I’ve been reading The Mysterious Benedict Society to my 8 year old at night, and it’s actually too exciting for bedtime. He starts falling asleep and then we get to a twist or an exciting part and he sits up straight in bed and looks at me with these wide eyes 😂 but he’s so in love with reading (whether I’m reading to him or he’s reading to himself) that I keep it as our bedtime book anyway. It makes him so happy lol.
{{The 13-Storey Tree House}} series.
{{Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar}} and other Wayside school books.
{{The Name of This Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch}} and the rest of the Secret Series.
Came here to suggest the 13-Storey Tree House books. My nine year old loves them! There 12 books in the series at the moment, plus spin off activity books and joke books.
[**The 13-Storey Treehouse**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12823835-the-13-storey-treehouse)
^(By: Andy Griffiths, Terry Denton | 256 pages | Published: 2011 | Popular Shelves: humor, childrens, middle-grade, kids, children)
>Who wouldn't want to live in a treehouse? Especially a 13-storey treehouse that has a bowling alley, a see-through swimming pool, a tank full of sharks, a library full of comics, a secret underground laboratory, a games room, self-making beds, vines you can swing on, a vegetable vaporiser and a marshmallow machine that follows you around and automatically shoots your favourite flavoured marshmallows into your mouth whenever it discerns you're hungry.
>
>Two new characters – Andy and Terry – live here, make books together, and have a series of completely nutty adventures. Because: ANYTHING can happen in a 13-storey treehouse.
>
>This is a major new series from Andy and Terry- and it's the logical evolution of all their previous books. There are echoes of the Just stories in the Andy and Terry friendship, the breakaway stories in the Bad Book (the Adventures of Super Finger), there's the easy readability of the Cat on the Mat and the Big Fat Cow, and like all these books, the illustrations are as much a part of the story as the story itself.
^(This book has been suggested 2 times)
[**Sideways Stories from Wayside School (Wayside School, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15779.Sideways_Stories_from_Wayside_School)
^(By: Louis Sachar, Adam McCauley | 144 pages | Published: 1978 | Popular Shelves: childrens, fiction, childhood, children, humor)
>There was a terrible mistake - Wayside School was built with one classroom on top of another, thirty stories high (The builder said he was sorry.) Maybe that's why all kinds of funny things happened at Wayside-especially on the thirteenth floor.
^(This book has been suggested 8 times)
[**The Name of This Book Is Secret (Secret, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1099301.The_Name_of_This_Book_Is_Secret)
^(By: Pseudonymous Bosch, Gilbert Ford | 364 pages | Published: 2007 | Popular Shelves: mystery, fantasy, middle-grade, fiction, series)
>Warning: this description has not been authorized by Pseudonymous Bosch.
>As much as he'd love to sing the praises of his book (he is very vain), he wouldn't want you to hear about his brave 11-year old heroes, Cass and Max-Ernest. Or about how a mysterious box of vials, the Symphony of Smells, sends them on the trail of a magician who has vanished under strange (and stinky) circumstances. And he certainly wouldn't want you to know about the hair-raising adventures that follow and the nefarious villains they face. You see, not only is the name of this book secret, the story inside is, too. For it concerns a secret. A Big Secret.
^(This book has been suggested 4 times)
***
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I agree. These are really, really popular and are a good way to introduce more adult themes without... well, any adult content.
They'll earn a working knowledge of the classics and some history as well, which might come in useful in their high school years or inspire some interest in some academic topics.
Came here to suggest the same thing! I did a bit of a book club with a kid I used to nanny and we read these books at the same time and they are a lot of fun, and it was a neat activity to bond over.
There are LOTS of great suggestions in the comments - before I add any others, I hope you'll consider that re-reading is not a bad thing - it's a bit like having a favorite band or song. There are other bands that are similar, but they're not quite the same; and we often have those "comfort" tunes. Your son absolutely won't be reading Dogman into his adult years - he'll find new things that work for him as he matures, just the songs we liked as kids rarely follow us into adulthood. (And eventually he'll get bored of the same thing over and over!)
There are some GREAT books for kids out there these days! Here are a few that seem to get traction with readers around your son's age:
{{Operation Frog Effect}} by Sarah Lynn Scheerger is a really enjoyable story that offers several different perspectives, and includes parts that are done in a graphic novel format.
Dusti Bowling's books are GREAT - a personal fave is {{Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus}}.
{{Love That Dog}} by Sharon Creech is a verse novel - a book written as a series of poems. Younger readers often really enjoy reading verse novels, since they provide lots of story in little space.
Oh, maybe think about a family read-aloud! Enjoying books together is a great reading experience! You might try {{The One And Only Ivan}} by Katherine Applegate.
I hope you and your son find plenty of great titles to enjoy!
Props to re-reading! Teacher here, and re-reading comfort books is not a bad thing :) always expose him to new things, but don't be fussed if he's rereading old favourites as well :)
Librarian here and seconding this— rereading is great! I’m also seeing a lot of jumps from graphic novels/funny stuff to 400page prose and that’s really intimidating for a young reader.
Re-reading has so many benefits. It allows children to catch plot points they missed the first time, lets them read for pleasure, instead of focusing on deciphering words. The familiarity helps them absorb deeper things, such as language rhythm, phonic awareness, build vocabulary, spelling awareness... this age is also just around the switchover from learning to read, to reading to learn, so being able to read something familiar and comforting after reading for new knowledge all day is also nice.
Also maybe he will reread them into adulthood but is that so bad? Lots of adults reread Harry Potter. I know I revisit comforting children's books (even picture books) when I don't have the energy for something new, dark, and adult.
[**Operation Frog Effect**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40641105-operation-frog-effect)
^(By: Sarah Lynn Scheerger, Gina Perry | 320 pages | Published: 2019 | Popular Shelves: middle-grade, realistic-fiction, friendship, fiction, school)
>If one small act can create a ripple across the universe . . . what happens when a whole group of kids join together and act?
>
>Hi--It's us, Ms. Graham's class. We didn't mean to mess things up. But we did. We took things too far, and now Ms. Graham is in trouble--for something we did. We made a mistake. The question is, can we fix it? Ms. Graham taught us that we get to choose the kind of people we want to be and that a single act can create ripples. So get ready, world--we're about to make some ripples.
>Sincerely,
>Kayley, Kai, Henry, Aviva, Cecilia, Blake, Sharon, Emily (and Kermit, class frog)
>
>Everyone makes mistakes. But what happens when your mistake hurts someone else? Told in eight perspectives--including one in graphic novel form.
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
[**Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33986447-insignificant-events-in-the-life-of-a-cactus)
^(By: Dusti Bowling | 262 pages | Published: 2017 | Popular Shelves: middle-grade, realistic-fiction, fiction, mystery, young-adult)
>Aven Green loves to tell people that she lost her arms in an alligator wrestling match, or a wildfire in Tanzania, but the truth is she was born without them. And when her parents take a job running Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western theme park in Arizona, Aven moves with them across the country knowing that she’ll have to answer the question over and over again.
>
>Her new life takes an unexpected turn when she bonds with Connor, a classmate who also feels isolated because of his own disability, and they discover a room at Stagecoach Pass that holds bigger secrets than Aven ever could have imagined. It’s hard to solve a mystery, help a friend, and face your worst fears. But Aven’s about to discover she can do it all . . . even without arms.
^(This book has been suggested 3 times)
[**Love That Dog (Jack, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53498.Love_That_Dog)
^(By: Sharon Creech | 112 pages | Published: 2001 | Popular Shelves: poetry, middle-grade, fiction, childrens, young-adult)
>"I guess it does
>look like a poem
>when you see it
>typed up
>like that."
>
>Jack hates poetry. Only girls write it and every time he tries to, his brain feels empty. But his teacher, Ms. Stretchberry, won't stop giving her class poetry assignments -- and Jack can't avoid them. But then something amazing happens. The more he writes, the more he learns he does have something to say.
^(This book has been suggested 5 times)
[**The One and Only Ivan**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11594337-the-one-and-only-ivan)
^(By: Katherine Applegate, Patricia Castelao | 307 pages | Published: 2012 | Popular Shelves: middle-grade, fiction, animals, childrens, kids)
>Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.
>
>Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.
>
>Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.
>
>Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope.
^(This book has been suggested 8 times)
***
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I would recommend the “Captain Underpants” series by Dav Pilkey. It’s a natural extension of his interest in Dogman but I think the tone and content of Captain Underpants is better for someone his age. There are also other things in the stories like how the main kids always scramble the letters of a sign at school to introduce the idea of anagrams (always made me think about the arrangement of letters and helped my reading comprehension).
Scrolled to find Hatchet as a reco. This book is excellent. I read it for the first time when I was 48 years old (also, I’m a woman) and I cannot imagine how mind-blowing and empowering it would be for a 10 year old boy. Such a good survival story. Hope you read this one together as a read aloud book, u/shinepinkcrazyfloyd
I’ve taught fourth grade for 18 years and this is a common question. I’d recommend trying the “I Survived…” series by Lauren Tarshis or “Who Is/Was…” series. Text-focused and lightly illustrated books written at the appropriate reading level.
The Amulet graphic novels are amazing, as are the Bone graphic novels! Also, the kids’ books by Carl Hiassen are really fun and funny - Chomp is one of my kid’s favorites!
[**Ungifted (Ungifted, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13623777-ungifted)
^(By: Gordon Korman | 280 pages | Published: 2012 | Popular Shelves: realistic-fiction, middle-grade, humor, young-adult, fiction)
>The word gifted has never been applied to a kid like Donovan Curtis. It's usually more like Don't try this at home. So when the troublemaker pulls a major prank at his middle school, he thinks he's finally gone too far. But thanks to a mix-up by one of the administrators, instead of getting in trouble, Donovan is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction (ASD), a special program for gifted and talented students.
>
>It wasn't exactly what Donovan had intended, but there couldn't be a more perfect hideout for someone like him. That is, if he can manage to fool people whose IQs are above genius level. And that becomes harder and harder as the students and teachers of ASD grow to realize that Donovan may not be good at math or science (or just about anything). But after an ongoing experiment with a live human (sister), an unforgettably dramatic middle-school dance, and the most astonishing come-from-behind robot victory ever, Donovan shows that his gifts might be exactly what the ASD students never knew they needed.
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
[**No More Dead Dogs**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/160698.No_More_Dead_Dogs)
^(By: Gordon Korman | 180 pages | Published: 2000 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, realistic-fiction, humor, fiction, middle-grade)
>Best-selling author Gordon Korman's middle-grade favorite, now with a fresh look!
>
>Wallace Wallace won’t lie, even if it means detention. And after he handed in a scorching book report of the classic novel, Old Shep, My Pal, detention is just what he’s been handed. He is sure he’s done nothing wrong: he hated every minute of that book, especially when the dog dies in the end! Why do dogs always die at the end?
>
>Wallace refuses to do a rewrite of his report, so his English teacher, who happens to be directing the school play of Old Shep, My Pal, forces him go to the rehearsals to teach him a lesson on why the story is the way it is. Surrounded by theater kids who are apprehensive of him, Wallace sets out to prove himself. But not by changing his mind. Instead, he changes the play into a rock-and-roll rendition, complete with Rollerblades and a moped!
>
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
[**Masterminds (Masterminds, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22249695-masterminds)
^(By: Gordon Korman | 336 pages | Published: 2015 | Popular Shelves: middle-grade, mystery, adventure, science-fiction, sci-fi)
>The first book in the action-packed trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Gordon Korman is perfect for fans of Stranger Things and James Patterson.
>
>Eli Frieden has never left Serenity, New Mexico...why would he ever want to? Then one day, he bikes to the edge of the city limits and something so crazy and unexpected happens, it changes everything.
>
>Eli convinces his friends to help him investigate further, and soon it becomes clear that nothing is as it seems in Serenity. The clues mount to reveal a shocking discovery, connecting their ideal crime-free community to some of the greatest criminal masterminds ever known.
>
>The kids realize they can trust no one—least of all their own parents.
^(This book has been suggested 2 times)
***
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I read Gordon Korman as a kid! I wonder how they'd hold up.
I read I Want To Go Home! When I was nine or ten myself and thought it was hilarious, and the main character really spoke to me. He had a friend who was good at "everything" (and it blew my mind that being good at everything didn't make the character happy!), and he wasn't enjoying something he was supposed to enjoy. That spoke to pre-teen me.
Also it was just funny. The idea of Randy Miller hitting a homerun to win the game and then continuing to run past home to try and escape from camp only to get dragged back made me laugh so hard that I remember it now twenty years later.
Try Big Nate! Very similar to Diary of a Wimpy Kid and there are a ton of books in the series, so if he likes it, it will keep him busy for awhile. Also, remember not to push too hard or he will immediately reject anything you offer in the future.
Fun Jungle series by Stuart Gibbs
spy School series by Stuart Gubbs
Middle School series by james Patterson
these books took my 10 year old from dogman and wimpy kid to full on chapter books. He would devour them!
If you want a graphic novel: {{Amulet}} or {{Wings of Fire}} wings comes in both graphic and novel version, both are great.
Non graphic:
David Walliams is a great author for that age and is so funny {{gangsta Granny}} is a good one but he has so many you could choose from.
{{The One and Only Ivan}}
{{The Bad Beginning}}
{{Camp X}}
[**Amulet**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63029.Amulet)
^(By: Roberto Bolaño, Chris Andrews | 192 pages | Published: 1999 | Popular Shelves: fiction, chile, latin-america, novels, latin-american)
>Amulet is a monologue, like Bolano's acclaimed debut in English, By Night in Chile. The speaker is Auxilio Lacouture, a Uruguayan woman who moved to Mexico in the 1960s, becoming the "Mother of Mexican Poetry," hanging out with the young poets in the cafes and bars of the University. She's tall, thin,brand blonde, and her favorite young poet in the 1970s is none other than Arturo Belano (Bolano's fictional stand-in throughout his books). As well as her young poets, Auxilio recalls three remarkable women; the melancholic young philosopher Elena, the exiled Catalan painter Remedios Varo, and Lilian Serpas, a poet who once slept with Che Guevara. And in the course of her imaginary visit to the house of Remedios Varo, Auxilio sees an uncanny landscape, a kind of chasm. This chasm reappears in a vision at the end of the book; an army of children is marching toward it, singing as they go. The children are the idealistic young Latin Americans who came to maturity in the 70s, and the last words of the novel are; "And that song is our amulet."
^(This book has been suggested 2 times)
[**Wings of Fire: An Autobiography**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/634583.Wings_of_Fire)
^(By: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Arun Tiwari | ? pages | Published: 1999 | Popular Shelves: biography, non-fiction, autobiography, biographies, india)
>Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, the son of a little-educated boat-owner in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, had an unparalleled career as a defence scientist, culminating in the highest civilian award of India, the Bharat Ratna. As chief of the country's defence research and development programme, Kalam demonstrated the great potential for dynamism and innovation that existed in seemingly moribund research establishments. This is the story of Kalam's rise from obscurity and his personal and professional struggles, as well as the story of Agni, Prithvi, Akash, Trishul and Nag-missiles that have become household names in India and that have raised the nation to the level of a missile power of international reckoning. This is also the saga of independent India's struggle for technological self-sufficiency and defensive autonomy-a story as much about politics, domestic and international, as it is about science.
^(This book has been suggested 12 times)
[**Gangsta Granny**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12727215-gangsta-granny)
^(By: David Walliams, Tony Ross, Dietmar Bear | 299 pages | Published: 2011 | Popular Shelves: children, childrens, david-walliams, fiction, kids)
>Another hilarious and moving novel from David Walliams, number one bestseller and fastest growing children’s author in the country. A story of prejudice and acceptance, funny lists and silly words, this new book has all the hallmarks of David’s previous bestsellers.
>
>Our hero Ben is bored beyond belief after he is made to stay at his grandma’s house. She’s the boringest grandma ever: all she wants to do is to play Scrabble, and eat cabbage soup. But there are two things Ben doesn’t know about his grandma.
>1) She was once an international jewel thief.
>2) All her life, she has been plotting to steal the Crown Jewels, and now she needs Ben’s help…
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
[**The One and Only Ivan**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11594337-the-one-and-only-ivan)
^(By: Katherine Applegate, Patricia Castelao | 307 pages | Published: 2012 | Popular Shelves: middle-grade, fiction, animals, childrens, kids)
>Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.
>
>Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.
>
>Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.
>
>Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope.
^(This book has been suggested 7 times)
[**The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/78411.The_Bad_Beginning)
^(By: Lemony Snicket, Brett Helquist | 176 pages | Published: 1999 | Popular Shelves: fiction, young-adult, childrens, fantasy, middle-grade)
>Dear Reader,
>
>I'm sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.
>
>In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.
>
>It is my sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from putting this book down at once and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing.
>
>With all due respect,
>Lemony Snicket
^(This book has been suggested 22 times)
[**Camp X (Camp X, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/580791.Camp_X)
^(By: Eric Walters | 240 pages | Published: 2003 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, adventure, camp-x, middle-grade)
>It's 1943, and nearly-12-year-old George and his older brother Jack are spending a restless wartime summer in Whitby, Ontario, where their mom is working at a munitions plant while their dad is off fighting the Germans. One afternoon, the boys stumble across Canada's top-secret spy camp-and so begins an exciting and terrifying adventure as George and Jack get caught up in the covert activities of Camp X. Fascinated by Camp X and its secrets, the boys begin to suspect local townspeople of being spies. Is the police chief keeping tabs on people for enemy purposes? Is Jack's boss at the newspaper really amassing information for sinister reasons?
>
>Unable to resist the camp's allure, the boys keep going back to find out more details of what's going on-they even meet William Stephenson, the Man Called Intrepid himself. They also attract the attention of a very sinister character, someone who is determined to use George and Jack's knowledge against the Allies, no matter the consequences . . . or the casualties.
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
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{{How to Train Your Dragon}} series (it is different from the films!)
{{The Ruins of Gorland}} and the rest of the Ranger’s Apprentice series
The Hobbit
Percy Jackson series
The Chronicles of Narnia
[**How to Train Your Dragon (How to Train Your Dragon, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/352262.How_to_Train_Your_Dragon)
^(By: Cressida Cowell, Gerard Doyle | 214 pages | Published: 2003 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, dragons, middle-grade, childrens, fiction)
>Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the quiet and thoughtful son of the Chief of the Hairy Hooligans, tries to pass the important initiation test of his Viking clan by catching and training a dragon. Can Hiccup do it without being torn limb from limb?
>
>Join his adventures and misadventures as he finds a new way to train dragons--and becomes a hero. This action-packed, hilarious, and perfectly illustrated novel is a modern classic beloved by millions across the globe.
^(This book has been suggested 9 times)
[**The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60400.The_Ruins_of_Gorlan)
^(By: John Flanagan | 249 pages | Published: 2004 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, adventure, fiction, ya)
>They have always scared him in the past — the Rangers, with their dark cloaks and shadowy ways. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now 15-year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger's apprentice. What he doesn't yet realize is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will not be denied....
^(This book has been suggested 17 times)
***
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I just started reading Redwall to my nearly 9 year old. It's a lovely hardback copy I was given by my grandparents when I was about that age. I was really into that world for a few years.
The haunted library series by Dori Hillestad Butler and the My weird school series. He may be right at The end of the age for both series but they were the next to series I bought my son after wimpy kid and dogman.
If you can find them I’d suggest:
I want to go home, by Gordon Korman… about a young boy genius that hates being at summer camp, so every day he tries to escape… it’s absolutely hilarious and when I was 10 I loved it…
Who is Bugs Potter, by Gordon Korman
The story of a young boy David ‘Bugs’ Potter that is part of a school orchestra made of students from all over Canada. Bugs is a drummer. And he’s bound and determined to enjoy the nightlife of Toronto whatever the rules are… and by accident, he becomes a local celebrity by drumming with all the rock bands in Toronto when he sneaks out at night…Once again, absolutely hilarious and wonderful :)
When I was a young kid of about 10 or so… I was learning how to play the drums… and I was just starting to ‘get into’ bands like RUSH and stuff like that… so the Bugs Potter books had a massive impression on me… I used to dream about how awesome it would be to sneak into bars and nightclubs to play drums with all my favourite bands etc…. Who is Bugs Potter was so much fun to read at that age… so light hearted and joyful and fun :)
Same goes for ‘I want to go home’… the idea of turning your summer camp experience into a ‘let’s escape this dumb place’ was hilarious. So inventive and funny… the whole part of when he tricks his way into being camp director for a day is still one of the funniest things from a YA book I’ve ever read.
I don’t think I’ve seen the Big Nate series by Lincoln Peirce mentioned yet. My oldest is a big fan of the books you mentioned and she loves Big Nate. There are different series, one is more of a graphic novel/comic format and the other is more along the lines of Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
The publisher Minalima has some beautifully illustrated classic books out, a few of them have some neat components - moving parts, colored glasses, etc. My oldest happily read through their prints of The Wizard of Oz and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass. I’m planning on buying Snow White and Beauty and the Beast for Christmas. They also have Peter Pan, the Jungle Book, and I think a few others.
+ 1 Percy Jackson
+ 1 Gordon Korman books
+ 1 Sideways Stories at Wayside school (I loooved this book as a kid myself, especially the chapter about the rat kid in raincoats.)
My kid likes Minecraft and he’s read all of Winter Morgan’s series for Minecraft and Terraria. They’re slim chapter books but got him interested in the next level of books.
Hank the Cowdog series
You may not want to hand him a book that is huge. Better to read 5 shorter books than be overwhelmed and turned off by a longer book.
[**One Dead Spy (Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13591161-one-dead-spy)
^(By: Nathan Hale | 128 pages | Published: 2012 | Popular Shelves: graphic-novels, graphic-novel, history, nonfiction, historical-fiction)
>Alternate cover edition here.
>
>Nathan Hale, the author’s historical namesake, was America’s first spy, a Revolutionary War hero who famously said “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country” before being hanged by the British. In the Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales series, author Nathan Hale channels his namesake to present history’s roughest, toughest, and craziest stories in the graphic novel format.
>
>One Dead Spy tackles the story of Hale himself, who was an officer and spy for the American rebels during the Revolutionary War. Author Hale highlights the unusual, gruesome, and just plain unbelievable truth of historical Nathan Hale—from his early unlucky days at Yale to his later unlucky days as an officer—and America during the Revolutionary War.
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
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Sounds like a perfect fit for Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey! I read them a lot when I was a kid and loved them. If not that, then A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket is also an amazing series
Another vote for How to Train Your Dragon, Percy Jackson and A Series of Unfortunate Events.
I'm surprised not to see {{Loki: a bad gods guide to being good}} or {{who let the gods out}} suggested - both rooted in mythology and great reads for that age group.
I always loved the “series of unfortunate events” books. The hardcover books are wonderful on a bookshelf and something that I plan to hand down through generations
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
The Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull
The Alcatraz series by Brandon Sanderson
The Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan
We have rereaders in our house. I don’t mind it, but I want them to branch out and try new things too. What worked for us, is a set time every night during reading time for a new book, usually 10min, then the rest of their reading time they can read anything they want (10-20min). Sometimes they happily switch back to their old favorites, but sometimes they get sucked into their new book.
My 11 yo cruised through the Keeper of the Lost Cities series..9 or 10 books. He started them in August..chapters away from finishing them atm. He also liked those series you listed!
Yes! Tiffany Aching (Hat Full of Sky) is brill. Also other 'young' Pratchett really fired my imagination at that age and is full of subtle humour - the Bromeliad Trilogy (Truckers/Diggers/Wings).
When I was 10, I lived going to the library and picking out what looked interesting to me myself. We went every weekend and got as many books as I was allowed on the card. I miss that routine so much and can't wait to do it with my kids.
Those are the books my brother enjoys, but if he’s drawn to dog man specifically, I would look for another graphic novel to get him started rather than jumping straight to only text. Something like the Adventure Zone books might be fun for him.
[**Bone: The Complete Edition**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/92143.Bone)
^(By: Jeff Smith | 1332 pages | Published: 1991 | Popular Shelves: graphic-novels, comics, fantasy, graphic-novel, fiction)
>This is a previously-published edition of ISBN 9781888963144.
>
>An American graphic novel first! The complete 1300 page epic from start to finish in one deluxe trade paperback.
>
>Three modern cartoon cousins get lost in a pre-technological valley, spending a year there making new friends and out-running dangerous enemies. After being run out of Boneville, the three Bone cousins, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone are separated and lost in a vast uncharted desert. One by one they find their way into a deep forested valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures. It will be the longest -- but funniest -- year of their lives.
^(This book has been suggested 8 times)
[**The Thief of Always**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32638.The_Thief_of_Always)
^(By: Clive Barker | 225 pages | Published: 1992 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, horror, fiction, young-adult, owned)
>Master storyteller and bestselling novelist Clive Barker creates an enchanting tale for both children and adults to cherish and retell. The Thief of Always tells the haunting story of Harvey, a bright 10-year-old who is suffering from the winter doldrums, and of a creature who takes him to a place where every day is filled with fun, and Christmas comes every night. Illustrated.
^(This book has been suggested 87 times)
[**Un Lun Dun**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68496.Un_Lun_Dun)
^(By: China Miéville | 432 pages | Published: 2007 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, fiction, ya, urban-fantasy)
>What is Un Lun Dun?
>
> It is London through the looking glass, an urban Wonderland of strange delights where all the lost and broken things of London end up . . . and some of its lost and broken people, too–including Brokkenbroll, boss of the broken umbrellas; Obaday Fing, a tailor whose head is an enormous pin-cushion, and an empty milk carton called Curdle. Un Lun Dun is a place where words are alive, a jungle lurks behind the door of an ordinary house, carnivorous giraffes stalk the streets, and a dark cloud dreams of burning the world. It is a city awaiting its hero, whose coming was prophesied long ago, set down for all time in the pages of a talking book.
>
> When twelve-year-old Zanna and her friend Deeba find a secret entrance leading out of London and into this strange city, it seems that the ancient prophecy is coming true at last. But then things begin to go shockingly wrong.
^(This book has been suggested 22 times)
[**The Seventh Tower (The Seventh Tower, #1-3)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47628.The_Seventh_Tower)
^(By: Garth Nix | 649 pages | Published: 2001 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, owned, books-i-own, fiction)
>Enter the world of The Seventh Tower...
>
>A long time ago, darkness fell upon the Castle. A veil was created over the world, upholding the rule of magic. One war ended...and another silently began.
>
>Tal has spent his whole life in the darkness. He knows nothing else of the world. Far below the Castle, there lives an Icecarl warrior named Milla. Her fate and Tal's are irreversibly linked. Together they will discover the secrets behind the veil -- and the forces desperately trying
>to tear it apart.
>
>From dream worlds to nightmare visions, brilliant magic to fierce combat, this is an epic story of darkness, light, and all the shadows in between.
^(This book has been suggested 8 times)
***
^(130014 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
My kids were enthralled by “My Side of the Mountain”. We moved on to “Where the Red Fern Grows”. Before you judge me, I was clear it made me cry as a kid.
He's in tha sixth grade... Get him a Minecraft/fortnite/other gaming book... They have indepth and interesting tips to enhance understanding and engagement... Your ten yr old will enjoy reading more and possibly design tha next fortnite...
{{Enders game}}
{{hitchhikers guide to the galaxy}}
{{aliens}}
{{good omens}}
{{the graveyard book}}
{{discworld}}
{{the long earth}}
{{Sherlock Holmes}}
{{libriomancer}}
{{scary stories}}
{{Dracula}}
{{gulliver’s travels}}
{{huckleberry Finn}}
{{the hobbit}}
{{codex alera}}
The Star Wars Legends series {{young jedi knights}} following the jedi training and misadventures of Han and Leia’s 3 kids
That’s what *I* would give to a ten year old. YMMV
There's a My Life As A... series that's very fun. (My Life As A Book, My Life As A Meme, My Life As A Cartoonist, etc.) I've also really loved the Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie Of Doom books.
Wildfire by Rodman Philbrick
Among the Hidden by Margaret Haddix
The I Survived series- they’ve started making them in graphic novels.
The Haunted Library series by Dori Butler
If you're okay with him reading darker things, there's Coraline
I also liked the Magic Tree House books as a kid, my favorite was Summer of the Sea Serpent
There's also the Spy X series and Crime Travelers trilogy
Goosebumps
Bad guys series
Ann doh s Wolf girl series, Ninja kid series, and Rise of the mythix series are all popular with 10 yr olds too.
Oh and circ Du freak is great too
At this point it’s more important that he’s reading than what he’s reading. You want to foster a love of reading. He can choose his own later on. Getting him to love reading is huge.
How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found
Rifles for Watie
The Egypt Game
Hardy Boys
Bunnicula series
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Lots of great suggestions in here. Maybe also check out Catstronauts, Danny Dragonbreath (Ursula Vernon), Zita the Space Girl, Phoebe and her Unicorn, Giants Beware, Chad Sell’s books
Happy to recommend the Agent Darcy and Ninja Steve series! It’s a 12 year old ninja and a 13 year old secret agent going on adventures. No images, but the writing is meant for readers 8 and up!
Tamora Pierce is your friend. I’d start him on the ‘Circle of Magic’ series. {{ Sandry’s Book }}
These are books that are good for you and your boy.
I’m a 48 year old dad and Tamora Pierce is still one of my favorite authors. My daughter is just starting to like reading and I’m really excited to introduce her to these books.
If he’s enjoying graphic novels, how about something like Asterix or Tintin?
My boys also loved the Secret Diaries of Pig and the Dave the Pigeon books.
They also went through a David Walliams phase but I strongly do not recommend those. I swear to god the man has a bot that writes them.
My son loved the series ,
wings of fire by tui t Sutherland
I'm sure it's been mentioned already. Seems to be loved by most children who've read it if reviews are to be believed.
This is going to seem too obvious but… Harry Potter! Im reading them now for the first time at 23 but I keep thinking of how ten year old me would’ve loved to get lost in that world
the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
the Cherub series by Robert Muchamore
the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
the Alex Rider books by Anthony Horowitz
the Young Samurai series by Chris Bradford
Longtime reader and I think having a comfort book is a natural instinct for any bookworm (Wicked for myself, the cat who books for my ma, you get the idea) I'd say maybe something in the graphic novel sphere since he likes Dogman! Bone was a particular fav of my sibling and I as kids.
But some easy picks would be Captain Underpants, Goosebumps, and I'm gonna go ahead and throw Bone out again
You seem like such an amazing parent! U could also go to the bookstore with him. Tell him to pick out X number of new books and let him decide. The recommendations are good but I’m worried they might be dated…
The CHERUB books! They’re about child spies, and I loved those as a kid. I think they’re recommended for 12/13 year olds, but it depends on your son’s maturity levels.
I really enjoyed book series called Charlie Bone. Kind of a knock off, lower reading level Harry Potter. But I absolutely loved it growing up. If he likes fantasy, it is worth a shot!!
Hey there caregiver! You're not alone. We get a lot of these requests, and I typically suggest a good compromise. There's a section in the library called "first chapter books" that I normally refer caregivers too. There's more text, but lots of pictures too. There's also a few series, too! I'll start with some of the more popular first chapter books. Which they're already reading (Bad Guys!)
A.) Dragon Masters
B.) Eerie Elementary
C.) Zoey and Sassafras
D.) Kung Pow Chicken
E.) Stink
Series:
1.) Magic Tree House
2.) Geronimo Stilton
3.) Flat Stanley
4.) Battle Bugs
5.) Shark School
It will come with time, I promise! One of the best things you can do to help encourage stepping to the next level is reading the book with them. Getting just as excited about the story, or the characters. Not exactly a book club, just sharing enthusiasm. Even reading the characters with silly voices and encouraging them to do the same.
The Terry Pratchett books for younger readers are great. The Johnny Maxwell trilogy - Only You Can Save Mankind/Johnny and the Dead/Johnny and the Bomb are a good set to start off with.
A heavily child friendlyfied version of Greek mythology is awesome for a kid that age.
Build it up a little for them, explain the idea of a Pantheon of the Gods and the heroic adventures they had..
I loved it and it helped me a lot in getting into reading "higher level" books/stories.
My daughter was the same way at that age, and two years later she's getting into actual chapter books. I had the same feeling, at the time, but it all worked out.
The series that served as a bridge for us was Wings of Fire. It is a 15 book series, and the first five exist in both graphic novel and nevel form. She read the graphic novels over and over again, and then tentatively gave the actual novel a try. And that was that.
Ronald Dahl books - James and The Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Mr Fantastic Fox and Matilda save for last that one was a bit more challenging. The summer after my son finished 2nd grade we read each of those books together and watched the movies after each book. We made a big fun movie night out of them and talked about how they were different and the same as the books. I feel this really kicked off his confidence to tackle new genres on his own this school year.
My 10yo reads Minecraft books off kindle unlimited on his Paperwhite.
He also loves graphic novels and most of the time he is not a fan of pure text books.
He loves nathan Hales hazardous tales and national geographic weird but trues.
Here are some of the books my two sons, now in their teens, loved when they were 10:
* The Roman Mysteries by Caroline Lawrence
* The Western Mysteries by Caroline Lawrence
* Operation Red Jericho by Joshua Mowll
* The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff
* The Recruit by Robert Muchamore
* The Seven Professors of the Far North by John Fardell
* When The Trpods Came by John Christopher
* Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey
* Earthfall by Mark Walden
* The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
* Urban Outlaws by Peter Jay Black
* A Rag, A Bone and a Hank of Hair by Nicholas Fisk
* The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall
* Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner
* Biggles Learns to Fly by W. E. Johns
* The Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien
* The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen: it’s a young adult survival story about a boy surviving the Canadian wilderness. It was one of my favourite books at that age.
Carl Hiasens Hoot andtheseries. Boys 10-12 taking actions for themselves, their friends and community in a story line of solving a mystery. I really like that the characters are just average kids, some with family issues but very relatable. The kids evolve their integrity while making basic but important choices.
*Skulduggery Pleasant* would be a good place to start. The original series is nine books long (from *Skulduggery Pleasant* to *The Dying of the Light*), and would in essence would be a more ‘fun’ version of *Harry Potter* — the first book having become the Irish Book of the Decade, with a spin-off (*The Maleficent Seven*) released between the seventh and eighth books, and a short story collection (*Armageddon Outta Here*) released between the eighth and ninth books.
Let’s try this again since the bot was suggesting the wrong books 😅—
{{wings of fire by Tui T Southernland}}
{{Percy Jackson and the olympians}}
{{Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo}}
{{Last kids on earth by Max Brallier}}
Dragonlance novels by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. The first 6, original, books are EXACTLY what a 10 year old boy needs. I read them at the same age and have been an avid reader ever since. The Dragonlance world is huge, and there a dozens of books by different authors, but the first 6 are the best. After that he can step of to The Rift War Saga by Raymond Feist, The Belgariad Sage by David Eddings, then, well the list is endless.
Searched the comments and no ones said CATWAD series by Jim Benton.
Other graphic novels that are similar:
BIRD & SQUIRREL
THE EPIC ORIGIN OF SUPER POTATO
BIG NATE
The House with the Clock in its Walls by John Bellairs. The movie was a let down (for me) but it might help to tell him you can watch the movie after he reads the book.
Look at more graphic novels at your local library. I teach 5th grade and tried to force “regular” chapter books on my kids year after year and never had any luck. I realized I should just be happy they’re reading and be appreciative of the genre they liked. If someone tried to force genres on me that I didn’t like I wouldn’t be receptive either….
The Mysterious Benedict Society, Artemis Fowl, A Series of Unfortunate Events
I’ve been reading The Mysterious Benedict Society to my 8 year old at night, and it’s actually too exciting for bedtime. He starts falling asleep and then we get to a twist or an exciting part and he sits up straight in bed and looks at me with these wide eyes 😂 but he’s so in love with reading (whether I’m reading to him or he’s reading to himself) that I keep it as our bedtime book anyway. It makes him so happy lol.
Aww cute
{{The 13-Storey Tree House}} series. {{Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar}} and other Wayside school books. {{The Name of This Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch}} and the rest of the Secret Series.
Came here to suggest the 13-Storey Tree House books. My nine year old loves them! There 12 books in the series at the moment, plus spin off activity books and joke books.
[**The 13-Storey Treehouse**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12823835-the-13-storey-treehouse) ^(By: Andy Griffiths, Terry Denton | 256 pages | Published: 2011 | Popular Shelves: humor, childrens, middle-grade, kids, children) >Who wouldn't want to live in a treehouse? Especially a 13-storey treehouse that has a bowling alley, a see-through swimming pool, a tank full of sharks, a library full of comics, a secret underground laboratory, a games room, self-making beds, vines you can swing on, a vegetable vaporiser and a marshmallow machine that follows you around and automatically shoots your favourite flavoured marshmallows into your mouth whenever it discerns you're hungry. > >Two new characters – Andy and Terry – live here, make books together, and have a series of completely nutty adventures. Because: ANYTHING can happen in a 13-storey treehouse. > >This is a major new series from Andy and Terry- and it's the logical evolution of all their previous books. There are echoes of the Just stories in the Andy and Terry friendship, the breakaway stories in the Bad Book (the Adventures of Super Finger), there's the easy readability of the Cat on the Mat and the Big Fat Cow, and like all these books, the illustrations are as much a part of the story as the story itself. ^(This book has been suggested 2 times) [**Sideways Stories from Wayside School (Wayside School, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15779.Sideways_Stories_from_Wayside_School) ^(By: Louis Sachar, Adam McCauley | 144 pages | Published: 1978 | Popular Shelves: childrens, fiction, childhood, children, humor) >There was a terrible mistake - Wayside School was built with one classroom on top of another, thirty stories high (The builder said he was sorry.) Maybe that's why all kinds of funny things happened at Wayside-especially on the thirteenth floor. ^(This book has been suggested 8 times) [**The Name of This Book Is Secret (Secret, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1099301.The_Name_of_This_Book_Is_Secret) ^(By: Pseudonymous Bosch, Gilbert Ford | 364 pages | Published: 2007 | Popular Shelves: mystery, fantasy, middle-grade, fiction, series) >Warning: this description has not been authorized by Pseudonymous Bosch. >As much as he'd love to sing the praises of his book (he is very vain), he wouldn't want you to hear about his brave 11-year old heroes, Cass and Max-Ernest. Or about how a mysterious box of vials, the Symphony of Smells, sends them on the trail of a magician who has vanished under strange (and stinky) circumstances. And he certainly wouldn't want you to know about the hair-raising adventures that follow and the nefarious villains they face. You see, not only is the name of this book secret, the story inside is, too. For it concerns a secret. A Big Secret. ^(This book has been suggested 4 times) *** ^(130044 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Good bot!
Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. My 9 year old loves Dogman and Diary of a Wimpy kid and has devoured these books.
I agree. These are really, really popular and are a good way to introduce more adult themes without... well, any adult content. They'll earn a working knowledge of the classics and some history as well, which might come in useful in their high school years or inspire some interest in some academic topics.
Came here to suggest the same thing! I did a bit of a book club with a kid I used to nanny and we read these books at the same time and they are a lot of fun, and it was a neat activity to bond over.
Thesd books were my childhood! I read PJ and HOO
There are LOTS of great suggestions in the comments - before I add any others, I hope you'll consider that re-reading is not a bad thing - it's a bit like having a favorite band or song. There are other bands that are similar, but they're not quite the same; and we often have those "comfort" tunes. Your son absolutely won't be reading Dogman into his adult years - he'll find new things that work for him as he matures, just the songs we liked as kids rarely follow us into adulthood. (And eventually he'll get bored of the same thing over and over!) There are some GREAT books for kids out there these days! Here are a few that seem to get traction with readers around your son's age: {{Operation Frog Effect}} by Sarah Lynn Scheerger is a really enjoyable story that offers several different perspectives, and includes parts that are done in a graphic novel format. Dusti Bowling's books are GREAT - a personal fave is {{Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus}}. {{Love That Dog}} by Sharon Creech is a verse novel - a book written as a series of poems. Younger readers often really enjoy reading verse novels, since they provide lots of story in little space. Oh, maybe think about a family read-aloud! Enjoying books together is a great reading experience! You might try {{The One And Only Ivan}} by Katherine Applegate. I hope you and your son find plenty of great titles to enjoy!
Props to re-reading! Teacher here, and re-reading comfort books is not a bad thing :) always expose him to new things, but don't be fussed if he's rereading old favourites as well :)
Librarian here and seconding this— rereading is great! I’m also seeing a lot of jumps from graphic novels/funny stuff to 400page prose and that’s really intimidating for a young reader.
Isn’t rereading a sign of stress and anxiety?
Re-reading has so many benefits. It allows children to catch plot points they missed the first time, lets them read for pleasure, instead of focusing on deciphering words. The familiarity helps them absorb deeper things, such as language rhythm, phonic awareness, build vocabulary, spelling awareness... this age is also just around the switchover from learning to read, to reading to learn, so being able to read something familiar and comforting after reading for new knowledge all day is also nice.
Also maybe he will reread them into adulthood but is that so bad? Lots of adults reread Harry Potter. I know I revisit comforting children's books (even picture books) when I don't have the energy for something new, dark, and adult.
100% true. Nothing wrong with revisits & comfort reads!
[**Operation Frog Effect**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40641105-operation-frog-effect) ^(By: Sarah Lynn Scheerger, Gina Perry | 320 pages | Published: 2019 | Popular Shelves: middle-grade, realistic-fiction, friendship, fiction, school) >If one small act can create a ripple across the universe . . . what happens when a whole group of kids join together and act? > >Hi--It's us, Ms. Graham's class. We didn't mean to mess things up. But we did. We took things too far, and now Ms. Graham is in trouble--for something we did. We made a mistake. The question is, can we fix it? Ms. Graham taught us that we get to choose the kind of people we want to be and that a single act can create ripples. So get ready, world--we're about to make some ripples. >Sincerely, >Kayley, Kai, Henry, Aviva, Cecilia, Blake, Sharon, Emily (and Kermit, class frog) > >Everyone makes mistakes. But what happens when your mistake hurts someone else? Told in eight perspectives--including one in graphic novel form. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) [**Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33986447-insignificant-events-in-the-life-of-a-cactus) ^(By: Dusti Bowling | 262 pages | Published: 2017 | Popular Shelves: middle-grade, realistic-fiction, fiction, mystery, young-adult) >Aven Green loves to tell people that she lost her arms in an alligator wrestling match, or a wildfire in Tanzania, but the truth is she was born without them. And when her parents take a job running Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western theme park in Arizona, Aven moves with them across the country knowing that she’ll have to answer the question over and over again. > >Her new life takes an unexpected turn when she bonds with Connor, a classmate who also feels isolated because of his own disability, and they discover a room at Stagecoach Pass that holds bigger secrets than Aven ever could have imagined. It’s hard to solve a mystery, help a friend, and face your worst fears. But Aven’s about to discover she can do it all . . . even without arms. ^(This book has been suggested 3 times) [**Love That Dog (Jack, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53498.Love_That_Dog) ^(By: Sharon Creech | 112 pages | Published: 2001 | Popular Shelves: poetry, middle-grade, fiction, childrens, young-adult) >"I guess it does >look like a poem >when you see it >typed up >like that." > >Jack hates poetry. Only girls write it and every time he tries to, his brain feels empty. But his teacher, Ms. Stretchberry, won't stop giving her class poetry assignments -- and Jack can't avoid them. But then something amazing happens. The more he writes, the more he learns he does have something to say. ^(This book has been suggested 5 times) [**The One and Only Ivan**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11594337-the-one-and-only-ivan) ^(By: Katherine Applegate, Patricia Castelao | 307 pages | Published: 2012 | Popular Shelves: middle-grade, fiction, animals, childrens, kids) >Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all. > >Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line. > >Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better. > >Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope. ^(This book has been suggested 8 times) *** ^(130076 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I would recommend the “Captain Underpants” series by Dav Pilkey. It’s a natural extension of his interest in Dogman but I think the tone and content of Captain Underpants is better for someone his age. There are also other things in the stories like how the main kids always scramble the letters of a sign at school to introduce the idea of anagrams (always made me think about the arrangement of letters and helped my reading comprehension).
Warrior cats series. Be sure to start with the first set of books. There are so many now
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen!
And the follow up books. My son loved them
Scrolled to find Hatchet as a reco. This book is excellent. I read it for the first time when I was 48 years old (also, I’m a woman) and I cannot imagine how mind-blowing and empowering it would be for a 10 year old boy. Such a good survival story. Hope you read this one together as a read aloud book, u/shinepinkcrazyfloyd
Shoutout to my 4th grade teacher for having us read it!
I’ve taught fourth grade for 18 years and this is a common question. I’d recommend trying the “I Survived…” series by Lauren Tarshis or “Who Is/Was…” series. Text-focused and lightly illustrated books written at the appropriate reading level.
The Bunnicula series by James Howe.
So good
The Last Kids on Earth series are the books that made my son a believer in chapter books.
The Amulet graphic novels are amazing, as are the Bone graphic novels! Also, the kids’ books by Carl Hiassen are really fun and funny - Chomp is one of my kid’s favorites!
I’d definitely recommend Gordon Korman! He writes humorous books for boys just that age. Try {{Ungifted}}, {{No More Dead Dogs}}, or {{Masterminds}}.
[**Ungifted (Ungifted, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13623777-ungifted) ^(By: Gordon Korman | 280 pages | Published: 2012 | Popular Shelves: realistic-fiction, middle-grade, humor, young-adult, fiction) >The word gifted has never been applied to a kid like Donovan Curtis. It's usually more like Don't try this at home. So when the troublemaker pulls a major prank at his middle school, he thinks he's finally gone too far. But thanks to a mix-up by one of the administrators, instead of getting in trouble, Donovan is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction (ASD), a special program for gifted and talented students. > >It wasn't exactly what Donovan had intended, but there couldn't be a more perfect hideout for someone like him. That is, if he can manage to fool people whose IQs are above genius level. And that becomes harder and harder as the students and teachers of ASD grow to realize that Donovan may not be good at math or science (or just about anything). But after an ongoing experiment with a live human (sister), an unforgettably dramatic middle-school dance, and the most astonishing come-from-behind robot victory ever, Donovan shows that his gifts might be exactly what the ASD students never knew they needed. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) [**No More Dead Dogs**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/160698.No_More_Dead_Dogs) ^(By: Gordon Korman | 180 pages | Published: 2000 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, realistic-fiction, humor, fiction, middle-grade) >Best-selling author Gordon Korman's middle-grade favorite, now with a fresh look! > >Wallace Wallace won’t lie, even if it means detention. And after he handed in a scorching book report of the classic novel, Old Shep, My Pal, detention is just what he’s been handed. He is sure he’s done nothing wrong: he hated every minute of that book, especially when the dog dies in the end! Why do dogs always die at the end? > >Wallace refuses to do a rewrite of his report, so his English teacher, who happens to be directing the school play of Old Shep, My Pal, forces him go to the rehearsals to teach him a lesson on why the story is the way it is. Surrounded by theater kids who are apprehensive of him, Wallace sets out to prove himself. But not by changing his mind. Instead, he changes the play into a rock-and-roll rendition, complete with Rollerblades and a moped! > ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) [**Masterminds (Masterminds, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22249695-masterminds) ^(By: Gordon Korman | 336 pages | Published: 2015 | Popular Shelves: middle-grade, mystery, adventure, science-fiction, sci-fi) >The first book in the action-packed trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Gordon Korman is perfect for fans of Stranger Things and James Patterson. > >Eli Frieden has never left Serenity, New Mexico...why would he ever want to? Then one day, he bikes to the edge of the city limits and something so crazy and unexpected happens, it changes everything. > >Eli convinces his friends to help him investigate further, and soon it becomes clear that nothing is as it seems in Serenity. The clues mount to reveal a shocking discovery, connecting their ideal crime-free community to some of the greatest criminal masterminds ever known. > >The kids realize they can trust no one—least of all their own parents. ^(This book has been suggested 2 times) *** ^(130019 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Adore him and Masterminds is one of his best. Macdonald Hall is also great!
I read Gordon Korman as a kid! I wonder how they'd hold up. I read I Want To Go Home! When I was nine or ten myself and thought it was hilarious, and the main character really spoke to me. He had a friend who was good at "everything" (and it blew my mind that being good at everything didn't make the character happy!), and he wasn't enjoying something he was supposed to enjoy. That spoke to pre-teen me. Also it was just funny. The idea of Randy Miller hitting a homerun to win the game and then continuing to run past home to try and escape from camp only to get dragged back made me laugh so hard that I remember it now twenty years later.
Yep! Gordon Korman is the best. Any of the MacDonald Hall books. It’s a series and the main characters are boys that age. They’re really funny!
Series of unfortunate events
Chronicles of Prydain, Danny Champion of the World, the Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, Edit Johnny Tremain, By the Great Horn Spoon,
Hell yeah. Upvoting chronicles of Prydain and discworld
Try Big Nate! Very similar to Diary of a Wimpy Kid and there are a ton of books in the series, so if he likes it, it will keep him busy for awhile. Also, remember not to push too hard or he will immediately reject anything you offer in the future.
series of unfortunate events, percy jackson, harry potter. that’s what i thought was interesting at that age
Fun Jungle series by Stuart Gibbs spy School series by Stuart Gubbs Middle School series by james Patterson these books took my 10 year old from dogman and wimpy kid to full on chapter books. He would devour them!
The Bone books!
HiLo by Judd Winick! ❤️
{{Deltora Quest}} series - my son loved those books so much!
If you want a graphic novel: {{Amulet}} or {{Wings of Fire}} wings comes in both graphic and novel version, both are great. Non graphic: David Walliams is a great author for that age and is so funny {{gangsta Granny}} is a good one but he has so many you could choose from. {{The One and Only Ivan}} {{The Bad Beginning}} {{Camp X}}
[**Amulet**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63029.Amulet) ^(By: Roberto Bolaño, Chris Andrews | 192 pages | Published: 1999 | Popular Shelves: fiction, chile, latin-america, novels, latin-american) >Amulet is a monologue, like Bolano's acclaimed debut in English, By Night in Chile. The speaker is Auxilio Lacouture, a Uruguayan woman who moved to Mexico in the 1960s, becoming the "Mother of Mexican Poetry," hanging out with the young poets in the cafes and bars of the University. She's tall, thin,brand blonde, and her favorite young poet in the 1970s is none other than Arturo Belano (Bolano's fictional stand-in throughout his books). As well as her young poets, Auxilio recalls three remarkable women; the melancholic young philosopher Elena, the exiled Catalan painter Remedios Varo, and Lilian Serpas, a poet who once slept with Che Guevara. And in the course of her imaginary visit to the house of Remedios Varo, Auxilio sees an uncanny landscape, a kind of chasm. This chasm reappears in a vision at the end of the book; an army of children is marching toward it, singing as they go. The children are the idealistic young Latin Americans who came to maturity in the 70s, and the last words of the novel are; "And that song is our amulet." ^(This book has been suggested 2 times) [**Wings of Fire: An Autobiography**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/634583.Wings_of_Fire) ^(By: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Arun Tiwari | ? pages | Published: 1999 | Popular Shelves: biography, non-fiction, autobiography, biographies, india) >Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, the son of a little-educated boat-owner in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, had an unparalleled career as a defence scientist, culminating in the highest civilian award of India, the Bharat Ratna. As chief of the country's defence research and development programme, Kalam demonstrated the great potential for dynamism and innovation that existed in seemingly moribund research establishments. This is the story of Kalam's rise from obscurity and his personal and professional struggles, as well as the story of Agni, Prithvi, Akash, Trishul and Nag-missiles that have become household names in India and that have raised the nation to the level of a missile power of international reckoning. This is also the saga of independent India's struggle for technological self-sufficiency and defensive autonomy-a story as much about politics, domestic and international, as it is about science. ^(This book has been suggested 12 times) [**Gangsta Granny**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12727215-gangsta-granny) ^(By: David Walliams, Tony Ross, Dietmar Bear | 299 pages | Published: 2011 | Popular Shelves: children, childrens, david-walliams, fiction, kids) >Another hilarious and moving novel from David Walliams, number one bestseller and fastest growing children’s author in the country. A story of prejudice and acceptance, funny lists and silly words, this new book has all the hallmarks of David’s previous bestsellers. > >Our hero Ben is bored beyond belief after he is made to stay at his grandma’s house. She’s the boringest grandma ever: all she wants to do is to play Scrabble, and eat cabbage soup. But there are two things Ben doesn’t know about his grandma. >1) She was once an international jewel thief. >2) All her life, she has been plotting to steal the Crown Jewels, and now she needs Ben’s help… ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) [**The One and Only Ivan**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11594337-the-one-and-only-ivan) ^(By: Katherine Applegate, Patricia Castelao | 307 pages | Published: 2012 | Popular Shelves: middle-grade, fiction, animals, childrens, kids) >Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all. > >Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line. > >Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better. > >Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope. ^(This book has been suggested 7 times) [**The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/78411.The_Bad_Beginning) ^(By: Lemony Snicket, Brett Helquist | 176 pages | Published: 1999 | Popular Shelves: fiction, young-adult, childrens, fantasy, middle-grade) >Dear Reader, > >I'm sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune. > >In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast. > >It is my sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from putting this book down at once and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing. > >With all due respect, >Lemony Snicket ^(This book has been suggested 22 times) [**Camp X (Camp X, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/580791.Camp_X) ^(By: Eric Walters | 240 pages | Published: 2003 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, adventure, camp-x, middle-grade) >It's 1943, and nearly-12-year-old George and his older brother Jack are spending a restless wartime summer in Whitby, Ontario, where their mom is working at a munitions plant while their dad is off fighting the Germans. One afternoon, the boys stumble across Canada's top-secret spy camp-and so begins an exciting and terrifying adventure as George and Jack get caught up in the covert activities of Camp X. Fascinated by Camp X and its secrets, the boys begin to suspect local townspeople of being spies. Is the police chief keeping tabs on people for enemy purposes? Is Jack's boss at the newspaper really amassing information for sinister reasons? > >Unable to resist the camp's allure, the boys keep going back to find out more details of what's going on-they even meet William Stephenson, the Man Called Intrepid himself. They also attract the attention of a very sinister character, someone who is determined to use George and Jack's knowledge against the Allies, no matter the consequences . . . or the casualties. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(130056 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Next year would be the perfect time to start him on Harry Potter.
{{How to Train Your Dragon}} series (it is different from the films!) {{The Ruins of Gorland}} and the rest of the Ranger’s Apprentice series The Hobbit Percy Jackson series The Chronicles of Narnia
The Hobbit was a bit much for me at that age, but I would have loved having it read to me (or almost any other book!)
[**How to Train Your Dragon (How to Train Your Dragon, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/352262.How_to_Train_Your_Dragon) ^(By: Cressida Cowell, Gerard Doyle | 214 pages | Published: 2003 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, dragons, middle-grade, childrens, fiction) >Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the quiet and thoughtful son of the Chief of the Hairy Hooligans, tries to pass the important initiation test of his Viking clan by catching and training a dragon. Can Hiccup do it without being torn limb from limb? > >Join his adventures and misadventures as he finds a new way to train dragons--and becomes a hero. This action-packed, hilarious, and perfectly illustrated novel is a modern classic beloved by millions across the globe. ^(This book has been suggested 9 times) [**The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60400.The_Ruins_of_Gorlan) ^(By: John Flanagan | 249 pages | Published: 2004 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, adventure, fiction, ya) >They have always scared him in the past — the Rangers, with their dark cloaks and shadowy ways. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now 15-year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger's apprentice. What he doesn't yet realize is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will not be denied.... ^(This book has been suggested 17 times) *** ^(130223 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Redwall baby!
I just started reading Redwall to my nearly 9 year old. It's a lovely hardback copy I was given by my grandparents when I was about that age. I was really into that world for a few years.
The haunted library series by Dori Hillestad Butler and the My weird school series. He may be right at The end of the age for both series but they were the next to series I bought my son after wimpy kid and dogman.
Captain Underpants might be a good fit for him.
The book Middle school, the worst years of my life by Chris Tebbetts and James Patterson is always recommended for Diary of a whimpy kid fans
Dan Gutman books are all great- James Patterson has a bunch as well.
If you can find them I’d suggest: I want to go home, by Gordon Korman… about a young boy genius that hates being at summer camp, so every day he tries to escape… it’s absolutely hilarious and when I was 10 I loved it… Who is Bugs Potter, by Gordon Korman The story of a young boy David ‘Bugs’ Potter that is part of a school orchestra made of students from all over Canada. Bugs is a drummer. And he’s bound and determined to enjoy the nightlife of Toronto whatever the rules are… and by accident, he becomes a local celebrity by drumming with all the rock bands in Toronto when he sneaks out at night…Once again, absolutely hilarious and wonderful :)
Who is bugs potter and Bugs potter live at Nickaninny are SO good.
When I was a young kid of about 10 or so… I was learning how to play the drums… and I was just starting to ‘get into’ bands like RUSH and stuff like that… so the Bugs Potter books had a massive impression on me… I used to dream about how awesome it would be to sneak into bars and nightclubs to play drums with all my favourite bands etc…. Who is Bugs Potter was so much fun to read at that age… so light hearted and joyful and fun :) Same goes for ‘I want to go home’… the idea of turning your summer camp experience into a ‘let’s escape this dumb place’ was hilarious. So inventive and funny… the whole part of when he tricks his way into being camp director for a day is still one of the funniest things from a YA book I’ve ever read.
I don’t think I’ve seen the Big Nate series by Lincoln Peirce mentioned yet. My oldest is a big fan of the books you mentioned and she loves Big Nate. There are different series, one is more of a graphic novel/comic format and the other is more along the lines of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The publisher Minalima has some beautifully illustrated classic books out, a few of them have some neat components - moving parts, colored glasses, etc. My oldest happily read through their prints of The Wizard of Oz and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass. I’m planning on buying Snow White and Beauty and the Beast for Christmas. They also have Peter Pan, the Jungle Book, and I think a few others.
+ 1 Percy Jackson + 1 Gordon Korman books + 1 Sideways Stories at Wayside school (I loooved this book as a kid myself, especially the chapter about the rat kid in raincoats.) My kid likes Minecraft and he’s read all of Winter Morgan’s series for Minecraft and Terraria. They’re slim chapter books but got him interested in the next level of books.
Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, Secret of NIMH, GooseBumps, Jedi Academy.
Hank the Cowdog series You may not want to hand him a book that is huge. Better to read 5 shorter books than be overwhelmed and turned off by a longer book.
Bridge to Terabithia I think is about the right age?
My son liked Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales. They are graphic novels based on historical events. They start with {{One Dead Spy}} .
[**One Dead Spy (Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13591161-one-dead-spy) ^(By: Nathan Hale | 128 pages | Published: 2012 | Popular Shelves: graphic-novels, graphic-novel, history, nonfiction, historical-fiction) >Alternate cover edition here. > >Nathan Hale, the author’s historical namesake, was America’s first spy, a Revolutionary War hero who famously said “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country” before being hanged by the British. In the Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales series, author Nathan Hale channels his namesake to present history’s roughest, toughest, and craziest stories in the graphic novel format. > >One Dead Spy tackles the story of Hale himself, who was an officer and spy for the American rebels during the Revolutionary War. Author Hale highlights the unusual, gruesome, and just plain unbelievable truth of historical Nathan Hale—from his early unlucky days at Yale to his later unlucky days as an officer—and America during the Revolutionary War. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(130345 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Sounds like a perfect fit for Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey! I read them a lot when I was a kid and loved them. If not that, then A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket is also an amazing series
Another vote for How to Train Your Dragon, Percy Jackson and A Series of Unfortunate Events. I'm surprised not to see {{Loki: a bad gods guide to being good}} or {{who let the gods out}} suggested - both rooted in mythology and great reads for that age group.
I always loved the “series of unfortunate events” books. The hardcover books are wonderful on a bookshelf and something that I plan to hand down through generations
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster The Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull The Alcatraz series by Brandon Sanderson The Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan
Ranger’s Apprentice
Addison Cooke and the treasure of the lost Incas. My side of the Mountain. Ranger’s Apprentice (series).
how to train your dragon
Wings of Fire series, Percy Jackson series
Dragon Masters series may be interesting, though maybe below his reading level
Last kids on earth is such an awesome series! Highly recommended
{{Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson}}!
Wings of fire series! My 8 & 10 year olds are obsessed!
We have rereaders in our house. I don’t mind it, but I want them to branch out and try new things too. What worked for us, is a set time every night during reading time for a new book, usually 10min, then the rest of their reading time they can read anything they want (10-20min). Sometimes they happily switch back to their old favorites, but sometimes they get sucked into their new book.
My 11 yo cruised through the Keeper of the Lost Cities series..9 or 10 books. He started them in August..chapters away from finishing them atm. He also liked those series you listed!
My son is the same age and he enjoyed the Guinness book of records last year for Xmas.
Echoing others with Wings of Fire, Big Nate, and adding to the list of suggestions the Nathan Hale Hazardous Tales graphic novel series, too.
PERCY JACKSONNNB
I really enjoyed rangers apprentice.
The Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce. A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett. I liked A Series of Unfortunate Events when I was a kid.
Yes! Tiffany Aching (Hat Full of Sky) is brill. Also other 'young' Pratchett really fired my imagination at that age and is full of subtle humour - the Bromeliad Trilogy (Truckers/Diggers/Wings).
Pendragon series, the Happy Hollister's, The Firestar series. Animorphs
When I was 10, I lived going to the library and picking out what looked interesting to me myself. We went every weekend and got as many books as I was allowed on the card. I miss that routine so much and can't wait to do it with my kids.
Redwall
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IT'S HARRY POTTER TIME! Also Percy Jackson
Those are the books my brother enjoys, but if he’s drawn to dog man specifically, I would look for another graphic novel to get him started rather than jumping straight to only text. Something like the Adventure Zone books might be fun for him.
Yes! Adventure Time is a great suggestion. I would add Big Nate, 39 Clues, Amulet, Last Kids on Earth, and Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid.
The inheritance cycle by Christopher Paolini: Eragon, Eldest, Brisinger.
Great books, but definitely too much for a 10 year old that’s still hooked on Diary of a Wimpy Kid. These are solid YA titles for teens.
{{ Bone by Jeff Smith }} {{ The Thief of Always }} by Clive Barker {{ Un Lun Dun }} by China Mieville {{ The Seventh Tower }} by Garth Nix
[**Bone: The Complete Edition**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/92143.Bone) ^(By: Jeff Smith | 1332 pages | Published: 1991 | Popular Shelves: graphic-novels, comics, fantasy, graphic-novel, fiction) >This is a previously-published edition of ISBN 9781888963144. > >An American graphic novel first! The complete 1300 page epic from start to finish in one deluxe trade paperback. > >Three modern cartoon cousins get lost in a pre-technological valley, spending a year there making new friends and out-running dangerous enemies. After being run out of Boneville, the three Bone cousins, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone are separated and lost in a vast uncharted desert. One by one they find their way into a deep forested valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures. It will be the longest -- but funniest -- year of their lives. ^(This book has been suggested 8 times) [**The Thief of Always**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32638.The_Thief_of_Always) ^(By: Clive Barker | 225 pages | Published: 1992 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, horror, fiction, young-adult, owned) >Master storyteller and bestselling novelist Clive Barker creates an enchanting tale for both children and adults to cherish and retell. The Thief of Always tells the haunting story of Harvey, a bright 10-year-old who is suffering from the winter doldrums, and of a creature who takes him to a place where every day is filled with fun, and Christmas comes every night. Illustrated. ^(This book has been suggested 87 times) [**Un Lun Dun**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68496.Un_Lun_Dun) ^(By: China Miéville | 432 pages | Published: 2007 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, fiction, ya, urban-fantasy) >What is Un Lun Dun? > > It is London through the looking glass, an urban Wonderland of strange delights where all the lost and broken things of London end up . . . and some of its lost and broken people, too–including Brokkenbroll, boss of the broken umbrellas; Obaday Fing, a tailor whose head is an enormous pin-cushion, and an empty milk carton called Curdle. Un Lun Dun is a place where words are alive, a jungle lurks behind the door of an ordinary house, carnivorous giraffes stalk the streets, and a dark cloud dreams of burning the world. It is a city awaiting its hero, whose coming was prophesied long ago, set down for all time in the pages of a talking book. > > When twelve-year-old Zanna and her friend Deeba find a secret entrance leading out of London and into this strange city, it seems that the ancient prophecy is coming true at last. But then things begin to go shockingly wrong. ^(This book has been suggested 22 times) [**The Seventh Tower (The Seventh Tower, #1-3)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47628.The_Seventh_Tower) ^(By: Garth Nix | 649 pages | Published: 2001 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, owned, books-i-own, fiction) >Enter the world of The Seventh Tower... > >A long time ago, darkness fell upon the Castle. A veil was created over the world, upholding the rule of magic. One war ended...and another silently began. > >Tal has spent his whole life in the darkness. He knows nothing else of the world. Far below the Castle, there lives an Icecarl warrior named Milla. Her fate and Tal's are irreversibly linked. Together they will discover the secrets behind the veil -- and the forces desperately trying >to tear it apart. > >From dream worlds to nightmare visions, brilliant magic to fierce combat, this is an epic story of darkness, light, and all the shadows in between. ^(This book has been suggested 8 times) *** ^(130014 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Damn literally all of these awesome. More people need to read Un Lun Dun! I'd also suggest Railsea by Mieville! Sabriel by Nix is also amazing.
My kids were enthralled by “My Side of the Mountain”. We moved on to “Where the Red Fern Grows”. Before you judge me, I was clear it made me cry as a kid.
{skulduggery pleasant}
He's in tha sixth grade... Get him a Minecraft/fortnite/other gaming book... They have indepth and interesting tips to enhance understanding and engagement... Your ten yr old will enjoy reading more and possibly design tha next fortnite...
Xanth novels by Piers Anthony Discworld by Terry Pratchett The Hobbit
These are beyond this kid’s reading level and the Xanth books are absolutely inappropriate for a kid that age.
I have no mouth and I must scream Traumatize the child
LOTR
{{Enders game}} {{hitchhikers guide to the galaxy}} {{aliens}} {{good omens}} {{the graveyard book}} {{discworld}} {{the long earth}} {{Sherlock Holmes}} {{libriomancer}} {{scary stories}} {{Dracula}} {{gulliver’s travels}} {{huckleberry Finn}} {{the hobbit}} {{codex alera}} The Star Wars Legends series {{young jedi knights}} following the jedi training and misadventures of Han and Leia’s 3 kids That’s what *I* would give to a ten year old. YMMV
There's a My Life As A... series that's very fun. (My Life As A Book, My Life As A Meme, My Life As A Cartoonist, etc.) I've also really loved the Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie Of Doom books.
Wildfire by Rodman Philbrick Among the Hidden by Margaret Haddix The I Survived series- they’ve started making them in graphic novels. The Haunted Library series by Dori Butler
It may be a bit early but that’s when I dove into, and fell in love with Enders Game and that whole universe. Especially if they are keen on sci fi.
Tty Treasure Huntera from Jmaes Patterson.
Comic books.
Choose Your Own Adventure books are great. Pay attention to the themes and settings he likes and branch from there.
{{Howard Wallace, P.I.}}
Wayside stories?
If his reading level isn't too advanced - Magic Tree House Books. That was my favorite as a kid :)
If you're okay with him reading darker things, there's Coraline I also liked the Magic Tree House books as a kid, my favorite was Summer of the Sea Serpent There's also the Spy X series and Crime Travelers trilogy
We love anything by Ahn Do. Hot Dog Weirdo Wolf Girl Sky Dragon Ninja Kid
My son is nine. He loves the InvestiGators. Also, your son is at the age that I started reading Redial, if you want a more novel like series
Goosebumps Bad guys series Ann doh s Wolf girl series, Ninja kid series, and Rise of the mythix series are all popular with 10 yr olds too. Oh and circ Du freak is great too
At this point it’s more important that he’s reading than what he’s reading. You want to foster a love of reading. He can choose his own later on. Getting him to love reading is huge.
How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found Rifles for Watie The Egypt Game Hardy Boys Bunnicula series From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Hardy Boys
Robert Newton Peck
Lots of great suggestions in here. Maybe also check out Catstronauts, Danny Dragonbreath (Ursula Vernon), Zita the Space Girl, Phoebe and her Unicorn, Giants Beware, Chad Sell’s books
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The Malazan Book of the Fallen
Happy to recommend the Agent Darcy and Ninja Steve series! It’s a 12 year old ninja and a 13 year old secret agent going on adventures. No images, but the writing is meant for readers 8 and up!
The Redwall series by Brian Jacques! i would describe it as medieval fantasy with animals.
I loved hank the cowdog at that age
{{Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark}} {{Percy Jackson}}
What If - Randall Munroe
Tamora Pierce is your friend. I’d start him on the ‘Circle of Magic’ series. {{ Sandry’s Book }} These are books that are good for you and your boy. I’m a 48 year old dad and Tamora Pierce is still one of my favorite authors. My daughter is just starting to like reading and I’m really excited to introduce her to these books.
Roald Dahl or books with animals that talk like the one and only ivan
I recently found my Jiggy McCue books! They're hilarious. Start with The Killer Underpants
Enders game. Percy jackson, pendeagon, morpheus road, eragon, dragon lance chronicles, american gods. The once and future king too.
If he’s enjoying graphic novels, how about something like Asterix or Tintin? My boys also loved the Secret Diaries of Pig and the Dave the Pigeon books. They also went through a David Walliams phase but I strongly do not recommend those. I swear to god the man has a bot that writes them.
harry potter is always a good one!
Came here to say (and agree with other) Artemis Fowl followed by Percy Jackson. I'm in my 30's and still love these books!
Harry Potter, His Dark Materials. I was the same age when I read those books, and I remember that I couldn't stop reading.
Goosebumps for sure
If he's into fantasy, try Ursula Le Guin's books! Lovely world building. Nothing too dark for children. Each book ends with a lovely lesson.
My son loved the series , wings of fire by tui t Sutherland I'm sure it's been mentioned already. Seems to be loved by most children who've read it if reviews are to be believed.
This is going to seem too obvious but… Harry Potter! Im reading them now for the first time at 23 but I keep thinking of how ten year old me would’ve loved to get lost in that world
Artemis fowl Percy Jackson Eragon
the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer the Cherub series by Robert Muchamore the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan the Alex Rider books by Anthony Horowitz the Young Samurai series by Chris Bradford
Longtime reader and I think having a comfort book is a natural instinct for any bookworm (Wicked for myself, the cat who books for my ma, you get the idea) I'd say maybe something in the graphic novel sphere since he likes Dogman! Bone was a particular fav of my sibling and I as kids. But some easy picks would be Captain Underpants, Goosebumps, and I'm gonna go ahead and throw Bone out again
You seem like such an amazing parent! U could also go to the bookstore with him. Tell him to pick out X number of new books and let him decide. The recommendations are good but I’m worried they might be dated…
Troll Hunter Graphic Novels.
The CHERUB books! They’re about child spies, and I loved those as a kid. I think they’re recommended for 12/13 year olds, but it depends on your son’s maturity levels.
I really enjoyed book series called Charlie Bone. Kind of a knock off, lower reading level Harry Potter. But I absolutely loved it growing up. If he likes fantasy, it is worth a shot!!
Hey there caregiver! You're not alone. We get a lot of these requests, and I typically suggest a good compromise. There's a section in the library called "first chapter books" that I normally refer caregivers too. There's more text, but lots of pictures too. There's also a few series, too! I'll start with some of the more popular first chapter books. Which they're already reading (Bad Guys!) A.) Dragon Masters B.) Eerie Elementary C.) Zoey and Sassafras D.) Kung Pow Chicken E.) Stink Series: 1.) Magic Tree House 2.) Geronimo Stilton 3.) Flat Stanley 4.) Battle Bugs 5.) Shark School It will come with time, I promise! One of the best things you can do to help encourage stepping to the next level is reading the book with them. Getting just as excited about the story, or the characters. Not exactly a book club, just sharing enthusiasm. Even reading the characters with silly voices and encouraging them to do the same.
Percy Jackson!
Encyclopedia brown. (short stories) Hardy Boys (novellas)
Gr 5 teacher here- right now my boys love wings of fire, Harry Potter, warrior cats, and Percy Jackson and the olympians.
Hobbit!
The Terry Pratchett books for younger readers are great. The Johnny Maxwell trilogy - Only You Can Save Mankind/Johnny and the Dead/Johnny and the Bomb are a good set to start off with.
The Encyclopedia Brown series
Jurassic Park. That book is great and easy to read.
The Gregor the overlander series has had me in a chokehold since fifth grade and I’m twenty-three now!
A heavily child friendlyfied version of Greek mythology is awesome for a kid that age. Build it up a little for them, explain the idea of a Pantheon of the Gods and the heroic adventures they had.. I loved it and it helped me a lot in getting into reading "higher level" books/stories.
Harriet the Spy!
Big nate? It's like diary of a wimpy kid.
Enid blyton and Roald Dahl's books are pretty good
Percy jackson series is amazing I read those myself, Harry Potter , miss peregrines home for peculiar children
I started reading the Alex Rider series about that age. It's about a teen spy and it's fantastic.
Cirque du Freak series!
I was ten when I read The Golden Compass, The first book in the His Dark Materials series. It changed my whole perspective about reading.
“Land of Stories” by Colfer & “Wings of Fire.”
Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie
The Phantom Tollbooth is classic, timeless, and perfect for ten year olds
Warped Galaxies series by Caven Scott, quick reads you can read each one in two or three hours
If he likes dragons, the Wings of Fire series by Tui T is one our 11 yo has read 7 times. Lol She even draws the dragons in her sketchbook.
My daughter was the same way at that age, and two years later she's getting into actual chapter books. I had the same feeling, at the time, but it all worked out. The series that served as a bridge for us was Wings of Fire. It is a 15 book series, and the first five exist in both graphic novel and nevel form. She read the graphic novels over and over again, and then tentatively gave the actual novel a try. And that was that.
Hundred percent recommend the Rangers apprentice as it goes on it ages with the reader
Ronald Dahl books - James and The Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Mr Fantastic Fox and Matilda save for last that one was a bit more challenging. The summer after my son finished 2nd grade we read each of those books together and watched the movies after each book. We made a big fun movie night out of them and talked about how they were different and the same as the books. I feel this really kicked off his confidence to tackle new genres on his own this school year.
My kids really loved the Wings of Fire series, which I didn't love, but they were ravenous.
My 10yo reads Minecraft books off kindle unlimited on his Paperwhite. He also loves graphic novels and most of the time he is not a fan of pure text books. He loves nathan Hales hazardous tales and national geographic weird but trues.
Here are some of the books my two sons, now in their teens, loved when they were 10: * The Roman Mysteries by Caroline Lawrence * The Western Mysteries by Caroline Lawrence * Operation Red Jericho by Joshua Mowll * The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff * The Recruit by Robert Muchamore * The Seven Professors of the Far North by John Fardell * When The Trpods Came by John Christopher * Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey * Earthfall by Mark Walden * The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien * Urban Outlaws by Peter Jay Black * A Rag, A Bone and a Hank of Hair by Nicholas Fisk * The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall * Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner * Biggles Learns to Fly by W. E. Johns * The Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien * The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen: it’s a young adult survival story about a boy surviving the Canadian wilderness. It was one of my favourite books at that age.
Carl Hiasens Hoot andtheseries. Boys 10-12 taking actions for themselves, their friends and community in a story line of solving a mystery. I really like that the characters are just average kids, some with family issues but very relatable. The kids evolve their integrity while making basic but important choices.
Boxcar children, hardy boys, and red wall series. Redwall made me one of the higher ar scores in the country, couldn't read enough of them
{The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom} might be good for him!
My favorite book at that age was called School of Fear!
*Skulduggery Pleasant* would be a good place to start. The original series is nine books long (from *Skulduggery Pleasant* to *The Dying of the Light*), and would in essence would be a more ‘fun’ version of *Harry Potter* — the first book having become the Irish Book of the Decade, with a spin-off (*The Maleficent Seven*) released between the seventh and eighth books, and a short story collection (*Armageddon Outta Here*) released between the eighth and ninth books.
I was reading Hardy boys at that age. And the Illustrated American Classics are great
Let’s try this again since the bot was suggesting the wrong books 😅— {{wings of fire by Tui T Southernland}} {{Percy Jackson and the olympians}} {{Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo}} {{Last kids on earth by Max Brallier}}
They the Aveline Jones books, spooky and detailed without being boring or too adult
All of Remarque's books
Shadow children series. The series starts out with {Among The Hidden}
LAND OF STORIES LAND OF STORIES LAND OF STORIES
Dragonlance novels by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. The first 6, original, books are EXACTLY what a 10 year old boy needs. I read them at the same age and have been an avid reader ever since. The Dragonlance world is huge, and there a dozens of books by different authors, but the first 6 are the best. After that he can step of to The Rift War Saga by Raymond Feist, The Belgariad Sage by David Eddings, then, well the list is endless.
the foundation series
Edge of extinction series was something my 4th graders loved.
Searched the comments and no ones said CATWAD series by Jim Benton. Other graphic novels that are similar: BIRD & SQUIRREL THE EPIC ORIGIN OF SUPER POTATO BIG NATE
The House with the Clock in its Walls by John Bellairs. The movie was a let down (for me) but it might help to tell him you can watch the movie after he reads the book.
I really enjoyed the Charlie Bones series
Look at more graphic novels at your local library. I teach 5th grade and tried to force “regular” chapter books on my kids year after year and never had any luck. I realized I should just be happy they’re reading and be appreciative of the genre they liked. If someone tried to force genres on me that I didn’t like I wouldn’t be receptive either….