17 Best Books for Tween Boys (and other reluctant readers)
This post shares our 17 best books for tween boys, as well as tips for encouraging reluctant readers and encouragement that reading easy books is still valuable.
One thing I’ve learned in over 13 years of parenting is that kids rarely progress in a straight line. I don’t know why we expect this, but I often find myself thinking, “Wait, you already learned (X skill) and did it perfectly yesterday – so why are you struggling with it today?”
But this is how growth happens – one step forward, one step back, three steps forward, two steps back, and so on.
Our child’s reading life is no different.
This is why – even after our children can technically read for themselves – we still read aloud to them.
This is why we allow, and even encourage, lots of reading below their grade level.
This is why we’ve seen children reading voraciously, everything they can get their hands on, one week… and then saying they don’t want to read anything at all the next week.
Yes, there are ways we can encourage our reluctant readers – but sometimes we just need to realize that growth takes time, that ups and downs are normal, and that children need our patience more than our prodding.
Finding Books for Tween Boys
However – while accounting for the ups and downs of the normal childhood reading journey, I have also been on a personal mission to find books that will 1) capture my 9-13 year old boys’ attention while also 2) not making me cringe or fling the book away in disgust. Yes, you can definitely find books that will capture your tween boys’ attention – but it’s a little harder to find some that aren’t filled with potty jokes, overly sexualized images, or rude/disrespectful humor.
Not all books are worth reading, and while your standards may be different than mine, I would encourage you to have and hold to some standards for what your children read.
On a related note, if you’re wondering why we allow and even encourage our kids to read so many fables, fairy tales, myths, and legends (including Harry Potter), check out this post on Why Read Fairy Tales.
Disclaimer: I have not read every single word in every single one of these books. As our kids start reading more, there gets to be a point where I just cannot keep up with all their reading anymore! However, I do make sure to flip through each book, read bits of it, and ask questions about them after a child has finished them – to make sure I’m not missing anything important.
Is It Okay to Read Easy Books?
You might even ask – in Charlotte Mason’s words – is it okay for our kids to read twaddle? And yes, I would agree with you that many of the books listed below are twaddle. They do not have high literary value, nor the complex, sophisticated language that I look for in our children’s school books.
And if these were the only books my boys were ever reading, then yes, I would probably be concerned!
However, they are all reading more “worthwhile” books as part of their school routine, and my husband and I are also reading aloud some excellent books to the whole family at various points throughout the day.
These comic books and graphic novels are NOT the only literature our boys are consuming, but are the books they choose to read in their own free time.
What I expect from the books below is not the same as what I expect from the literature they read as part of school. The books in this list are books that I am using to 1) help our boys gain confidence and fluency (which comes through lots of reading practice) and 2) help our boys get in the habit of reading during their free time.
Yes, we still have standards for these books – but, just like having some dessert or candy on occasion, I believe that mixing in some “fun” or “easy” reading will not harm our children, and may in fact even help them to fall in love with reading.
Best Books for Tween Boys
Graphic Novel Adaptations of Classics
These books are all adaptations of classic literature or other stories, and have been read and re-read by our boys many times!
- The Action Bible by Sergio Cariello
- Usborne Graphic Legends by Russell Punter
- Usborne Graphic Novels by Russell Punter
- King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Marcia Williams
- The Illiad and the Odyssey by Marcia Williams
Favorite Graphic Novels
These are not necessarily adaptations, but stand-alone graphic novels that have a thumbs up both from Mom and from the boys.
- Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke (and the others in this series)
- Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke (and the others in this series)
- Stealing Home by J. Torres
- I Survived series by Lauren Tarshis (these are also published as regular chapter books)
- One Dead Spy by Nathan Hale (and the others in this series)
- The Faithful Spy by John Hendrix
Good Clean Comic Books
Who doesn’t love a good comic book??
- The Adventures of Tintin by Herge
- Peanuts comics by Charles Schulz
- Calvin & Hobbes comics by Bill Watterson
Chapter Book Series
These are all books that our boys have enjoyed enough to read on their own, when they weren’t required to, and even re-read more than once.
- Ramona books or Henry Huggins books (and everything else by Beverly Cleary)
- A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
- Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lingren (and others in the series)
Conclusion
If something is working well for my kids, I like to try to figure out why that is. What are some common themes in these books – so that I can find more books like them??
- They are all short. If your child is reluctant to read, or never wants to pick up a book, maybe the ones you’re giving him are too long! Length is intimidating for children.
- Humor, action, and danger. All of these appeal to my boys.
- Lots of pictures (in the comics and graphic novels). Again, this REALLY lowers the intimidation factor for children who are still building reading fluency.
There are a million graphic novels and comic books out there, and most of them I will not let my children read! However, these ones have held up to my scrutiny and been approved by my tween boys, so that makes them winners in my book.
Have you found any good books that your reluctant readers loved? Share them in the comments below!
