What makes a kids book appealing to boys vs. girls?

Girls will read books with boy or girl protagonists - but boys will generally only read about boys.

There’s also a difference in the style of writing for boys. It's not all in the characters. For example, boys like lots of action, fast pace, dialogue that moves it along faster than exposition, etc.

A boy might read about a female protag is she doesn't 'feel' like a girl. If she's witty, sarcastic in her thoughts/observations/etc or looks at the world like a kid would (as apposed to being filtered through a gender). Likewise, if the subject matter was incredibly appealling (Like HP) then the reader isn't going to care so much about the character's sex, as long as they can get into their head and into the action.

In the end, it's a character that the reader can identify with that gets them interested and lets them see beyond gender. Boy like action packed stories or characters who experience things they can either relate to or fantasize about happening.

Sports is becoming less gender-specific, I think. Girls are far more athletic these days, and a good middle grade novel about soccer would go over big. And my boys are NOT into sports at all, but will read anything with dragons or swords.

Other things I've noticed: First grade boys love cars and machines. An action-adventure about a kid whose dad/uncle was a race-car driver or a pilot would find a nice following, I bet.

Boys of all ages really respond to humor. It can be gross, like Captain Underpants, or just plain silly, like Dragon Slayer's Academy. I know lots of boys who read Junie B. Jones, and it's because she's so funny. It's the good-for-you, serious books about real social problems that turn them off. So if you want to write something socially relevant, imbed it in a story about crazy characters and manic situations. Maniac Magee and Bud, Not Buddy are great examples of boy books. They have historically accurate plots about real issues of race and poverty, but they never, ever preach. Every page is hilarious.

Boys I think have an innate desire to be heroes. Quiet satisfaction is not going to do it for them. It can be an epic battle, like Eragon, or a small victory like Matt Christopher's baseball-themed books, but boys love the struggle and the triumph. I know my son's eyes just light up for any book about monsters--dragons, demons, mythological creatures--and warriors.

Give a group of kids a box of Legos and watch what happens. The girls will usually build places. Houses, barns and stables. The boys will build vehicles. Spaceships, race cars.

Animals are the great common ground, at least for the under-11 set. Girls and boys love to read about kids rescuing pets. Boys read Clifford and Biscuit, even though the MCs are girls. The focus is really on the dog, so they don't care.

I'll add to the list as I think of things. As a first grade teacher and the mother of 2 boys, the first a very reluctant reader, I've had some years to think about htis!

Okay, I thought of another thing.

Boys tend to be information junkies. They love facts. They start reading non-fiction much earlier than girls in general do, and if more authors could figure out how to write books about ninjas and samurai at a second-grade reading level, they'd sell millions.

My 9-year-old likes his novels short and sweet, at the low end of his reading level. But give him a book about mythology or planets or crystals and gems, and he'll read the whole thing, even if it's at the very upper limits of his reading range. My 13-year-old could read fluently in kindergarten, read the space encyclopedia cover to cover, but didn't finish a single novel until he was in fourth grade.

This is one huge reason why boys like the Magic Treehouse series. They learn ABOUT something in every book.

I haven't been able to get this topic out of my head, so I blogged about it. Feel free to stop by and add your thoughts to the list I created!

I don't know, when I was little I read everything I could get my hands on, even adult novels.
My brother only read manga until I brought home the first Harry Potter book from the library.
I lived with two young boys at one time, they liked books about video game characters, tv characters and anything similar to that.
Exploration though was a big thing for both of them, so you might want to consider that as a cross over.
Exploring new places/worlds etc are something that seems to interest kids, at least the ones I know.

I agree with a lot of the posts already on this thread. A story doesn't have to be about sports to be embraced by boys, but I think boys do tend to gravitate more toward exciting, action-packed or at least fast-moving stories. I think that's partly why Eoin Colfer has been so successful. That being said, I think boys will read stories about girls who don't act particularly "girly:" girls who get caught up in suspense or adventure of some sort.

That being said, there usually has to be some kind of male character included, be it the protagonist or an important friend. No matter how action-packed a story may be, if it's strictly about girls, then many boys may be hesitant to be seen carrying the book around. Example: Nancy Drew (ok, I know we're going back a ways on this). But when Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys joined forces, there was a lot more crossover.