My son Lucas is an avid reader. Actually, calling him an avid reader seems like a major understatement – he is NEVER without a book in his hand. He started reading at a very young age and has been tearing through novels ever since. He enjoys sharing his love of books with other kids, and so, when I asked him if he’d be interested in sharing some of his favourite books and series – he loved the idea. His recommendations are mostly meant for kids ranging from age 8-12, but as I can attest (because I’ve read many of them at Luke’s urging), they can be enjoyed by readers of all ages.
The Harry Potter Series
By J.K Rowling
You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn’t heard of Harry Potter and his seven book long series. I read these out loud to Lucas when he was five years old (this is a little young for this series but he was very interested). It was my first time reading the books and they proved to be magical for both parent and child.
“After my mom read me the series, I read all the books again for myself (twice). I love the magical world of Harry Potter and Hogwarts, I love the spells and imagining what it would be like to be a wizard. The first three books , I would say, are not as scary. But in the fourth book, a student dies for the first time and the books do get darker. They now have illustrated versions of the books too if your kid is more interested in seeing pictures. My favourite book in the series is book 5, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, because that is when the kids really start to learn how to use their magic and fight.” – Lucas
The Percy Jackson Series
by Rick Riordan
The Percy Jackson series is a five book long series, and the first in a number of mythology-based series by author Rick Riordan. They are fun adventure series that include The Trials of Apollo, The Heroes of Olympus and more. I think Lucas has read pretty much all of them and he can’t get enough.
“I love how Rick Riordan combines old myths from Greece, Norway and even Egypt into his modern day settings. I learned so much about mythology through these books, and now I really want to visit Greece one day! Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief is the first book to kick it all off, so that’s where you want to start.”
Wings of Fire
by Tui T. Sutherland
A popular series (with a ton of books, and they just keep coming out with more) that centres around different tribes of dragons, many at war over a prophecy and who will be the new queen. There are also graphic novels that go along with this series. Lucas has enjoyed the novels and graphic novels.
“I really enjoy this whole world of dragons, and learning all about the different types of dragons and their characteristics. The story line is really great and it’s not too challenging of a read – any kid can enjoy it.”
The Silver Arrow
by Lev Grossman
This is a fantasy adventure where the central character 11 year old Kate and her younger brother whose uncle gifts them with the crazy present of a steam engine, which ends up taking them on exotic adventures in distant lands.
“This book is a lot of fun. It’s really well written and I couldn’t put it down. I loved picturing all of the different places they travelled to.”
Land of Stories
by Chris Colfer
This series of books is by Chris Colfer, who if you ever watched ‘Glee’ he played Kurt. These are really fun stories that follow the adventures of a brother and sister who get sucked into the land of fairy tales. The Land of Stories series is six books long, starting with ‘The Wishing Spell”, and then there are spin-offs such as ‘A Tale of Magic’ and ‘A Tale of Sorcery’.
“These are great books because it presents a spin on those fairy tale stories we all know so well! I also really like that the author uses the original fairy tale tellings, from Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson. Those aren’t always the versions we learn.”
The Book of Boy
by Gilbert Murdoch
The Book of Boy is a historical fiction fantasy that is set in medieval France. It recounts the journey of a boy who goes on a pilgrimage to collect relics associated with a saint.
“My grandma bought me this book after it was recommended to her at Kidsbooks (my favourite bookstore). It was unlike anything I had read before and I learned a lot about medieval times and new words that I hadn’t heard. I really love this story and I have recommended it to lots of others, including my Grandad, who just finished reading it.”
Keeper of the Lost Cities
by Shannon Messenger
There are nine books in this fantasy series about a 12 year old girl named Sophie who discovers she has telepathic powers. She soon meets a new friend who opens up a magical world to her.
“This is a pretty long series and the books are quite thick, but once you start to get into it they really start getting good and they were hard to put down.”
Animorphs
by K.A Applegate
Animorphs is a science fantasy series first published back in the 1990s (popular back in my day of Scholastic Book fairs, anyone remember those?). There’s aliens involved and some slightly creepy and outdated cover illustrations, but that didn’t seem to deter Lucas 🙂
“These are good if you like sci-fi because there are lots of aliens. Also if you ever have a dream about being an animal like I have, this helps you imagine what that would be like.”
The Twits (and everything else by Roald Dahl)
A few Christmases ago I bought Lucas this box set collection of Roald Dahl books I found at Costco. I was a HUGE fan of Roald Dahl when I was a kid and I was pretty sure he would love the books too. Well by the end of Christmas break he had finished every single one of them.
“I love all of these books by Roald Dahl, but if I had to pick a favourite it would probably be ‘The Twits’, it is just so funny. It had me laughing out loud. Some of my other favourites are ‘Fantastic Mr.Fox’ , ‘Matilda” and ‘The BFG’. It’s pretty hard to choose actually.”
Holes
by Louis Sachar
The book ‘Holes’ centres on a boy, Stanley Yelnats, who is sent to a correctional boot camp in a desert in Texas, after being falsely accused of theft. This is a great mystery and comedy novel for young readers and adults.
“My mom gave me this book to read as something different than all the series I was into. I really loved it. It has a great mystery to it that kept me guessing and there are a ton of funny parts.”
Lucas’ Honourable Mention: A Dragon’s Tale
“I was given ‘A Dragon’s Tale’ by Bookey McCormack, just this past Christmas. It was a lot of fun to read and well written and guess what…the author is just 11 years old! It turns out Bookey wrote this book himself during the pandemic and now he’s working on the next one in the series. He also lives in Vancouver just like me. I just think that’s really cool.”
A Dragon’s Tale: Flight of the Hybrids can be found to order on Amazon.
