My first recommendation is to know that this age is visual, active, and with the attention span of one Nickelodeon episode, including commercials. Comic books are still reading and there are many that have great story lines, cool graphics, and lots of action. There are also more traditional, chapter books that pique their interest for guts, gore, and gross.

Some great ones to start with include:

1. Anything by R.L. Stine. His Goosebumps series was one that my now 21-year-old always had with him during that 8-10 year old stage. The books average $3.99, just right for them to purchase themselves, and include typical boy topics like a kid growing hair everywhere even when he shaved it off!

2. Anything by Frank Peretti in his The Cooper Kids Adventure Series. There are several books, including Trapped at the Bottom of the Sea, that speak to this age's sense of adventure.

3. The books by Beverly Lewis and her The Cul-de-Sac Kids series is good for the eight and nine year old reader. One title, The Mystery of Case D. Luc includes a secret code language that speaks to this age's love of riddles and basketball!

4. Bill Myers has a hit in his My Life as a Smashed Burrito with Extra Hot Sauce. The title along and the cover art is appealing to this age group! The character, Wally McDoogle, would appeal to boys who've had to deal with the gangling limbs and awkward advance toward puberty. Wally is 12-years-old and is described as "the walking disaster area."

5. Dwyane J. Ferguson adds the Kid Caramel Private Investigator series with Mess at Lcoh Ness. This is a good mystery and introduces multicultural kids into the adventure mix.

6. Julian, Secret Agent by Ann Cameron is another multicultural character that is good for the early reading eight-year-old. It is a great chapter book full of adventure of these young criminal investigators!

7. An absolute favorite author for this age is Andrew Clements. My son couldn't put down Frindle and was equally excited about The Landry News. This author has really captured the heart and spirit of the average tween boy!

8. We stumbled on Johnathan Rand's Michigan Chillers series. The Kreepy Klowns of Kalamazoo was especially good for my son to read as an 11-year-old because we were at our family's home in Michigan during the summer! He loved reading about the carnival and the crazy clowns.

9. The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey is another good book for the reluctant

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