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Home › Articles › General › Introduce Him to the Joy of Reading

Introduce Him to the Joy of Reading

Great Books for Preteen Boys

By Teri Brown

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Preteen boys can be whirling dervishes of nonstop activity, and when they do relax, it's most often in front of a video game. But there is another activity claiming the attention of our young men, and it's one that parents can fully encourage reading. Thanks to Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl, boys have discovered that reading is cool, and publishers, authors and parents are racing to fill that newfound appetite.

Jeff Stone is the author of the Five Ancestor Series (Random House), an action-adventure series about five orphaned warrior monks in ancient China. The fourth in the series, CRANE, comes out at the end of February 2007.

Stone says there are more preteen boys reading than ever before. "I'm certain more kids are reading now than when I was young, and it seems like more preteens have been reading since Harry Potter started shattering records," he says. "I think Harry's impact on the marketplace led to more novels being published for younger readers, and more novels make for more choices. People of all ages like choices."

What does Stone love best about writing for the preteen audience? Remembering what it was like to be 12 and becoming that age again. "When I was 12, I could conquer the world," he says. "I could be anything ... do anything. I do my best to put that same energy into each one of my books in hopes that it will keep a kid reading. Not only reading my books, but other books as well. Lots of books."

Involvement Is Key
Stone has found the best way to get your son to enjoy reading is to get involved. That is what he does with his own children. "Read with your son at home, and if your son is 'too old for that', consider starting a mother/son or father/son reading group," he says. "I met with one mother/son reading group that meets at a bookstore in Malibu, Calif. It was awesome. Another thing you can do is listen to books on CD in the car. Most of them are very well done. If your son enjoys one, get him an actual book by that same author. Odds are, he'll give reading it a shot especially if you pick a book with lots of action."

Stone says that boys in general are no different from men in general. Men usually prefer action in their books, movies, etc. They're also very visual and enjoy words that create a vivid scene in their mind.

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