Nonfiction book, easy read, big ideas, great for boys??
(and girls!)

My DS loved loved loved this one:

'Now and Ben
The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin'

A colorful picture book of the various inventions which Benjamin Franklin came up with or improved on. Brief but insightful discussion of why his inventions have been so long-staying in usefulness. This was perfect for our ds, as he is a bit of a global thinker/inventor type himself. It shows the side of Benjamin Franklin you don't often see in the history books: a playful boy, a lover of books and of course, wicked smart!
Illustrations are detailed, with lots of little 'oh, look!' moments.

http://www.amazon.com/Now-Ben-Inventions-Benjamin-Franklin/dp/0805079173

History books? Second grade? Blast to the past

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b_0_17?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=blast+to+the+past+series&sprefix=blast+to+the+past

There's a whole series. Similar to magic tree house, but more on a specific person.

Oh I am so excited to find this thread! What a great idea! We are all book fiends at our house, and finding quality books of an appropriate reading and interest level can be so challenging. I especially appreciate people including notes on scary topics for sensitive kids.

I second the Magic Tree House Series suggestion. Those are the books that really got my DD5 excited about reading on her own. She just couldn't wait for me to be available to read to her. We have found that a few of them have topics too scary for her such as ghosts and mummies, but they are easy to avoid.

For science enthusiasts, I recommend the Magic School Bus chapter books. (Not the MSB picture books, though those are good too for a lower reading level.) They are at a slightly higher reading level (~grade 3.5) than the Magic Tree House books and are packed full of science facts. They are about a class of students who often take magical field trips in their school bus with their eccentric teacher. Each book concentrates on one topic such as space, bones, or bats. My DD5 is very sensitive to scary topics and has not been bothered by any of these books.

Let me say again, I love this thread!

My DH, on the other hand, may not be so thrilled when he sees the latest Amazon charge.

Thanks, everyone!!

Also, for parents of boys: I find this website interesting (http://www.guysread.com/) but I wish the suggestions were better organized by reading ability level.

Don't forget the Little House on the Prairie set. I believe there are 9 of them. Then there are the Caroline years, the Charlotte years, and the Martha years, and finally the Rose years.
I had thought they were a difficult read, but I was wrong. We waited longer than necessary to do them (7). They are long but about 3rd grade I think when it comes to vocabulary and sentence structure.
Of course, they are about life a long time ago with Laura Ingalls Wilder. The cool thing is that they have a lot of history in them. But some books are hard to get.

STORY/PICTURE BOOKS:
1) Burt Dow, Deep Water Man by Robert McClosky (IMO the smartest childrens book ever written-)
2) Henry Builds a Cabin and others in the series (cute simpel storeis based on H.D.Thoreau.)
3) Miss Rumphius
4) Amos and Boris by william Steig (also Brave Irene)
5) The little red lighthouse and the great gray Bridge

CHAPTER BOOKS
Most Roald Dahl (all about 4th grade level, very funny books):
-George's marvelous Medicine
-The Twits
-The BFG
-James and the Giant Peach

-Catwings - about 2-3 grade level, very sweet, great for boys or girls and animal lovers

-Gooseberry Park- Cynthia Rylant

-Dinotopia- James Gurian - original beautiful picture books (with very challenging and interesting text)..

-Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh

happy reading

irene

We are using the "easy" version of the classics - though depends on what age and whether the parent finds the material appropriate. Good ones for boys so far have been: Robin Hood, Oliver Twist, Moby Dick, Dracula;

I've heard Diary of a Wimpy Kid is good for around 8-9 yrs old that like humor?

I would also look for easy versions of Count of MonteCristo and anything by Victor Hugo. No need to shy away from the classics!

The Green Book is also a neat story on Amazon - about a family that have to leave earth for a new planet.

The easy versions of the classics have interested me too. I'm split between giving them those, or having them listen to audio books of the "real thing".. The original Peter Pan (not sure of author, i think his name is JM Barrie) book is a tough tough read- full of British-isms, etc. I just purchased the audio book of it and am curious if my DD7 will have interest in it and be able to absorb some of the vocabulary this way. He loved listening to the unabridged versions of: The BFG, Trumpet of the Swan, James and Giant Peach (after reading book), and Matilda. We have many other audio books but those are the favorites so far. But Peter Pan would be a much bigger deal since i think it runs about 8 hours.

irene

Another one for boys. I see that Roald Dahl has been mentioned quite a bit, but no Charlie. My DS5 asked the other day if we could buy Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (the sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), because he loved it so much. We didn't like the Chocolate Factory quite as much, but that's good too.

The main reason DS loves the Glass Elevator is that it involves space wars against the Vermicious Knids, shape-shifting blobs that can destroy pretty much anything (but the glass elevator is Vermicious Knid-proof, and they burn up if they enter the Earth's atmosphere). The Vermicious Knids have come up in many of DS's own stories.

iagree with st pauli girl, "charlie" gets the most attention but i feel other dahl books are even better, not so spoiled by hollywood giving us images of what it should look like!