 | Popular Mechanics (1-year)
Buy new: $10.00 We've subscribed to this since the kid was 7. He reads it cover to cover the day it arrives. Warning: younger kids may ask potentially embarassing questions about some of the ads.
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 | The Frightful First World War (Horrible Histories) by Terry Deary
Buy used from: $0.01 This series of books is gross, funny, and far more interesting than history textbooks. A big hit with guys of all ages. (My husband loves them too.)
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 | Harry Potter Paperback Boxed Set (Books 1-5) by J. K. Rowling
Buy used from: $23.95 Unlike far too many female YA authors, Rowling appeals to boys, too. (What self respecting boy wants to read those navel gazing, er, "coming of age" novels on most middle school book lists??)
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 | Animal Farm by George Orwell
Buy new: $23.95 / Used from: $6.99 Audio books are a great way to inspire a kid to read classics. This unabridged ANIMAL FARM is fabulous. We listened to it in one sitting.
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 | MAKE: Technology on Your Time
Buy new: $34.95 For the kid who likes to fiddle, build and create. Another one he reads from cover to cover the day it arrives.
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 | The Stunning Science of Everything (Horrible Science) by Nick Arnold
Buy used from: $6.86 Non-fiction Science series, in the same vein as Horrible Histories. Gross!
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 | Shooter: The Autobiography of the Top-Ranked Marine Sniper by Jack Coughlin
Buy used from: $2.00 The kid heard that those serving in Iraq go weeks without showering and was ready to sign up NOW. He lives vicariously, instead, through books like this one.
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 | Building Robots With Lego Mindstorms : The Ultimate Tool for Mindstorms Maniacs by Mario Ferrari
Buy new: $36.68 / Used from: $9.94 Almost everything he ever wanted to know about building robots.
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 | Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, Book 1) by Eoin Colfer
Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $0.01 Another series on the short list of "Fiction He Enjoys."
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 | A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Buy new: $11.55 / Used from: $5.00 Science, as told by Bill Bryson. Again, WAY more interesting than the textbooks.
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 | A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (Official Guides to the Appalachian Trail) by Bill Bryson
Buy new: $10.87 / Used from: $0.01 Another Bryson he couldn't put down.
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 | At Home in the World by Daniel Pearl
Buy used from: $0.01 Elegant, objective, funny. No hysterical hype. I use this as a textbook on what journalism should be.
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 | The Ultimate Spy Book by H. Keith Melton
Buy used from: $0.69 A DK picture book for armchair spies. He keeps this one in the bathroom for those moments of "unavoidable delay".
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 | Cheaper by the Dozen (Perennial Classics) by Frank B. Gilbreth
Buy new: $8.63 / Used from: $0.01 Speaking of unavoidable delay, read the book instead of seeing the Steve Martin Movie. My kid wanted to spray paint morse code on the walls after reading this one.
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 | Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $0.01 Another classic that he didn't throw across the room in disgust.
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 | The Women Who Lived for Danger: Behind Enemy Lines During WWII by Marcus Binney
Buy new: $11.66 / Used from: $1.53 Assigned chapters from this one as part of our WWII studies. More exciting than historical fiction.
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Listmania!
