
What are great books for boys? - niels_olson
I'll start:<p>The Way Things Work (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0395428572/) and pretty much any book by David Macaulay (http://www.amazon.com/David-MacAulay/e/B000AP72G0/)<p>The Stars, A New Way to See Them, by HA Rey (author of Curious George) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0395248302/)<p>and another collection (not intentionally for boys) over on Edward Tufte's site: http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00018v
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Willwhatley
Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson.

Alice in Wonderland iff still young enough not to think girls are gross.
Otherwise you must sneak up on him with the poetry, then introduce the book.
(I've had success with reciting 'Jabberwocky' and 'The Walrus and the
Carpenter.')

Learn 'If,' by Kipling, by heart. Then teach it slowly and patiently.

As an aside, quite a lot of Kipling is truly excellently boy friendly.

The Proverbs of Solomon, et al. Found in any Bible or Talmud. Bears repeated
reading, as most eastern 'wisdom' literature does (The Book of Five Rings, The
Art of War, etc.).

While we're at, why not the Narnia books? I loved them, and I'd no idea the
Lion was apparently Jesus until I was nine or so.

But by far do not DO NOT forget Michel Ende's marvelous 'The Neverending
Story.'

If you're only familiar with it from a movie, you've missed the best part,
when the boy 'Bastian must take up arms and become the adventurer he has read
about and loved.

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SHOwnsYou
If you actually want literature, my favorite book as a child was _Where the
Red Fern Grows_. If they are around 14+ there are some great, captivating
Hemmingway books. _A Farewell to Arms_ , _Island in the Stream_ , _A Movable
Feast_ , and _The Garden of Eden_ (In that order).

I keeping editing as I think of new things. This may sound odd, but if they
are in the 14+ range, _How to Win Friends and Influence People_ is great. It
changed a lot for me.

When I was like 9 I got the book _How to be Twice as Smart_ and it taught me a
ton of mental tricks.

This book taught me a lot (probably if the boy is like 10 or 12+?)

[http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Ballistics-Cannons-
Cincinnati...](http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Ballistics-Cannons-Cincinnati-
Dynamite/dp/1556523750/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1285352917&sr=1-1)

~~~
squidsoup
I think Where the Red Fern Grows was the first book I read as a kid that had
any genuine emotional impact - I distinctly remember ending up in tears. I
hope my son will get as much out of it when he's a bit older.

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invalidOrTaken
My Side of the Mountain---about a kid running away and actually living off the
land.

Book of Virtues---don't give him this, just have it around in your house to
read when bored. Gambling scandals notwithstanding, it's full of good stuff.

Blind Man's Bluff---for a kid a bit older, but it's about submarine history in
the Cold War.

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ashleyreddy
Surely your joking Mr. Feynman. This should be required reading for people in
this thing of ours. Also Enders Game (fiction)

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gokhan
My son is 3.5 years old. Here are some of the books he loves.

The Magic School Bus series. For example:

[http://www.amazon.com/Magic-School-Bus-Ocean-
Floor/dp/059041...](http://www.amazon.com/Magic-School-Bus-Ocean-
Floor/dp/0590414313/ref=sr_1_4?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285361104&sr=8-4)

If I Built a Car (a great book on design)

<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142408255/ref=oss_product>

Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau

<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811860639/ref=oss_product>

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tokenadult
My children like the George R. R. Martin books, the Philip Pullman books, the
Harry Potter series, and other books much in that genre category. They also
read "classic" literature as they get older, for example _Oliver Twist_ or
_Tom Sawyer._ Two of my sons have really liked _A Tree Grows in Brooklyn_
(which I have never read) and I really liked _The Chosen_ by Chaim Potok
(which I reread a few years ago, and still thought was very good).

~~~
runT1ME
>y children like the George R. R. Martin books

How old are your children?

They're great books but extremely...non kid-safe.

~~~
jules
What's non kid-safe about them, and for kids of what ages?

~~~
runT1ME
Graphic rape, death, mutilation, etc. Probably OK for a kid in their teens but
for an eight year old... it might be a little much.

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PebblesRox
The I Hate Mathematics Book was always a favourite in my family growing up.
It's the kind of math they don't teach you in elementary school. I learned
about googol, infinity, topology, permutations, parabolas, game theory, and
all sorts of fun stuff. It taught me that math is not just the boring
arithmetic that you learn in elementary school.
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d.html/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/187-...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d.html/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/187-4537131-9360105?a=0316117412)

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kapilkaisare
Fiction:

1\. Life of Pi - Yann Martel

2\. The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas : An awesome closeup of
revenge

3\. The complete Sherlock Holmes series : 'nuff said.

Non fiction:

1\. Cosmos - Carl Sagan : I fell in love with science post-reading this book.

2\. October Sky - Homer Hickham : A real life story of how a group of boys in
a backwater town build a rocket that changes their lives.

3\. Chariots of the Gods - Erich Von Daniken - A real mind bender, even if you
choose not to agree with his ideas.

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spydez
My favorite book as a kid was Lord of the Rings, so I'll recommend that. Also
H2G2.

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brudgers
Little Boys: Anything by Sendak, Donald Crews, Byron Barton. Dorling Kindersly
Eyewitness series.

Bigger Boys: Phantom Tollbooth,Avi,anything with swords

Older: Jack London, Shakespere

~~~
Psyonic
Jack London for older boys? Maybe his later works... I re-read The Call of the
Wild last year, and it practically reads like a children's book.

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joezydeco
What would you recommend for a younger boy, say 5-7 years old? Harry Potter
might be too complex to catch on at first read IMO.

~~~
squidsoup
I'm reading the Harry Potter series to my 5 year old at a somwhat slow pace;
slow, as we typically only have time for half a chapter per night and he seems
to ask questions every odd sentence! I think he's managing to follow the story
though - he just requires a bit of processing time and the odd query to keep
it in order.

You can never go wrong with Roald Dahl of course - my son loved the BFG and
Fantastic Mr. Fox.

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aspir
Pocketknives are always good. But how old are you thinking?

Personally, I'd stick with a pocketknife regardless of age. Or a lighter.

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kingofspain
Jules Verne. Any would be good, but particularly Around the World in Eighty
Days.

