Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Charlie Checks In!

Hey, all you reader guys, it's Carl and I'm very jazzed to see so many guys writing to us! We have a comment from our new freind Charlie. He's a high-schooler who want to tell us about some of the books he liked:

Cool blog! I think it's great you're trying to get boys interested in reading, but I wish more boys were brave enough to explore genres other than action/adventure/comics. There are so many fantastic books and authors out there if you're willing to give it a try. A few suggestions: A Hole in the World by Sid Hite, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, 13: Thirteen Stories That Capture the Agony and Ecstasy of Being Thirteen, edited by James Howe. Also check out authors like David Almond, Gary Soto and Jerry Spinelli, etc. I'm in high school now, but I loved these when I was 9-12 years old.

Thanks, Charlie! Actually, some of our guys have explored some other books. Bill, Zack, and I did a joint post on Jerry Spinelli's great book Maniac Magee a couple of years ago. (if you want to see that post or read about other Jerry Spinelli books, click on the Labels under this post) I remember reading The Outsiders and liking it. Charlie's absolutely right, guys--there are a lot of fantastic books out there and they are worth looking for. I'm going to read a non-action book sometime this winter called Heart of a Shepherd. I've heard a lot of good things about it and I'll let you know how I like it. Unless one of you beats me to it!

4 comments:

Patricia J. Weaver said...

hey, saw your comment at my blog and I love boy books too... and girls books :)
I've read Heart of a Shepherd, would love to see how you liked it. Will with hold my review until you post. My favorite boy book right now is Gone and Hunger... wait that would be books... hehehehe
Have you read them? I also loved Found but was lukewarm about Sent

Iron Guy Carl said...

Haven't read Gone or Hunger but will look them up. Always on the lookout for good guy stuff. I read Found and liked it a lot (see my review on April 2 of last year) but you're the second person who's given lukewarm review, so I may not read it. Too many good books to spend time on mediocre ones. But, then again, I've heard other people liked it, so maybe I will. It's a low priority, though. Would much rather read H of a S.

Rosanne Parry said...

Hey! thanks for giving me a try!

If you enjoy Heart of a Shepherd, I'd also recommend Bull Rider by Suzanne Morgan Williams which is similar in setting and subject and When the Whistle Blows by Fran Cannon Slayton which is similar in tone and theme.

Iron Guy Carl said...

Funny you should say that, Ms. Parry--I checked out a copy of When the Whistle Blows when I checked out your book. (haven't heard of Bull Rider, though--I'll look it up)I'll notify you when I review your book.