Best books ... chosen by James Patterson
Patterson, one of the world’s best-selling novelists, touts six children’s books he’s featured on his website ReadKiddoRead.com. His Daniel X: Watch the Skies is currently The New York Times’ No. 1 best-selling children’s chapter book.
James Patterson
The Stinky Cheese Man by Jon Scieszka (Viking Juvenile, $18). What if the Ugly Duckling grew up to be even uglier? These wonderfully warped fairy tales have shown up in a couple of my Cross novels, when Alex Cross would read Stinky Cheese to his kids. They always laugh uproariously, as did my son Jack when he was younger.
Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat (Delacorte, $14). Nate understands that you have to solve a few minor-league cases before you can move on to Sam Spade–style crime-stopping. Great stories and snappy, clear writing. Attentive readers can help Nate pick up clues along the way.
Sideways Stories From Wayside School by Louis Sachar (HarperTeen, $6). Each chapter can stand alone, and kids can skip around to their favorite stories. Relatable because it’s school-based, it’s also insanely funny, in a black humor kind of way, so parents will like it, too. This might not make sense now, but: Beware of the kid wearing multiple raincoats!
My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett (Yearling, $7). Something we often forget is that kids love to laugh, and books can achieve this sometimes even better than film or TV. What makes My Father’s Dragon work so well is how Elmer always seems to come up with the most unexpected solutions to problems he encounters on his journey. How did he know that two dozen pink lollipops and six magnifying glasses would come in handy?
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (Scholastic Press, $25). This novel might be intimidating if Selznick hadn’t decided to make half the story a cool flipbook of illustrations. It’s like watching and reading a great silent movie. An engaging story with fun, interactive elements that will help turn your kid into a reader.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney (Abrams, $13). The wildly popular Wimpy Kid books successfully bridge the gap between graphic novels and chapter books—which is quite a feat. Boys especially love this series.
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10 Comments
Posted by Beng Gonzales, Monday, August 24, 2009, 1:04 pm My Father's Dragon is one of my favorites as well!
Posted by susie, Monday, August 24, 2009, 3:25 pm we love Diary of the Wimpy Kidcan not wait for the next one
Posted by Marie, Thursday, September 3, 2009, 10:16 pm Our PTO held our school book fair last spring and offered 5 towards a book for every student, many choices were 5 or less, many of the boys were not interested in anything but the comics, if anything at all, until we started pointing out the Wimpy Kids series to them. They were able to walk away with a free book and many came back with money from home to buy the others in the series, or they would pair with friend so they could get different titles in the series and trade later.
Posted by Carolyn Sue McKenzie, Friday, September 18, 2009, 4:01 pm How can you produce so many books in such a short time?? I can't read them fast enough any more. The Cross books are my favorites. I do love the Max booksWhat is your deal with the coauthors?? Is it all your story and they just put it together or is it your ideas and their stories. I know you work with a lot of authors. I can almost tell if it is writen by you or not or which author you are using. I like it more if the 4 four letter words are left out. Your pick of children's stories is wonderful!!! I have 12 grandchildren who love to read
Posted by Randell HOWELL, Thursday, September 24, 2009, 6:47 pm I like jamce bond a loter because he has the move i like
Posted by Barbara Harkins, Wednesday, September 30, 2009, 12:21 pm I love your books. I have read just about everyone that you have written. Keep up the great writing. Looking forward to more books written by you. Thanks, Barbara
Posted by BRIAN, Tuesday, October 13, 2009, 11:02 pm THANK YOU........
Posted by Rosario R. Angeles, Tuesday, October 20, 2009, 2:14 pm I'm an avid fan of yours. I just love reading your books. I even had a collection of your alex cross novels. I could only buy your books when its' on sale here in the Philippines. SO i really have to save to be able to have it. Fortunately, all my collections were being washed out by the recent typhoon which affected our country. I wish i could be able to read more....
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