I think the GOOSE BUMP series is what got my son into reading at that age. Once he started, couldn't stop him. Harry Potter was good for a little older, larger chapters.

Vickey-MN

My 10-year old son loved the Magic Tree House series when he was younger. He also loved all the sports books by Matt Christopher. He also enjoyed reading all the Captain Underpants books. It's not great literature but at least he was reading and they WERE funny. :) He read Harry Potter when he was about 8 and he had no trouble understanding them. He has read them all several times since then. Right now he is enjoying the Artemis Fowl series. He is also really into comics right now.

The Junie B. Jones books are about a girl obviously but they are really funny and easy to read. My son will still pick up his sister's copies and read them every now and then.

I enjoy introducing him to books that I loved when I was younger. I just gave him "Bridge to Terabithia," which was one of my most favorite books, and he loved it. I also gave him all the E.B. White books, which I loved as a child.

Think about what his interests are and browse on Amazon.com. It's so easy to search for books on that site and I find the customer reviews helpful.

I know it can be tough to get boys to read. I don't think it's too important what he is reading just as long as he is reading something--even if it is something like a comic book or magazine. I am lucky that my son loves to read. Most of his friends do not. Good luck!

My boys weren't much into reading at that age.. or well, any age for that matter. :)

My daughter is a totally different story. She reads, reads, reads. Even at inappropriate times, such as in math class. She has always been in the top 5% of her class in Accelerated Reader for years. Now, there is nothing else left in the AR within our school district that interests her so she barely makes her AR goal, just reading from the library what she has to. We got her tons of books for Christmas, none of which are AR, unfortunately. For those of you in the know... does your school system allow quiz sharing with other school systems? Ours doesn't. Nor can parents buy the quizzes and offer them to the schools.

If your boys are in public schools, they probably also participate in AR? You can check the schools website and it might have a quiz list so that you can see if the school offers the tests for whichever books you may choose for your boys.

Just out of curiosity, I checked our school website and there are at least 50 of the R. L. Stine books, geared mostly towards grades 3 and 4. Those goosebump books are great.

Hi there

Yes, I have to agree, its sad that more children dont read.

I have the full set of Harry Potter, Lemony Snicket, Animorphs, on my shelf, so these really appeal to my children.

When my son was that age, books that had stories about bodily parts and what emanated (sorry to sound crude), were wonderful. An author that comes to mind is "Andy Griffiths", he is Australian so it may not be available in the US. He had books with titles such as "Just Tricking", "Just Disgusting", "Just Crazy", "Just Stupid". My son loved these stories.

The thing that really got him reading was Pokemon, that craze with all those cards, he had piles of them when he was about 7, and sat and read all of them, then we got the guide, and he read that.

So if you want to encourage them to have a love of reading, try and think laterally as well. There are computer magazines, science magazines, and all sorts of interesting publications.

I firmly believe, if they read, they do better at school. So you should read to them as well.

I still read to my son, occasionally, he is 14 now, things out of the paper, for instance.

One more thing I did, was to make a biggish deal about buying books. The Harry Potter hype was good, and we regularly go into the books shops and drool over the books, not literally of course ! I try to make anything to do with books a pleasurable experience, you can be silly about it, that always appeals to young children. I always emphasize the smell of the book, its always brings giggles.

Happy reading, so many lovely stories.

Popi

Animorphs, forgot about them --- hated the last book, but LOVED the rest. ANYTHING that starts them loving to read gets that train rolling. Some kids like ONLY FICTION, some ONLY NON-FICTION..find their genra (probably spelled that wrong). The funny thing about my kids..DD#1 LOVES scary books, DS says..books can't be scary, they're just words. Odd huh.

Vickey-MN

Different kids enjoy different things. Find out specifically what the child likes and buy a book in that area. If you have a male child who is a non-reader, I'd suggest kit books where he has to build something to get him interested. Here's a solar car book my first grader wants me to buy.

http://www.save-on-crafts.com/socarbocbuso.html
You have to read the book to be able to put it together and do the experiments.

Here's another book on electricity.
http://store.sundancesolar.com/bascbobykl.html

Here's a book on building rockets.

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Rocket-Kit-David-Eckold/dp/0789498324 rockets.

I'm not advertising for these companies. These are only examples of books that encourage learning and more reading to find out how things work.

I must be the only parent in the country who was told by a teacher at conference that my child 'reads too much'. Astounding, but true.

How about The Yearling.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Yearling

As some one who recently worked in a bookshop I agree with the first post.Come on writers think of the boys.I do know some :How about the Geronimo Stilton series or books on amazing facts,Deltora Quest,there's nothing wrong with the classics like Roald Dahl or Rudyard Kippling although sometimes it takes convincing to get them to try the title.
I was given really good advice by an author once,she said don't struggle on with a book (unless you have to read it for school).There are so many good books out there you just have to find the right fit.

I recommend The Adventures of Archie Reynolds by Gifford Bailey. It's perfect for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade boys, and girls can relate to it too. The book is recommended by elementary school teachers and administrators, who have put their reputations on the line by endorsing it. It is available at amazon.com, new and used. Go to the Adventures of Archie Reynolds page at amazon and click on search inside the book. Then check out chapters 7, 10, and chapters 13-17. The quality of the writing is superb and the passages riveting. You can also look inside the book at Google book search.