Just a couple of quick notes, NCPMom--I'm not spending much time online anymore, what with one thing and another...but it seems to me you have an 8 year-old boy, too, so here are some titles/authors of books mine has liked that I don't think I've mentioned here before, in case that helps with your shopping (I'm sure other people have lots of good suggestions, so this post is more by way of being a bump for you):

Noel Langley, The Land of Green Ginger (written by the screenwriter of the Wizard of Oz film, slapstick fantasy in the land of the Arabian nights, short, fun).

Alan Cumyn, The Secret Life of Owen Skye, After Sylvia, Dear Sylvia (epic little kid love story trilogy--nostalgic, warm family story, hilarious, sweet).

Eva Ibbotson--two sets of books--one for youngers (Which Witch? The Ogre of Oglefort, etc.) with supernatural characters, light, short (~100 pp), amusing; one for olders (Journey to the River Sea, The Star of Kazan, The Dragonfly Pool)--longer (~400 pp), more serious books, very well-developed characters, beautifully descriptive, thoughtful, excellent. ALL of Eva Ibbotson's books have well-delineated struggles between good and evil--the good always receive their just reward, and the baddies always get their comeuppance. Very satisfying, extremely well-written books.

peace
minnie

My son got this two days ago, and loved it:

http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Fate-ebook/...8339&sr=1-1

I'm looking for suggestions for DD8. The tricky part is that I have to be able to find the books in an audio format, preferably on CD.

DD generally prefers long books with a little magic. Her favorite is Harry Potter, and she's gone through that series many times. She thought the Lemony Snicket books were okay, refuses to read any of the Percy Jackson series, felt that the 39 Clues books were too short and simple, and enjoyed the Golden Compass. She's in the process of listening to Christopher Paolini's Inheritance series, which she likes almost as much as Harry Potter. I plan to introduce her to LOTR next, but I'm not sure what to suggest after that. I think she would enjoy David Edding's Belgariad series, but the library doesn't have that in an audio format. Any ideas?

Maybe you should try again with Percy jackson- my son loves Harry Potter and loves Pery Jackson too. I guess (I haven't read it myself, LOL) it's sort of like Harry Potter with a Greek mythology twist. THe books are like 300 pages long too.

DD8 won't read Percy Jackson because DD10 really liked it. I've read the series and think that DD8 probably would enjoy it if she let herself.

Well, maybe you can start off talking about greek mythology and take it from there.

@Licorice26
DS7 is kind of the same way. I looked in his desk this year and he had some Clifford books. He loved

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda and it's sequel Darth Paper (I would definitely give these a shot)
WaySide school stories by Louis Sachar
Actually anything by Louis Sachar
Also the Fudge series by Judy Blume.

He likes his books short, jokey, with illustrations. This year is Danny Dragonbreath, and Horrible Science books.

@Midwest Mom
What about a Wrinkle in Time? Chronicles of Narnia? Both are a bit older and should be available.

MidwestMom, try Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke.

My 13-year-old son who likes dystopian novels is reading Battle Royale.