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need book recommendations for a 9yo boy who loves fantasy


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Looking for some great book recommendations for my ds' upcoming birthday (turning 9yo). He's an advanced reader & has a sharp sense of humor. He loves fantasy works (though I'm open to finding other types/styles of books too). Some books/series that he has loved include: the Harry Potter series, the Magyk series, The Wee Free Men series (he has become a huge Terry Pratchett fan), the Lightning Thief series, The Anybodies series, etc....

 

I was thinking The Neverending Story might be a good pick & perhaps The Indian in the Cupboard too. Any opinions of those books?

 

Thanks for any ideas!

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Hmmm. My son has loved Edward Eager books (Half Magic, The Time Garden, The Knights Castle), Peter and the Star Catchers series, The Dragon of Lonely Island (trilogy, I think by Rebecca Rupp), The Squire's Tales by Gerald Morris (series of 8 books retelling the King Arthur legends), The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke, and books by Edith Nesbit (The Magic City, The Book of Dragons, etc.). Oh, and he read the 5? books in The Indian in the Cupboard series and liked them.

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My son absolutely loved the Anybody series...read all of them. He is now on the 2nd of the Peter and the Starcatcher series---really is loving it! In fact, I've started the first one as he keeps telling me about the books.

I'm also going to see if he would enjoy the Inkheart books. Talked with a woman at the airport who was reading the series and she highly recommended them! Loved the movie and she said the books were much better(of course!)

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If you get The Neverending Story, make sure to get this edition

The text is in two colors. Purple for Bastian and green for Fantastica

 

These are some of the books that my 9 yo has read, and really enjoyed. He is a strong reader, and loves quirky humor, and sci-fi

 

Haroun and the Sea of Stories

Mortal Engines First in a series of 4

Larklight First in a series of 3

Beyond the Deepwoods 1st in the Edge Chronicles series

The Amulet of Samarkand 1st in the Bartimaeus Trilogy

Artemis Fowl 1st in series

Dark is Rising

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I think he'd like Larklight: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space (and Starcross and Mothstorm) by Philip Reeve:

 

This wildly imaginative sci-fi pirate adventure has tongue-in-cheek humor and social commentary on accepting those who are different, among other things. Art Mumby and his sister, Myrtle, proud citizens of the British Empire, which in 1851 includes extraterrestrial territories, live with their father in Larklight, a rambling house that just happens to be traveling through outer space. The arrival of elephant-sized white spiders sets in motion an adventure that takes the quibbling siblings across the universe to battle the forces of evil.

 

I thought Larklight was very original, clever and odd! Fun stuff.

 

Also, the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan, the Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix, and maybe the Tunnels trilogy by Roderick Gordon (some of these can have dark elements so maybe preread, but they are all good). I'm starting the 100 Cupboards series by N.D. Wilson and it's interesting so far!

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Thanks for all the recommendations so far! I'll be busy researching on amazon late tonight, lol!

 

I'm starting the 100 Cupboards series by N.D. Wilson and it's interesting so far!

 

I had seen those & wondered about them. Are they creepy/scary? He's not really into scary stuff.

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I think Tunnels (and Deeper, Freefall) *are* a little creepy at times. I'm not far enough into the 100 Cupboards yet to tell if it is creepy, but I'm prereading for my 8 and 10 year olds. :) My kids aren't too sensitive with creepiness but they don't like people dying or too much violence. lol

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Sorry if some of these end up being repeats, I browsed the previous posts, but my memory is far from perfect. :) Some of these may be a bit too advanced, but you can always save them for a few years.

 

His Dark Materials Trilogy, by Philip Pullman

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, by Patricia C. Wrede (very witty, my favorite books by far)

Animorphs, by K. A. Applegate (okay, technically sci-fi, but they're hilarious and there's a ton of them)

Cronus Chronicles, by Anne Ursu

Children of the Lamp series, by P. B. Kerr

The Earthsea books, by Ursula K. LeGuin

Firebird, by Mercedes Lackey

Diadem series, by John Peel

Pern series, by Anne McCaffrey (Sci-fi with a fantasy feel, though they're more adult books, so I'd save them until the teen years)

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Hmmm. My son has loved Edward Eager books (Half Magic, The Time Garden, The Knights Castle), Peter and the Star Catchers series, The Dragon of Lonely Island (trilogy, I think by Rebecca Rupp), The Squire's Tales by Gerald Morris (series of 8 books retelling the King Arthur legends), The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke, and books by Edith Nesbit (The Magic City, The Book of Dragons, etc.). Oh, and he read the 5? books in The Indian in the Cupboard series and liked them.

My dd9 fantasy lover is a huge fan of Cornelia Funke, and E Nesbit.

 

My 9 year old fantasy lover is currently reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

So is mine! Or was, except my dh has been "borrowing" it.:glare:

 

ETA: The Thirteen Child by Patricia Wrede is HIGHLY recommended, too!

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Redwall by Brian Jacques or Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. My 9yo dd is currently halfway through the first Inkheart and loves it. If you've seen the movie with Brendan Fraser it's surprisingly close to the first book. Inkspell and Inkdeath are the next two.

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The Amulet of Samarkand 1st in the Bartimaeus Trilogy

Dark is Rising

Seconding these two and the Peter and the Starcatchers series. Marc is on the last book of the series, which he has been reading at bedtime to the boys and they are all loving it.

 

I just finished reading the third book in The Bartimaeus Trilogy. (And I mean just.....I finished about 15 minutes ago!) I loved it and highly recommend it. I read The Dark is Rising series when I was a child and loved it, too.

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John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series. Cornelia Funke. there is a series of Dragonlance for kids. Patricia Wrede. Runaway Princess and its sequel, Runaway Dragon. Terry Brooks Magic Kingdom for sale. Tamora Pierce.

 

A bit older, David Eddings, Robert Asprin, Lawrence Watt Evans, Jim Hines, Anne McCaffrey, Elizabeth Moon. Mercedes Lackey.

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The Hobbit

Percy Jackson and the Olympians series

Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, and Dragondrums by Anne McCaffrey

The Alta series by Mercedes Lackey (set in a pseudo-ancient Egypt with Dragons)

Terry Pratchett's Discworld books (some may have more appeal than others, but they're entertaining even if not all read in order)

The Chronicles of Narnia

There's a pirate-based fantasy series out co-written by Dave Barry I've been meaning to read that look like they'd have a lot of boy appeal

the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander

ETA: Oh, and the Myth books by Robert Asprin

and the Xanth novels by Piers Anthony (how could I forget those?!?)

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