Five picture books for your creative and imaginative boys, 4 – 8 years old, that will inspire them to dream big, use their imagination, and follow their passions. Each book exemplifies the magic that happens when great story telling is matched by beautifully creative illustrations. So often, a good book has one or the other. These books have it all.
1 The Incredible Book Eating Boy By Oliver Jeffers ($18.99). The boy wants to be really smart; the smartest person on earth in fact. Eventually he discovers that reading books, rather than actually eating them, might be the way to go. This remarkable and imaginative book is now even more intriguing in its new intricate and surprising pop-up version.
2 An Awesome Book By Dallas Clayton ($15). A truly creative book where fun, whimsical writing and highly imaginative illustrations come together. With an inspiring message and fantastical, detailed artwork, this book reminds us all of the value of dreaming big.
3 Iggy Peck, Architect By Andrea Beaty and Illustrated by David Roberts ($16.99). Iggy is a boy with a special talent and a passion to create, that is so strong, it’s unstoppable. The funny, rhyming story is paired expertly with quirky, lovely, nouveau-60s-style pen and ink drawings with watercolor.
4 Traction Man meets Turbo Dog By Mini Grey ($19.99). A clever story, trapped inside a 50s comic with flair, about the wonderment of imagination play. And no bells-and-whistles toy can replace the power of a child’s imagination. This boy needs nothing more than his buddy, Scrubbing Brush, and a place to play, like Mt. Compost Heap in the backyard. It’s a funny read too.
5 The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish By Neil Gaiman and Illustrated by Dave McKean ($16.99). This is a humorous and highly imaginative tale about a boy’s adventure in trying to get his father back, after swapping him to a friend. The children's dialogue is eloquently realistic. The pages are full of unique collage work with pen and ink characters portraying their inner thoughts and emotions so beautifully.
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My kids love Iggy Peck, Architect! A book I never tire reading myself.
Thanks for these recommendations! We have a lot of friends with young children and we love to give books so this list will really come in handy.
I don't mean to start a huge debate... but why recommend these for boys? These all seem great... we love Jeffers and Gaiman & are the proud parents of a girl!
These sound like fun choices. Sometimes books for boys can be harder to find I think.Always good to have more on the must read list.
We will definitely check out these suggestions, a few of which I am not familiar with - although I (as the mother of two girls) was also a bit taken aback that these were described as being "for boys."
Great suggestions - some new ones here, so am popping over to Amazon.
I completely understand targeting to boys... my girls will sit through lots of different books (including these ones) and are just not picky about their reading material, provided it's not heavy on the transport sector, but my boys are harder to entertain (if one of my daughters' even mentions the words Clarice Bean or Charlie and Lola at bedtime, my boys groan).
When they were younger it was much easier, but now they seek picture books that speak to them as if they are older, that are adventurous, a little bit silly at times and funny... humour is a big draw card in this house.
Love this post as a Momma of a 6 yr old boy. His reading really took off this yr (YAY!) and we're trying to get him "hooked on books" like his big sister. Off to buy...more reccomendations for boys, please!
Also loved this post. My 6 year old boy is really getting into reading and It's great finding reading lists like this that are boy tested! Especially books that aren't just about cars or earth moving machines!
Iggy Peck is a family favourite!
As a mom of a boy & girl, I understand tastes can run differently for either, but can we try not to label books as 'for boys' or 'for girls' and maybe think of what they address-silliness, adventures, dressing up, etc. My son loves the Olivia series and I can't wait to get Iggy Peck for my daughter! All girls aren't pink sugar & fluff, as all boys aren't dirt & trucks.
And both my kids hate Charlie & Lola, which I secretly adore.
Oh my, I love a good debate! This is Jackie, the writer of this post. And I completely agree with claudined, danilv, and pelicolina. I'm usually the last the person to play the "pigeon hole game" as I believe that each person lands on a continuum off interests. And I'm kicking myself, a little bit, for leaving out that sentence or two that addressed this issue. At the last minute I edited them out, thinking it was making it too complicated or stating the obvious or something.
I mostly called these "boys" books because 4 out 5 of them have boy main characters [the fifth one is an author narrative with no character] and they "speak" to boys. But I didn't mean exclusively. And I should have stated that. I hope you all read these to your girls too. And something else, I should have said, I hope YOU read them. Because they really are universally wonderful.
The list actually came about after a stint of reading Pippi Longstocking, Olivia, Eloise, and Madeline with my 6 year old boy. He absolutely loves them all. He's especially a big Pippi fan. But as I noticed that there weren't many boy characters in the picture books we were reading I thought I would do some research. As a writer and designer, I was also looking for exceptional stories and illustrations. And I found some that my boy loves. And I do too. And I hope you will take the 'boy' thing with a grain of salt. And enjoy!
Thanks for the follow-up, Jackie. I really enjoyed your post (and explanation), and am glad you submitted an entry!
Thanks for these recommendations! I agree with fundad that it's nice to see some boy-friendly books that aren't about cars or trucks. Thanks for the fresh angle Jackie! I am a grown up girl who loves children's books and will be checking them out myself.
Our family has made a tradition of giving books to children.
I love anything that promotes reading and so your post is a gem. I love the photo of the little boy, the book, and the mountain backdrop too. Where exactly is that?
Viewing the pics of the boy holding the books that were reviewed gives an idea of the illustrations within. Great idea.
Good for my two nephews, thank you!
Books are for people to read, to open their minds, challenge their thinking, invoke creativity and learn. Adults feel the need to add social labels when they are completely unnecessary. Remove the social tag and let kids be kids for as long as possible. Books are for everyone, just like the color pink and dump trucks.
Thanks for sharing these books. We'll be looking for them.
Another strong endorsement for Iggy Peck, a family fave since my youngest kiddo was 3...and another strong objection to pigeonholing books as "for boys" or "for girls."
While I think I understand the author's intention in this post (though I would disagree about there being a dirth of picture books/elementary-pitched novels that feature boy characters), I think it reinforces the idea of there being certain books more suitable for one or the other gender.
My son loves it when I read Iggy Peck AND Charlie and Lola to him and his sister (probably because he inherited his parents' sense of humor rather than anything having to do with gender) as much as he enjoys--now that he's becoming an independent reader--reading Junie B. Jones (his first chapter book) and Nate the Great to himself.
Oh, and also note that "An Awesome Book" is published by the author and so you may not find it on Amazon etc. Use the link above in the post to go to his site directly if you are interested. That's where I got it from. Also, you can scroll sideways to read through the book before you decide. It's enough to make a grown person cry.
Jackie.
To voyageur2, thanks for the comment. And the mountains are from Vancouver, Canada.
: )
Jackie
I don't see this as a slanted or pigeonhole piece at all...it's wonderful to find good picture books with strong boy characters that intrigue boys and girls on the upper end of that age spectrum. These are some that I've never read - and I used to be a children's library assistant and I write children's literature! Great recommendations - thank you Jackie!
Interesting debate. I'm about to be a grandad for the second time - this one will be closer to home so I am looking forward to more contact. I regret not being a reader myslef so its great to see resources like this and to know how concerned today's mothers are about sexual stereotyping.
Awesome Jackie! Cool post. My 10 month old is mostly interested in eating books at the moment, but I will hang onto this list. Once again, your words have enlightened me and inspired me to be the best mom I can be. Thank you!
This is really good information. I will look here for other recommendations before venturing forth for that cross-eyed making hunt through piles of children's books trying to figure out what grandchildren, present and future, might like.
Oh and, as an old hard-nosed feminist I can't see that your comments in any way put down or diminish girls. Good debate though.
Thanks for the recommendations. I work in a little library and am always on the look-out for books with strong characters for the pre-schoolers story-times, particularly those that will appeal to both genders.
Great suggestions Jackie. I can't wait to check out Iggy Peck for O's 4th birthday. Looks awesome. (I wanted to be an architect when I was little!!)