Chapter Books for 9-year-old Boy
2001
Our daughter is really into reading chapter books now, but has come home
with a string of
them which have all been situated in white, middle class, suburban
families with siblings
who bicker constantly, tell each other to "shut up!" and call each other
"stupid" and "jerk."
In the latest book, the main character invited some girls over for a
slumber party for her
11th birthday and two girls would not eat pizza because they were on a
diet! Please tell me
there are chapter books out there where girls are not obsessed by body image,
siblings do not fight and name call, and all the people are not white and
middle
class (or European and nobility -- princesses, etc). She loved Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory, but seems to want to read about girls recently. I would
love
any recommendations with either boys or girls as main characters that would be
topically appropriate for a first grader. Thanks! Dana
Regarding chapter books for young girls--one of my favorite
topics and makes me want a baby girl very badly:
from my childhood (19070s), so some of these may be a bit
outdated, harder to find, and some might be better at a slightly older
age:
The "shoes" books, by Noel Streatfeild --Ballet, Dancing,
Theater, Circus, Travelling, etc.
Caddie Woodlawn, Carol Ryrie Brink
The All-of-Kind Family, by Sydney Taylor (Tailor?)
The Little House on the Prarie books, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Betsy Tacy Tib books, Maude Hart Lovelace
The Anne of Green Gables books, by LM Montgomery (perhaps at a
slightly older age)
Little Women, Little Men, Jo's boys, Eight Cousins, Rose in
Bloom, An Old Fashoned Girl, plus a few others as well that I don't
recall off the top of my head, by LM Alcott
The Beverly Cleary books-- Ramona Quimby, age 8 comes to mind,
but they are all great.
Famous Five, Secret Seven (detective series), The St. Clare
girls, and Mallory Towers series, by Enid Blyton and anything else that
Enid Blyton has written
Encyclopedia Brown
The Five Little Peppers
Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell
Madeleine L'Engle books (again, perhaps for older kids)
Charlotte's Web, by EB White (plus the rest of the the EB
White books)
Other great Authors, some of the titles are escaping me now:
Many books by Eleanor Estes: the Moffats (series), Ginger Pye
Betsy Byars (good for that age)
Elizabeth Enright
Other resources to find great kids books:
Newberry Book Awards
Caldecott Book Awards (Amazon has a list of all the books to
receive these awards)
The North Berkeley Branch of the Berkeley Public Library...
almost all of these authors/books were there in the last millennium, and
they have amazing children's librarians.
Good luck and happy reading. I enjoy re-reading many of these
even now, so I hope you enjoy them as well!
Sorry, I forgot to add Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
to the list... (a must read!) and if anyone has a similar list from when
they were young
boys, I would love to see it!
Shahana
In addition to the excellent list provided by Shahana (clearly
my soul mate, as I'd read and loved almost everything on her list), I'd like
to suggest the following books:
Edward Eager: Half Magic, Magic or Not, Knight's Castle and a
host of others
Lynne Reid Banks: The Indian in the Cupboard books (series)
An additional plug for Beverly Cleary: Ramona the Pest, Beezus
& Ramona, Henry Huggins, Henry & Ribsy, Otis Spofford, etc.
Lloyd Alexander: the whole Prydain Chronicles -- The Book of
Three, The Black Cauldron, Taran Wanderer, The High King, etc.
Robert O'Brien: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH Louise Fitzhugh:
Harriet the Spy, Sport John Fitzgerald: The Great Brain books (series)
Elizabeth George Speare: The Witch of Blackbird Pond, The
Bronze Bow E. L. Konigsburg: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E.
Frankweiler And for the slightly older child, let us not overlook the
much, and deservedly, lauded Harry Potter books.
Any of the these books (possible exception of the Witch of
Blackbird Pond, but even there I'm not sure) I would recommend with a clear
conscience to kids who like to read, of either gender. Some might be a bit
challenging for a 6-year-old. One thing I do find pretty annoying is the
unthinking classification of some wonderful books as a "girl's" book or a
"boy's" book, often simply because of the gender of the main protagonist.
Boys especially are apt not to read a "girl's book" and thus miss out on
really great stuff.
My husband read certain of the above (and the L.I. Wilder
books) as an adult, at my insistence, and had to agree, they were swell.
Harriet of Harriet The Spy is appealing to any kid. The fact that she's a
girl is practically a non-issue, but boys don't tend to read that
book. Anyway, I can't wait until my 3-year-old son can sit still for a story
without too many pictures, so that I can start the indoctrination. And I
too would love to hear about books I may have missed.
Wendy
The Narina series by C.S.Lewis are terrific for both boys and
girls. All the books feature at least one, sometimes two, girls and boys
as lead characters. Lewis's themes are about good and evil and finding
the moral courage to do the right thing in the face of adversity.
There's a lot of magic, (trees and animals that can talk, dwarfs and elves,
spells etc.), plenty of action and comedy. We read them aloud when my son
was a little younger, but now at the age of eight he reads them himself and
for the first time says things like "I can't wait to read more of my
book". Helene
There are a few great series books that get more challenging
as the themes and characters in them get older; the Betsy/Tacy/Tib series,
and the Little House series.
Other books I remember loving:
Linnets and Valerians by Elizabeth Goudge (great family
dynamics, some fantasy/magic)
Family Sabbatical and Family Grandstand (and Caddie Woodlawn)
by Carol Ryrie Brink
(Caddie Woodlawn has some uncomfortable native American
Images)
(these may be out of print, but available at the library)
The Saturdays, Four Story Mistake and pretty much anything by
Elizabeth Enright.
The Moffat Series by Eleanor Estes
(Rufus M is particularly charming!)
I also remember fondly the Carolyn Haywood Books but haven't
read any recently to see if they hold up over time, but reading level and them
wise they are *perfect* for an excellent first grade reader.
We've been reading Redwall (Brian Jacques) to our eight year
old happily. We also read all of Narnia, though the earlier in the
series are far more accesible than the later ones, and the Christian
symbolism gets difficult. We'll probably start with Lloyd Alexander fairly
soon.
Myriam
This is in response to Dana who would like non-typical
childrens books for her daughter.
I remember loving folk tales from all over the world at that
age. I had a bunch of them from Russia, India, Africa...they teach
about cultures, have colourful pictures and different language
styles. Im not sure about what your stand is on comics, but
Asterix and TinTin used to be favorites
as well.
We're very lucky to be in Berkeley where we have access to so
many cultures. You should be able find these books in the used book
stores on Telegraph. best of luck!
Vaiju
Great books for girls, by Kathleen Odean, lists more than 600
titles, from picture books on up.
Try the Girls to the rescue series, edited by Bruce Lansky.
There are about 6 books in the series, all paperback, with different
short stories about the many smart, courageous things girls
can do. Check http://www.newmoon.org & also ask your local
children's librarian. There are many resources for 'alternative' books.
Happy reading!
Rebecca
It's been a while since I actually read these to myself, and I
just don't remember what seven year old girls are capable of reading, but my
favorites as a child were by Zilpha Keatly Snyder. My absolute favorite was
The Egypt
Game, which had a very diverse group of young characters who created a
fabulous pretend world.
I probably read it about 15 times as a child, and I've read it a couple
times as a
grown up as well. These are the most memorable books of my youth. One other
that I enjoyed was The Westing Game (not by Ms. Snyder),
though I think it may be a couple years before she's ready for that one.
Since I
don't really remember how old I was when I read these, you may want to
check them for
age-appropriateness first...
I'm not concerned with the content, just that they may be above her reading
level. Heather
I know just what you mean about bickering siblings. Ramona and
Beasus (?) drove me nuts as did any number of rotten little kids who put
down their siblings. I liked books for my kids like the Boxcar Children
who stood up for their brothers and sisters. Also, the Betsy and Tacy
series (my grown up girls STILL discuss Betsy's life in great detail), the
Little
House on the Prairie series and my favorite non series book...."Understood
Betsy." This last one is a very old book but still in print and last I knew
available in local bookstores. In most cases I read the story aloud once
and then my girls (and boy) read and reread on their own. Janet
We have recently read "The Stories Julian Tells" and "More
Stories Julian Tells" by Ann Cameron about 2 young African American
brothers. They get into mischief, the stories have a bit of fantasy to
them, and their parents are there to set limits in a loving way. My son
has really enjoyed these books. Jennifer
The Magic Tree House series has a strong girl character (no
eating disorders) and some interesting science and history. It is
about a brother and sister who time-travel in a magic tree house owned
by a magic woman who is a librarian in King Arthur's court. Leslie
Books for a 7 year old girl: If you daughter loved (and was
able to read)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, she should definitely try
Matilda, and The Magic Finger (also by Roald Dahl). There are some very
good authors who write about middle class white kids but without the body
image focus and with realistic sibling issues that are resolved in
reasonable ways.
The Beverly Cleary series are great, as are books by Johanna
Hurwitz. Miriam Sachs has written many books over the years, many about
middle class families, but others about families facing financial or
health issues as well. As your daughter gets a bit older--my daughter
and I have both enjoyed books by Lois Lenski. My daughter has also read
historic fiction by an author whose name I forget, but who wrote one
book called Lyddie about factory work in New England and another about a
runaway slave making his way to freedom.
On a totally different note, my son loves books by James Howe.
He has written a whole set told from the point of view of Harold the
dog. They are "mysteries," starting with Bunnicula (a bunny found
abandoned in a movie theater where Dracula was being shown and brought home;
Chester the cat is convinced he is a vampire and begins to try to rid the
house of him--very funny), and going on to Howliday Inn (Harold and
Chester are boarded at a kennel while the family is on vacation), Return
to Howliday Inn, The Celery Stalks at Midnight... you get the idea. He has
enjoyed these from first grade through fourth. It's true all the main
characters are male, but these are extremely funny, and my daughter loves
them, too, even though she has far "out grown" them by now. And to the
extent that people show up as characters at all, the women are generally
sensible, direct people (the image of men tends to be less positive...
quite a few bumbling fools, I'm afraid).
This list, as you will note, is very thin on books from other
cultures/ethnicities/racial backgrounds. It doesn't reflect my
preference, just what we found and what I can remember them
reading. In the area of picture books there seems to be much more variety.
Again, I can't remember the names of many authors, but two of our
favorites are Faith Ringgold and Ezra Keats (I think I have these names
right). The books of both of these authors go beyond a good story to
beautifully illustrate childhood experiences and family relations, and my
children have enjoyed them well past the stage when they moved on to
chapter books.
Cynthia
My daughter's long-time favorite was *My Side of the
Mountain,* by Jean Craighead George. Although the protagonist is a boy who
goes
off to live by himself on a mountain, my daughter had no trouble identifying
with him. The book is full of positive messages about independence and
self-reliance. And it stimulated trips to the library to get books on
foraging, which were
followed up by dandelion salads and other delicacies.
My daughter also read all the Redwall books.
Dore
My daughter also became interested in reading about girls when
she was around seven. I highly recommend looking at some series chapter
books. That
way when your daughter finds something that interests her theres are still
more books
to read. They are not great literature but for my daughter they really
sparked her
interest in reading.
In first grade her teacher read "Meet Addy" from the American Girl series.
Addy is a slave
during the civil war era. She begged me for a copy of the book and read it
over and over
again. We finally got her some other books from the series.
There are five in all. She then began to read books about the other
characters. A girl from
the Amercan Revolution, from the Victorian era, from the Great Depression,
from the
pioneers and from the Southwest. Unfortunately all are white except for
Addy and Josefina from
the Southwest. What is nice is that the books are attractive to young girls
and although
superficial give them a little taste of different historical events and
past ways of life.
Some other series my daughter enjoyed at that age that are almost all about
white kids but
certainly much more wholesome than what you were describing are "Boxcar
Children", "Magic Attic
Club",and "The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashly Olsen" Other books my
daughter has loved in the past few years, she
is now 10 include,
-books by Scott Odell "Island of the Blue Dolphins"
"Carlota" -"Ella Enchanted"
-"Anne of Green Gables"
-books by Yoshiko Uchida "Journey Home"
"A Jar of Dreams"
-books by Laurence Yep "The Amah"
-"Marisol and Magdalena" by Veronica Chambers
-"Gwinna" by Barbara Helen Berger
A lot of these are about girls of different ethnicities and
are all beautiful stories. My daughter has loved all of them and has read most
of these stories several times. Some of these wont be appropriate
until your daughter is a bit older but a few might make good
read alouds so that you can help her understand the content.
Anyhow, you might want to take your daughter to Codys or another bookstore
with plenty of childrens books and let her look around in the childrens
section. It is often easier for children to find books in a bookstore
than in a library where book covers are more frequently on
display. I hope this is helpful. There are many great books out there
these are just a few. Have fun!
Liza
The Great Brain series by John Fitzgerald are a fun read.
There are seven in the series and they were originally written
for adults but published for kids. They've got everything:
history, mystery, adventure, humor, thrills...all written in
a style suited to reading outloud or alone. If you ignore the
covers and sample the first chapter of the first one in the series,
The Great Brain, I guarantee you'll want to finish at least
the first book.
Adam and Deatra
The "Misty of Chincoteague" series by Marguerite Henry is still a pleasure
for my girls, aged 9 and 5.
Mary
This might sound like party-pooping on a great childrens' book series,
but I have to say I have very mixed feelings about the Narnia books. One
thing that troubles me is that there are no good women in any of the
books. There are good female animals and good little girls, but all the
women are witches; or, like Prince Caspian's poor mother, they get killed
off or something and we never hear much about them. Also, if you pay
attention to who the bad guys and good guys are, there aren't many
dark-skinned good guys, but there are a lot of dark-skinned bad guys who
seem to subscribe to a Muslim-type religion/philosophy (The Horse and
His Boy is just crawling with them). This troubles me.
I do like the books for being really great adventure stories that work
out ideas around loyalty, hard work, doing the right thing even when it
costs you. I read all of them to my kids and we talked about why we
liked them and I also talked about these issues. Maybe it's not
necessary to deep-six this series if you can talk to your kids and help
them to think critically about what they are reading.
Another book I adored as a kid was The Sherwood Ring, by Elizabeth Marie Pope.
It is a ghost story set in New England that is involved with dashing
British spies and
courageous women - great adventure, and yes, romance, set during the
Revolutionary
War. It is available at the Albany library but is not in print. My 9 year
old boy read it
and liked it alot, so it's not just for girls even though the main
character is a girl. Lucy
One of my favorites from childhood is Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William
McKinley,
and me, Elizabeth -- by E.L. Konigsberg. It is a story about the friendship
between the
narrator, Elizabeth, and Jennifer, who claims to be a witch. Jennifer
happens to be black,
and Elizabeth seems to be white, though I don't recall that being a big
deal in the book. Elisa
May 2002
It seems like a lot of chapter books are geared more toward girls.
Does anyone have a nine year old (or that age range) reader who has
books *beyond* Harry Potter that they like? I'd like to encourage
my son to read more this summer but I need some good books to plant
around the house.
Thanks!
The ''Dark is Rising'' series, starting with ''Over sea, under
stone,'' has long been one of my favorites--the main character in
book 2 (Dark is Rising) is Will, an 11 year old boy with, of
course, ancient powers that he learns about when he turns 12!
i'd recommend starting with ''The Dark is Rising,'' and then if he
likes it, he can go back to meet the other kids in the series,
or forward to meet them in ''Greenwitch.'' They're set in England
and Cornwall, and full of Arthurian legend stuff. Written by
Susan Cooper.
jessica z.
I have the same problem locating good chapter books for my son
and we've been through all four Harry P. books. My husband and
I decided to go back to the classics of our own childhood and it
has worked well, especially the books by Jules Verne. There are
some very good editions for young readers that include very cool
illustrations with technical-looking cross-sections of the
submarines, photos and sidebars along with the classic stories.
There is also a series, I am not certain of the name, I think
it's ''Hello America'' or something like it, my son read and
enjoyed one of the books in the series ''The Journal of Sean
Sullivan'' By William Durbin. The book is a fictional
reconstruction of a boy's diary who is working on the railroad
in 1868 from Nebraska to Utah.
I hope other parents have more recommendations for us.
Cecilia
Over the years I have found that some of the best books for
older kids were printed in the 40s and 50s. I used to haunt the
children section of used book stores but an even better way is
to do a book search on the Internet. Below are some books my son-
-who is now 15 and a great reader--really liked.
Books by Howard Pease (The Tattooed Man, The Jinx Ship,
Hurricane Weather, Foghorns, The Black Tanker, Secret Cargo,
etc.)
The We Were There series published by Grossett and Dunlap.
There are dozens and dozens of titles. In all of them two kids--
usually 12 and 14--are ''there'' during some moment of great
historical importance. Some of the titles, just to give you an
idea, are We Were There at the Battle of Gettysburg...at the
Boston Tea Party, ...With the Pony Express, ...at Pearl
Harbor, ...With Florence Nightingale in the Crimea, ...At the
Battle of Lexington and Concord, ...At the Normandy Invasion.
If you buy one book all the others are listed.
''In print'' is the Brian Jacques' Redwall series. My son really
loved these books though I am not quite sure why--I didn't think
they were that well written but he didn't care.
Then, there are the great sea faring series: C S Forester's
Captain Hornblower and the Alexander Kent series.
My son also loved the Tin Tin and Astrix cartoon books. He read
every single one of each of those series and they actually have
sophisticated vocabularies. In fact, I think comic books are a
great way to introduce kids to the classics. There are several
comic book stores around where you can buy great old
comics...Moby Dick, The Last of the Mohicans, Treasure
Island...On and on. I figure once you read the comic sone day
you just might pick up the real thing. These old comics can be
expensive, but if you are not collecting, just looking for good
reading material, buy the ones with less than perfect covers--
they are much cheaper.
Janet H.
Hello,
A couple of recommendations and then a pitch.
Recommendations:
Lots of stuff by Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, James and the Giant Peach,
the BFG).
Lots of stuff by Judy Blume (Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing,
Superfudge)
Lots of stuff by Beverly Cleary (Henry Huggins books, Mouse and
the Motorcycle)
9 is not too young to start on the Hardy Boys mysteries, if he is
into that.
If fantasy has grabbed his attention, then how about the Hobbit?
Or the books in the Wizard of Oz series (true, it starts with
Dorothy, but quickly moves on to include a whole variety of
characaters).
Bay area author Zilpha Keatley Snyder has cranked out a number of
wonderful books, including the Egypt Game, and the Headless
Cupid.
Generally, you can check out books on the Newberry Award and
Newberry Honor lists, as well as the Caldecott Medal and Honor
lists (although I think the Newberry is more in your age range).
And here's the pitch. Go talk to a children's librarian. The
books I have listed are ones that came to the top of my head from
my own childhood. But there are new, fabulous books all the
time, and they can tell you what's hot and what's not. Better
yet, get your son to talk to the librarian -- he can tell the
librarian what he likes and what he doesn't.
Good luck!
Merrilee, daughter of a children's librarian
My son also read all of the Harry Potter books multiple
times, and I've been on a year-long quest to find other books
he approves of. We failed miserably on the Madeline
L'Engle books (too heavy on the fantasy), but I found some
others he likes a lot:
''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' (a series of books--need to
read in order) by Lemony Snicket
''Artemis Fowl'' by Eoin Colfer
Anything by Daniel Pinkwater (not series but individual
novels for young adults)
''Holes'' by Louis Sachar (but your son probably read this
already)
My son still has to be encouraged to turn of the PS2 and
read, but at least he is reading!
Maria
My 7.5 year old son and I have been enjoying the Beverley Cleary
books (Henry Huggins, etc). Although they were written in the
50's, we find many of the issue still relevant (and funny!). My
son also likes the ''Clues Brothers'' - Hardy Boy books for
younger readers. I'm not too fond of them, though.
Barbara
Here are few suggestions from the ''Walton boys all time
favourites'' bookshelf: Everything by Gary Paulson,''Hatchet''
etc.; Absolutely everything by Roald Dahl; Many books by Louis
Sachar such as ''Holes'';Books by David Almond such as ''Skellig''
and ''Heaven Eyes''. Donna Jo Napoli's ''Stones in Water''; E. L.
Konigsburg's books such as ''The View from Saturday'' and ''From
the Mixed up Files....''; ''The Last of the Really Great
Whangdoodles'' by J. A. Edwards, and a really fun book
called ''The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure''. Happy
summer reading,
Debby Walton
My son loved Harry Potter and we've also had trouble finding books
with equal appeal. Here are some we've read or that were recommended
to us.
Dinotopia
The Hobbit
Redwall
The Phantom Tollbooth
books by Roald Dahl
A Wrinkle in Time
A Series of Unfortunate Events (this got to be too much for my son
after the first volume, but he was five at the time)
Heather
There are already many good recommendations in today's e-mail.
One other author my son has really enjoyed is Dick King-Smith.
Written for slightly younger children, perhaps, but the humor is
ageless, and they should be an easy, entertaining read for a 9-
year-old. Our favorites are Martin's Mice (about a cat who
keeps mice for pets instead of chasing them), Three Terrible
Trins (about triplet mice who are trained by their mother to
take revenge on the cat who ate their father), and one called
something like Magnus Mouse, about a mouse who's mother dined on
some super vitamins when pregnant and produced a GIANT mouse
with a voracious appetite. These books are lots of fun.
Cynthia
As a grade schooler my son loved John Bellairs mystery series---The
Specter from the Magician's Museum", "The House With a Clock in Its
Walls" etc. and also the "Wayside School" books by Louis Sachar.
Colleen
For a boy who likes the Harry Potter series, try ''Black and
Blue Magic'' by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. This is a really great
book that I read over and over again as a child. It's about a
boy, also (coincidentally) named Harry, who does a good deed for
a man he thinks is just a clumsy traveling salesman. As a
reward, he gets a magic bottle containing a potion that gives
him wings and the ability to fly.
The book is especially great for its very realistic descriptions
of San Francisco in the 1940s, landmarks like the Zoo and
Alcatraz Island, and very believable descriptions of the
logistics of learning to fly. Just a wonderful book. Highly
recommended (especially for those of us who always dreamed of
being able to fly).
Cecilia
Our son enjoyed the C.S. Lewis Narnia series.
Another "magical" author is Edward Eager, who wrote a
series of books, some of the titles including "Magic or
Not," "Knight's Castle," "Half Magic," etc. A two part
series our son also loved is "The Wreckers," and "The
Smugglers" by Iain Lawrence. Don't forget E.B. White's 3
childrens books, which are classics and appeal to any
child, and Laura Ingalls Wilder, whose books are not
only for girls (although my son hasn't and probably
wouldn't pick them up on his own). My son did enjoy
having "Farmer Boy" read to him. It's the story of
Almanzo Wilder's boyhood in New York, and it's a good
one.
Happy reading to you and your son!
Sarah
I wanted to mention the Lloyd Alexander Prydain Chronicles: The
Book of Three, The Black Cauldron, The Castle of Llyr, Taran
Wanderer, and The High King. Also some of the books by Jay
Williams: the Danny DUnn series and The Hero From Otherwhere.
I second the rec for E. L. Koenigsburg, and also want to mention
Louise Fitzhugh: Harriet the Spy and Sport. Mary Norton: The
Borrowers series. Elizabeth Enright: The Saturdays, The Four-
Story Mistake, etc. A book called Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (can't
recall the author), about early navigation. And I agree, talk
to the children's librarian, because let's face it, what we
grown-ups know about from our own experience may not be the most
up-to-date info.
I tend to agree, too, with the lukewarm mention of the Brian
Jacques books -- I read the first Redwall book, and ended up
concluding that if I were 10, I'd probably love it, but for the
adult me, it was a poorly developed and cliche-ridden
disappointment. Harry Potter is VASTLY superior.
Wendy
Our son has loved many of the books others recommended. But the
one series left out of the discussion is the Uncle Remus Tales.
Brer Rabbit's cunning at trapping others in their own failings
really brings out the Trickster in little boys. Get these in the
new abridged editions with illustrations.
Laura
I just remembered the Great Brain books, which both my brother
and I really enjoyed in our childhood. Can't recall the
author's name, but there is a whole series of the books
Wendy
Another chapter book series that I haven't seen listed yet is the
Freddy the Pig series by Walter Brooks. I ADORED these books as
a child (as a girl I read adventure, fantasy, science fiction,
history and mystery - still do). I was delighted to find these
books in print again and gave a couple to my 11 year old son. He
absolutely LOVED them and is begging for more. A sampling of
titles includes: Freddy the Detective,Freddy the Pilot, Freddy
and the Pirates, etc. Freddy is a pig who lives in an
alternative reality where at least the animals on the farm where
he lives (like Mrs. Wiggins the cow) talk and act pretty much
like humans. Grownups will like these stories too, they're witty
and have an ethical core.
Karen H.
George Selden ''The Cricket in Times Square'' (a classic)
My husband's favorite when he was a child: ''The Jack Tales''
collected by Richard Chase (these are absolutely hilarious
Appalachian folk tales)
Melissa T
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