by Karen Banes

Created on: May 20, 2009

Now, more than ever, books for preteen boys have to be instantly engaging and hugely entertaining. After all they are competing with TV, DVDs, video games and internet based entertainment.

A great new series of books hugely popular with preteen boys at the moment is the Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney. They are written in a really accessible diary style, broken up with hilarious cartoon style drawings. The writing style and boy-friendly humor will engage the most reluctant reader, and they'll be begging for the next in the series. At present, there are three: 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid',' Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules', and 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw', plus a great Do-It Yourself Wimpy Kid book, that cleverly gets kids thinking and writing, as well as reading.

The Captain Underpants series, by Dav Pilkey. While these books may not appeal to many adults, especially with titles such as 'Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants' preteen boys love them. Again the mix of easy reading, engaging content, pictures and humor make them particularly appealing to reluctant readers.

Dragon Slayers Academy series by Kate McMullan. With titles such as '97 Ways to train a dragon', 'Pig Latin not just for Pigs', 'Countdown to the year 1000', and 'Wheel of Misfortune', these books about a hapless would-be dragon slayer named Wiglaf are well-written, funny, and nice and short a great way to make reading appealing when a lot of other things are competing for attention.

The 'Astrosaurs' series by Steve Cole. How many young boys can resist the idea that dinosaurs, far from being wiped out by a stray meteorite, evolved far enough to perfect space travel technology and simply left the earth before disaster struck? Follow their adventures through these humorous, easy-read novels.

Harry Potter. Still a favorite among preteens and teenagers, as well as many adults. Harry is not an easy read for many younger readers but the plots are so compelling there is a big incentive to stick with it. Remember the early books are shorter and easier than the later ones, plus it makes sense to read them in order, so your child can build ability and reading confidence as he works his way through them.

Old classics. It's easy to forget that the old classics became classics for a reason. My preteen boy has hugely enjoyed old-fashioned books such as the Chronicles of Narnia series, Stig of the Dump, The Railway Children and even the entire Famous Five series. Also don't limit your reading choices to only boy stuff. The Pippi Longstocking series, for example, is a great example of incredibly silly humor that can really appeal to preteen boys.

Non-fiction. Pre-teen boys are often moving away from fiction as their natural curiosity about the world comes to the surface. Capitalize on this by providing books on their interests whether this is dinosaurs, space travel, sports, nature, or reported yeti sightings - whatever sparks their interest and gets them reading.

One last tip. Notice how many of these book are part of a series. A great way to get kids hooked on books is to find a series or author they love. They'll finish one book ready to start reading the next, and even love receiving novels as birthday or holiday gifts if it's part of their favorite series. For more great ideas for books kids of all ages will love, see this article.

Learn more about this author, Karen Banes.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.