@ Book Present Recs?

[sugarbear1]

Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys?

[redheadbaker]

DS just started the Mr. Lemoncello's Library series. He also loves the Spy School series, Bad Guys, Origami Yoda series, and the Dog Diaries series by James Patterson.

My mom is getting him the Last Dragon Chronicles series for Christmas.

[ellipses84]

How about a boxed set of classics? There’s lots of cool looking editions, some with occasional pictures. I had a couple years of being homeschooled and my mom would read novels to us out loud each afternoon. I remember us all crying together at Black Beauty. We read narnia, lots of horse books, books like the secret garden, Peter Pan, wizard of oz, little House on the Prairie, etc. (stuff my mom read when she was a kid).

I had my 12 year old read the first Hunger Games on his own and was surprised he wasn’t into it. He thought it was too brutal and did not want to watch the movie (and I think your kids would be too young, but consider it in a couple years). He loved Harry Potter and Narnia and we’d read a book and watch each movie after. Any book/movie combo would be fun. We checked out HP from the library.

He loves the various Stuart Gibbs series if you decide on something new. When he was younger he loved magic treehouse and still occasionally reads Encyclopedia brown (maybe Nancy Drew or Hardy Bros are options if you read them as a kid).

With the older books, we definitely come across questionable things, but if we are reading together I sometimes skip a paragraph or we have a discussion about it.

[mcsangel2]

I second anything Beverly Cleary (Mouse and the Motorcycle etc) and Judy Blume (Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Superfudge). They are great for reading aloud.

[maple]

We read a lot of the Wizard of Oz books when my kids were younger. I had no idea there were so many books in that series (14!) before we started reading them as a family. Some other older series are Ender's Game and The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings,

Newer series they liked that haven't been mentioned already are Ranger's Apprentice, Eragon, Children of Blood and Bone, Akata Witch, The Queen's Thief, Tiffany Aching, and Artemis Fowl. My oldest also really liked the City of Ember series. I don't remember which ages are appropriate for all of these.

[noodleoo]

Oh I love this topic! I just finished HP series with my 8.5 year old and was looking for what to read next. The Dark is Rising was a favorite when I was a kid, thanks for reminding me!

She really liked the Dragon Masters series too although that may be a bit young for your kids.

My nephew recommended Percy Jackson and I started it but had a hard time with it being in the first person. I need to try again with DD1 and see what she thinks.

[StrawberryBlondie]

My kid (9) really liked The War That Saved My Life. She hasn't read the second book (The War I Finally Won) yet but I have and it's great.

[Bad Dingo]

Akata Witch is a great series, maybe a smidge old though. We loved The Girl Who Drank the Moon and the other Kelly Barnhill children's books.

I loved the All-of-a-Kind family books when I was a kid:

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-of-a-Kind_Family#:~:text=All%2Dof%2Da%2DKind%20Family%20is%20a%201951%20children's,was%20followed%20by%20four%20sequels.

[wawa]

I'm bookmarking this thread for birthdays and next xmas. You guys rock.

[gastro]

Books I’ve read to my kids that I have loved too….Percy Jackson and Greek mythology in general saved my now 12 year old during covid. I read a lot to him during that time. We also loved and I don’t think have been mentioned:

A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat

All the books by Lauren Wolk

The Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer

The Phantom Tollbooth

Holes

Infinity Year of Avalon James

[al dente]

I loved the Wrinkle In Time. I think there was like 4 books? I remember them coming in a box.

I have absolutely no memory of them though, so maybe Google a little before lol.

[bugandbibs]

Trixie Belden
Wayside School
Alex Rider
Series of Unfortunate Events
The Vanderbeekers
Henry Higgins (Beverly Cleary in general, but people tend to chose Ramona books)
Keeper of the Lost Cities
Artemis Fowel

[chickadee77]

How about Amari and the Night Brothers? We're in the middle of the first book, and my 9yo is loving it! So far, it has a kind of "Men in Black" feel to it, but the main character is a 12yo girl.

Or George's Secret Key to the Universe? Another my 9yo quite enjoyed, though she's only read the first one.

[Michelle]

Came in to say what meanie and sugarbear1 beat me to - NANCY DREW!!

The Hardy Boys are probably also good but I'm a Nancy Drew fan through and through!

[wawa]

Dec 1, 2023 13:04:14 GMT -5 Michelle said:

Came in to say what meanie and sugarbear1 beat me to - NANCY DREW!!

The Hardy Boys are probably also good but I'm a Nancy Drew fan through and through!

I tried to get Shorti into the old school nancy drew, and it didn't take.  
She does like the new ones though.