple of books that boys enjoy in grades 3-5.

Shiloh

Indian in the Cupboard series

Hachet

Sign of the Beaver

The Lightning Thief series

My son is 12 and has been reading the Percy Jackson/Lightening Thief series for a number of years. He really enjoys them. He also read Jake Ransom and the Skull Kings Shadow earlier this year and enjoyed it (as did I!).

Something a little more junior might be the Spiderwick Chronicles. We read those a few years ago and we both liked them a lot.

Finally, another that we found interesting and engaging was the City of Ember.

Hope he enjoys some of the recommendations!

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Kim

Thanks again to you all. If there isn't something in all these suggestions then I think I give up. My great hope is for him to learn to love reading, but I will settle for just sometimes enjoying it if that is what happens.

I had the book "The Giver" by Lois Lowry thrown out of the middle school curriculum here. Don't get me started on that one but of ALL the bazillion books in the world offered, there are so many others to choose from.

Ps.. BE CLEAR about this - I'm not knocking Groovygirl, I'm knocking the content of that book.
I know we all read books in school that were on the Top 100 challenged books - Banned Books Week — Infoplease.com
I did and I know my kids still have a few coming in the years ahead. UGH! However, we as adults are feeding their psyche when we offer them literature and if you compare that to a food analogy, Would you knowingly give them "junk" food over and over and over and over again, if a healthier food was right there beside it?

Input = Output

But I sidetracked off topic, (11 year old range books) check out Notes from a Midnight Driver, Hachet by Gary Paulsen, (outdoor survivalish), or some of the books by author Andrew Clements.
Also one book my kid did a book report on this past year spread like wildfire after the report was given - Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo.

Hope you found some good ones,
X

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Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

Xhausted1: Hi!! Just curious as to what makes you feel that way about "The Giver" and the reasons you had it thrown out of the middle school curriculum. I have not read the book yet but plan on doing so.

As for the Top 100 Challenged books, I try to read as many of those as I can as well. I love to read and do not want someone else dictating what I can/cannot read. <And NO, that was NOT directed at you! Speaking of the groups that try to dictate what we can read.>

Wow to hear Goosebumps my son Thomas loved the books so much when he was younger. Did your son get into Harry Potter my youngest dd Caitlin did and she loved all the books, however either way reading and having the love for reading is a true gift, takes us all to another world..Peace and blessings to all my friends....Catherine

Me too - the top books on that list are classics!
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Catcher in the Rye
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The people that challenge those books, and more importantly, try to keep them from others, must have rocks in their heads.

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If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't want to do it.

- Stephen Colbert.

jujubee2, I have the three you listed on my bookshelves as they are "leftovers" from my school days. I had a "well meaning" friend offer to throw them away for me because they offended her. Needless to say, the books are still here and the friend is long gone!

I understand you and your reasoning. I assure you no animosity here on that regard.
I read the book in question and also read the entire trilogy just to make sure I hadn't been over reactive.
Nope, still not a good choice for my kids in my opinion. Remember these were 11 year olds.


Here's a cut and paste of part of the letter I presented the school official:

Is this the "BEST" choice we can make for our kids?

Dear __________,

What would happen to a student if she/he were allowed to go into our middle school library, log onto a school computer and access a web page displaying a video of an 11 year old boy bathing a nude 60+ year old grandmotherly type?

The following is an except from a book, The Giver by Lois Lowry, that our teachers are asking our middle schoolers to read:
He helps her disrobe and get into the warm tub. “With the gentle motion of his hand, slippery with soap…” {{wow, some video huh?}} "He liked the feeling of safety here in this warm and quiet room. He liked the expression of trust on the woman's face as she lay in the water unprotected, exposed, and free."... it continues in a minute ... “The elderly woman murmured with pleasure as he massaged her feet with the sponge.” and just as a p.s. In the background of this video there is an 11 year old girl doing it to an elderly man.

Before I go further, Let’s go back to the original question I had. At this point, has the image been filtered or blocked due to mature content? Or has my kid been expelled because he accessed pornographic material in your school library?
You know we're probably on the same page by now. You see where I'm headed with this.

My husband and I have many concerns about issues presented within the fourth book on the 7th Grade List. The Giver by Lois Lowry. The afore mentioned is just one of them starting at the top of page 30.

Do you want to know the rest? Other questionable themes included or presented are:

Euthanasia (all drains on this society must be “released”)
Suicide (12 year old girl decides to do a lethal injection on herself)
Abortion (boy sees his own father commit one on a newborn full term then throws him down the garbage shoot)
Dissolution of family unit (Children are not allowed to have Grandparents)
Disposing of a fussy Baby – He cries too much so he needs to be “released” (in other words Murdered)
Recreational Medications - Take Drugs (have a bad memory – pop a pill – Take drugs -make all your problems go away – make you forget)
Vulgarity when children bath elders of ages similar to their own grandparents
Titillation of Sexual Feelings aroused when bathing elders transfers to “stirrings” with one his own age - the boy then thinks of a potential girlfriend.
Antisocial and Schizoid Personality Disorder is demanded of society and considered normal by asking all citizens to suppress emotions (not capable or allowed to display love) CREEPY!

I'll stop with those hoping I've made my point that of all the choices currently available in literature this is the one someone deemed the best choice possible?!?


Respectfully,

_______ _________
Mother of ________ ________


Littlewolf,
We just wanted a better option for our kid. Our kiddo alone.

It seemed to cross the line of commitment to excellence our school tries to offer our kids. We didn't believe it was the MOST EXCELLENT choice. Once reviewed by the school officials, it was decided to pull the book from the reading list for all the kids not just mine. A choice made by the officials, not me.


That's why and how come.
I'm not a book burner, I just appreciate the multitude of OTHER choices we have and felt the end result of a different choice based on those objections was a healthier direction.

X

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Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

Exhausted 1 this would a perfect learning opportunity for a child. Ideas expressed on:
Euthanasia
Suicide
Abortion
Dissolution of family unit
Disposing of a fussy Baby
Recreational Medications
Vulgarity
Titillation of Sexual Feelings
Antisocial and Schizoid Personality Disorder
vary widely from family to family from person to person. Instead of "banning" a book perhaps a parent could read it with the child and explain to the child " Mom and Dad don't feel this is right. We believe..... and we don't agree with what's being said. We don't agree because..... We feel the way we do because..... In life you will encounter many people who don't agree with your beliefs or ours. It's important to know that people have different beliefs. It's important to know why you believe a certain thing and it's important that you respectfully stand up for your beliefs."

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

We put anything with words in front of our kids to give them the joy of reading. They grew up reading cereal boxes to me at breakfast and then the morning paper out loud as I was cooking dinner. They had comic books, choose your own adventure books, classics, you name it and it was probably sitting on the coffee table trying to get their attention. Stewart Little is the book that hooked our oldest, Baseball card magazines hooked the middle, and Goosebumps hooked the youngest (and most reluctant initially). Rest assured, all graduated high school with A's, went to college on scholarships, and graduated (or would have) college at the top of their class. The issue is getting to love reading and finding it enjoyable. I am pretty sure we spent more money on books for them than clothes. I wasn't a control freak or gatekeeper of what they read. All became well versed in many literature genre. One person's junk is one child's entry to wanting to turn the page to see what happens next and enjoying it.

I was raised the same way - I read The Exorcist and The Summer of 42 in 4th grade and the teacher called my mom to "inform her." lol -- She bought them for me.

Personally, I preferred my kids to read things that made them think and compare and discuss. Kurt Vonnecut was a big favorite topic of discussion at the dinner table when they were middle school age. As for The Giver -- it is science fiction.

I have not read the book...only the review here. Based on just that I can say I feel the content would be highly inappropriate for an 11 yo. Why would these things need to be discussed?? There are too many other opportunities to discuss many of these matters...you don't need a book. As a child matures issues arise and can be dealt with, but to read a book filled with controversial issues just to bring them up...I don't get it. There are so many other choices that are either pure entertainment or are filled with information making reading and learning fun.


In answer to the ops request..I have not seen the Hardy Boys mentioned. My son loved those at that age!!

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Melissa

We did just that on two other books for the older kiddo - A Day No Pigs Would Die and The Lord of the Flies. It just doesn't make sense to keep selecting books from the "Most Challenged" list. If I ate "JUNK FOOD" everyday of my life, I'd weigh 900+ lbs and be extremely unhealthy.
There wasn't a balance of "healthy vs unhealthy". Macabre overtones needing to be discussed during every book was becoming a pattern here.

The Giver irked me. I don't consider myself a control freak as mentioned in another post but I'll take the title of gatekeeper if need be. I'll stop people trying to heap trash in my kid's mind.

Surly to goodness I would not be the ONLY parent on here that would scramble for the remote control if that scene from that book was suddenly on the TV in the family room. Naked Grandma, 11 yr old sponging her.... Nope, not quality for my kids. I'll pass. Gatekeeper, I am.

X

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Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

Being naked does not always involve sex. IMO -- the book is largely about not being blindly obedient. I don't find that trash Kids that age (10-12) experience pain and emotion and don't know what to do with it. This book (fictional) demonstrates why these things are good.

But, the OP indicated the child was less mature than many at that age. So, this book might not catch his attention and inspire more interest to read similar books.

IMO -- no person only sticks to comic books or Goose Bumps or any other perceived junk literature. What that literature may do is inspire a reluctant reader to read more, which will improve their reading skills. Then, they have the confidence and ability to tackle reading material they might not have previously had the skills to enjoy. I ate potato chips today. Tonight we had fresh shrimp and salad. We read three delivered papers every morning. Tonight we watched Big Brother. Everything- junk included- has a role.

GL WW-- When we cleaned out our youngest's apartment after he passed away, his books required more boxes than anything else. This was a child, who at 7, struggled with very simple books. I know if we had only made classics or 'gourmet' books available, his love for reading potential would have been starved.

Once again nightowlrn loved everything you wrote and agreed 100 percent with you. Peace and blessings to you always sweetie...Catherine

While I don't believe the book discusses abortion (Infanticide perhaps, but not abortion), what an excellent opportunity to discuss why killing a weak infant is wrong and then tying that to a parent's abortion opinions. And, also discuss the importance of vocabulary and the difference between infanticide (Chinese girl first borns come to mind) and abortion.

Really? You're comparing Catcher in the Rye, Huckleberry Finn, and To Kill a Mockingbird to junk food?

What do you consider books worthy of reading?

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If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't want to do it.

- Stephen Colbert.

I don't disagree that this might not be the best choice for an 11 year old, or even a 12 year old, but there's a big difference between a video and reading a book in my mind. The visual is an interpretation of someone else's vision of what the book is saying. I often don't agree with those. Why would they be looking at a video instead of reading the book? I quit watching after the first Harry Potter movie because to me, that child was not Harry Potter. If I had never read the books, I might have accepted him, but he was too strongly imprinted in my mind with what I thought he should be that the movie was a great disappointment. I've found that with other "visual" interpretations of things I've read as well.

A total ban was probably uncalled for. An asterisk with a note of caution would have done as well, to warn parents that they need to decide whether this is appropriate for their child. Put the decision on the parents, where it belongs, not in the school.

X, thank you for responding to my question as to why you objected to the book. Again, I have not read the book YET so I do not know the context of the passages that you mentioned from the book.

You stated that you wanted a better option for your child and your child alone. Then why not talk to the child's teacher and see if he/she would allow them to read a different book? I remember years ago at my school then that a parent disagreed with her child reading "Grapes of Wrath" because of the content. The Mom had taken certain passages out of context and tried to turn them into something that the author did not intend. My English teacher at the time allowed her son to read a different book.

While I agree with you as far as being proactive about what your child reads, I will disagree with you when that starts to dictate what my own child is allowed to read.

Off to read the rest of the replies........

My daughter read "The Giver" in 4th grade. Her teacher, who I really liked, suggested it for her at the time. It was a tough read and we ended up reading it with her.

That said, I think it should be saved for middle school. It was a little weird explaining "stirrings" and other stuff in the book to her at that age.

I have never challenged books on read lists, never will. My girls read what they are assigned. But those read lists (and most of the books suggested above) are usually read in middle or high school. The kids are a little older and are ready to start going deeper into those subjects. My daughters have read all of those listed above: Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye, Huck Finn and I didn't have a problem with any of them.

I don't have a problem with The Giver, either, just that it's probably not a good choice for elementary school, IMO.

Lisa

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"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

Lisa agreed, I also never went over my school district's view on what books my children were given to read while in school. Now I am not saying that a X-rated book or magazines with colorful pictures or videos of x-rated nature would have been a good idea no not all . I do remember clearly my dd Caitlin loved reading " A raisin in the sun" and she loved it, I also remember them all in middle school 7th year reading "The Scarlet Letter " both my daughters loved that book so much . While I feel as a parent, who must protect our children at all costs on all levels, we cannot fully shield them away from everything. A bit off topic I also always loved the idea of us , their parents explaining any questions they had when to came to certain hot or heated thoughts or topics, example explaining the birds and bees, they all knew by a very young age. We did not go graphic with pictures or anything, but also we did not sugar. cote it either and pretend they came here in a egg from the sky...I assume basically it comes down to the parent on why they deem correct for their own children, what works for one family or one child differs so much. Peace and blessings..Catherine

Oh, how could I forget Catcher in the Rye? I LOVED that book! Think I'm gonna kindle it and read it again.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

In my class, it was listed for 11 and up....it always depends on the kid. I loved it in college and am not getting ready to read it again on my kindle.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon