My picks for the 12 best books for boys

I'm a big reader.

In fact, I've shared with you a ton of my book recommendations over the past few years, but I don't think I have ever shared with you my recommendations for books for kids.

We do a lot of reading in our house

and it's translated into kids who love to read.

My youngest son {8} has been on a huge reading kick, so I thought I would share with you a few of the books that we have read together and some that he has read on his own.

All kid tested!

All would make perfect gifts this holiday season.

So pin this, and get your list started!

1. Treasure Hunters by James Patterson was a page turner.  My son would ask multiple times a day to sit down and snuggle just so we could read a few chapters.  Treasure Hunters is a story of four siblings raised on a boat whose parents are under sea treasure hunters.  The Kidd kids work together to solve the mystery that their father left them before being swept off of the boat in a storm.

2. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate is probably one of my all time favorites!  I read it out loud with my son, we passed it on to my husband and then to my daughter.  Ivan is a story that has been inspired from a true local story of a silverback gorilla that was locked in captivity for 27 years.  It's told from Ivan's perspective and it's an interesting look at the relationship of humans and animals.

3. Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems is a story about a monster who isn't so good at being scary.  It's a picture book, but one we don't get tired of!

4. The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke is a story of two orphaned brothers who run away to Venice and find a friend in the leader of the lost children that calls himself the Thief Lord.  The boys enter into a life of petty crime and end up with a detective hot on their trail.  But not for what you would think!

5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney is a series that all three of my kids have devoured more than once!  It's a hard book to read out loud but it's a great book for the kids to get their feet wet with chapter books.

6. Gregor the Overlander series by Suzanne Collins...yes, the Suzanne Collins of The Hunger Games fame.  Gregor is a young boy in New York on a mission to find his father.  He falls into a grate in the laundry room of his apartment and falls into an underworld full of large bats, cockroaches and evil rats.  Through the series Gregor grows and matures as he faces new challenges and becomes a warrior in this Underland.

7. The Notebook of Doom by Troy Cummings is a new book series that we picked up last week at the Scholastic book fair.  Owen just ate the book up in one sitting, got the next book in the series from the library and finished that in record time too!  I just love a series that engages kids and gets them reading.  
8. The Hardy Boys by Franklin W. Dixon is a series that my husband and son keep coming back to.  My husband grew up on this series and my son is loving the many adventures that these brothers go on together.
9. Double Fudge by Judy Blume is one of my favorite books to read out loud to the kids.  In fact, I love the whole series!  Fudge is the hilarious kid brother of Peter Hatcher and the real life drama is something that all kids can relate to.
10. Holes by Louis Sachar follows a boy named Stanley who has unjustly been sent to a youth detention center where the boys have to dig holes all day in the hot sun as punishment.  It doesn't take long to figure out that there is more that is being looked for in digging these holes than just character improvement.  It's a great story with a fun twist on the curse that Stanley has been given by his Great Great Grandfather.
11.  Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park is hands down my favorite book series of all time!  The writing and improper use of grammar takes a bit to get used to as a reader, but once you can figure out how to read the books, Junie B. Jones is hilarious!  We can all relate to this outrageously sassy 7 year old.
12. The Dangerous Book for Boys by Hal Iggulden is the complete book of skills every boy should know.  From building a tree fort, to tying knots and learning to fish, this book has anything and everything your little man needs to know or might be interested in knowing about!
Those are my recommendations. Hopefully I found a book or two you can add to your gift list for that favorite little guy in your life. Do you have any you would add?