Looking for books for my 8 YEAR OLD; reads at a 10th GRADE LEVEL

[Laura]

Wow. Thank you all SO much for all of these awesome suggestions! We have a ton of books to try :)

"Inappropriate" content would be anything too graphic in terms of either blood & gore or sexual relationships (nothing more graphic than, say Harry Potter)... also no adult concepts like serial killers, stalking, abuse, torture, etc. I'd also like to forgo topics like gender reassignment, homosexuality, conception, etc... he's still a little young for these discussions.

Thank you so much again!!!!
:-D

[LJF]

I was also an advanced reader as a kid

One of my favorite series at the time was The Squire's Tale

if he's into sci-fi, maybe The Neptune Project or something by Margaret Peterson Haddix
and for something challenging, maybe Wildwood

For a fan of Percy Jackson and harry potter, i'd suggest Midnight for Charlie Bone

and if you want him to read something moving, realistic, and infightful, Jerry Spinelli's middle-grade fiction (particularly Maniac Magee, Stargirl, and Jake and Lily)

[LJF]

almost forgot- one of the best kids series of ALL Time, but challenging enough he won't get through it too quickly: L Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
(if i remember right there are 14/15 books)

[LJF]

these are some of the best middle grade adventure novels i've read Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes and Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard by Jonathan Auxier

[Emily]

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life might be another fun one! A boy receives a birthday present that sends him on a scavenger hunt for the keys to open it. I read it around Grade 10 I believe, and even though it wasn't a very challenging level at that point I still enjoyed the read.

[Catherine]

ANYTHING RICK RIORDAN!
start with his first book. . .
The Lightning Thief

[Mary]

This may not be advanced enough but might be different enough to be interesting. A series of books I really enjoyed around that age was The Great Brain and it's sequels. Now I haven't read them since then so I'm not sure how they've aged!

[Teresa]

I'm not sure if he will like the series but I think he would like shadowmagic by John Lenahan . It is recommended for kids 12-112 years old. About a boy called Connor finding out about a magical land and a family he never knew. It is very good, both me and my mum loved it. I was 13 when I first read it and I still love it.

[Sharon]

I agree with the Rick Riordan fans. I teach advanced reading for elementary students, and they absolutely love that series. Also, any of the JRR Tolkien books. I read aloud lots of classics like Johnny Tremain, Across Five Aprils, Rifles for Watie, The Golden Goblet, Treasure Island, and my favorite old classic, Hie to the Hunters by Jesse Stuart. I still have students making literary references to that book in their writing!

Another series my students love is the Brian series by Gary Paulsen: Hatchet, Brian's Return, The River, Brian's Hunt... those are especially good to hook students who do not prefer reading as an avocation. One of my students gave me a glass Hatchet for Christmas for showing him that reading was fun. /sniff/ Paulsen's book Woods Runner was enthralling, but does have some gruesome death scenes.

As a last resort with my own son, who loved sci-fi, (I do not) I took him to our friendly librarian, who was also a sci-if fan. I asked her to mentor him for challenging, but appropriate books for my son. She took on that responsibility and never let us down!

[LJF]

If he's into sci-fi, how about the Pendragon series? The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale is the first book.
It is a really cool, sci-fi series about a high school boy who has to travel to other dimensions. But, what he doesn't know, is that the day he leaves, his family and all traces that they ever existed disappear...
It has a lot of action and drama, however, it is very clean and is low on gore.

[Laura]

That sounds like a good one, thanks!

We are going to the library later this week to pick up a few of the ones you guys have suggested. He's VERY excited about all the suggestions and even made a goodreads account of his very own to save them! Lol. Thank you :)