What do I get my brother for his birthday?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

He reads everything in sight. This includes random school textbooks of subjects he doesn’t study.

Harry Potter 4 doesn’t come out until July 8. I need something for June 24.

I think he’s read all the Brian Jacques books and every animorph at least five times. And I ain’t getting him a chemistry set. I don’t trust myself with one, let alone him.

We have a football and several soccer balls, and his coordination is not yet good enough for baseball stuff, combined with the fact that he doesn’t like it very much.

I may just give him cash. Ideas?

2

Hey there … a rather important fact here might be the age of your brother? Although I suppose I could just surf over from your website and see if I find any hints … let’s see … hmmm … nope, unless he is already an author or poet (in which case, why are you considering buying him Harry Potter books?), my guess is he is not included on your website yet.

Well I have two brothers-in-law who are 12 and 13, so I do have SOME good ideas … how old is your brother?

Your buddy, Brunetter

3

There are LOTS of good “childrens” fantasy books. Try Eager, Cooper, Nesbit, Bellairs and several others.

4

Another great gift (at least, several of my relatives have liked it) is to get him a gift certificate to a B&N, or Borders Books,or something like that. Then, take him and let him browse around and find his own books. It would be a good outing for both of you, and time to get to know his likes and dislikes even better.

5

He’s going to be 12. He’s read so many books . . . I swear . . . it’s scary. Sometimes when it’s too loud inside he’ll go to our minivan and read in there. Even scarier is that I used to do that as well.

He also doesn’t just go for kids’ stuff. He still has young tastes, but I know a lot of adults who have similar tastes.

I think what I’ll do is give him two $20 gift certificates to brainplay.com. I won them a while ago and they’re still valid. He should have tons of fun going on there.

Now I need to figure out Christmas.

BTW, my brother is the only one of us, so far as I know, who hasn’t been published yet. He’s 12. Give him time :slight_smile:

6

Seriously, try the John Bellairs “scary” books, young boys love them, AND they are well written. I still like to read them. Also, try Susan Cooper’s “the Dark is Rising”, get him #1 and I bet he gets the rest. A new book is the Hounds of the Morrigan", by O’Shea. Also the Black Cauldron series by Alexander, and of course, the Narnia series by Lewis, but those he might have already read. All of these are better than “harry Potter”, not that it’s bad or anything, I kinda liked it.

7

Yeah, I was going to recommend the Narnia series as well, one of my faves from when I was young. Other than books (you may want to encourage another side of him as well), maybe a badminton set or rollerblades or somesuch? He must do something other than reading … not that reading is bad … but limiting yourself to only that activity sure can be!

I take it brainplay is some kind of place for gifted kids, science-oriented type stuff. This can be great too!

Or how about a model plane, car, etc, whatever fits in with his hobbies?

8

Night-vision goggles. He’ll love them.

9

Hey, I still liked Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars at that age. Of course, I would’ve really appreciated a “Janes All the World’s Aircraft”, but hey, we were poor and they were expensive even then.

Sounds like you’ve got a plan.

10

If you think he’s of an age to enjoy it, definitely The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings. Also, Philip Pullman’s “The Golden Compass” and “The Subtle Knife,” books one and two of a trilogy (called “His Dark Materials”). Book three is available now on Amazon.com’s UK site, and is suppposed to be out here sometime this year.

11

I was thinking if he likes science fiction and/satire, he might enjoy reading the “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” series. I love these books. They’re hillarious. Other than that, I’d suggest to just give him gift certificates to bookstores and other places of mental amusement.

12

Off the top of my head, so far as books:

The already mentioned Narnia series. It’s fairly heavy into the religious overtones, but I doubt a younger fellah would recognize that. I didn’t understand any of the biblical references until my late teens. :slight_smile:

Lord of the rings is a must. I had read the series (from the Hobbit to the Two Towers… I think that’s the last one) by the time I was 12. Loved them, and still read them.

If he’s into Fantacy stuff, i’d also suggest reading the first series by David Eddings (The Belgerad, or something along those lines). The first book is called “The Pawn of Prophecy”.

Isaac Asimov! What else can I say, this man was truly the most amazing Sci-Fi writer to put pen to paper. Yes yes, Arthur C Clarke is good to, as is Heinlein, but I digress. I suggest his Norby the Mixed up Robot series for your brothers age, but with the amount of reading it seems like he does, he could probably go for the Foundation series as well. I wouldn’t give him the Robot series quite yet, as it raises some sexual questions that he might not quite be ready to deal with. I had a hell of a time trying to write a book report on one of those books in grade six. I mean, how do you write a chapter summary for a book that is all about people having sex with machines. In grade 6, that is.

I could go on forever, but I’ll just quickly spit out a couple more authors and titles.

Arthur Randsom - Wonderful stories about a group of kids who have sailing adventures in the lake district in the UK. “Swallows and Amazons” is the first book I read by him, and I still read it to this day seven years later. Other titles are “Pigeon Post”, “Swallowdale”, “Peter Duck”, and others. I swear every time I read these books I feel like I’m visiting old friends. How soppy.

I said quickly… here goes.

Byran Jaques - Mossflower series. Titles are “mossflower”, “redwall”, “Merel of Redwall” and many more. Again, books I still read almost a decade since I first had my grade 4 teacher read one out loud.

Lloyd Alexander… He did the “Black Cauldron” series. Good fun.

Diane Wayne Jones – An amazing writer. Her book “The Homeward Bounders” is a must-read for anyone, regardless of age. I’ve read it literally a couple dozen times. She’s written some other great titles as well (Eight days of Luke comes to mind).

All of the posts so far are also great suggestions. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is great fun. The “Dark is Rising” series also kicks ass.

There are more I could list, but with only a few posts under my belt I don’t want to annoy to many people. :slight_smile:

As an aside, my biggest wish at your brothers age regarding reading material (I was, and still am a major reader - of both adult and childerens literature) was a gift certificate of at least $100. I don’t know your finantial situation, but I’m sure something like that would blow him away.

Happy reading! And wish your brother a very happy birthday for me.

-niggle

ps. Funny, I just went and looked at my bookshelf. Almost all the books I just listed are on it. Hrm.

13

I second the Dark is Rising, Lord of the Rings, Asimov, Chronicles of Pyridain (Black Cauldren etal), and would add an abridged edition of Dumas Three Musketeers or The Complete Sherlock Holmes.

Rauld(sp) Dahl is also excellent for a child that age, either James and the giant peach, Charley and the chocolate factory/The great glass elevator or my personal favorite by him Danny, champion of the world.

Of course there is also the great Pterry, Terry Pratchett. His Discworld series (I’d sugest starting with Mort) is excellent for children with advanced reading tastes, as is the Bromiliad (Truckers, Wings, and Diggers) and the Johnny Series (Johnny and the Dead, Only you can save mankind) Good Omens with Neil Giaman is also a classic.

If he likes mysteries, I’d suggest Cadfael if he likes mideval as well. Agatha Cristi is always good, as is Rex Stout. Ellery Queen is another great one.