Suitable books for a 12/13 yr old boy with 16 reading age.

dora37

hopingforahouse wrote:

I would vote as well for letting him roam around the library as he sees fit! I had a good reading age when I was younger (not that I've forgotton how now), and my Mum just let me get whatever I picked. Until I was a bit older I certainly wasn't interested in anything with too much in the way of 'adult' themes, and even when I was, it taught me a lot about life. If you're worried about what he might pick up, why don't you check the books he's taking out for the first few months, and ensure he's not reading anything too inappropriate. If he's got a reading age of sixteen at the age of twelve then he's probably smart enought to enjoy reading a broad variety of books without thinking that the contents are an exact reflection on everyday life.

I don't worry about it - he is quite sensible and knows what he likes and doesn't and frankly 'adult content' wouldn't interest him (yet!)

I would trust him implicitley (sp) on his choice.

dora37

play2day wrote:

It is important to remember that sometimes he will still enjoy books that are 'beneath' his ability and that the joy of reading is because of the content of the material not its difficulty.
My Ds is now 15. Thinking back a few years he raved over The Davinci Code, To Kill a Spider and most Phillip Pullman books. This year I have seen him reading The Rightous Men, The Historian and quite a few biographies.

DS does sometimes choose some books that are beneath his ability - as he just picks books that interest him. I don't choose any of his books for him - he is too mastered in the art of reading - I wouldn't dare!

A couple of years ago, going to the library, there was so much choice for him - it was his idea of heaven. Unfortunately as he has got a little older and between stages the choice has got less.

dora37

amyandoli wrote:

i was a secondary school librarian for 2 years. id ask your school librarian (phone in, i used to get a few calls a week), and ask them to compile a list of suitable reads and post it to you, or organise to meet your son and suggest books in person. also local libraries have school liason officers who have lists and advice for parents and educators and are always polite in my opinion. badger books do a good catalogue divided into 'actual reading age' and 'interest age', individual books and bulk packages. the gifted and talented co-ordinator in school should be of help too, although if there anything like ours was, he'd just ask the librarian and get back to you with her list! i had to stock books suitable for all the pupils - gifted and talented, special ed needs, ethnic minorities, different languages... i'll stop writing now!

I have asked both the local library and school and they did help a little, but only for the day in question, not really in the long term.

Anyway this thread has definitely given him food for thought. I have ordered the Philip Pullman trilogy from Play.com as it is his 13th birthday in a couple of weeks and he does like to re read his books after a couple of months, so thought it would be a good little set to add to his collection.

He is also going to look for Terry Pratchett in the school library - so should keep him going for a little while.

Thanks again everybody :beer:

Savvy_Sue

Things DS2 read at that kind of age to the surprise of those around him:

HG Wells
How to lie with statistics

And more recently Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots and Leaves: he kept giggling about that one.

Mind you, he's the boy who taught himself to read from the cereal packets on the breakfast table, and I think he'd read a phone book if there was nothing else to hand ... :rotfl:

heather38

maybe a bit adult but what about the wheel of time books by robert jordan? there are 12 i think and are along the lines of LOTR, also books by stephen king go down well.
science fiction/fantasy books tend not to have that much 'adult' content but lots of fighting/battles/action that boys seem to like.
or introduce him to classics such as charles dickens/jane austin/mary shelley etc these are the sort of books he will read for GCSE and will stand him in good stead for when he's older

liney

R.A Salvatore writes wonderful fantasy. The Dark Elf trilogy may entertain him.

Be care with Stephen King as there are some 'seens of a sexual nature' on occassion.

andi2

lots of good suggestions already, I would just add

Anne Mccaffrey (already suggested) but start with Dragonflight & progress from there.

Raymond E. Feist Magician, Silverthorn & a Darkness at Sethanon are the best of them.

Garth Nix is good (I enjoy his stuff as an adult although technically for kids!)

Terry Goodkind is fab, first book of the series is called Wizards First Rule.

David Eddings (not his latest stuff though) Belgariad, Malloreon, Elenium & Tamuli series all brilliant.

sure there's loads more, but with everything already mentioned on this thread he has a few months reading to do :>))

elona

If he is going to read Raymond Feist then start with "The Magician" as it starts off a huge series.

I also recommend the Terry Pratchett books and books by David Eddings.

The Dragons of pern series by Anne mcCaffrey are great!

Try your local library first to see if he likes the authors and the www.thebookpeople.co.uk are great for cheap books or else Amazon marketplace.

mustafa_say_ving

Another vote here for Philip K !!!!!!'s novels.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.... great book and the inspiration for Blade Runner. A good start for newcomers to !!!!!!'s work.

Pratchett's books are always a good read

adouglasmhor

heather38 wrote:

maybe a bit adult but what about the wheel of time books by robert jordan? there are 12 i think and are along the lines of LOTR, also books by stephen king go down well.
science fiction/fantasy books tend not to have that much 'adult' content but lots of fighting/battles/action that boys seem to like.
or introduce him to classics such as charles dickens/jane austin/mary shelley etc these are the sort of books he will read for GCSE and will stand him in good stead for when he's older

Wheel of time does have the odd sex scene and some nasty fights and occasional torture scenes dotted about, not offensive to a grown up reader but for a 12 year old I wouldn't recomend it.