One of the keys to getting boys to read is to find books, magazines and newspapers that interest them.
There are many book lists on the Internet. One that comes highly recommended by many people, including Susan Claus, a librarian at Northland Public Library in Ross, is www.guysread.com. It was founded by Jon Scieszka, who is the author of popular children's books, including "The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales."
Here are some of his picks:
For Young Guys
"Cars That Go and
Things That Go" by Richard Scarry
"The Stupids" by
Harry Allard
"Frog and Toad" books
by Arnold Lobel
For Middle Guys
"A series of
Unfortunate Events" by Lemony Snicket
"The Day My Butt Went
Psycho" by Andy Griffiths
"Sideways Stories
from Wayside School" by Louis Sachar
For Older Guys
"The Illustrated Man"
by Ray Bradbury
"Oddballs" by William
Sleator
Redwall books by
Brian Jacques
The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh "Children's Choices" page offers multiple lists, which you can see at www.clpgh.org/kids/booknook/topicbooklists/
Those lists include:
Children's classics of the 20th century
"Goodnight Moon" by
Margaret Wise Brown
"Curious George" by
H. A. Rey
"Where the Wild
Things Are" by Maurice Sendak
Destined to be classics
"Love That Dog" by
Sharon Creech
"Because of
Winn-Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo
"Officer Buckle and
Gloria" by Peggy Rathmann
"Holes" by Louis
Sachar
One of lists at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh entices by saying, "If you like Harry Potter, you'll love these." Here are just some of those suggestions:
"Alice's Adventures
in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll
"Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl
"So You Want to be a
Wizard" by Diane Duane
"Chronicles of
Narnia" by C. S. Lewis
"A Wrinkle in Time"
by Madeleine L'Engle