C.S. Lewis

by

Boys Books List

I tutor a 5th grade boy and the main thing we focus on is reading and comprehension.  There are a ton of really great books out there for boys – full of adventure, courage, and honor.  We started off reading the Chronicles of Narnia and are currently somewhere in the middle of Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  That means we have two more to go and then we’re done.  We’ll probably finish them by the end of the school year.  The books I see him come in with from school are fluff and nonsense, and the reading level is much lower than I know he’s capable of.  So, I pillaged a few summer reading/school lists online and came up with my own list.

I would love your input if you can think of any other really great books for boys.  I have read more than half the books on this particular list.  The others have a strong reputation.  I’m leaving off the Harry Potter series on purpose, not because I don’t like it, but because the whole idea gives him nightmares.  I promised him I wouldn’t make him read them.

Here goes!

———————————————————————————————-

Treasure Island

by Robert Louis Stevenson

Artemis Fowl

by Eoin Colfer

James and the Giant Peach

by Roald Dahl

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

by Roald Dahl

Bunnicula

by Deborah Howe

Hatchet

by Gary Paulsen

The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events #1)
and the rest of the series

by Lemony Snicket

The Indian in the Cupboard

by Lynne Reid Banks

The Redwall series

by Brian Jacques

(this series in itself could keep us busy until he’s in high school.  There are upwards of 14 books, if my memory serves me!

The Whipping Boy

by Sid Fleischman

The Swiss Family Robinson

by Johann D Wyss

(if I remember correctly, this has a lot of really descriptive paragraphs that could get boring quick for a boy with a short attention span)

———————————————————————————————

What else have you got for me?

by

C.S. Lewis and Friends Blog

C. S. Lewis

Image via Wikipedia

 

So, I’ve had this dream for a while:  to have a group of readers called “C.S. Lewis and Friends.”  Actually, it’s not really just my dream.  It is a brain-child of a group of friends of mine discussed several years ago.  The primary draw at that time was the t-shirts we planned to make and wear, but I digress (The book club we never had but desperately love). 

I’ve really wanted to have something like a book club relating to C.S. Lewis books and other like-minded or not so like-minded authors.  However, it is next to impossible to gather a group of people together at the same time for multiple weeks to read one book, let alone an infinite number of books.  So, like a bolt from heaven, a thought came into my mind:  Why not a Book Review blog? 

Not such a unique concept, by itself, but hang on for the kicker.  I can’t read all these books myself, and many times, when I finish a book my only response is, “Wow, that sucked.”  or “Wow, that was great!”  I’m sure that could get boring real quick.  So, my idea is to use your brains a bit by inviting you to write on a blog YOUR thoughts after you’ve read such and such a book.  I know…I’m obsessed with the blogging thing, but I’m pretty jazzed about this idea. 

The one question that came into my mind was, “What if I don’t agree with what someone is saying?”  Well…that’s why they’re called opinions and I really don’t care what someone says (vulgarity excepted) so long as a discussion can be started.  The great thing about WordPress is that you can have multiple authors on one blog. (I’ve never seen this on a blog-site before…but then again, my experience with platforms is limited.) 

So, what do you say?  I know I’ve got some super-smart people out there who like to read.  I know that I’ve got some not-so-smart (wink) friends who have had some very smart responses to books and would willingly enter discussions on them.  Let me know if this is something you may be interested in.  If you are, AWESOME!  I will jump for joy and get right on setting it up.  If you aren’t, I will scrap the whole idea and be thrown into the depths of despair for years to come.  If enough are, I’m sure that one or some of my particularly artsy people would be able to come up with a super-cool banner for the blog (and, yes, maybe even a t-shirt!) 

God bless ya! 

Sarah ><>