# Suggestions for books for boys? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 2, 2016, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-books-for-boys/770412 "2016-11-02T01:14:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-books-for-boys/770412/21 "2016-11-02T19:24:10Z")
> [@Haunted\_Pasta](#): > > When my boys were babies/toddlers, we and they really liked a couple of books by Harriet Ziefert and Simms Taback: > > [Who Said Moo?](https://www.amazon.com/Who-Said-Moo-Harriet-Ziefert/dp/160905279X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478107082&sr=8-1&keywords=Who+Said+Moo) > [Where Is My Baby?](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1609052803/ref=pd_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=2WFKZ31KDZDHVX90EP9K) > > Both are lift-the-flap books, illustrated with bright colors and cute (but not cloyingly so) drawings. > > For the 3 to 6 set, I’d suggest [Time of Wonder](https://www.amazon.com/Wonder-Picture-Puffins-Robert-McCloskey/dp/0140502017/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1478109675&sr=1-1&keywords=Time+of+Wonder). It won a Caldecott Medal for its fantastic watercolor artwork when it was published in the late 1950’s, and the language is beautifully poetic. It recounts an innocent summer in Maine, exploring nature and experiencing life on a small coastal island. The children depicted are girls, but they’re never named or even referred to as such, and I never noticed it as a boy when my mother read this book to us. (I’m also of the view that boys reading books about girl characters is a good thing.) > > And, Richard Scarry. Anything, really. Many of his books are decades old but still in print. Kids like them for the bright colors and cute (also not cloyingly so) cheerful animal characters, but what I’ve found as an adult is they are also FUNNY. There’s a lot going on in the drawings, and sometimes the text, that children may not notice or think anything of but that are really entertaining for adults. Good choices; can’t believe I didn’t think of Richard Scarry. It’s not like we don’t have a dozen of his books or anything. :smack: And yes, the newborn will probably grow to love “Who Said Moo?” and the other Ziefert/Taback books (we don’t have “Where’s My Baby”, but we do have another one by them that’s very similar, except the noises that a bunch of animals make. I’ll add “No David!” by David Shannon for the 3 year old and newborn, as well as pretty much anything by Byron Barton, especially the ones about construction, trains, planes and trucks. The “Boris” and “Doris” books by Sam Lloyd are great fun as well- they’re 1/2 board book, and 1/2 hand puppet. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-books-for-boys/770412/22 "2016-11-02T19:56:44Z")
It’s a graphic novel rather than a traditional sort, but the [Amulet](https://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aamulet%20graphic%20novel)series got my ten-year-old nephew to want to read anything for the first time ever. He’s at least a year or two behind grade level in reading skills, so it might be good for the 11 year old, and perhaps not too advanced for a clever 6 year old. He just went to a new school in another state and apparently every fourth-grade boy there is in love with this series. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-books-for-boys/770412/23 "2016-11-03T21:46:42Z")
Just remember to get board books for the newborn. I cam it rocks recommend My Side of the Mountain. I fell in love with it when I was 8 so it might be age appropriate here. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-books-for-boys/770412/24 "2016-11-03T22:41:30Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The 11 year old and one 6 year old are in Christian school and the others are home schooled. I don’t really know what their interests are, or what they’re being taught, but I do know the 11 year old really likes school. > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > So, no Stephen Jay Gould. All the more reason for SJG. When I was in 5th grade, I was really, really into biographies of famous people. Maybe get him a biography of Galileo or something like that, assuming he’s interested in science. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-books-for-boys/770412.md?page=1)