Books About Boys

J FICTION (Grades 2 & 3)

Star of the Week by Caroline Adderson
It’s finally Jasper John Dooley’s turn to be Star of the Week, but his classroom show-and-tell of his lint collection falls flat. Can Jasper John come up with something more interesting?   127 pgs.
(Look for other titles in the Jasper John Dooley series.)

Freckle Juice by Judy Blume   
Andrew wants freckles so badly that he buys a secret freckle recipe for 50 cents. Will it work?  47 pgs.  (Look for other titles by this author.)   

Tooth Trouble by Abby Klein   
First-grader Freddy is the only one in his class who hasn’t lost a tooth. Can he speed things along, or will that cause more problems?  95 pgs.  (Look for other titles in the Ready Freddy series.)

Herbie Jones by Suzy Kline
Third-grader Herbie finds bones in the boy’s bathroom, wanders away on a field trip, and is finally promoted to a higher reading group.  95 pgs.  (Look for other titles featuring Herbie Jones.)

Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon  
Horrid Henry loves to cause trouble. Whether forcing his neighbor to eat Glop, ruining a dance recital or collapsing the tents of an entire campground, Henry loves nothing more than to be horrid. 112 pgs.   (Look for other titles featuring Henry.)

Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom by Eric Wight
After Frankie Pickle’s mother tells him to clean his room, he comes up with interesting adventures instead.  79 pgs.  (Look for other titles in the Frankie Pickle series.)

J FICTION (Grades 3-6)

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger   
Sixth-grader Dwight creates an origami finger puppet that looks like Yoda. Dwight talks to his classmates with the puppet, and everyone is surprised by Origami Yoda’s wisdom.  141 pgs.   (Look for other titles in the Origami Yoda series.)

Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary
Henry finds Ribsy, a skinny dog who looks like he needs a home, and then his adventures begin.  155 pgs.  (Look for other titles featuring Henry.)

Lunch Money by Andrew Clements   
Sixth-grader Greg, who has always been good at moneymaking projects, teams up with his lifelong rival, Maura, to create a series of comic books to sell at school.  222 pgs.  (Look for other titles by this author.)

The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester by Barbara O’Connor  
Owen catches the biggest bullfrog in Carter, Georgia, but releases it because the frog isn’t happy. After a small submarine falls off of a train, Owen and his friends use it to search for the frog. What will happen when his nosy neighbor Viola finds out about the submarine?  168 pgs. 

Big Nate: In a Class by Himself by Lincoln Peirce  
Smart-aleck Nate manages to get detentions from all of his middle school teachers on the same day. This book is a combination of chapter book and graphic novel format.  214 pgs.  (Look for other titles featuring Big Nate.)

Captain Nobody by Dean Pitchford  
After ten-year-old Newt dresses in an assortment of clothes for Halloween, he discovers that he has constructed the costume for Captain Nobody, hero of the day! Can Captain Nobody help his older brother who is in a coma after a car accident?  195 pgs.

How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell 
Two boys try to prove that worms can make a delicious meal. Can Billy eat 15 worms in 15 days?  115 pgs.

Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald Sobol   
Fifth-grader “Encyclopedia” Leroy Brown solves a series of ten mysteries. The solutions are at the back of the book, challenging readers to use their own sleuthing skills.  88 pgs.  (Look for other titles in the Encyclopedia Brown series.)

Oggie Cooder by Sarah Weeks  
Fourth-grader Oggie Cooder doesn’t fit in at school. His teachers describe him as quirky, and his classmates think he’s weird. When Oggie proves to have an unusual talent, he’s suddenly the star of the school.   172 pgs.  (Also look for the sequel: Oggie Cooder, Party Animal.)

Niagara Falls, or Does It?  by Henry Winkler    
Hank, Ashley, and Frankie are preparing for a magic show when Hank's creative English assignment causes big trouble. With Hank in detention and grounded for the week, will the show go on?  133 pgs.  (Look for other titles by in the Hank Zipzer series.)

JH FICTION (Grades 6-8)

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko   
In 1935, Moose Flanagan moves with his family to Alcatraz Island when his father is hired as a prison guard. The prison holds murderers, hit men, con men, embezzlers, connivers, burglars and kidnappers. There may even be an innocent man or two, but that's highly unlikely.  228 pgs.  (Also look for the sequel: Al Capone Shines My Shoes.)

Powerless by Matthew Cody  
Twelve-year-old Daniel makes some interesting friends when he moves to a new town. He discovers that his friends each have superpowers, but will lose them as soon as they turn thirteen. Can Daniel find out why these superheroes lose their powers? 
279 pgs.  (Also look for the sequel: Super.)

Roberto & Me by Dan Gutman  
Stosh travels back to 1969 to prevent the untimely death of Roberto Clemente, a legendary baseball player. On his return to the present, he meets his own great-grandson, and they travel into the future. What Stosh finds there is more shocking than anything he has yet encountered.  180 pgs.  (Look for other titles in the Baseball Card Adventure series.)

33 Minutes by Todd Hasak-Lowy
Seventh-graders Sam and Morgan used to be best friends, but now things have changed. Morgan has threatened to beat up Sam at recess, which is only thirty-three minutes away.  210 pgs.

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz  
Alex Rider was told that his uncle Ian died in a car accident, but he knows that's a lie. Alex is shocked to discover that his uncle was really a spy. Now Alex has been recruited to find the killers and complete Ian's final mission. 192 pgs.  (Look for other titles in the Alex Rider series.)

Pop by Gordon Korman  
After he moves to a new town, Marcus becomes friends with an ex-NFL player named Charlie Popovich. Charlie helps Marcus prepare for the high school football season, but is there a secret about Charlie’s condition that his family is hiding?  260 pgs.  (Look for other titles by this author.)   

The Curse of the Campfire Weenies, and Other Warped and Creepy Tales by David Lubar  
Stories about pigeons, ancient predators, Girl Scouts and other terrifying things are included in this collection of 35 short stories.  207 pgs.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen  
After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days alone in the wilderness and learns about survival with only the aid of a hatchet.  195 pgs.  (Look for other titles by this author.)

Holes by Louis Sachar  
Stanley Yelnats is sent to a very strange detention camp where the inmates spend every day digging five-foot-wide holes. Could there actually be buried treasure? How will Stanley escape from this camp and break an ancient family curse?  233 pgs.

J NONFICTION

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca
J 629.454 FLO
This book follows the historic space mission that first placed astronauts on the moon.  Unpaged.

The Boys Book: How to Be the Best at Everything
by Dominique Enright
J 790.194 ENR
Learn cool new skills like writing in secret code, reading a compass, getting an egg in a bottle, making stink bombs and hypnotizing a chicken.  118 pgs.

Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys by Bob Raczka  
J 811.6 RAC
This treasury of haiku poems celebrates experiences from splashing in puddles and climbing trees to icicle sword fighting and skipping rocks.  Unpaged

Blizzard!: The Storm That Changed America by Jim Murphy   J 974.71 MUR    
A terrible blizzard crippled New York City in March, 1888. Through first-person accounts, the story of the storm and its aftermath is described. Kids as well as adults struggled to cope with the cold and blinding snow.  136 pgs.

Candy Bomber: The Story of the Berlin Airlift’s “Chocolate Pilot” by Michael O. Tunnell  
JB Halvorsen
After he realized that the children of West Berlin were hungry, Gail Halvorsen dropped packages of candy on his cargo plane runs. These treats provided comfort and encouragement to kids isolated by the 1948 Soviet blockade of West Berlin.  110 pgs.

Knucklehead: Tall Tales & Mostly True Stories of Growing Up Scieszka by Jon Scieszka     
JB Scieszka
This hilarious autobiography describes author Jon Scieszka’s early years in a family with six boys. What crazy antics will the brothers be up to next?  106 pgs.

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 630-584-9390 or contact us online.

This list was created by Youth Services, St. Charles Public Library.

revised 4/13 MSP