My son’s not an enthusiastic reader, so I’ve been reading aloud books that are more advanced than what he’d naturally reach for.
We’ve recently enjoyed:
Lord of the Flies
The Time Machine
Jurassic Park
Tom Sawyer he liked as a story but there are a LOT of long descriptive passages that are boring to read aloud.
But generally I’ve been really pleased by how much he’s enjoyed ‘big idea’ books. Would love suggestions that are approachable, lots of action, advanced vocabulary fine but dense-wordiness less so. Suggestions?
by runsreadsinstigates
5 Comments
All of the [Heinlein_juveniles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinlein_juveniles) sci-fi written for young boys in the ‘50-60s. Many will be available from the library.
Old favorites
h{{have space suit will travel by Heinlein}}
h{{Tunnel in the Sky by Heinlein}}.
*The Cay* by Theodore Taylor
*Swiss Family Robinson* by Johann David Wyss
*My Side of the Mountain* by Jean Craighead George
*Treasure Island* by Robert Louis Stevenson
*Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH* by Robert C. O’Brien
*From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler* by E. L. Konigsburg
*The Westing Game* by Ellen Raskin
*Island of the Blue Dolphins* by Scott O’Dell
*The Phantom Tollbooth* by Norton Juster
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
When my son was in 5th grade we did read aloud of selected Steven King short stories (easy to skip a paragraph or 2 if adult content) and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and he really liked both
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke