finding books for youngsters

[imthefoolonthehill]

Hello all, long time no see.

I wish I could stick around, but I'm working full time and studying on the side.

I have a quick question. I have a little cousin who will turn twelve in a week or so.

I want to buy him a book that he will enjoy. I want to hook him on reading.

He already enjoys the following series: Eragon and Harry Potter.

His passion in life right now seems to be turtles, but he does not like turtles dying (so life of pi is out)

He also enjoys pokemon, sponge bob squarepants, and various other cartoons of which I do not know the names.

Does anyone have any ideas for books that he might like that would meet the following criteria:

1. They are morally suitable for a 12 year old boy.
2. They are not too complicated or adult for a 12 year old boy.
3. They will hold a short attention span.
4. His parents will approve (Christian conservative background)

I think science fiction or fantasy would be my best bet, but I would really appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks!!!

[lavendar1]

Try these sites for some ideas:

http://www.fcps.edu/LutherJacksonMS/library/readlists/scifi.html

http://www.fcps.edu/LutherJacksonMS/library/readlists/fantasy.html

My daughter is 13 (and a voracious reader!) and enjoys Lois Lowry and Jerry Spinelli. Gotta love Madeline L'Engle too.

Good luck!

[SleepyWitch]

how about a childrens' reference book about turtles with lots of pictures and easy explanations?

yep, Madeleine L'Engle is great, too.
I loved her books when I was 12 and still love them today.

[Orpheus]

The Hobbit and Lord of The Rings,

[Sancho]

Howdy Fool,

How's college?

"Tom Sawyer" is almost timeless and like opium to boys of that age.

(I mean the book by Mark Twain not the song by Rush)

[ennison]

Brian Jacques - The series about the animal warriors. He's still just the age to get hooked on them.

[_Shannon_]

What about the Lloyd Alexander books? The Book of Three and such ??

Or the Redwall series??

Has he read Narnia?? There's also Ender's Game...

[Pensive]

The Hobbit. :)

[imthefoolonthehill]

Hey all, thanks for the responses.

Sancho - howdy. College is fine. My studies are hard, but I enjoy them.

The three books that I am thinking about are: Small Gods by Terry Pratchet
Ender's Game
and Watership Down.


These are all books I've enjoyed. My concern is that they will be too old for him.

Based on the reading level of the Harry Potter and Eragon books, do you guys think that those three books would be too difficult?

[SleepyWitch]

i don't know.. it depends on how mature/smart your cousin is.. some twelve year olds read classics while others still prefer Donald Duck...

there are also children's books by Terry Pratchett... but I haven't read any of those, so I can't tell you whether they live up to the Discworld series.

[Turk]

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Some works of Rafael Sabatini
Almost all books of Jules Verne, Rene Guillot, Mark Twain .

But why don't you just get children versions of classics such as Three Musketeer? He'll both have fun and learn different cultures if you do that; unlike Harry Potter dumbness.

[Bii]

What about the David Eddings books - the Belgariad (starts with Pawn of Prophecy I believe). I read these for the first time when I was around 12 and absolutely loved them. It's about an ordinary boy in a fictional world who turns out to be both a sorcerer and a king, and has to defeat an evil god in order to save his world and his family.

Or, you could try the Susan Cooper books 'The Dark is Rising Sequence' (note the second of these books is due to be made into a movie so something for him to go and see also!) Starts with a book called 'Under Sea Under Stone' which is about 3 children and their 'mysterious' uncle searching in Cornwall for the holy grail.

Both sets are magical/mystery in nature, are suitable for 12 year old, and I'm pretty sure there's nothing in there which would be offensive.

Good luck with your search.

[Schokokeks]

How about some Roald Dahl, eg Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ?
And maybe Peter Pan, too ?
When I was that age, I read extensivly in Grimms' Fairy Tales. Since they are short, they might come in handy for a short attention span.

[Niamh]

Well i lately been getting my now thirteen year old nephew to read the follow titles. Maybe your cousin will like one of these.
Artemis Fowl books- Eoin Colfer
Blart- Dominic Barker
Sabrael/Lireal/Abhorsen-Garth Nix
Faerie Wars/Purple Emperor/Ruler of the Realm- Herbie Brennen

I'd go with the Fowl books. I think they are brilliant. Better than Harry Potter in my opinion.

[Scheherazade]

Since there are already many classics suggested, I will offer couple of 'newer' titles:

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon (story is told by an autistic child so it is a heart warming story)

Holes by Louis Sachar (a good story about a group of boys at a correction centre; with a 'moral' message too, which would please the parents :))

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz (A fun, adventure book - already made into a movie, I hear).

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman (Not sure how a boy would feel about this one but it is about equal rights (racial etc))

[Stanislaw]

I've seen some good suggestions up above (especially the Jules Verne!)

I would also suggest some from the Hard Boys series, or some from the Tom Swift stories ( I was into those when I was around 12 or so and I thought they were pretty cool)

There's also treasure island...its a classic :thumbs_up

[Pensive]

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon (story is told by an autistic child so it is a heart warming story)

I also sencond this one. A very interesting novel!

[Niamh]

hey i completely forgot about "curious Incident". I also vito that!
"Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" by John Boyne is another good one.
Or try the edge chronicles by Paul Stewart and the other guy whos name i always forget!

[andave_ya]

Redwall's good. They used to be my absolute favorites before LOTR and LPW :nod:

[Domer121]

The Little Prince~ Antoine De Saint-Exupery
will always be one of my favorite stories....I think it is a book that is great for the old and the young.......