Books for 3rd grade boys

[khalloc]

DS has 20 minutes of reading homework each night. (4x a week at least). He's 8 years old. Right now he is reading Harry Pottery and the Order of the Phoenix. Honestly its probably too much for him. He reads to me sometimes and some of the words are just too hard for him. Not to mention the size of the book is a bit intimidating. I'd like to find some good books that he can read over the course of a week or 2. He might be more inclined to read for longer than 30 minutes if the book was shorter? Last year when the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book came out he read that cover to cover in about a day. He was so into reading! He likes I Survived books. True stories are right up his alley. He's a bit ahead of grade level reading for his age, but I cant remember what letter he is on.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Start with Percy Jackson- the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. They are very approachable and easy to read.
I'm reading HP5 to my 3rd grader. That book is a slog. I like reading it to him bc I can condense (hey, it'll be new to him when he reads it to himself some day ;)).


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[chottumommy]

DS1 is 7 but ahead a couple of grades in readiing. He finished the Harry Potter series (on the kindle since the books are so heavy). The other books he liked reading were Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Wiches, Matilda), Jeremy Thatcher, Charlotte's Web, Black Stallion, 2030(I think that's the name), Chronicles of Prydain (3 or 4 books). He reads a ton of non-fiction fact books too. He's reading Eragon now. Another book he loved was Ender's Game (didn't let him read the rest of the series though).

[vonfirmath]

Start with Percy Jackson- the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. They are very approachable and easy to read.
I'm reading HP5 to my 3rd grader. That book is a slog. I like reading it to him bc I can condense (hey, it'll be new to him when he reads it to himself some day ;)).


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Last year, my son read the Narnia books and Phantom Tollbooth.
Chronicles of Pyrdain is good too.

[ang79]

DD1 was in third grade last year and above grade level for reading. She was mostly into girly books (fairies, princesses, etc.), but at the end of the year she got into the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. She also read a few Judy Bloom books she liked (I know one of the third grade teachers was reading the Fudge books to her class). And she likes classics, we have a lot of the Children's Illustrated Classics (Robin Hood, Call of the Wild, etc.), or the junior classics like they often have in the Target Dollar Spot. She really liked the Who Was books too, as she loves non-fiction. They are short and she flew through them, but learned lots of interesting things.

[maydaymommy]

I've got a great one, the Charlie Bone series. Easier reading level, but great for kids-who-love-Harry Potter.

Has your son read the Percy Jackson series? I think the first one is Lightning Thief. I had DS1 read those before Harry Potter.

My problem has always been that just b/c DS1 could read it, didn't mean it was appropriate for him to read. It's the social hierarchy stuff, stereotypes, and boy-girl relationships/expectations that I don't like, because I think it rushes childhood. Therefore, I Looked for series that didn't involve tweenage kids, which isn't so easy.
These are some he liked in years past:
Warriors
Spirit Animals
Guardians of Ga'hoole

[jennilynn]

We loved the Origami Yoda series. My boys are in 1st and 2nd.


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[Kindra178]

Weird School series.

[JBaxter]

2nd grader is currently reading the Day my butt went psycho and we have The zombie goldfish for the next book

[elbenn]

My DS1, who is in 4th grade, loves the Big Nate books. https://www.amazon.com/Big-Nate-Triple-Play-Box/dp/006228360X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1475089424&sr=1-3&keywords=big+nate

[nfceagles]

The Time Warp Trio series
Wayside School Series
Henry Huggins



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[Tenasparkl]

DD is the same age and I struggle with finding books that are a good challenge with her above-grade reading level, but aren't for older kids subject wise. She loves the HP books too (although we're currently taking a break mid-Order of the Phoenix). Lately she's been taking Diary of a Wimpy Kid books out of the school library and flying through them. The Weird School books are fun and she likes reading them in one sitting.

She's also gotten really into graphic novels like Smile, Sisters, Ghosts, Roller Girl etc. I'd assume there are tons more to choose from that would be of interest to your DS.

[JBaxter]

Diary of a wimpy kid books also

[georgiegirl]

The Humphrey (the hamster) books are great for that age. It's about 3rd grade reading level.

[ett]

If your DS likes to read non-fiction, I suggest the "Who Was .. " series. DS2 read tons of those last year in 3rd grade. Some other suggestions:

Wayside stories from Wayside School (there's a few)
Holes (DS2 just read this)
Hatchet (DS2 is currently reading this)
Orphan Train Adventures (https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=orphan+train+adventures&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aorphan+train+adventures)
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Starry River of the Sky

[mom2binsd]

Last year in 4th grade DS LOVED the Judy Blume series SuperFudge, he was so sad that there weren't more books in the series! He also loved the Hank Zipzer series and is working on the Percy Jackson books.

[ExcitedMamma]

Another vote for My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish. DS LOVED it and had to read the whole series. He kept telling me all about it so I skimmed most of the first book and it is pretty funny. He saw the ad for Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie and wanted to read the book but I was concerned after reading some reviews, my 6 year old doesn't need to know about "hotness" or characters talking about cute butts! Let alone bullying at his age. Zombie Goldfish seems to have the humor without the other stuff.

[Ms B]

Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew?

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[cuca_]

My DS, who is in third grade loved the Treehouse Books by Andy Griffith. He started reading them a bit over a year ago, and really enjoyed them. He also read the Jedi Academy books this summer. He loves Harry Potter, but has really resisted reading Percy Jackson. He also, loves Roald Dahl.


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[bcafe]

My boys love anything by Gary Paulsen.

[trales]

The day the mustache took over by Alan Katz.

You got a ton of great suggestions above, that will keep him happy and busy for awhile.

When stuck, I always email the school librarian, she has come up with some amazing stuff for DD. She also loves it when parents email her and ask for recommendations.

[ang79]

My DS1, who is in 4th grade, loves the Big Nate books. https://www.amazon.com/Big-Nate-Triple-Play-Box/dp/006228360X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1475089424&sr=1-3&keywords=big+nate

Are these similar to the Wimpy Kid books? I suggested them to DD1, as she has just recently gotten into the Wimpy Kid books.

[ang79]

DD is the same age and I struggle with finding books that are a good challenge with her above-grade reading level, but aren't for older kids subject wise. She loves the HP books too (although we're currently taking a break mid-Order of the Phoenix). Lately she's been taking Diary of a Wimpy Kid books out of the school library and flying through them. The Weird School books are fun and she likes reading them in one sitting.

She's also gotten really into graphic novels like Smile, Sisters, Ghosts, Roller Girl etc. I'd assume there are tons more to choose from that would be of interest to your DS.

I'll have to suggest Roller Girl to DD1, thanks! She loved Smile and Sisters and may get Ghosts at her school bookfair next week.

[bnme]

Oragimi Yoda
The Mouse and the Moyorcycle
Jeff Probst survivor-style series

[pomegranate]

DS is in 3rd grade and loved all the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. He and his friends are now into RL Stine's Goosebumps series.

[Tenasparkl]

I'll have to suggest Roller Girl to DD1, thanks! She loved Smile and Sisters and may get Ghosts at her school bookfair next week.

Great! DD really liked Roller Girl. She had a hard time putting it down to leave for school the other morning.

[anonomom]

If he likes Harry Potter, he may enjoy Tamora Pierce. She has a few trilogies/quartets that are appropriate for this age, particularly Circle of Magic and The Circle Opens. Her other books are great, too (Protector of the Small, especially), but later books in those series delve into much more mature topics.

I also highly recommend the Princess Academy trilogy, by Shannon Hale. They're very well written and very good for both boys and girls.

[khalloc]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. DS has read all of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books so far. He loves those! He is still reading Harry Potter. But I will get some of these suggestions for him next. He did have a Goosebumps book from the school library, but after reading it a night or 2, he was staying up late and a little scared? Not sure how scary the book was. He has seen Jaws and that didnt scare him, but a Goosebumps book did...so i'm inclined to nix those because I want him going to bed at night and ontime!

[schrocat]

I'm going to recommend a series that my kids love and that is very popular in Asia but is just being published in the US. It's the Sherlock Sam series. You can buy it on amazon.

[AlbrightRC]

Geronimo stilton books seem to be popular at that age at my sons school

[calebsmama03]

At that age my son really was into the "Secret Agent Jack Stalwart" series. He also loved the "I survived" series from scholastic. I think he started reading the Hardy Boys around then, too. The nice thing about all of these is they are shorter so not as overwhelming as the HP or other series with much longer books.

[mommy111]

The 'who was' series are a huge hit here. I hate Harry Potter, DD (very advanced reader) insisted on reading then at this age, and I think they taught her the habit of reading without comprehension which we struggled for through many years. Christian the lion is another great favorite here. And ?? A gorilla named Ivan (or some such name, you know the one I'm talking about)

[lizzywednesday]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. DS has read all of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books so far. He loves those! He is still reading Harry Potter. But I will get some of these suggestions for him next. He did have a Goosebumps book from the school library, but after reading it a night or 2, he was staying up late and a little scared? Not sure how scary the book was. He has seen Jaws and that didnt scare him, but a Goosebumps book did...so i'm inclined to nix those because I want him going to bed at night and ontime!

About Goosebumps ... some of them, are silly-scary, but some of them are "go to bed with the lights on and check that your parents are home" scary. If you're familiar with the old Nickelodeon program Are You Afraid of the Dark?, they're similar levels - some are silly-scary, and some are scary-scary. It's kind of a crapshoot which one's going to bother what kid, though!!

I found the Night of the Living Dummy ones scariest, followed by the Haunted Mask ones. (I haven't read all of them. Do note that RL Stine also writes teen horror along the lines of Christopher Pike. Christopher Pike books were all the rage among my classmates when we hit 5th grade. They weren't appropriate for us, but banning them would've made them all that much more tempting!!)

Also, movies can be scary, but because a book's action is all inside your head, it can seem a lot more "real" while you're living inside the characters' heads. So while your DS was fine with Jaws (the theme music of which was enough to make me run screaming from the room as a child, but when I saw it, I laughed through the entire thing , but I was an adult at the time - it's still a well-designed film, from a horror standpoint, but the effects are pretty obvious ... sorry Bruce), it's really not shocking at all to me that Goosebumps would be worse for him!!

[lizzywednesday]

... And ?? A gorilla named Ivan (or some such name, you know the one I'm talking about)

You're thinking of The One and Only Ivan.

[mommylamb]

DS1 is 9 and in 4th. He's currently reading the Gregor the Overlander series (same author as The Hunger Games only geared for a younger audience). He loves them. He also loves the Percy Jackson books.


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[elbenn]

Are these similar to the Wimpy Kid books? I suggested them to DD1, as she has just recently gotten into the Wimpy Kid books.

They seem similar. In the reviews, many people mention the Wimpy Kid series.

Has anyone recommended the 39 clues series? Someone I know was telling me that her DS absolutely loves this series. We don't have the books yet, but I might get them based on her praise of the series.

https://www.amazon.com/Maze-Bones-39-Clues-No/dp/0545060397/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478395852&sr=8-1&keywords=39+clues