Books for Boys: Authors

Ever notice how some authors are more boy-friendly than others? My boys, for instance, loved the offbeat humor in The True Story of the Three Little Pigsand The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, both by Jon Scieszka, a former boy and current author who’s trying to liven up the literary offerings for boys. Scieszka, in fact, has a great website, GuysRead.com, which includes entire lists of books for boys.

Other boy-friendly authors include:

Matt Christopher If your son likes sports, you have to check out Matt Christopher, author of the #1 sports series for kids. He’s written about everything from basketball and baseball to dirt bike riding and lacrosse. He’s even written a series of non-fiction books about sports legends such as Dale Earnhardt and Michael Jordan.

Neil Gaiman An award-winning, living legend in the comic world, Neil Gaiman is perhaps best known to the masses for his book-turned-movie Coraline. Be forewarned, though: Gaiman has written everything from children’s books to adult novels, and his themes can be a bit dark at times.

Shel Silverstein Is there a better way to introduce boys to poetry than through the work of Shel Silverstein? My four active boys actually begged me to read more poems when I sat down and started reading selections from Where the Sidewalk Ends during lunch. (Bonus: his website actually has some really cool activities for kids as well.)

Geronimo Stilton Apparently, some mice really know how to write. Geronimo Stilton is a talking mouse and the fictitious author of a wildly popular series of children’s books aimed at kids ages 9-12. Would you believe that Geronimo Stilton is more popular in Italy than Harry Potter?

Do you have any favorite authors to add to the list? Who do your boys enjoy reading?

The Building Boys Bulletin

The Building Boys Bulletin Newsletter gives you the facts, encouragement, and inspiration you need to help boys thrive. Written by Jennifer L.W. Fink, mom of four sons and author of Building Boys: Raising Great Guys in a World That Misunderstands Males, Building Boys Bulletin includes:

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16 Responses

  1. We love the audio book Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Almost True Stories About Growing Up Scieszka by Jon Scieszka. If you haven’t listened to it already, do so. It’s great for car rides. Funny enough, we haven’t read any of his other books. I think we’ll have to start.

  2. John Erickson’s Hank the Cowdog books are a huge hit with my boys! As are The Boxcar Children – something about those self-sufficient kids just hooks them. 🙂

  3. Hank the Cowdog is hilarious on audiobook! Listen to it with your kids while making dinner, you will laugh and laugh!

  4. Oh yes — Hank The Cowdog! Boy #1 discovered that series a few years ago and read through them all. We even listened to one on the way Up North on year.

  5. Thought you all might like to know that Neil Gaiman just won the Newbery Medal and the Cilip Carnegie Medal for his novel, The Graveyard Book. The book is about an orphaned boy who is raised by ghosts.

  6. Mary Pope Osborne who writes Magic Tree House Series. My 6 yr old devours them. They’re great fictional stories that are based on actual historical occurrences and gets them started into chapter books.

    1. Great suggestion, & I can’t believe I missed that one! We have a whole bunch of Magic Tree House books at our house — they’re easy to read, they’re fun AND that contain some cool facts. The non-fiction companion guides are great too.

  7. Thanks for the ideas. My son is finishing the third book of the Indian in the Cupboard books from the 80’s. He also enjoyed E.F. Foley’s books and devoured the Rick Riordan books.

  8. Jo Nesbo’s Dr. Proctor’s Fart Powder series is fun. Sure, it’s got some potty humor, humor, but it’s not overwhelming. The books are well-written, clever, and engaging.

  9. From a boy at heart, I recommend four series to all young guys I meet. Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flannigan, Pendragon by D.J MacHale, the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini and Adventurers Wanted by M.L. Forman. The boys I know can’t get enough of these.

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