Moms of Boys

Internet Meeting Place

www.scholastic.com (many articles/items dealing with reading, but click families, and then expert advice, then click on ‘see more of these’ which gives you the article archive – Pull up “Why Johnny Can’t and Won’t Read” by Francie Alexander is a good article about boys and reading.
www.findarticles.com/./articles/.. in-depth reviews of books geared for teen boys
An article about moms and sons forming a book club together; also has insights about the mother/son relationship

Sports Spectrum is a great magazine about athletes who take being a role model seriously.www.sportspectrum.com (magazine motto is “where sports and faith collide”)
Sports Illustrated for Kids
Junior Baseball

What Stories Does My Son Need?: A Guide to Books and Movies That Build Character in Boys by Michael Gurian, Terry Trueman
Great Books for Boys by Kathleen Odean
April Morning by Howard Fast – a Revolutionary War story that I first read in 8 th grade myself and remembered loving it so I bought a copy of it for my oldest son (13) to read. He loved it, too.
The Cay by Theodore Taylor – read this one when my middle son was assigned this as a 5 th grader; I read it, too, so I could quiz him on it. I couldn’t put it down. About a boy back in WWII who is stranded on an island, and the only person around is an elderly black man, whom the boy is hesitant to befriend. Soon, he realizes that color doesn’t matter, and they come to trust each other. Some passages are eloquently written.
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier – my 13-year-old read this one and liked it. About a boy in the Revolutionary War who goes against his Tory family and joins the Rebels.
Soldier’s Heart – 15-year-old boy goes to fight in the Civil War and is changed forever
Fudge, Superfudge, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, by Judy Bloom
The Outsiders (“Nothing gold can stay” famous line of dialogue) That Was Then, This is Now, both by S.E. Hinton
Manic Magee by Jerry Spinelli –
Crash by Jerry Spinelli
Holes by Louis Sachar
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
The Chronicles of Narnia
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Matt Christopher books

Skywalker by David Thompson, former college and pro player who got involved with drugs and soured his basketball career but now realizes his mistake and has turned his life around
The Life You Imagine by New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter
The Long Road to Gettysburg by Jim Murphy – account of this famous battle, using the journals of two actual participants

What’s Wrong with Timmy? by Maria Shriver
What’s Happening To Grandpa? by Maria Shriver
What’s Heaven? by Maria Shriver
– Sensitive books that handle very tough questions/situations in an insightful way

See also