>>>Hi everybody,
>>>
>>>My son, who is 7 years old, started to like reading. Yesterday evening he surprised me a little bit by finishing "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" in 2 evenings (about 1h.+ reading).
>>>
>>>I'd like to come to the library this Sunday with a list of good children's books. I'm not sure what books to take, so they have not very complex language and be interesting for a kid.
>>>
>>>From my childhood I remember:
>>>
>>>Daniel Defo (?) "Robinson Crusoe" (?)
>>>? "Peter Pan"
>>>J. Swift (?) "Hulliver's Adventures" (?)
>>
>>That is: Jonathan Swift, "Gulliver's Adventures". Great satire, but children won't even notice, and just read it for fun.
>>
>>>A. Lindgren books
>>>
>>>"Nil's travellers with wild geese', (?)
>>
>>That one is great, too - but perhaps a little big for a seven-year-old child.
>>
>>>etc.
>>>
>>>May be you can help me to come up with a list, so it would be easier for me to pick the books...
>>
>>I think all of the following are great, and appropriate for that age:
>>

A. A. Milne, "Winnie the Pooh"
>>

Laura Ingals Wilder, "Little House in the Big Woods" (and subsequent books from the same series, about 8 or 9 in total)
>>

Charles Doggson (alias Lewis Carol), "Alice in Wonderland", and "Behind the Looking Glass" (this is the continuation of "Alice", sort of).
>>
>>The following are also great, but I estimate they are a somewhat difficult for that age; keep them in mind for later:
>>

Samuel Clemens (alias Mark Twain), "Tom Sawyer", "Hucklebery Finn", "The Diary of Adam and Eve", and many more.
>>

J. K. Rowling, "Harry Potter and the Philosoper's Stone" (or "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", depending on the version), and subsequent books in the series.
>>

J. R. R. Tolkien, "The Hobbit", and its continuation, "The Lord of the Rings".
>>
>>This may help for a start; also, in my experience, certain religious texts can sometimes be quite fun to read for children, especially historic books, when they mention heroic acts.
>
>Hilmar,
>
>Thanks a lot. The funny thing is that I took Tom Sawyer and "Gulliver's Adventures" for myself in my last trip to the library. Right now I'm reading "Little men" by Louisa M. Alcott and I think I may give this book to my son once I finish. Or do you think I should start from the first book for him "Little women"?
>
>I haven't heard about Laura Ingals Wilder, "Little House in the Big Woods"...
>
>I also read all Harry Potter's books myself. Perhaps you're right and I may give them to him as well now.


"Little Women" for a 7 year old boy? I don't know about that one. The differences between boys and girls are sometimes overstated IMO but I do think there is a difference in their reading preferences. Boys, 0N AVERAGE, are more interested in stories with action and exotic locations or plots. Girls, even at that age, seem more interested in people and the interactions between them.

It's great that you are emphasizing reading for him at such a young age. With so few Americans reading for pleasure any more (median number of books read annually by American adults: zero) I think it's great. Good for you!