I'd love to find suggestions for my 11 year old son! He loves graphic novels and I feel like I've exhausted the children's section at the library. The teen ones feel a little too mature in some ways. He likes the idea of darker topics but they do scare him usually. Nonfiction is appealing (war, sports) — he does love the Nathan Hale books. But fiction is great too. Humor or kid-related books. I'd love for him to find the confidence to read chapter books but he's quick to put them down after a chapter or two and say that he's not interested. He has ADHD which could contribute to this. Thank you for any ideas!
by Gold_One2370
12 Comments
In terms of graphic novels, Maus is incredible and hits on both war and dark topics.
In terms of novels, Harry Potter is always amazing. If he’s advanced past that, The Name of The Wind might be a great challenge for him
Refugee by Alan Gratz
It’s told from multiple perspectives and has a sort of sporatic style that may be more appealing to ADHD brain (frequent switching of characters and topics). Dark but not scary. Action nonstop.
I have adhd (girl) and harry potter and the series of unfortunate events books were my favorite around that age
I’m not sure if he is into fantasy like dungeon and dragons but I think those books are often great intros into chapter books for kids. They are very lot heavy and tend to move at a brisk pace.
I might recommend:
1. Dragons of an autum twilight
2. Homeland by r a Salvatore
3. Or attack of the necron (this is a sci-fi book in the Warhammer series made for kids. FYI the adult books are probably not great for an 11 year old)
The Underworld Chronicles. 5 book series, my son read in middle school and cried for days when it was over (not because it was sad—because it was over). Same author as the Hunger Games but firmly in middle school territory.
My son was a HUGE Nathan Hale fan as a kid (actually, he still is as an adult). He recommended Percy Jackson.
My son and I loved the survival adventure books, like Call It Courage, Hatchet, Banner in the Sky and My side of the Mountain. Slightly more mature but not in a modern way are YA SF like Heinlein’s famous ‘Juveniles’, such as Have Spacesuit, Will Travel and The Star Beast, or Clarke’s Dolphin Island. If he likes clever geeky boys being naughty, there’s The Mad Scientists Club.
Perhaps a way to build his tolerance is SF short stories. Lots of great collections out there, one of my 1st and favorites is Tales of Known Space by Larry Niven, short and thought provoking without adult themes.
Try Steve Sheinkin’s Bomb (there’s both a graphic and a regular version), and some of his other non-fiction, he writes great narratives about exciting topics.
Also try Nicholas Day’s A World Without Summer, about a volcanic eruption that wrecked the world’s climate for a few years and ultimately inspired the author of Frankenstein.
I read A Wrinkle in Time at that age.
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
have you tried The Land of Stories series? My 9 yr old couldn’t put them down. Also Percy Jackson was a big hit. Spy School is also a big hit with boys.
The last hero by Twrry Pratchett