Erika Kosin
Library Notes
October 16th, 2009
Books for Boys

Most parents will tell you that it is an ongoing struggle to get their boys to read and even those who like reading generally lose interest around age nine. They begin to move towards activities that keep them active or are more visually stimulating and view reading as something that they have to do for school. As boys stop reading they begin to fall farther behind in other areas since reading is a fundamental part of all school subjects. So why do boys stop reading? It has been determined that some of the issues are biological, but also sociological in that boys do not view reading as a masculine activity.

In order to keep boys reading we have to find books that talk to their interests. A boy who claims he hates to read may one day sit down with a large book and vigorously read it. This usually happens when boys find fantasy based fiction with anthropomorphic characters. They also like books that contain scary and gross tales such as Goosebumps or non-fiction titles that contain interesting facts. Here are a few titles that might peak a boys interest that can be found at the Rowan Public Library:

39 Clues: Maze of Bones – ages 9 +. This is the first book in a mystery, adventure series written by a collection of popular children’s authors. When Grace Cahill’s Last Will and Testament leaves her family a choice between taking home a million dollars each or the chance to uncover the greatest family secret, Amy and her younger brother Dan decide to take the challenge and start out on a world wide hunt for the 39 clues where knowledge of history and ingenuity help them stay in the game. Fans of mysteries and movies like National Treasure would like this series.
The Golly-Whopper Games by Jody Feldman – ages 9+. Don’t let the colors on the cover of this book fool you; this is a book that boys will love, especially if they like word games and puzzles. Gil Goodson wants his family to move out of Orchard Heights because life hasn’t been so good since the “incident”. He finds the perfect opportunity to win enough money for the family to move, all he has to do is win the Golly Toy & Game Company’s ultimate competition, the Golly-Whopper Games. He studies for almost a year and knows everything there is to know about the company, but does he know enough to be able to solve all of the puzzles and complete all of the challenges to win?

One President was Born on Independence Day and Other Freaky Facts About the 26th Through 43rd President – Do you know which president was the first to have a mustache, or which president walked a raccoon on a leash? Who served Jellybeans at every cabinet meeting? Which president had one leg 1 inch shorter than the other? Find out these facts and more in this fun book that looks at the facts that most people wouldn’t know about past presidents.

For more book titles that might appeal to, visit;
http://www.guysread.com
http://www.kidsreads.com/features/great-books-boys.asp