Reading Lists

Great Fiction for Boys Ages 8-13

**All titles are JUV Fiction. 

Branscum, Robbie          
Murder of Hound Dog Bates
When Sassafras Bates finds his dog dead, he suspects that one of his three spinster aunts is the murderer.

Byars, Betsy Cromer       
Cybil War
Simon learns some hard lessons about good and bad friendships when his good friend Tony's stories involve him in some very troublesome and complicated situations.

 Cameron, Ann                
More Stories Julian Tells
More episodes in the life of Julian including a bet with his best friend Gloria, a secret project, and what happens when his brother Huey decides to be Superboy.

 Cleary, Beverly                 
Dear Mr. Henshaw
In his letters to his favorite author, ten-year-old Leigh reveals his problems in coping with his parents' divorce, being the new boy in school, and generally finding his own place in the world.

 Clements, Andrew            
Frindle
When he decides to turn his fifth grade teacher's love of the dictionary around on her, clever Nick Allen invents a new word and begins a chain of events that quickly moves beyond his control.

 Dahl, Roald                   
James and the Giant Peach
Fantasy about a young boy and a huge, magical peach.

 Disher, Garry                     
Bamboo Flute
In a rural Australian community in 1932, twelve-year-old Paul has his predictable life brightened when a drifter helps him make a flute and teaches him how to play it.

 Fleischman, Sid                 
Whipping Boy
A bratty prince and his whipping boy have many adventures when they inadvertently trade places after becoming involved with dangerous outlaws.

 George, Jean Craighead 
My Side of the Mountain
A young boy relates his adventures during the year he spends living alone in the Catskill Mountains including his struggle for survival, his dependence on nature, his animal friends, and his ultimate realization that he needs human companionship.

 Hurwitz, Johanna                    
Rip-Roaring Russell
Five-year-old Russell goes to nursery school and has various adventures which show he is growing up, but sometimes he wishes he could still stay home like his baby sister.

 Jukes, Mavis                         
Blackberries in the Dark
Nine-year-old Austin visits his grandmother the summer after his grandfather dies and together they try to come to terms with their loss.

 Juster, Norton                       
The Phantom Tollbooth
A journey through a land where Milo learns the importance of words and numbers provides a cure for his boredom.

 King-Smith, Dick               
Harry’s Mad
Harry's legacy from his great-uncle, a talking parrot, proves to be a much more exciting gift than he ever imagined.

 Morgenstern, Susie Hoch           
Secret Letters 0 to 10
Ten-year-old Ernest lives a boring existence in Paris with his grandmother until a lively girl named Victory enters his class at school.

 Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds           
Shiloh
When he finds a lost beagle in the hills behind his West Virginia home, Marty tries to hide it from his family and the dog's real owner, a mean-spirited man known to shoot deer out of season and to mistreat his dogs.

 Park, Barbara                     
Skinnybones
Alex's active sense of humor helps him get along with the school braggart, make the most of his athletic talents, and simply get by in a hectic world.

 Rockwell, Thomas                     
How to Eat Fried Worms
Two boys set out to prove that worms can make a delicious meal.

 Rowlings, J.K.                
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
When the Chamber of Secrets is opened again at the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, second-year student Harry Potter finds himself in danger from a dark power that has once more been released on the school.

 Rowlings, J.K.                
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
During his third year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry Potter must confront the devious and dangerous wizard responsible for his parents' deaths.

 Rowlings, J.K.                
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School for Wizards and Witches.

 Rowlings, J.K.                
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter, a fourth-year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, longs to escape his hateful relatives, the Dursleys, and live as a normal fourteen-year-old wizard, but what Harry does not yet realize is that he is not a normal wizard, and in his case, different can be deadly.

 Soto, Gary                             
The Pool Party
While helping his father and grandfather work as gardeners in Fresno, California, ten-year-old Rudy sees some differences between his Mexican-American family and the wealthy families that live nearby.

 White, E.B.                            
Stuart Little
The adventures of the debonair mouse Stuart Little as he sets out in the world to seek out his dearest friend, a little bird who stayed a few days in his family's garden.