A Tried and True Book List for Boys

I adore a good book list. As a diehard bookworm, I am always on the lookout for a good book and my next favorite author. As a homeschool mom, book lists help focus on and make goals for my son.

The same dear son who also happens to be dyslexic and not so fond of reading.

How can this be? My visions of parenthood included repopulating the earth with my own little bookworms. Well…that didn’t work out for a variety of reasons. And I’m okay with that. However, I worried about how my own opinions of education and growth were going to jive with a child whose own personal reading choices extended to the No, David books by David Shannon. (Which are really sweet, by the way.)

Enter the Read Aloud. I have talked about how the Read Aloud and Audio Books changed our family life AND our homeschool for years. Reading aloud and listening to audio books made it possible for my son to move beyond the worlds of Hop on Pop and No, David.

And I became ambitious. I was going to institute a time in our day that we both sat together (with tea and popcorn) and listened to something wonderful. Or mostly wonderful.

Of course, I knew (bookworm stuff) that the classics were classics for a reason. These books had stood the test of time and the attention spans of squirrely boys everywhere. I dismissed some of my own High School book lists in favor of stories that promoted courage, exploration, character, and friendship.

I also decided that unless we were specifically studying a certain work in our English class, we would not even begin to analyze the thing. We simply were going to enjoy the time together with a good book.

In preparation for the coming school year, I have begun preparing another book list. Not all titles are classics… there is a book by Tim Tebow, and a biography on David Livingston. However, I thought I would share a few of my choices, along with some tried and true favorites from previous book lists my son has enjoyed over the years. I will tell you that over the years, I have set aside my own “read aloud” skills in favor of the audio book. Even our science book has an audio book.

I’m easy like that. I also tend to purchase any classic book found at a yard sale or thrift store I come across. It never hurts to have the hard copy… plus, it makes your homeschool bookshelf so much more impressive for the in-laws. The ages vary for the book list below. And most of the authors have other books that are equally delicious.

Enjoy!

Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt

Beowulf, trans. by J. R. R. Tolkien

Beric the Briton by GA Henty

Call of the Wild by Jack London

Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths by Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire

Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol

Little Britches series by Ralph Moody 

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle

Penrod by Booth Tarkington

Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy

Redwall series by Brian Jacques

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (The Silver Chair is my son’s favorite)

The Count of Monte Christo by Alexander Dumas

The Frog and Toad Books by Arnold Lobel

The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Clearly

The Princess & Curdie by George MacDonald

The Sacket Brand by Louis L’Amour

Tom Sawyer (as well as Huckleberry Finn) by Mark Twain

Wilderness Trek by Zane Grey

Read on, my friends. Read on.

Rebekah Teague is the homeschooling mama to one busy and beautiful boy. She is married to The Muffin who is a pastor and a really great guy. In her spare time she can be found with a book and a cup of tea. She blogs at There Will Be A $5 Charge For Whining.