Books for Boys :: A Closer Look at the Bookshelf

I've been meaning to share this post ever since posting Books for Girls :: A Closer Look at the Bookshelf! I actually took these photos back in November of last year 2014 and since then the boys have both grown quite a few inches and started high school! made a few changes... They passed down all the Playmobil ships (Soldier Boat, Viking Longboat, Royal Ship of Egypt, and Roman Galley) to their two younger brothers, and replaced them with their LEGO Modular buildings (Palace Cinema, Pet Shop, and Parisian Restaurant) which fit perfectly on top of the bookshelf, safely out of reach of little hands! Some of the actual books on this bookshelf have changed as well, since I originally took the pictures for this post as well, making room for the new books the have received for Easter and Christmas, but rather than starting over, I'm just going to share what they had at this point.

{Note: Many of their books are kept on the History and Saint bookshelves. This post just lists the book which they keep in their bedroom. All links are Amazon Affiliate links.}

.: Top Shelf :. 

Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan

• The Ruins of Gorlan (Book 1)
• The Burning Bridge (Book 2)
• The Icebound Land (Book 3)
• The Battle for Skandia (Book 4)
• The Sorcerer of the North (Book 5)
• The Siege of Macindaw (Book 6)
• Erak's Ransom (Book 7)
• The Kings of Clonmel (Book 8)
• Halt's Peril (Book 9)
• The Emperor of Nihon-Ja (Book 10)
• The Lost Stories (Book 11)

In February of last year our (then) 13 year old was given hardcover editions of the rest of the Ranger's Apprentice series for his Ranger's Apprentice themed birthday! The boys were also given a copy of the brand new (personalized and autographed thanks to friends in Texas!) prequel: The Tournament of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice: The Early Years)


The Brotherband Chronicles by John Flanagan

• The Outcasts (Book 1)
• The Invaders (Book 2)
• The Hunters (Book 3)
• Slaves of Socorro (Book 4)
• Scorpion Mountain (Book 5)

I have also pre-ordered the next in the series for the boys: The Ghostfaces (Book 6)

Tales of Foreign Lands, Volume 1
Tales of Foreign Lands, Volume 2
Tales of Foreign Lands, Volume 3
This series was a gift from the boys' grandparents. 

Various books by J.R.R. Tolkien

• The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings
• The Return of the Shadow: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part One
• The Treason of Isengard: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Two
• The War of the Ring: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Three
• The End of the Third Age (The History of the Lord of the Rings, Part 4)
• Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth
• A Dictionary of Tolkien
• The Simarillion

I'm working on this post while traveling and I don't have access to all the boys' books to check the ISBN numbers to find the matching editions for our older boxed sets. We gave this illustrated edition of the Hobbit  to our 8 year old and it is by far his favorite book. I'm tempted to order another copy while it's 40% off! 

You can find Ranger's Lord of the Rings Hand-Painted Action Figures here. 

.: Second Shelf :. 

A Few of Ranger's Metal Earth Models:

  Sherman Tank, P-51 Mustang, Wright Brothers Airplane, Parthenon, Black Pearl Pirate Ship

The Constitution of the United States of America
Dragon Slayers: The Essential Training Guide for Young Dragon Fighters
Letters to an Altar Boy
The Young Man of Character
The Young People's Book of Saints
The Soldier of Christ: Talks Before Confirmation
A Child's Book of Warriors
The Gate
Twenty Tales of Irish Saints
Christians Courageous
Crossbows & Crucifixes: A Novel of the Priest Hunters and the Brave Young Men Who Fought Them
Saint Magnus, The Last Viking
Crusader King: A Novel of Baldwin IV and the Crusades
A Soldier Surrenders: The Conversion of Saint Camillus de Lellis
Ablaze: The Stories of Daring Teen Saints

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower (Hornblower Saga)
Hornblower and the "Hotspur" (Hornblower Saga)
Hornblower During the Crisis (Hornblower Saga)
Hornblower Beat to the Quarters (Hornblower Saga)
(This series was also a gift from their grandparents.) 

Lost in Peter's Tomb
Break-In At the Basilica
Curse of the Coins
Secrets of Siena

Bank Robbery!

Shadow in the Dark
The Haunted Cathedral
The Fire of Eden

Fabre's Book of Insects
The Call of the Wind
The Adventures of Tom Saywer
My Side of the Mountain
By the Great Horn Spoon
Rascal
Swallows and Amazons
The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread
Adam of the Road
The Good Master
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Snow Treasure
Redwall
Peanuts

Metal Earth Black Pearl Pirate Ship - Pictures of Ranger Building it Here

The two sets in the corner of this shelf are a couple of their favorites from when they were younger. Our current eight year old really enjoyed reading them last year!

The Tales of the RAF series includes:

• Scramble!
• Fighter Escort
• Spitfire!
• Dawson's Down
• Night Mission
• The New Kid

We have the paperback editions, but the whole set is also available in hardcover and I'd love to add it to our collection! 

The Billy and Blaze series includes:

• Billy and Blaze
• Blaze and the Forest Fire: Billy and Blaze Spread the Alarm
• Blaze Finds the Trail 
• Blaze and Thunderbolt
• Blaze and the Mountain Lion 
• Blaze and the Lost Quarry
• Blaze and the Gray Spotted Pony
• Blaze Shows the Way
• Blaze Finds The Trail

Metal Earth Sherman Tank

Additional Metal Earth models have been added including Neuschwanstein Castle (pictures here), Brooklyn Bridge, London Tower Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, Star Wars Millennium Falcon, and Notre Dame.

.: Third Shelf :.

Chronicles of Narnia Box Set

Tom Playfair: Or Making a Start
Percy Winn: Or Making a Boy of Him
Harry Dee: Or Working it Out
(They also have additional books written by Father Finn including: Claude Lightfoot: Or How the Problem Was Solved, Ethelred Preston: Or the Adventures of a Newcomer, and That Football Game: And What Came of It) 

The Boy Mechanic: 200 Classic Things to Build
The Boy Scientist: 160 Extraordinary Experiments & Adventures
The Boy Camper: 160 Outdoor Projects and Activities
(Gifts from grandparents.) 

Ship's Boy with Magellan
John Treegate's Musket
Peter Treegate's War
Sea Captain from Salem
Treegate's Raiders
The Reb and the Redcoats

Alvin's Secret Code
Alvin Fernald, Foreign Trader
Alvin Fernald, Mayor for the Day

The Winged Watchman (We love the audio version!)
Enemy Brothers (The audio version of this book is excellent too!
Hittite Warrior
The Small War of Sergeant Donkey

LEGO Architecture Big Ben

Old Sam: Dakota Trotter
Augustine Came to Kent
Brave Buffalo Fighter
Beyond the Desert Gate
With Pipe, Paddle, and Song: A Story of the French-Canadian Voyageurs
The Mystery of the Periodic Table
Between the Forest and the Hills
The Drovers Road Collection: Adventures in New Zealand
The Flying Ensign: Greencoats Against Napoleon
The Lantern Bearers (The Roman Britain Trilogy)
The Silver Branch (The Roman Britain Trilogy)
The Eagle of the Ninth (The Roman Britain Trilogy)
Warrior Scarlet
King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table
Great Names in Our Country's Story
The Outdoor Book for Adventurous Boys: Essential Skills and Activities For Boys of All Ages
The Art of Stone Skipping and Other Fun Old Time Games: Stoopball, Jacks, String Games, Coin Flipping, Line Baseball, Jump Rope, and More

LEGO Architecture Brandenburg Gate

(I can't believe how much these two have grown in the past year and a half!) 

LEGO Architecture Trevi Fountain

Additional LEGO Architecture sets have been added including The Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and Lincoln Memorial.

.: Fourth Shelf :.

LEGO Architecture The Leaning Tower of Pisa, White House, Empire State Building, and Seattle Space Needle. 

The Hardy Boys 
(some from their Dad's childhood collection and others from a friend)

Childhood of Famous Americans
(various books from the series) 

Landmark Books including:

• The Landing of the Pilgrims
• Meet George Washington
• Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia

King Arthur for Boys
A Boy Sailer with John Paul Jones
Men Against the Sea
Gettysburg
The Mapmaker
Friar Among Savages
Outlaws of Ravenhurst
The Chariot Race: From Ben Hur

.: Bottom Shelf :. 

Holy Card Albums
Lap Books
Various Civil War books
The Art of the Hobbit
The Atlas of Middle-Earth
Gettysburg: The Long Encampment
Arms & Equipment of the Civil War
Backyard Ballistics: Build Potato Cannons, Paper Match Rockets, Cincinnati Fire Kites, Tennis Ball Mortars, and More Dynamite Devices
The Dangerous Book for Boys
Amon's Adventures: A Family Story for Easter
Learn to Burn: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Started in Pyrography
See Inside the Middle Ages
Time Traveler
The Usborne Book of World History
Second World War
World War II Discovery Kit
The Civil War Day by Day
Songs of the Wild West
Blue Knights Boys' Club Member Books
Behind the Blue and Gray: The Soldier's Life in the Civil War
A Christmas Carol (illustrated by P.J. Lynch)
Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien

.: From the Archives :.

The Boys' Bedroom and Triple Bunk Bed

Hobbit and Lord of the Rings LEGO Minifigures :: The Boys' Storage and Display Case

Under Construction :: A LEGO Cathedral Phase 1 and Phase 2

Bargain Priced Toys :: LEGO Great Vehicles

Lord of the Rings Hand-Painted Action Figures

Books for Girls :: A Closer Look at the Bookshelf

List of Links to all our Booklists