The Dangerous Book for Boys.
The Daring Book for Girls, by Andrea Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz. My sons took the book and ran off with it. They didn’t seem to care that the title has “girl” in it. They thought it was a cool book regardless.
Most of the sections are pretty gender neutral. I was worried that it was going to be filled with things like “Getting a Perfect Manicure” or “Sewing Your Own Menstrual Pads” or “How to Make the Boy Notice You” But I needn’t have worried. It is the perfect mix of things that might not appeal to boys, like “Putting Your Hair Up With a Pencil,” “Modern Women Leaders” or “Princesses,” but at the same time the book is just chock-full of cool fun things to do and trivia that appeals to everyone.
I say buy both of these books for the kids in your life, whether they are boys or girls. Kids like to have things at this age that are “special” to their sex. That is why this is the age when kids gravitate toward clubs like Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. But they will also love the book for the opposite sex, I mean what boy doesn’t want to know how to build a campfire or make the perfect cootie catcher?
The Inheritance Trilogy by Christopher Paolini
This series was supposed to be only three books, but the third book proved to be too long so now there will be a fourth book. The first three have become instant bestsellers and I suspect that the fourth will be also. I believe the final book is due out this spring. My oldest two sons have loved these books. Just a few days ago my 13 year old said he can’t wait for the next book. he has read them multiple times. Don’t base your opinion of this book on the movie, the movie was disappointing.
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.
My 11.5 yr old son just finished reading this book last night and loved it. He already has Book 2 and 3 on his bedside table. The main character is a 21st century kid in NYC with ADHD who is a social outcast and learns that he is really the son of Poseidon and a mortal woman. It is a new modern twist on the adventure quest type of series.
Chew On This: Everything You Don’t Want To Know About Fast Food by Eric Schlosser.
This is the young adult version of the book Fast Food Nation by the same author. After reading this book two of my children have sworn off fast food. They absolutely refuse to eat any and all fast food and have for over a year now. A great informational read.
The Thief Lord, by Cornelia Funke
This was Cornelia Funke’s first novel. It is about two boys who run away from their mean aunt to the city of Venice. My older kids immediately fell in love with the book and went searching for other books by the same author.
Inkheart and Inkspell are two more books by author. Originally Inkheart was supposed to be a stand alone book, but the popularity of it encouraged the author to write a second book in what will now be a trilogy. The main character in these books is a girl, if you have a daughter who would like a girl as a main character.
My children are all voracious readers, so this is really just a small sample of books they remember that they enjoyed. When pressed I got the, “I liked all the books I read, otherwise I would not have read them,” as a response.
Feel free to leave some suggestions in the comments below. We are always on the look out for more books!
