Novels for 5-8 year old boys

If you’re looking for some new high quality reading material for a school aged boy, read on! Here are books that I have either read aloud to my son in the last 2 years (between when he was 5-7 years old) or he read independently as his reading got stronger. My son is an engineering-minded boy. He likes machines and science-fiction. He likes trains, planes, cars, robots, spaceships. So if you are looking for books for boys that like machines, this is the list for you.

If you’ve followed my blog before, you might remember that I care a lot about giving my kids the best children’s literature. Charlotte Mason (one of my homeschooling gurus) said,

“One more thing is of vital importance; children must have books, living books; the best are not too good for them; anything less than the best is not good enough; and if it is needful to exercise economy, let go everything that belongs to soft and luxurious living before letting go the duty of supplying the books, and the frequent changes of books, which are necessary for the constant stimulation of the child’s intellectual life.” – Charlotte Mason

I care a lot about putting excellent literature in front of my children. And the best thing about reading a living book with your child is I promise you will love it too. That’s one of the best things about great children’s books – they are intergenerational and not just for kids.

As my son and I read more books together, I will continue to update this list. Please know, we have read every single one of these suggestions. This is not an AI-generated list for clicks for ad revenue. I genuinely want to spread the feast that is excellent children’s literature to people looking for great books to spark a love of reading in their boys.

Also, these books aren’t in any particular ranked order.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. They are just one small way to support my writing, if you enjoy this kind of content on my blog. Thank you for your support!

A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga

Ahhh!!!! We loved this book. I full on CRIED reading this story to my son. I’ve never loved a robot until Resilience the rover. Afterwards we watched videos that the actual mars rovers made, and it just brought the story so much closer to home (even though Mars is 186 million miles away).

The Silver Arrow by Lev Grossman

I cannot speak highly enough about The Silver Arrow and its sequel (below), The Golden Swift. My son (a train enthusiast) absolutely loved these books. I really enjoyed them too. They are about two kids who use a magical steam train to relocate endangered animals around the world. The characters are memorable and the plot keeps the pages turning!

The Golden Swift by Lev Grossman

The Complete Moon Base Alpha trilogy by Stuart Gibbs

Mysteries that take place in a colony on the moon? Yes please! My son read these ones independently and he loved them.

The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong

I’m trying to read every gold-winning Newberry Medal book out there. The Wheel on the School won the Newberry Medal in 1955. It is a delightful story of children in the Netherlands who are trying to figure out why storks won’t nest in their village. In this story, the children brainstorm and problem-solve a way to get storks to nest. Engineering concepts are taught through the story – wheels, pulleys, levers – and we also learned about Holland’s geography and dike system.

The Wild Trilogy: The Wild Robot, The Wild Robot Escapes, the Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown

My son devoured these books on his own. They were one of the first novels he read after the early reader chapter books he had been reading independently (like Magic Treehouse series by Mary Pope Osborne and the I Survived Series by Lauren Tarshis).

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Magical machines that make chocolate? My son was HERE for this read-aloud. Afterwards we watched the film (the 1971 one with Gene Wilder) for our family movie night.

Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl

Magical machines that make chocolate AND go to space? My son was even MORE HERE for the sequel.

The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

I’ve attached an illustrated edition because I have an illustrated edition and I think it just added so much to the story to have complimentary images. As is the case with all movies – the original story was better and had a lot more scenes on the journey to Oz that the movie couldn’t include. We really enjoyed this one and the afterwards watching the movie adaptation with Judy Garland.

On the topic, isn’t it weird that there hasn’t been any remakes of the Wizard of Oz movie? Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has two films plus the new one, Wonka – and the Wizard of Oz was made in 1939 and other than Wicked (a different movie altogether) it hasn’t been remade – which seems very unHollywood. Anyone know why?

The Wright Brothers – Quentin Reynolds

This was an excellent biography! I loved how it showed the Wright Brothers’ relationship growing up; how they worked together, took care of each other, confided in each other. It’s hard to find books with positive sibling dynamics. I also loved how this biography began with their childhood and their relationship with their mother.

The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden

We really enjoyed this story about a little musical cricket!

Stuart Little by E.B.White

Ever fascinated by transportation, my son really loved that Stuart Little had his own little car and Stuart’s adventures as a mouse.

My Father’s Dragon trilogy by Ruth Stiles Gannett

We have these an audiobook and then my son also read them independently in print. He loves the part in the third book when the dragons escape.

Twenty-One Balloons – William Pène Du Bois

We just finished this read-aloud together and it is what prompted me to write this post! We loved this book. My son is very into airships and lighter-than-air inventions. This science-fiction story features all sorts of wacky inventions to make living on a constantly erupting volcano (with a mountain of diamonds at its base) possible.

Mr. Poppers Penguins – Florence and Richard Atwater

I read this one to my son when he was 5, and we laughed at laughed at the penguin antics in this book! I love penguins and had the good fortune to visit some penguins in the wild when I was in Patagonia, Argentina with my brother. I learned that penguin in Spanish is pronounced “pengween-oh” and that’s just a much better word.

The Christmas Pig by JK Rowling

Oh man, this book is THE reason why you should never judge a book by its title. I had my doubts about this one, but my son and I loved it. I read it out loud to him when he was 6. It wasn’t scary. It was heartwarming. It made me think about all the toys I’ve loved and lost and where they might be now in the Land of the Lost. Just a beautiful story. I never should have doubted it – I love Harry Potter, and this was just as surprisingly magical.

Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

I loved the Wayside school books as a kid! My son loved reading this one independently this year. I’ve also just learned that an animated movie came out in 2005, so we will probably watch that as a complement.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O’Brien

I also loved reading this one as a kid. Such an interesting story. My son was really into in the machines the rats use to be organized. We were sad when we got to the end of this one. I googled the author to see if there is a sequel. There is, but it was written by his daughter because Robert C. O’Brien died of a heart attack at only 55 years old. We plan to read the sequel but haven’t yet. We are also going to watch the movie adaptation “:The Secret of Nimh” at a family movie night.

Jenny Goes to Sea by Esther Averill

My son loves ships! And he loves cats! What could be better than a ship’s cat out to sea, exploring the world?

The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

We listened to this story on audiobook. For our second grade history curriculum we have been learning about indigenous peoples in the North America and the interactions between indigenous tribes and early European settlers. This was a Man versus Nature story as thirteen year old Matt is trying to survive on his own in the wilderness in Maine in the late 1700s. He becomes friends with Attean, a First Nations boy from the Beaver tribe. I liked how in the story, Matt is critically reflecting on the negative way indigenous peoples are portrayed in his favourite book “Robinson Crusoe”. Matt is a thoughtful, intelligent, and honorable character.

Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat

This book is the Charlotte’s Web of Canada. I think every kid in grade 3 has to read it. I read it outloud to my son when he was in grade 1 and we greatly enjoyed reading about Wol and Weeps.

I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic by Lauren Tarshis

My son loves the “I Survived” Series by Lauren Tarshis. They were some of his first independent reads. This book inspired a deep dive into learning about the Titanic. We’ve learned a ton of history reading these books. We’ve even put the titles on our timeline for history.

The City of Ember (series) by Jeanne DuPrau

We both LOVED reading the City of Ember. DuPrau does a great job at world building and slowly revealing information about the world. My son was really intrigued by the pipeworks and the generator that are part of the plot of the City of Ember. The twist in this book is both unpredictable and totally obvious. I didn’t suspect it, but I should have. You know? We are currently reading the second book in the series, the People of Sparks, and it is just as good as the City of Ember. Highly recommend! I’m linking the boxed set because I’m confident that after you’ve read the first book, the City of Ember, you’ll want to start on the second in the series.

George’s Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl

We laughed out loud reading this story. I love a read-aloud where I get the voice a cranky, mean old woman. Both my son and daughter enjoyed this one and the chapters are short, which makes it easy to digest in small bites.

So that’s it for now! I will be adding to this list as we read more novels together (or novels my son reads independently). I hope these recommendations have given you some ideas for where to turn for your next read with your engineering-minded son (or daughter)!

Warmly,

-Heather

Want to keep reading? Check out some of my recent posts linked below!

• Making Homeschooling Work During Home Remodeling
• Why Halloween is Important for Kids
• Kids Books about Trustworthiness
• Having a Pet Hamster for Families
• Kids Books About Compassion

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