What non-classics do kids read after the YA fantasy stage?

[dragons in the flower bed]

I'm not sure what to give my nine-year-old. He picks up any new fantasy series that comes out, and reads popular non-fiction as well as magazines like Science News, Mac World and National Geographic. He went through a children's classics stage before the fantasy series stage and was pretty bored when he tried revisiting them, so anything like Mark Twain, H.G. Wells or Robert Louis Stevenson is off the table. He reads the news, and historical fiction, too.

 

I'm not sure I'm ready to give him, before age twelve or thirteen, the scifi of my adolescence. It seems like I'd have to pre-read every single book intended for the grown-up market in order to know what is appropriate. I want the protagonists to not be evil, any sexual behavior to be in the context of love, and no sadism. Oh, and we're not Christian. He likes the Trailblazer series (missionary work), but I'm drawing a line that excludes Henty and Ballantyne (and anything else that's misogynist).

 

Is there a website somewhere for parents of children who have read everything already? I did try looking, but the first list I found had A Clockwork Orange on it. *runs screaming in the other direction*

 

Help! What does my kid read now?

Edited June 23, 2010 by dragons in the flower bed

[Chris in VA]

Has he read things like Swallows and Amazons (there are others in the series), Mysterious Benedict Society, the Pern series (Dragonsinger part is fine), Eoin Colfer's stuff, The Saturdays and the rest of that series?

 

Are you wanting just to stay with fantasy or is he branching out?

 

The Westing Game is good.

 

Is historical fiction ok?

[Melinda in VT]

The Westing Game is good.

 

 

Chasing Vermeer reminded me of The Westing Game, and it looks like the author has other books as well.

 

You mentioned science fiction. Has he read Ender's Game and sequels? The White Mountains trilogy? The Mushroom Planet books? The Hunger Games and sequel? (In terms of mature material, The Mushroom Planet books are extremely tame and I'd put Ender's Game and The Hunger Games on the other end of the scale.)

[pooh bear]

What about:

 

Watership Down

Jeeves and Wooster novels

The Ascent of Rum Doodle

Three Men in a Boat

 

My ds, 9, has read all of these, and really enjoyed them.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Has he read things like Swallows and Amazons (there are others in the series), Mysterious Benedict Society, the Pern series (Dragonsinger part is fine), Eoin Colfer's stuff, The Saturdays and the rest of that series?

 

Yep. I guess I'd include this stuff in YA & fantasy.

 

Are you wanting just to stay with fantasy or is he branching out?

 

Either way. I think we'd both prefer that he branch out, but we're not going to turn down a book at this stage in the game.

 

Is historical fiction ok?

 

Yes!

 

I may be a little quiet in my own thread because I'm wrestling a bout of screen sickness, but I'll be collecting titles greedily in a day or so.

[Stacia]

Well, this is the fantasy genre too, I guess, but I highly recommend:

 

The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear.

 

If he likes darker things & enjoys Captain Bluebear, he might like The City of Dreaming Books (by the same author).

 

And, again, more fantasy... has he tried any of Terry Pratchett's works? He might enjoy his Tiffany Aching series (The Wee Free Men; A Hat Full of Sky; Wintersmith).

 

Does he like 'scary' stuff (i.e., Dracula, etc...)?

 

Mysteries?

 

Biographies/Autobiographies?

[Desert Rat]

Fablehaven series is good fantasy. My ds10 just finished it up and enjoyed it very much.

[JFSinIL]

Jeaves and Wooster - I second those. Also - Sherlock Holmes series.

 

Has he read all the Ralph Moody books? (Trick is to read them in order of how Ralph ages in them, which is NOT same order as publication!)

[Twigs]

How about the Heinlein juveniles?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinlein_juveniles

[Elinor Everywhere]

What about Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" series? I can't remember if it has objectionable material (I read it years ago), but I guess I should find out because my dd is half-way through the first book and can't put it down... :tongue_smilie:

[nmoira]

Is there a website somewhere for parents of children who have read everything already? I did try looking, but the first list I found had A Clockwork Orange on it. *runs screaming in the other direction*

I've found nothing as comprehensive as I'd hope.

 

Eager Readers

GTWorld booklists

Phoenix Awards

Hoagies' Reading Lists and More Reading Lists

 

We're also big fans of the imprint Jane Nissen Books.

 

DD the Elder recently read Monica Hughes' Keeper of the Isis Light trilogy and Invitation to the Game. Hughes has a few more books that look good too. To keep on the Canadian theme :) has he read much Farley Mowat? And not Canadian, but BB is a great read (I'd start with The Little Grey Men).

 

 

My search has increasing turned to translated works.

 

Some resources:

Outside In: Children's Books in Translation

These are a series:

Children's Books from Other Countries

The World Through Children's Books

Crossing Boundaries with Children's Books

 

The Batchelder Award winners

 

DD the Elder in particular liked Michael Ende's books The Night of Wishes and Momo (she liked The Neverending Story... cried when it was done because it was done, but that's a bit more obvious). Also Walter Moers, The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear and Rumo.

Edited June 23, 2010 by nmoira

[nmoira]

Jeaves and Wooster - I second those. Also - Sherlock Holmes series.

:iagree:

[dragons in the flower bed]

He's read Fablehaven, The Complete Sherlock Holmes, a lot of Isaac Asimov including the Foundation series, all of the Heinlein juveniles, Ender's Game, The Mushroom Planet, and The Hunger Games (although if I had read Hunger Games first he wouldn't have read them).

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

What about Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" series? I can't remember if it has objectionable material (I read it years ago), but I guess I should find out because my dd is half-way through the first book and can't put it down... :tongue_smilie:

 

Foundation trilogy is excellent. My boys like reading Timothy Zahn Star Wars books, The Cornelia Funke Books, Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators. They read Redwall books for a while. I would also suggest older (as in written decades ago) science fiction by Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke.

[JennW in SoCal]

Oh my! It sounds as if he has read most everything I was going to suggest!

 

And you are right -- 9 is a young age for much of the typical non-YA sci-fi and fantasy. Some of the following have already been suggested, but here goes off the top of my head....

 

Discworld and other works by Terry Pratchett

Jeeves

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series

Rudyard Kipling: Kim, Captains Courageous

lesser known Jack London such as Sea Wolf

The Master and Commander series (may be too adult??)

Horatio Hornblower series (I've seen it recommended many times over the years on these boards so it shouldn't be too adult)

Once and Future King by TH White

Watership Down

Michael Chrichton -- is his stuff too adult? I'm thinking Jurassic Park, Andromeda Strain

 

Non-fiction:

James Herriot books All Creatures Great and Small, and etc

Uncle Tungsten -- a memoir of growing up in England surrounded by a family of scientists

My Family and Other Animals by Gerrald Durrell

Temple Grandin books: Animals Make us Human, and another I can't think of

Enslaved by Ducks -- a true story about a couple who seem to adopt every imaginable animal -- very funny

science writers such as Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michio Kaku, Stephen Hawking

Bill Bryson's Short History of Nearly Everything

Look in the animal sections of the library and bookstore and there are many fun non-fiction books by scientists and animal lovers. Douglass Adams, the writer of Hitchhiker's Guide, wrote a book on disappearing wildlife, for instance.

[pooh bear]

The Abhorsen trilogy; Sabriel is the first book

 

The Last Knight by Hilari Bell

 

Cry of the Icemark

 

Urchin of the Riding Star

 

The Edge Chronicles; Beyond the Deepwoods is the first book

 

The Magic Thief

 

I, Q

 

Keys to the Kingdom series; Mister Monday is the first book

[Lara in Colo]

I liked the Dragon Riders of Pern series, the Xanth series or the Incarnations of Immortality by Piers Anthony.

 

Lara

[Stacia]

The Hunger Games (although if I had read Hunger Games first he wouldn't have read them).

 

Just curious about your statement.

 

(I'm trying to read The Hunger Games myself, right now, as so many friends have raved about the series. But, I find the underlying premise so horrifying & off-putting that I'm having a hard time w/ it. I'm curious to hear opinions other than raves for it, I suppose.)

 

Also thought of a few others, perhaps....

 

The Lost Years of Merlin series by T. A. Barron

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing (and the sequel, though I haven't read the sequel yet) by M. T. Anderson

 

And, I say maybe for all of the following because they are not YA books, but books for adults. However, if your ds has an interest in any of the subjects covered in these books, he may enjoy the books:

maybe The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (some bad language)

maybe Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

maybe The Lost City of Z by David Grann

maybe Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone by Martin Dugard

maybe Iron & Silk by Mark Salzman

maybe Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide by Peter Allison (some brief adult situations)

 

Does your ds like things like The Dangerous Book for Boys or the Worst-Case Scenario books?

Edited June 26, 2010 by Stacia

[LibraryLover]

Has he read Ender's Game? It's a liitle more mature, but still in the YA category, so I thought I might throw it out on the chance he hasn't yet.

Edited June 23, 2010 by LibraryLover

[Melinda in VT]

He's read Fablehaven, The Complete Sherlock Holmes, a lot of Isaac Asimov including the Foundation series, all of the Heinlein juveniles, Ender's Game, The Mushroom Planet, and The Hunger Games (although if I had read Hunger Games first he wouldn't have read them).

 

It's the opposite here: my 10yos have read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, but not Ender's Game (yet).

[Chris in VA]

Rose, you might check out the Chinaberry Book catty online--they have excellent write-ups on their books. Of course, they make every stinkin' book sound like the greatest ever written! lol

[LibraryLover]

It's the opposite here: my 10yos have read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, but not Ender's Game (yet).

 

 

Thanks. I missed Ender's Game as having been read.

 

Fablehaven is The Bobbsey Twins compared to EG. EG has many layers and it has been a topic of discussion here a few times. My youngest recently read it (she is 11). Even my dh enjoyed, and that means all 6 of us can discuss it together. It's a very interesting, although not my fav.

Edited June 24, 2010 by LibraryLover

[Matryoshka]

I liked the Dragon Riders of Pern series,

 

Love this series (at least the early ones - she doesn't even write the new ones herself), but would only recommend the Harper Hall Trilogy (Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, Dragondrums) to a kid - many of the other books in the series include s*x scenes.

[Saille]

Hmmm...Robin McKinley? (Not Deerskin, though.)

Cynthia Voigt? (A Solitary Blue, Dicey's Song)

Where the Red Fern Grows

Maniac Magee

Lloyd Alexander's Westmark series

Jo Clayton's Souldrinker series? It's been a while, but I read it when I was not much older than that.

 

Tell us if we're close, or way off.

[Farrar]

Maybe Suzanne Collins's other series - Gregor the Overlander. While there are some dark themes in the books (one of the books sets up what is clearly an intended metaphor for genocide, for example) - the main characters are younger so there's much less sexuality (which is to say... not really any at all, though there is a very innocent romance between two characters) and the violence is handled in a less intense way. Also, except for the main characters, mostly it's about animals. I adored The Hunger Games books, but I think the Gregor series may be better.

 

If you didn't like The Hunger Games, steer clear of Xanth (lots of silly jokes, including many bawdy ones - very lighthearted, but it's still there). The Dragonsingers of Pern books are very tame and sweet - but you'd probably want to avoid the other Pern books. I second (or add to... many suggested it) the Terry Prachett suggestion. There are many, many more options and more coming out all the time. For example, the new Scott Westerfield was good. Or, do you know the Young Wizards series by Diane Duane? Those are really good and, like the Ender's series or Madeline L'Engle's works, bring up a lot of *big* questions about the meaning of life and so forth, using fantasy as a way to explore them.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Tell us if we're close, or way off.

 

I can't. I haven't read a lot of this stuff. I'm trusting y'all with my kid, here.

 

It seems like Robin McKinley is what the kiddo was eating through right before we started doing GoodReads, but sometimes he doesn't remember and I can get him to read a book again.

[LibraryLover]

My then 10 yr old dd enjoyed with the Gregor books. She read me several passages out of pure excitement.

[glennis_b]

My girls are loving the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. It's about Greek gods and another one called The Red Pyramid by the same fella. It's about Egyptians.

[nmoira]

The Hungry City Chronicles

Brave Story

The Shadow of Ghadames

Marianne Dreams

has he exhausted Diana Wynne Jones? and Kevin Crossley-Holland? and Joan Aiken (including her short stories?);

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

ETA Hoffmann

Her Majesty's Dragon series (although I have a feeling it may have been you who recommended this to me initially; I don't recall anything thing terribly problematic, but you're probably best to skim)

Tom Marlowe series

books by Leon Garfield

Pellinorseries

nautical fiction?

the Switchers series by Kate Thompson (this is *not* akin to animorphs)

Gillian Cross, including Wolf

The Folk Keeper

[dragons in the flower bed]

Thank you all very much for your suggestions. I am going hunting at the library this morning with some great leads.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Just curious about your statement.

 

(I'm trying to read The Hunger Games myself, right now, as so many friends have raved about the series. But, I find the underlying premise so horrifying & off-putting that I'm having a hard time w/ it. I'm curious to hear opinions other than raves for it, I suppose.)

 

I guess I believe that humans hunting humans should be a horrifying idea. Maybe it's because I've been a pacifist, opposed to things like professional boxing and wrestling. I also find it creepy because it makes it seem so . . . so like something we would actually DO. KWIM? That's what makes it a great scifi novel, but it's also what would make it not suitable for children. I want them to grow up enough to be horrified. I don't want this kind of idea to seem normal. Maybe it's about imprinting. I am afraid that showing my children this kind of horrid stuff early in their lives will imprint it on them. Life is sacred. Life is a right. You don't toss it out for any reason, but especially not for someone else's entertainment. And this isn't even a plain snuffing. It's torture, first, emotional and physical. I don't even abide torture for "good reasons," like getting info in war. So to read a whole book about using it for entertainment... it was not something I would have let my kids do, had I known. Reviews are surprisingly vague about this. I don't know why everyone raves. This is not a book for children. My other children won't be reading it unless they discover it as adults.

Edited June 26, 2010 by dragons in the flower bed

[dragons in the flower bed]

Hmmm...Robin McKinley? (Not Deerskin, though.)

Cynthia Voigt? (A Solitary Blue, Dicey's Song)

Where the Red Fern Grows

Maniac Magee

Lloyd Alexander's Westmark series

Jo Clayton's Souldrinker series? It's been a while, but I read it when I was not much older than that.

 

Tell us if we're close, or way off.

 

I marked at to-read Robin McKinley's Robin Hood, and will probably be able to get the kid interested in Beauty and Spindle's End, too. For some reason he doesn't like Lloyd Alexander. It must be his writing style because I didn't think he could resist anything that has to do with time and cats. Anything with a wizard or a castle is going to be a fight, unless it's Edward Eager, because he knows Edward Eager is like Roald Dahl only in fantasy. I am not sure about Voigt. We are still wanting adventure and non-fiction, and not so patient with feelings and relationships. I found the wrong Souldrinker series first and that looked cool enough to mark as to-read, though it may be way more violent that I desire. The one you recommend looks good too.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Oh, Stacia, thank you for linking all of these! They all look great. Why didn't I think of Lost City of Z for him? I read it last year and loved it.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Love this series (at least the early ones - she doesn't even write the new ones herself), but would only recommend the Harper Hall Trilogy (Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, Dragondrums) to a kid - many of the other books in the series include s*x scenes.

 

I've got them on the to-read now. :001_smile: I don't mind sex scenes as long as they're in the context of love. This child is not a big fan of high fantasy, and anything with dragons, wizards or castles on the cover or in the title is not going to picked up voluntarily. I can get him into by asking him to just read the first chapter. Usually he'll "accidentally" read the whole book and grudgingly give it three stars. Goofball kid.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Wow, Eliana, thank you for staying up for me.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Alfred Hitchcock & The Three Investigators is not too violent for a nine-year-old? Is it scary all the way through? This child is not prone to nightmares, except about black holes (long long history of fear of astrophysics) but I remember being scared of Alfred Hitchcock on TV when I was about this age. It was the notion that a murderer was lurking around the corner that freaked me out. What do you think? Would you give this to a nine-year-old and why or why not? He liked The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, essentially a murder mystery, if that helps.

 

How about the Dirk Gently series? I am sure I wouldn't mind previewing this, but if I bring it home from the library, my nine-year-old is going to pick it up and possibly sneak a paragraph at a time while I'm not looking. (He is generally a good kid, but he has no loyalty to my censorship rules.)

[Stacia]

I guess I believe that humans hunting humans should be a horrifying idea. Maybe it's because I've been a pacifist, opposed to things like professional boxing and wrestling. I also find it creepy because it makes it seem so . . . so like something we would actually DO. KWIM? That's what makes it a great scifi novel, but it's also what would make it not suitable for children. I want them to grow up enough to be horrified. I don't want this kind of idea to seem normal. Maybe it's about imprinting. I am afraid that showing my children this kind of horrid stuff early in their lives will imprint it on them. Life is sacred. Life is a right. You don't toss it out for any reason, but especially not for someone else's entertainment. And this isn't even a plain snuffing. It's torture, first, emotional and physical. I don't even abide torture for "good reasons," like getting info in war. So to read a whole book about using it for entertainment... it was not something I would have let my kids do, had I known. Reviews are surprisingly vague about this. I don't know why everyone raves. This is not a book for children. My other children won't be reading it unless they discover it as adults.

 

Bravo!

 

(And, I'm so happy to find someone else who seems to understand both my POV & horror at these books.)

[Corraleno]

My DS just finished a couple of Gerald Durrell books and really loved them. (My Family & Other Animals is truly one of the funniest books I've ever read.) He's about to start Nancy Farmer's Sea of Trolls, and his best friend just finished (and raved about) House of Scorpions.

 

A few Y/A historical fiction series I can think of off the top of my head: Spartan Quest, Roman Mysteries (Thieves of Ostia, etc.), Strongbow Saga, Shakespeare Stealer. I just ordered The Well of Sacrifice; the reviews look good and the setting (9th century Mayan city) is unusual.

 

Jackie

[Ravin]

Love this series (at least the early ones - she doesn't even write the new ones herself), but would only recommend the Harper Hall Trilogy (Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, Dragondrums) to a kid - many of the other books in the series include s*x scenes.

 

The more recent Pern books by Todd McCaffrey (and cowritten by Anne McCaffrey and Todd, who is her son) might be a good choice. They're from the point of view of younger denizens of Pern. (Dragon's Blood And Dragon's Kin come to mind).

 

Also the s*x in McCaffrey isn't particularly detailed or long, easily skimmed over by a preadolescent disinterested in that part of the story. I think I read most of the original Pern series when I was 12, and didn't even remember their being any of those sorts of scenes until I re-read them as an adult.

 

THere are other McCaffrey books you might look into as well: The Ship Who Sang, Sassinak, the Dinosaur Planet books, etc.

 

For nonfiction, I highly recommend the essays (collected in a series of books) of Stephen Jay Gould.

[Dmmetler]

Has he read Robert Asprin's Myth/Myth Inc and Phule's Company Series? Both are fairly innocent (you get some kissing and dating, but especially in the myth series, part of the humor is that the protagonist IS a naive teenager), very funny, and very punny. I'm sure Charlotte Mason wouldn't approve, but I love them. Half the humor is in the "quotes" that head up each chapter, because many of them reference historical, mythological, or literary figures, and you have to know the background to get the inside joke.

 

Diane Duane's Young Wizards (So you Want to be a Wizard) is almost certainly too young for him now, but there's a spin-off series (2 books, so far) with cat wizards as the protagonists that are on a higher level. An added bonus is that there's a lot of Egyptian mythology (Wallis Budge is a character in the 2nd book) interwoven into these.

 

If he liked Ender's Game, he might enjoy the "Hope" Series, beginning with Midshipman's Hope. It's basically the Hornblower series, but placed in Space Navy. One neat thing about this one for Homeschoolers-it's set in a time where public education has completely collapsed, so ALL students are either homeschooled or private schooled, and homeschooled kids are generally the more successful and well looked upon. It's a little intense in places-the protagonist has to make some very, very hard decisions (The plot of the first is that a young Midshipman, on his first posting right out of academy, becomes the ranking commissioned officer on a starship due to a series of unfortunate events and accidents. In the first book, he has to decide what to do about mutineers. Later on (in about book 5) , he faces having to order teenage cadets to their death to save the Earth from an invasion), and a big part of each book is dealing with the aftermath and the emotional repercussions of his decisions-because even when he's lauded for them, he still has a lot of guilt and tends to second guess himself. Similar to Ender in many ways.