Fiction at Ten

One has been reading a lot - as usual - this spring. Now that he has an allowance, he's enjoying the purchase of a book on a whim, as in "Mom, I brought some money with me. Can we stop at the bookstore on the way home so I can pick something out?" He's still content to read what I buy him as well. I do wonder when that will stop, but I plan on taking full advantage of it while I still can. Some of his favorite fiction reads this spring have been:

The Red Pyramid, by Rick Riordan. He went through this one twice already, and he purchased it on Monday. That says everything, does it not?

Goodbye, Mr. Chips. A quick read. "Pretty good" says One.

Two more Ralph Moody's: Man of the Family and The Home Ranch. One doesn't know if he'll continue the series or not, but he liked the first three.

The Switherby Pilgrims, by Eleanor Spence - an adventure set in 1800's Australia.

Linda Buckley-Archer's Gideon Trilogy. "Excellent" says our reviewer.

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin. He hasn't asked for any more of the Earthsea books yet. I read the first three in middle school; maybe they're more appealing then.

Holes by Louis Sachar.

Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor. A little hard to read (subject-matter wise, anyway), but One enjoyed it all the same.

The House of 60 Fathers and The Wheel on the School, by Meindert Dejong. Great classics.

All Sail Set, by Armstrong Sperry.

The Saturdays, by Elizabeth Enright. "Okay."

Red Planet for the first time on his own - this was a favorite read-aloud about 18 months ago, and he loved it on his own as well. Who can dislike Heinlein?

Eragon and Eldest, by Christopher Paolini. He's looking forward to reading the final one, Brisingr.

Tales of the Greek Heroes, by Roger Lancelyn Green. A good follow-on to the D'Aulaires' book of Greek Myths.

The London Eye Mystery, by Siobhan Dowd. I read this one as well and really liked it. The narrator is a young boy with high functioning autism, and he gives the book a great voice.

One and Husband still read aloud every evening before bed. Right now they are buried in The Count of Monte Cristo. Earlier in the spring they adored To Kill a Mockingbird (prompting me to read it again and fall in love with again, too) and also read and enjoyed All Quiet on the Western Front and Fahrenheit 451.

I think we'd all recommend all of these books - some with more enthusiasm than others, but recommend them all the same. Happy reading!