Five Summer Books for Boys

There are 24 books in the series of a Belgian boy reporter and his fox terrier dog Snowy. Translated from the original French in 50 languages, the series were created as a comic strip in 1929. While Tintin's character is bland, the others are laugh out loud funny and charming to any child of any age. There's absentminded and self-absorbed Professor Calculus, who is also hard of hearing. Then there are the accident-prone twin detectives Thomson and Thompson who fumble and bumble their way around the cases. Captain Haddock, who happens to be Tintin's best friend, is a retired and often drunk or in need of a drink, ship captain. Finally, there is Bianca Castiafore, the Soprano, and her entourage.

The Diary Of A Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Greg Heffley is in middle school and his life sucks. Middle school is for morons, and he doesn't understand why it was invented. If that isn't bad enough, his mother forces him to keep a diary for an entire year in the hopes that he'll write down his feelings, and he agrees only because he believes that one day he'll be famous and the diary, oops, journal (as he often points out), will keep his fans from asking questions of him that he doesn't want to have to answer.

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

Several hundred years ago on a tiny island, there existed a group of people on a mission to protect magic. Ged was a boy goatherd who dreamt to be more than the goatherd he was. So he enrolled in the wizard academy to become a wizard, not realizing the extent of damage his pride and his ambition would cause, until a form appeared out of darkness that was ready to destroy him. In order to triumph over this creature, Ged must confront it, name it, and blend with it.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Bilbo Baggins joins a band of dwarfs gathered by Gandalf the wizard, to seek treasure accumulated and stored by Smaug, the dragon. Through their journey they are never at a loss for adventures, first spiders, then goblins and finally the dragon. From a swamp creature Bilbo retrieves a magic ring, which besides making him invisible, holds great powers of which Bilbo is not aware. His strength, wisdom, and courage increase as a result of his journey and all he had learned.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Thirteen years old city boy, Brian Robson is on his way to visit his divorced father. He is the only passenger in a small two-person plane. The pilot has a heart attack and dies and the plane crashes into a small lake. Brian manages to survive for two months in the Canadian wilderness, with only a hatchet his mother had given him as a present to help him. He learns to fish and hunt and to build fire. He also encounters mosquitoes and attacking moose and feeds on snapping turtle eggs.