Top Ten Tuesday (TTT) brought to you by The Broke and the Bookish.
August 15: Ten book recommendations for ______________: (Sky’s the limit here…examples: for Hufflepuffs, for fans of Game of Thrones, for people who don’t normally read YA, for animal lovers, for video game lovers, etc.)
Welcome back to Top Ten Tuesday!
I took last week off, but I did post quite a few TTT (on Hiatus) over the last month or so, and if you missed them several of those could work for this week’s topic:
I started to do this list on recommendations for someone who wants to laugh, but it was feeling really familiar and I realized I did that topic in April 2016. Whoops! So instead, I’ve ended up with…
Ten Book Recommendations for Parents Who Want to Enjoy a Good Read with their Kids
(in addition to Harry Potter, of course.)
Let’s face it – sometimes it’s tough to find a book that both the parent and the kid want to read. We used to read together a lot, and now we listen to audio books during most of our commutes to various activities. We’ve had a few book failures – don’t even get me started on the Disney After Dark series. But we’ve had mostly good luck with finding books that are enjoyed by all. Here are some of our favorites.
My boys are older elementary/middle school age. Lunar Chronicles was our most recent read.
Books we’ve read (or listened to) and enjoyed together:
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan
- Peter and the Starcatchers series by Dave Berry and Ridley Pearson
- The Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer
- The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
- The BFG by Roald Dahl
- Castle Glower series by Jessica Day George
- The Books of Beginning series by John Stephens
- Nooks & Crannies by Jessica Lawson
- Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein
- Bunnicula by James Howe and Deborah Howe
Bonus: Books recommended to me by my oldest (that are on my TBR list):
- Wonder by R.J. Palacio
- Woof by Spencer Quinn
- A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass
- The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (this one is actually read and recommended by both boys.)
Double Secret Bonus: I tried to get my boys to read this, but they wouldn’t. I must confess, I’ve only read the first two of four books in this series, but I plan on finishing it, I enjoyed the writing style.
- All the Wrong Questions series by Lemony Snicket
Whew. It feels good to be back.
What did I miss? Any great recommendations for me to read with my boys? What did you choose on this first week back from hiatus? Sound off below and link up to your own TTT if you’ve got one!
Hidden Staircase 
Riordan would be awesome to read along with your kids! 🙂
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Yes! We’ve done them all on audio books and they are a lot of fun!
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It can be tough, so true! I think the Glower castle series is awesome, the kids like it, and The Hobbit as well. Our neighbor kids are big into the Hobbit movies, so the kids have seen those and I’m hoping their interest will carry over to the Lord of the Rings when they get a little older. 🙂
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I liked the Hobbit, but just couldn’t get into LotR. I think Peter Jackson did a great job on the films, though! My oldest read LotR and he really liked it. 🙂
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I have to remind myself my kid is only 6 and isn’t ready to read all the books I want him to read with me now.
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LOL I know, it is hard! There are a lot of great books at 6. My little guy was in Kindergarten when we read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone together. 🙂 It just depends on their interest. AND – believe me. Time will move very quickly and you’ll soon be passing your favorite books onto your kiddo for sure.
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“Bunnicula” was one of my favorites as a kid! I actually re-read it a couple of years ago and it was just as cute as I remembered. I’m glad to see “Mr. Lemoncello’s Library” on your list. I don’t know much about that book but I’ll have to read it later in the year for the 4th and 5th grade book club I help out with at work. (I mean, it has the word “library” in the title so there’s no way it could be bad, right?!)
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Mr. Lemoncello’s Library is so much fun! The boys really enjoyed it. They liked the sequel too, but I didn’t like that one as much as the first. (You’re right – anything with “Library” has to be good. 😉 )
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Lost a long post because I had to reset my password! I basically said to read something by Tamora Pierce. Great fantasy adventure writer for kids and YA, and she promotes strong female characters in the genre. The Circle of Magic series is great for older elementary kids, and the Lioness Quartet is a good starting point for teens and adults who love YA.
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Oh no! That’s happened to me before. And then it’s just too much to type it over again. 🙂 We haven’t read ANY of these. Adding to my list…
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I love Chris Grabenstein’s Mr. Lemoncello’s Library series!
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Yes! It is so fun!
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I think boys would enjoy A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. Lots of adventure, weird stuff, and outer space concepts. Also, Narnia is a favorite childhood series.
If they like Rick Riordan, they might enjoy the Seven Wonders series by Peter Lerangis. It has a similar yet interesting concept. The Dreamhouse Kings by Robert Liparulo is good for a more supernatural/thriller/creepy twist. There’s also A Series of Unfortunate Events or the Mysterious Benedict Society if they like mysteries or puzzles.
But I love, love, love The Hobbit, Percy Jackson, Lunar Chronicles, and Peter and the Starcatchers! (Not enough people talk about Peter and the Starcatchers series.)
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Thanks for the recommendations! I THINK my oldest has read Seven Wonders, I’ll have to double check with him. I’ve had The Mysterious Benedict Society on my TBR list for ages!
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