# Books to Read to a Nine-Year Old Boy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 29, 2004, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452 "2004-07-29T16:30:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ouisey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9fc29f/32.png) [@ouisey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouisey)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452/1 "2004-07-29T16:30:08Z")
My son and I like to read together every night. Right now we’re half-way through the Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper. I’d like to start reading books to him that are a little more thought-provoking. I think we’re going to read Animal Farm by George Orwell next, and then maybe To Kill a Mockingbird. Can anyone else recommend any good literature to read with a child? Nothing too frightening, but something that provokes discussion about weightier matters as we read it. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452/2 "2004-07-29T16:40:50Z")
I think discussing books with your son is wonderful, but are you just reading to him? Or is he reading books as well? At age nine I was doing all of my own reading, though I wasn’t discussing books with my parents much. That came much, much later, when I was reading more adult fare. I think a shift to a more “book club” approach might be fun. You can read the books at the same time, yet separately. Then you can get together and talk about them. Thanks for the idea. I’ll have to try it with my kids. ---
**Author:** ![ouisey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9fc29f/32.png) [@ouisey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouisey)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452/3 "2004-07-29T16:46:52Z")
He’s an avid reader on his own as well. Its amazing how interested kids are in reading when they’re not allowed to watch TV:) We read together for about a half-hour everynight. Sometimes he reads to me, and other times I read to him. Its been a nice bonding time for both of us since he was very small. ---
**Author:** ![Spudo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Spudo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spudo)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452/4 "2004-07-29T17:10:31Z")
Terry Pratchett’s children’s books are quite good. _The Wee Free Men_, it’s sequel _A Hat Full of Sky_ and _The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents_. I’ve only read the first two but enjoyed them quite a bit (I’m 20). The first two deal with a young girl as she learns to be a Witch. Along the way she gets help and protection from a band of drunken little blue men, the Nac Mac Feegle. Pratchett presents and deals with meaningful ideas and situations in rather goofy ways. Plus they’re a good intro into the Discworld series of books! ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452/5 "2004-07-29T17:13:20Z")
So many books to read: Final Exit - Derek Humphries The Amityville Horror - Jay Anson The Anarchist’s Cookbook - Anonymous In Cold Blood - Truman Capote Sybil - Flora Rheta Schrieber It - Stephen King Flowers In The Attic - V.C. Andrews The true crime books of Ann Rule The Joy of Painful Sex How to Roll a John for Fun & Profit ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452/6 "2004-07-29T17:24:02Z")
If you haven’t done them already _The Hobbit_ and maybe even _The Lord of the Rings_ are fun. He could probably also handle some Twain or Dickens. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452/7 "2004-07-29T17:24:09Z")
My fifth grade teacher read “The Incredible Journey” to us, and I still remember how much I looked foward to reading time. In my sister’s class, the teacher read “Homecoming” by Cynthia Voight. It’s a sad story (mother goes bonkers and abandons her kids) but it’s a good one too. My mother always told us stories that she had made up. No offense to the children’s authors out there, but my mother’s stories were the best because they were so crazy. Since my sister and I were doing our own reading, it wasn’t a big deal to get “read to” (especially at nine and ten-years-old). My mother’s stories were as entertaining and educational as any “real” story, but better because there was a limitless supply of them. I don’t think she ever read us a single book. ---
**Author:** ![SaxFace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SaxFace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaxFace)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452/8 "2004-07-29T17:35:17Z")
I recommend “Summer of the Monkeys”, I think by Wilson Rawls. It’s about a young boy in the 1800’s who spends his summer capturing escaped circus monkeys in his Ozark family farm’s woods. There are a lot of nice themes throughout the book and although I have never read it (it was an out loud book by a teacher) I remember it well and fondly. ---
**Author:** ![Kallessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7993a0/32.png) [@Kallessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kallessa)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452/9 "2004-07-29T17:53:42Z")
I would highly recommend the works of Katherine Paterson. One of the best known is _The Bridge to Terabithia_, a moving story of being different, a friendship, and death. However all of her books (at least all that I have read) are marvelous, and often incorporate themes that could lead to a good discussion. Although often somewhat sanitized when written for a younger reader, biographies are also a great way to lead into discussions–Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, Jesse Owens, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Susan B. Anthony, Sojouner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Clarence Darrow, Cesar Chavez, Joe Hill–the list is endless. Another source for discussion starters would be looking at the mythology and folk tales of various cultures. I don’t have a name off the top of my head, but I remember one book (may be a lower reading level) that had several creation myths in it. There are any number of fine books re-telling the major myths of different cultures, though, so if it interested the two of you, you shouldn’t have problems finding them. And just for fun, if he likes fantasy, the David Eddings books (esp. _The Belgarion_) are suitable for his age level. The basic “journey to discover who you are” story, it has some fighting, but nothing too gory, a little romance, and enough action to move the story along without sacrificing character development. Not as good a Lloyd Alexander (but similar to the _Book of Three_ series), or Susan Cooper, but much better written than anything by Terry Brooks. ---
**Author:** ![mlerose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@mlerose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlerose)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452/10 "2004-07-29T17:56:54Z")
CS Lewis’ **The Chronicles of Narnia** if he likes fantasy Orson Scott Card’s **Ender’s Game** for a sci-fi setting but real-life issues; is also is about super-smart kids who are expected to save the world, taken advantage of by all the adults around them. Very interesting TH White’s **The Once and Future King** if he likes Arthurian stuff after finishing the Susan Cooper series Chris Crutcher’s **Staying Fat for Sarah Burns** , another issue book. Very, very well-written Wilson Rawls’ **Summer of the Monkeys**. A teacher in 7th grade read this out loud to us, but I think it could be appropriate for a 9-year-old. What about **Tom Sawyer** or **Huckleberry Finn**? I suppose it really depends on how mature your son is and what kinds of issues you’re willing to tackle while you read together. I’m glad you read to him. I fully intend on doing the same thing when I have kids. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452/11 "2004-07-29T18:03:53Z")
Lady Chatterley’s Lover - D.H. Lawrence Mayflower Madam - Sydney Biddle Barrows Death and Dying - Elizabeth Kubler Ross The Kinsey Report - Alfred Kinsey Magick Without Tears - Alister Crowley American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis The Grifters - Jim Thompson The Satanic Bible - Anton LaVey Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett Postcards from the Edge - Carrie Fisher ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452/12 "2004-07-29T18:21:51Z")
Nothing like running a bad joke right down into the ground is there, eh, **Mockingbird**? ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452/13 "2004-07-29T18:26:11Z")
They’re a little dated, but my kids both loved Edgar Eager’s books at that age **Half Magic, The Time Garden, Knight’s Castle** & **Magic by the Lake** **Danny, Champion of the World** **The Great Brain** (all of them) **Wrinkle in Time**. If he’s more advanced, you might try the **Artemis Fowl** series; jr. spy stuff, my boy ate it up. Also **The Thief of Always** by Clive Barker which was surprisingly age appropriate (I’ve read his adult stuff _shudder_). Same with Stephen King’s **Eyes of the Dragon**. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452/14 "2004-07-29T18:30:03Z")
> [@Ukulele Ike](#): > > Nothing like running a bad joke right down into the ground is there, eh, **Mockingbird**? Bad joke? Hmph. I guess some of us care more about having a well rounded child than others. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452/15 "2004-07-29T18:33:24Z")
> [@ouisey](#): > > He’s an avid reader on his own as well. Its amazing how interested kids are in reading when they’re not allowed to watch TV:) > > We read together for about a half-hour everynight. Sometimes he reads to me, and other times I read to him. Its been a nice bonding time for both of us since he was very small. Cool, thanks. Our twins get no TV as well. This is, however, easier to enforce at age 20 months. 😃 I’ll just sit back and watch the recommendations roll in, in that case. One thing I found at that age was that books and magazines about activities I liked doing were very interesting. Around age ten I got a very good book about fresh and saltwater fishing for my birthday, right at a time when I was doing lots of fishing with my grandfather. I read that particular book quickly, and then reread it several times. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452/16 "2004-07-29T20:57:34Z")
> [@Ukulele Ike](#): > > Nothing like running a bad joke right down into the ground is there, eh, **Mockingbird**? Right in the OP she says she’s going to read the kid How to Kill a Mockingbird. I’m not surprised \*\*Mockingbird \*\* has other suggestions! I never miss a chance to recommend the Lemony Snicket books. My seven and twelve year old are devoted to them. ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452/17 "2004-07-29T23:46:31Z")
I’d recommend anything by [Garth Nix](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0064471969/qid=1091143683/sr=8-13/ref=pd_ka_13/103-5576104-6402244?v=glance&s=books&n=507846), though Amazon lists some of them as 12 and up, so you might want to take a peek at the library before giving it to a nine year old. (Personally, I was reading far more adult fare much younger, but everyone has different standards. Nix is nothing bad or very gruesome, just kind of scary.) Also, anything (aside from her one adult book) by [Diana Wynne Jones](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0064473562/qid=1091144015/sr=1-7/ref=sr_1_7/103-5576104-6402244?v=glance&s=books), especially if he enjoys Harry Potter. Both authors are excellent writers, and create unique, fascinating, and detailed fantasy worlds. I still count the two books listed above as some of my favorite novels. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452/18 "2004-07-30T00:40:48Z")
> [@ouisey](#): > > I’d like to start reading books to him that are a little more thought-provoking. I think we’re going to read Animal Farm by George Orwell next, and then maybe **To Kill a Mockingbird.**. good choice. ---
**Author:** ![AveDementia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@AveDementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AveDementia)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452/19 "2004-07-30T00:40:49Z")
I’ve been looking up a kids version of the story of Shacketon’s Voyage, but without any luck. It would be perfect. It’s got adventure, danger, survival, human ingenuity and best of all no one dies. Being set in Antartica it’s far enough away not to be too scary, but still be exciting. Endurance by Alfred Lansing is excellent, but the vocabulary might be a bit advanced for a nine year old. It’s a page-turner from [beginning](http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/078670621X/ref=sib_dp_pt/104-9685944-6202326#reader-link) to end. Maybe in a couple of years? ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452/20 "2004-07-30T00:57:40Z")
Nine isn’t too old to read to kids, of course, but he’s approaching the age where he ought to be reading on his own. Do you ever read half a chapter to him, then let him finish on his own if he want to? I advise pushing the envelope, as well. If Narnia doesn’t interest him, how about the first book of the Space Trilogy? My dad read that one to me when I was way too young for it, and it instilled a lifetime desire to expand my horizons and reading abilities. The best method to encourage child reading, in my experience, is to set an ABSOLUTE lights-out policy, then ignore the light you see under the door. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-to-a-nine-year-old-boy/257452.md?page=2)