Science fiction anthology appropriate for a 4th grader?

[kokotg]

I think my very finicky about books 9 year old might be interested in some short science fiction. Does anyone know of an anthology that's aimed at late elementary/middle school readers? Not necessarily stories written specifically for kids, but something put together with kids in mind, no inappropriate themes, etc? He reads very well, so I'm not so much concerned about reading level as content. I found one (The Starry Rift) on Amazon, but it says 8th grade and up, so I'm not sure if it would be okay for him or not.

[nmoira]

Not an anthology, but that's the age at which I found I, Robot in the school library, and I remember it as clearly as if it were yesterday. I think must have checked that book out 30 times.

[HerdingCats]

I don't know if that is what you're looking for. We have read this one, but there are others in the series by Madeleine L'engle.

[Spock]

Not an anthology, but that's the age at which I found I, Robot in the school library, and I remember it as clearly as if it were yesterday. I think must have checked that book out 30 times.

 

I, Robot is a collection of short stories, so it is sort-of an anthology, even though all of them are by the same author, and they make a sort of "history" when put together.

 

I liked the Mushroom Planet series when I was in 4th grade. Two or three of Robert Heinlein's novels are appropriate for that level, too, though the others are not. (Child-friendly--Have Spacesuit, Will Travel and maybe Citizen of the Galaxy, though that one might be better for 13 and up).

 

Bruce Coville has a couple of science fiction series that might work well, too. My second grader likes the Space Brat series, but there are two other series aimed at 4th-6th graders as well. (The My Teacher is an Alien series, and another I can't remember the name of. I think the third book of that series is called The Search for Squat--and yes, it is definitely inspired by the Star Trek movie.)

Edited June 15, 2010 by Spock

[kokotg]

Thanks all! We'll check into I, Robot (our library doesn't have it, of course--grr!) and some of the others. I pulled out a book I remember reading when I was a few years older than him--it's short stories that Twilight Zone episodes were based on, so I figured how bad could they be--the Twilight Zone was more hokey than disturbing. But then the first story I looked at was about a kid who could control minds forcing a rat to eat itself. yeah, umm, no thanks.

[mycalling]

:lurk5:

[Farrar]

I have one edited by Asimov called Visions of Fantasy - it's a bit dated, but good and all age appropriate. Several years ago I taught a middle school class about Sci-Fi/Fantasy and looked for good short story collections. I found many individual short stories that were excellent, but not as many good collections - most of them had at least a few things that were good for younger readers but also things that weren't (either because they had inappropriate parts or just a higher reading level). My favorite short scifi story that I think that age can read is "All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury. Also, I really like "The Wall Around the World" by Theodore Cogswell, though that's solidly fantasy.

[kiana]

Asimov has edited many collections of short stories. I second 'I, Robot'

 

Although they're not short stories, Heinlein wrote many short novels which were aimed at juveniles. The bibliography at wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_A._Heinlein_bibliography) has marked those considered juveniles with an asterisk. As a kid, I especially liked "Have Space Suit, Will Travel". I can't really count how many times I read those.

[Lovedtodeath]

The Seventh Tower

[Matryoshka]

I, Robot is a collection of short stories, so it is sort-of an anthology, even though all of them are by the same author, and they make a sort of "history" when put together.

 

I didn't discover this book till high school, but I'd almost classify it as Classic Literature - not in difficulty of theme or language, but Asimov's Laws of Robotics have been almost a given in any subsequent sci fi writing or movie about robots or androids (and there have been a few!). Culturally important book. ;)