Four Books for Boys

As a boy mom, I’m always on the hunt for quality literature that will resonate with my three boys. And this past year, God saw it fit to have my path cross with several talented authors writing amazing books with middle-grade and young adult male readers in mind.

Whether you are a parent, grandparent, aunt/uncle, or mentor, these books are great additions to your home libraries to read with the young men God has entrusted to your care.

Rise of the Enemy: A Dragon Slayer Bible Story

By Laurie Christine – www.lauriechristine.com

The call-to-action is “Courageous Boys Needed” and this action-packed devotional is divided into three sections: The Message, The Mission, and the Marching Orders. This book is ideal for 8-12-year-olds, and they should use it with the guidance of a loving adult to read and discuss the material. The illustrations will captivate their imaginations while the inspiring scriptures capture their hearts. Together, they provide the ideal training to help young boys stand firm against the invisible enemy and use God’s provided weapons to slay the Dragon.

The author, Laurie Christine, is a boy mom and she fully understands that boys have a deep desire for adventure. She also hosts a podcast Redeeming the Chaos that I also highly recommend. A second book, Garden of Mysteries, will be released soon. Sign up for her newsletter on her website for updates on the release date.

Boys with Tales: 25 Character-building Tales for Boys and the Adults Who Love Them

By Paul Maitland – www.littleronipublishers.com/author-paul-maitland

This charming book contains 25 lessons for young boys. Each lesson has a captivating story, discussion questions, scriptures, prayer prompts, and an area to jot down thoughts regarding what they learned. Each story discussion aids young boys in developing character and reasoning skills. Each lesson will likely prompt additional insights and stories from the caring adult who goes through the book with them.

Maitland also has a fun middle-grade book Zip Zilch Nobody’s a Nothin’ that I recommend you snag for a fun middle-school boy read, too!

Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations

By Alex & Brett Harris – www.therebelution.com

While this book isn’t only for boys, I bought it with my two teen boys in mind. Written by teens for teens (the twin authors were, then, 18 years old at the time of publication). I had the privilege of meeting the now adult Brett Harris at the Christian Writers Institute Write to Publish conference where he was working with teen writers through the Author Conservatory. When I swung by the booth one day, I struck up a conversation with a few of the young adult students and they all highly recommended his book. Thanks to this tome, I have had several great conversations with our 16-year-old son.

If you have a budding writer in your household, I also highly recommend you check out the Author Conservatory at www.authorconservatory.com as this program is equipping the next generation of authors in unique and powerful ways.

Bash and the Chicken Coop Caper by Burton W. Cole

Bash and the Pirate Pig and Bash and the Chocolate Milk Cows complete this hilarious three-book series. My youngest son *loved* this whole series, as the main characters are BOYS!

In Bash and the Chicken Coop Caper, Raymond (”Beamer”) is sent to spend the summer with his cousin Sebastian (”Bash”) on his farm. The hilarity begins the moment he arrives. Laugh-out-loud events, crazy antics, and teen boy shenanigans fill every page. With chapter titles “The Slingshot and David’s Zoo” and “Secret Agent Skunk,” you know you are in for a wild ride.

These books also contain sweet snippets of faith and lessons of grace sprinkled throughout. This would be the perfect read-aloud book for your family. There are also Parent Connection questions and scriptures provided for you to review with your kids, helping them apply the lessons they learn in each book. Snag your copies HERE.

This list is by no means exhaustive, as there are so many other outstanding books and resources for boys out there. If you have other recommendations, drop the titles and links in the comment section. Please share this article with your “moms of boys” friends and family members. Maybe snag a copy of one of these books to gift to them along with some chocolate. What can I say? We need all the help we can get!