When most kids think of summer reading, they get annoyed by the prospect of being forced to read a book for school that they at best, don’t really enjoy, at worst, turns them off to reading altogether. When we work with junior high and high school aged students in our office over the summer on reading comprehension, we strive to use books they find enjoyable. In my mind, getting children to enjoy reading is a lost art, and whatever we can do to encourage reading for pleasure is crucial.

TIP: Take your children to your local library or independent bookstore and have them pick out one or two topics they enjoy and find a book or two to read for pleasure. Give them very little limitations and see what they choose…

Here are a list of great books that many boys we have worked with find to be classic but enjoyable reads: