Anyone have suggestions for a 10 year old who likes comic mischief? He’s a huge fan of diary of a wimpy kid series but his reading level has moved beyond that. He’s also really enjoyed the wild robot series, Matilda, and the skunk and fox books.
Thanks in advance!
Edit: thank you all for your great recommendations. I’m going to check them all out with him tonight!
I’d recommend tje authors Jack London, Joanne Rowling, Rudyard Kipling, Terry Pratchett, Arthur Doyle… in no particular order.
I don’t think Terry Pratchett is appropriate for a 10y/o if only because it’s a huge waste; they won’t understand more than 10% of the jokes
He wrote a decent number of books aimed at kids. There are the Tiffany Aching books in Discworld for a start, as well as non discworld books like Only You Can Save Mankind or the Bromeliad books.
I wouldn’t stop a 10yo from reading any of the discworld books if they’re enjoying them, mind. There’s lots to find funny anyway, and we all had to start building our “reference vocabulary” somewhere.
I didn’t realize he was a prolific kids author! TIL!
I’m always torn: I’d never stop someone from reading a book “too early” but I also don’t want someone to, fot example, miss out on a great character romance story because they already read the book for the action when they were 11
Former (Dutch) teacher here! Diary of a wimpy kid is easy reading for a lot of kids and I always found that the really engrossing books could help them move on to their actual reading level. For my students who liked comic mischief in class, I could always get them hooked to reading with The Saga of Darren Shan.
Don’t let the ‘horror’ genre fool you: the story is dark and funny. Based on the books you named I think your kid might love it!
Thanks for the tips! I’ll check em out
I’d recommend the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz. It’s junior James Bond, my kids loved them.
There is a large selection of Japanese light novels that are being translated into English. This is where a lot of the original source material for anime comes from. The anime is often created to sell the books, in fact.
There’s a lot of stuff that won’t be appropriate until they hit 13yo or so, but my nephew, a voracious reader, started reading LNs around 10.
Spice & Wolf is a personal favorite that might be a good fit. They will miss out on the romantic subplot but that’s only a small part of the story
My boys of that age enjoy the Percy Jackson book series, Harry Potter, and Wings of Fire. We also read them LOTR which they loved, but they haven’t reread it themselves yet.
I enjoyed the Redwall series around his age. Yes , they are formulaic after a while, but good fun pulp adventure for kids.
Me as an adults just gonna be here taking notes for my own reading list , you all are the best for recommending
- Unicorn Rescue Society series by Adam Gidwitz
- Ben Yokoyama Cookie Chronicles series by Swanson and Behr
- Wings of Fire series by Tui T. Sutherland
- Wow in the World books by Mindy Thomas and Guy Roz (they have a companion podcast that’s absolutely bonkerballs as well!)
All of these have a nice mix of comedy and mischief/adventure that he might enjoy.
Came here to say Wings of Fire. Absolutely fantastic series. Thanks for the other recs I’ll check those out.
Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy.
I recommend Peter Pan.
Maybe also look into Astrid Lindgren’s Bill Bergson books and Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter.
Gary Paulson’s book’s are good for that age range. Most of his work is more serious in tone and survivalist (stuck in nature survivalist not doomsday bunker survivalist). Harris and Me is more biographical comedy.
O. Henry was my favorite author at that age, and still something that I revisit. It is written in an older dialect which can be a put off for some people.
That’s a good age for mythology. Greek mythology is the easiest to find kid appropriate translations of but Norse mythology is full of daring rogue stories.
The Dangerous Book for Boys is a fun reference book.
Seconding the mythology recommendation! My nine year old loves d’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths and was stoked to find a new podcast called Greeking Out by National Geographic Kids. She’s been listening to it practically everyday, and we just picked up the companion book from the library this weekend.
Not sure it fits with what your son like but I think it’s around this age my own son started reading the Harry Potter series.
I’ve tried to get him to start those but he hasn’t been interested. When he was younger one of the movies terrified him and I think he’s still scarred from that 😂
Dog Man, Cat Kid Comic Club, and Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey. Huge hits among my kids’ friends.
The Bad Guys has a movie out, so that’s easy to get into.
Our local library had to expand the graphic novel part of the kids section because they’re so in demand. Amulet and Bone are really good.
Anything written or illustrated by Reina Telgrmaier (Guts, Smile, Sisters, Ghosts, The Babysitters Club)
The Pilkey books are more of his favorites but he’s read them all several times now and I think his reading level is ready for the next step. We’ll check out the other ones you mentioned thanks a ton!
You betcha. Mine are in the reading level yours is leaving, but we’ve just started with my old Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys/Tom Swift/ Boxcar Children and so far they’re interested.
Heck, how about The Animorphs? There’s a /c/ on here for it somewhere.
Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians is exactly what you’re looking for! It was written for grades 5-7 and it’s chock full of comic mischief, super powers, great morals, and a gripping story. I read it as a young adult and loved the entire series.
I really enjoyed the TinTin series at that age. Nice adventure stories.
