Books for Boys - links to cottage industry publishers of Boy's Books

There are some great books for boys being published out there. But, you've got to hunt to find them.

Here are some links to books for boys.


BOOKS FOR BOYS
http://www.booksforboys.com/

This site has been going strong since 2003. They publish
a number of interesting authors.

GUYS READ
http://www.guysread.com/

Describe themselves as 'a web-based literacy program for boys. Our mission is to help boys become self-motivated, lifelong readers."


Books and Boys
http://booksandboys.blogspot.com/

Max Elliot Anderson is the author behind this site.
He saw a need for mystery and adventure books for boys,
and he had done his best to address it.


Purple House Press
http://www.purplehousepress.com/

The good folks at PHP were discouraged that they could
not find their favorite childhood books for their own kids.
Since they were out of print, PHP reprinted them!

All four Mad Scientiest's Club adventures are available here.
Anyone remember, The Shy Stegosaurus of Cricket Creek?

Now, if only they would reprint the Mushroom Planet adventures.


Speaking of the Mad Scientist's Club - my novel The Mystery of
Merlin's Magic was called - 'the Mad Scientist's Club for a new
generation!' It is available from Smashwords.com for just 99 cents.


Matt

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/55179

Boys don't read, Except when they do.

"The 2010 Kid and Family Reading Report, sponsored by Scholastic, found that regardless of race, geography or socioeconomic status, boys were lagging far behind girls in reading outside of school assignments. Only 39 percent of boys rated reading outside of class as important, while 62 percent of girls said it was "extremely or very important." A 2005 NEA study by Mark Bauerlein and Sandra Stotsky found that between 1980 and 2004, the gender gap in reading between boys and girls had grown so wide that the authors determined it had become a "marker of gender identity." Again: Boys don't read."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-london/boys-dont-read-except-whe_b_859449.html

Charles London discusses how boys avoid reading and how publishers are reluctant to even publish books for boys.  (Maybe the fact that children's publishers are overwhelmingly female has something to do with it?)

Matt

WhaleQuest! - A daring rescue of an entangled whale.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52027

Summer Adventure for Boys

Summer always seems to start with the promise of adventure.  But for many boys
it does not take long for boredom to set in.  Hopefully, there will be some fun and
interesting distractions for your favorite boy during the long vacation from school. 
Perhaps a summer reading list loaded with high adventure will keep your boy
busy, engaged and learning?

If he is going to the beach this summer, or just dreaming of going to the beach,
the Jeep Muldoon adventure: WhaleQuest!  is a perfect summer read for your
guy.

Levi, an entangled whale, is making a dying journey up the Atlantic coastline. Each
day brings the creature closer to a frightening end - strangled beneath fishing nets
and lead sinkers. When a science blog highlights the giant’s torment, it is a call to
action for Jeep and the Rangers who are determined to change the leviathan’s fate.
With humor and a thoughtful voice, Jeep relates the story of a daring rescue on the
Outer Banks of North Carolina, with adventure  at every turn. And, Jeep's psychic
talent for finding things is essential to the team’s plan.

The boys set up their command center ahead of the whale at the Cape Lookout
Eco Camp. Each passing day brings a new adventure with a bashful sea monster,
a pair of ghostly banker ponies and the unassuming heir to a baseball legend.
And, any trip to Blackbeard old stomping grounds in Beaufort, NC  has got to
mean one thing: a treasure hunt.

But, when Levi finally arrives, it’s go time!

Following a Moby Dick-like rampage, Jeep and his pals dive right back into danger.
Testing the limits of friendship and courage, the boys launch a midnight mission to
the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” in WhaleQuest!

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52027

Encouraging Boys to Read Through Cleaner Formatting

Did you know that boys and girls see differently?

In the history of the Human species, men hunted and women gathered.  And,
because the vision needs of these two groups were different, vision developed differently
in males than females.  Boys today are the recipients of vision that was adapted
for tracking and hunting at a distance.  And, as a result, many boys find reading difficult and uncomfortable.  In addition, boys are more likely to be farsighted, have dyslexia and even be color blind.

To address this difference in vision, many authors have begun formatting their
books with larger, clearer font styles and creating a more distinct break between
sentences and paragraphs.  Many authors and publishers that are writing for boys have even adopted block formatting rather than the traditional indented paragraph style.

If it is easier for boys to see, it is easier for them to read!


Btw, here is the second ebook in my series of Jeep Muldoon books for boys.
The name of this novel is:  The Arrow That Would Not Miss.

Synopsis:
While rock climbing in the Smokies, Jeep Muldoon, "the boy who finds things", unearths an ancient relic of the Cherokee people. A friendly medicine man identifies the priceless ruby-tipped artifact as "The Arrow That Would Not Miss".  When The Arrow is hijacked by rival tribe members, the boys must mount an ingenious raid on the Cherokee Casino.  Along the way they outwit shapeshifting Thunderbirds, a middle school bully and their Science Fair arch rival. The boys are each rewarded with a mystical encounter with their Animal Spirit Guides.

Boys Need Adventures!

Boys today need adventures more than ever!

There is no question that boys today need adventures that stimulate their desire for action.  Most urban settings lack an outlet for adventure even if it's just exploring a creek or a cow pasture.  So, boys today are experiencing unprecedented levels of BOREDOM! 

And, boys who are bored end up sitting in front of the TV or computer screen or they end up going outside and getting into trouble! 

 Boys don't know exactly what they are looking for.  But, they are looking for something.

What is it?  It is very simple.  Boys are looking for Action, Friendship and Fun.
Most boys want to belong to a group of friends that have fun.  Traditionally, that has
meant being on a team and enjoying team sports.  It can mean being a part of the
Indian Guides or the Boy Scouts.  Unfortunately, if those options are not available,
it can mean falling in with the wrong sort of fellows and getting into trouble.

Of course, most boys don't have rocket ships, super powers or wilderness adventures.
But, they can still read about them and dream about them.

Several years ago, I began writing about the adventures of a middle school boy
with an unusually psychic power: the ability to find things.  In addition to amazing secret power, the boy also has a club full of good friends.  Together, the boys have a Tree house on the Internet, a secret bat cave full of high tech gadgets and amazing adventures that all boys dream of.

That boy is Jeep Muldoon.

There are now three Jeep Muldoon ebook adventures that are available through Barnes and Noble, the Apple BookStore,  the Sony BookStore, Desiel, Scrollmotion and SmashWords.

THanks.. Matt

The Mystery of Merlin's Magic