Books are one of my favorite topics. I have goodreads with a small number of books I've read, and I'm always happy to connect to people to get recommendations.

Of my 3 kids, the first is an avid reader. He read early and often. If he found an interesting book, he would finish it in a day (when he was <10 years old). And if it was especially interesting, he would re-read it multiple times.

Here is a selection of the books on our bookshelves that he read.

Younger kids

  • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory — Roald Dahl
  • Matilda — Roald Dahl
  • James and the Giant Peach — Roald Dahl
  • Fantastic Mr Fox — Roald Dahl
  • The BFG — Roald Dahl
  • Esio Trot — Roald Dahl
  • A Series of Unfortunate Events — Lemony Snicket
  • Aesop's Fables — Aesop
  • Summer ball (and many other sports books) - Mike Lupica
  • The kid who only hit homers - Matt Christopher
  • Illustrated Classics
    • The prince and the pauper (for children) - Mark Twain

All kids

  • Treasure Island — Robert Louis Stevenson
  • Robinson Crusoe — Daniel Defoe
  • The Jungle Book — Rudyard Kipling
  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz — L. Frank Baum
  • The Wind in the Willows — Kenneth Grahame
  • The Way Things Work — David Macaulay
  • What if - Randall Munroe
  • The thief lord - Cornelia Funke

Fantasy, Myth, Epic, Adventure

  • The Hobbit — J. R. R. Tolkien
  • The Lord of the Rings — J. R. R. Tolkien
  • The Chronicles of Narnia — C. S. Lewis
  • The Once and Future King — T. H. White
  • Eragon — Christopher Paolini
  • The Call of the Wild — Jack London
  • White Fang — Jack London
  • The Count of Monte Cristo — Alexandre Dumas (YA-friendly editions)
  • Tales from the Odyssey - Mary Pope Osborne
  • Mahabharata - The Epic (for children)

Some others that are our favorites

  • Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister - by Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay