Reading with boys...there must be more to life than battles!

As I was snuggling up with Kieran on the couch this evening, reading The Ruins of Gorlan, the first book in The Ranger's Apprentice series, I began wondering what my reading life would be like if I had girls instead of boys. Last night we finished the last in the Percy Jackson series.


This reading life with boys is filled with battles, heroes, and bravery. Sometimes it's a little quirky, such as the Lemony Snicket series, or focused on the life of a "geek," such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I also read more than my share of Captain Underpants. (Kieran didn't get into those quite as much as Chris, thank God.) I really enjoyed the Boys Against the Girls series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, because then at least half of the characters were girls.

Then of course, there's Harry Potter, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading--both on my own and with the boys. I'm looking forward to reading them all over again with Nicholas. It's been fun to rediscover those stories over and over again with each boy.

I tried to read my childhood favorites Little House on the Prairie and Harriet the Spy with the boys, but they just didn't get into them like I'd hoped they would.


Perhaps I'd end up reading sappy stories about unicorns and princesses...blech. I cringe every time I see an ad for "Pinkalicious," now playing at the Oregon Children's Theater. I'm just not a girly girl like that. Before we had kids, Mike used to joke that if we had a girl, I'd be shoving Ms. Magazine at her while she hid her copies of Cosmo under the mattress. I'll bet he's right. If I had girls, they'd probably be far too girly for my taste!

But I see Mike reviewing great-sounding books for girls on his Middle Grade Mafioso blog...it's making me wonder what I'm missing, being stuck in boyland with all of the battles. I'd love to expand my reading-to-the-kids horizons a bit, but you've got to cater to their interests...

The Boys Against the Girls Series: Reading to the kids

Tonight we just finished Book #11 of Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's series, "The Boys Against the Girls." Only one book to go. Kieran will be sad when they are finished.

The books are based in a small town in West Virginia and center around a family of four boys and a family of three girls. The girls move to their town and rent the house of their friends (another family of boys). The boys decide that if they make the girls miserable enough, they'll leave town and move back to Ohio...and this will make their friends return. Thus starts a battle between the boys and the girls. In each book, one group has an edge over the others. It seems to me that the girls are slightly more clever than the boys, but the boys hold their own.

We read all the books with Chris, so this is our second time through them. Although supposedly set in recent times, the books hearken back to an older time, when children ran free and we didn't have to worry about predators or other dangers. They are not overscheduled or constantly playing sports or participating in clubs. There's no mention of Facebook, texting, or cell phones. It's just good, old-fashioned kid adventures.

Both Mike and I have enjoyed reading these books. They're entertaining and cleverly done. I guess Kieran won't be the only one who will be sad when we're done!

Perhaps in a few years we will read them again to Nicholas. :)