Popular Books for Boys

For some young boys, reading is a great way to escape their world and dive into someone else's, but for other boys, they have absolutely no interest in books, let alone reading at all - even a magazine. Reading, however, can be a great way for boys to explore their, read about things they've yet to experience, and for some, its an educational source that teaches them things they never knew possible before. If you are a young boy and you love to read and are looking for some new books - or you are a parent trying to get their son to read more, here are some of the best books for boys that you should think about getting.

Hatchet:

When the pilot of a small, two-person plane has a heart attack and dies, Brian has to crash land in the forest of a Canadian wilderness. He has little time to realize how alone he is because he is so busy just trying to survive. And learning to survive, to plan on food not just for a day but until and if he is rescued, only begins when he stops pitying himself and understands that no one can help him. Poetic texture and realistic events are combined to create something beyond adventure, a book that plunges readers into the

cleft of the protagonist's experience. Ages 11-13.

A Separate Peace:

Grade 9 & Up--The volatile world of male adolescence provides the backdrop for John Knowles' engrossing tale of love, hate, war, and peace. Sharing a room at Devon, an exclusive New England prep school, in the summer prior to World War II, Gene and Phineas form a complex bond of friendship that draws out both the best and worst characteristics of each boy and leads ultimately to violence, a confession, and the betrayal of trust. Narrator Scott Snively's ability to switch seamlessly from the perspective of a teenager tormented by feelings he doesn't want to understand to the reflective musing of a man looking back at the formative experience of his youth provide both the story and the setting with an immediacy that quickly engages listeners.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman:

Grade 5–8—Somewhere in contemporary Britain, "the man Jack" uses his razor-sharp knife to murder a family, but the youngest, a toddler, slips away. The boy ends up in a graveyard, where the ghostly inhabitants adopt him to keep him safe. Nobody Owens, so named because he "looks like nobody but himself," grows up among a multigenerational cast of characters from different historical periods that include matronly Mistress Owens; ancient Roman Caius Pompeius; an opinionated young witch; a melodramatic hack poet; and Bod's beloved mentor and guardian, Silas, who is neither living nor dead and has secrets of his own. As he grows up, Bod has a series of adventures, both in and out of the graveyard, and the threat of the man Jack who continues to hunt for him is ever present. Bod's love for his graveyard family and vice versa provide the emotional center, amid suspense, spot-on humor, and delightful scene-setting.

Summer Sleep Away Ofer Aronskind:

Summer Sleep-Away is the tale of a young boy's first summer at sleep-away camp. Far from home, separated from his family and not knowing a soul, Mattie Kleinfeld is scared, homesick and cries himself to sleep. But soon the tears give way to new friends and fantastic adventures, as the book takes you along with Mattie, a fish-out-of-water, that kids and grown-ups alike can relate to. Available in both ebook edition and paperback, this is a one of a kind book seen through the eyes of any young boy who is spending his first time at summer camp.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn:

A seminal work of American Literature that still commands deep praise and still elicits controversy, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is essential to the understanding of the American soul. The recent discovery of the first half of Twain's manuscript, long thought lost, made front-page news. And this unprecedented edition, which contains for the first time omitted episodes and other variations present in the first half of the handwritten manuscript, as well as facsimile reproductions of thirty manuscript pages, is indispensable to a full understanding of the novel. The changes, deletions, and additions made in the first half of the manuscript indicate that Mark Twain frequently checked his impulse to write an even darker, more confrontational book than the one he finally published.

The Red Badge of Courage:

Like the Carroll volume above, this edition of the seasoned veteran provides a new twist. Crane's Badge was originally serialized in the New York Press in 1894, a year before the story was published in novel form. This volume offers both the slightly different serial version and the finished work. Though every library no doubt has numerous copies of Red Badge, academic and public libraries supporting American literature curricula should pop for this one, too, especially at the price.