My 9 year old is an avid reader. Sure he likes video games and tv too, but he spends most of his time reading. He's also a very advanced reader for his age, which presents a problem. The books that are at his reading level contain content that he is not quite mature enough for. So we've been struggling to find books that are appropriate but still challenging enough to hold his interest.
He's been interested in Harry Potter since the video game came out, so he wanted to read this. My wife and I were a bit hesitant at first, so I did some research online and my wife read the first one before we let him get started. So after reading the first four, in general I would say that they are appropriate for his age, with a few caveats. Obviously, they involve magic and wizards and witches. So if that's a problem for you, avoid these. I would point out that the Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia also include many of these story elements, but no one seems to have a problem with that. In the fourth book, a few minor curse words are mentioned (the d word, that also relates to obstructing water:), and my wife tells me this is the case with the fifth book as well. As Harry gets older, there are some subtle hints of his feelings for one of the girls in the school, but it's very subtle and probably went right over my 9 year old's head. I'm not sure how much more there is later. But because of these two issues, I can only wholeheartedly recommend the first three books.
My wife also read "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan, and she deemed it acceptable. My son has gone onto to complete that series as well as the first book in a new series by Rick Riordan, "The Red Pyramid". I'm currently reading "The Red Pyramid", and while there aren't any elements that are horrible, it does have a stronger element of early, awkward teen romance, and several inappropriate uses of "God". These books are based on mythology, so obviously those references are fake, but "God" is often used as an exclamation when things go wrong or when the character is angry, which obviously isn't the way I want the word used.
Being a Star Wars fan, I've also read many of the Star Wars books for kids, and there is really nothing objectionable in them. There are several series. I've read the Jedi Apprentice, Jedi Quest, Boba Fett, and Last of the Jedi series, and I would let my son read any of those. Combined, that's about 45 books, so that should keep him busy for a while. The first one, which he's already read, is "The Rising Force".
But knowing how quickly my son reads, I know that it's only a matter of time before he finishes those. I looked into other series I'd heard or seen, such as the Warriors, Artemis Fowl, or Daniel X, but had issues with those. I then decided to check out christianbook.com to see what they had, and was pleasantly surprised to find many series that I think my son, and maybe even myself, would enjoy. The links below don't take you to christianbook.com, but this way you can see the covers along with the names of many of the series I've found. All of these are the first in a series, and I haven't read them so I can't personally vouch for them, but based on the reviews I've read on the christianbook.com website. I'd be comfortable with my son reading them. Just the fact that christianbook.com lists them assures me that they most likely do not contain content that I would object to.
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