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JennGM
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Angel wrote:
I second the *Percy Jackson and the Olympians* series (from Marilyn's list and *The Mysterious Benedict Society* books. Also...
The *Gregor the Overlander* series has been a hit here.
Also, the Tales of the RAFseries by Don Patterson about WWII RAF flyer Harry Winslow get a seal of approval... the writing is a bit clunky sometimes, but... a whole series about WWII dogfights, with lots of detail about the planes? Definitely written for boys!
In a similar vein, the Bigglesbooks, written by Capt. W. E. Johns. More airplanes. 
Oh, and my dad grew up reading the Tom Swiftbooks. I keep meaning to introduce my boys to these. Maybe this summer. |
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I know this is an old thread, but can we talk Biggles and Tom Swift? I noticed Angela had mentioned Biggles again somewhere.
Where do you find these copies? Are you buying new reprints or tracking down used?
Is it hard to read OOP series when you can't find all the books and so can't read them in order?
What ages for Biggles and Tom Swift? Read aloud or read-along?
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Erin
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Jenn
Our Biggles books were my dh's from his childhood, but I found some at Abebooks and Addall
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Erin
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Erin
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Jenn
Biggles don't need to be read in order, in fact there seems to be two sub-series. During the War, and after the War.
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Angel
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Just seeing this, Jenn -- sorry!
I have bought Biggles used on amazon. We haven't read any of the WWII titles yet, just the WWI. There is sort of an order to the WWI books, but you can read them in any order and it will be ok. Two of the WWI books have different titles but contain the same material.
Here's a site where you can find a list of all the Biggles books with plot summaries:
www.biggles.info
Biggles Learns to Fly is the first book chronologically, even though it doesn't have the earliest publication date. That's where we started.
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Angela
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Angel
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Oops, I forgot to answer your other questions...
My dh reads Biggles aloud to my 8 yo and 5 yo boys. My oldest read Biggles to himself at about the age of 10 or 11. I still haven't gotten around to Tom Swift, but that's a great idea I had.  My 8 yo tends to want to listen to the same books over and over and over, and I think everyone is getting a little tired of the first Harry Potter books. I'll have to do a little hunting for Tom Swift. My mom and dad have nearly the whole collection, I think, which belonged to my grandfather.
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JennGM
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Angel wrote:
| Just seeing this, Jenn -- sorry! |
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No apologies, Angela! I think you answered some of these in the other thread, but I was trying to nail down some age ranges.
Tom Swift -- are Tom Swift Jr. different than the Tom Swift? I come across several titles in my flea market and antiquing...but then not sure what is right. Have never come across Biggles. Sigh. I hate buying them on the internet b/c of postage. I like a good used book bargain.
Age and reading level is hard to nail down for me. I was going to Books Children Love (comparing the two editions) last night to get ideas for my son. Lots of good ideas, and it was a good reminder that I can spread out the books; they don't need to read them all at once.
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rcarter
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I have a few of the Tom Swift books. They don't have to be read in any order, at least the ones I have. My son who is 9 has been reading them for at least a year, and love love loves them! Mostly I've found them in antique stores, or yard sales, and one or two from alibris.
Also, how about the Dave Dawson series? American boy who joined the RAF, encounters Nazis, makes incredible escapes, etc. My brothers all enjoyed them, although I'd say my 9 y.o. is still a bit young, since the books are kind of long.
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SeaStar
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sarahb wrote:
Suddenly, Paddington Bear is a huge hit with my 9 yo. My 12 yo enjoyed it as well on audio for a car trip. I got it for the 4 yo initially.
We all liked it so well that Im busily buying up all the books. So far I have read 3 of them to the kids and I am starting another tonight.
Paddington Bear
More Paddington Bear
Paddington Helps Out
Paddington Abroad
I was so pleased that everyone enjoyed these together. |
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Bumping this thread up- I refer to it often. (I have it marked in my favorites).
I just wanted to throw in that based on Sarah's comments, I got the first Paddington book on tape a couple of weeks ago, and my DC (7 and 9) LOVED it! Paddington has many exciting adventures and gets into just enough mischief to keep them laughing. The books in the series are a nice length for my ds to read on his own- not overwhelmingly long and have some nice pictures.
Thanks, Sarah, for the tip!
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MarilynW
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My boys like some of the GA Henty books. There is a concern about anti-Catholicism in some books - but we have not found any so far. This articleby Martin Cothran is interesting and highlights some Henty books which may be a problem.
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MaryM
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MarilynW wrote:
| My boys like some of the GA Henty books. There is a concern about anti-Catholicism in some books - but we have not found any so far. This articleby Martin Cothran is interesting and highlights some Henty books which may be a problem. |
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Thank you for the link, Marilyn. Interesting article. My oldest son really enjoyed Henty and save for the occasional books to watch out for, he is very good. It was interesting to get his take on these other books. Martin is the featured speaker at our homeschool conference next week and is doing a talk on literature to teach worldview and how important fiction is for reaching the emotions and teaching character and virtue and truth. I'm really excited to hear it.
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MarilynW
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MaryM wrote:
| [Thank you for the link, Marilyn. Interesting article. My oldest son really enjoyed Henty and save for the occasional books to watch out for, he is very good. It was interesting to get his take on these other books. Martin is the featured speaker at our homeschool conference next week and is doing a talk on literature to teach worldview and how important fiction is for reaching the emotions and teaching character and virtue and truth. I'm really excited to hear it. |
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His talk sounds wonderful Mary. Will there be cds? I heard that he has converted to Catholicism - awesome!
Thanks for the Henty thumbs up.
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JennGM
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Bump a Favorite Thread Thursdays
Bumping this thread, as it's one of my favorites.
I'm finding that many of my favorite books my son is enjoying, also.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Oh! This is timely for me! I have a voracious independent boy reader and I really need to review this thread...and had forgotten about it! I'm so glad you bumped it, Jenn! 
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I bought my ds8 the Father Finn's Famous Three series (includes Tom Playfair) for Easter, and he loved them.
I keep coming back to Angela's recommending the Tales of the RAF and Biggles because I know my boys would love those, too!
Also, I thought since they weren't mentioned in this thread, the TinTin comics are a household favorite, and I anticipate the Asterix comics being likewise loved when they receive the first couple as gifts for their June birthdays.
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aforb001
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My son is laughing out loud reading The Great Brain and its sequels by John Fitzgerald. 
Adele
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CrunchyMom wrote:
| Also, I thought since they weren't mentioned in this thread, the TinTin comics are a household favorite, and I anticipate the Asterix comics being likewise loved when they receive the first couple as gifts for their June birthdays. |
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TinTin was a huge hit here, too! I thought the print was so small on the hardcover volumes, but all my younger boys loved those books!
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SallyT
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We have also loved TinTin, and Biggles has been a favorite here since my older son was 4. You don't have to read them in order, but the best ones are the WWI ones, in my opinion -- later on he just becomes kind of a roving aviator-hero, involved in rather fantastical adventures, and then is in WWII. Capt. W. E. Johns, who wrote the series, wrote about 104 of them, so . . . many to choose from!
My personal favorites: Biggles Learns to Fly (the first full-length novel -- there's also a book of short stories from the very beginning) and Biggles Flies East (in which he is a spy in a German camp in the Palestinian desert). Of the WWII-era ones, Biggles Fails to Return is pretty good as well.
We bought some of ours in England, but a few Christmases ago I went searching on Amazon and did find some copies via U.S. vendors. You just have to be vigilant and persistent. There are copies on this side of the Atlantic, but not enough that they'd be that likely to turn up in sales . . . actually, a couple of ours may be newer reprints, now that I think of it, I'll have to track them down and check.
Sally
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JennGM
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I have not found any Biggles yet, although I do keep my eyes open.
I'm surprised TinTin and Asterix were not included. They are definitely a staple here!!!!
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Erin
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JennGM wrote:
| I have not found any Biggles yet, although I do keep my eyes open. |
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Really!! Well I suppose they are British which would be why you're not finding them easily. Ds13 is on a Biggles binge at the moment.
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Angel wrote:
| In a similar vein, the Bigglesbooks, written by Capt. W. E. Johns. More airplanes. |
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We've been enjoying a few of these! Thank you so much for the recommendation, Angela!
Angel wrote:
| Oh, and my dad grew up reading the Tom Swiftbooks. |
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Just wanted to mention that you can purchase the Tom Swift Megapack: 25 Complete Novels for 99 cents for the Kindle. You can find many of them for free for the iPad, too. Since I have two boys reading them, we've got them on both the Kindle AND the ipad! These are really being enjoyed here! Thank you for mentioning them!
This thread continues to provide great ideas for me!
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Jen Mackintosh
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4Real Forums : Living Literature
Topic: Finding Series that Boys Love
