In a used book store recently, my son and I found a book called Pirates! by Celia Rees. It was a hard back with no book jacket, but I leafed through it, and it looked good. I especially liked that it had female protagonists and a bit of romance. He’s been enjoying it, but he just got to a scene with a sexual assault. “It made me feel bad,” he told me, “so I put the book away”. We talked a bit more, and it’s clear the mature themes, while mild for a teen book, are making my ten year old uncomfortable. We’re thinking about reading it together, skipping scenes he doesn’t like, and a few other options, but I want to have a stack of ideas for his next read.
If you are familiar with the highly praised Pirates! you might be thinking: “Duh! That book is for 6th to 9th graders.” I know that, now, but here’s the problem: in 3rd grade my son passed the language arts test our 12th graders take to graduate high school. Like most old curmudgeons, I suspect standards have gotten lower over the years, but on any measure, it’s clear (not from some test score, but from how fast he reads books for 10 year olds, and how unexcited he is by them) he need something different from chapter books for kids his age.
So, I’m looking for recommendations for books that are challenging for a precocious 10 year old boy, but don’t have adult-ish themes. He likes fantasy, sci fi, and adventure, but is pretty open minded.
Perhaps in anticipation of the closure of our Borders, which hasn’t been announced, but which only a nitwit could fail to predict, our local music store is opening a giant book section today. I’m definitely going book shopping, and I need ideas for my boy.
Thanks, thanks, thanks, in advance!
Has he read Megan Whalen Turner’s The Thief? It’s got adventure and politics and trickery, and is very good. And I think the recommended age group is 4th grade on.
The book is the first of a series (book #4 out in late March), but can be read alone. In fact, I would not necessarily recommend the second book (The Queen of Attolia) of the series to a 10 year old — something violent (not sexual assault) happens to the narrator. It might be okay for your son to read, but I would recommend that you read QoA to judge first. But The Thief is definitely age appropriate but very good writing.
Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials is great. I remember reading a lot of Madeleine L’Engle and Cynthia Voigt at that age. I also pulled Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut off my parents’ bookshelf, and they made a huge impression on me.
I actually think His Dark Materials is pretty disturbing for that age. My daughter had trouble with it when she read it as a preteen. I agree with The Thief but wouldn’t go further as I do think the themes get mature fast in that series and it’s almost not YA.
You could try Sherwood Smith’s Crown Duel. Also a lot of fifth graders I know read The Belgariad by David Eddings, including my kids. I haven’t read it myself, but my husband feels the early books (there are more in the series) are safe.
Other books I can’t vouch for, but I think might be on target are Airborn by Kenneth Oppel (Victorian-era fantasy), the Charlie Bone books (Jenny Nimmo), Artemis Fowl books (Eoin Colfer), Pendragon (DJ MacHale) books and the Keys to the Kingdom series (Garth Nix).
The above aren’t necessarily terribly literary. Also Diana Wynne Jones is a very interesting YA writer. I personally love the Christomanci series.
Watership Down
The Count of Monte Cristo (haven’t read this but heard that all boys love it)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (violent, great heroine)
Island of the Blue Dolphins (another great heroine, so good!)
I also enjoyed Cynthia Voigt’s Homecoming at that age. I’m trying to think of more boy books/male heroes but that was never my reading preference. Robinson Crusoe? Again, I haven’t read it!
Arthur Ransome? A bunch of people have recommended the Alex Rider books by Anthony Horowitz and the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan.
I would second Eoin Colfer and Garth Nix and raise you a Terry Pratchett.
If he’ll read female protags then Diane Duane (NOT the Tale of Five) and Tamora Pierce and Patricia Wrede.
Definitely Diana Wynne Jones and maybe Susan Cooper’s Dark Is Rising, although it could be too scary.
Possibly Ursula LeGuin, although that may be too challenging – I didn’t appreciate her the first time round.
Rosemary Sutcliff is very popular with the historical fiction crowd – I loved Eagle of The Ninth when I was nine.
A friend’s 12 yr old utterly adores Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series, but I think you’d need to vet the later books for him.
Robin Mckinley’s Dragonhaven has a male narrator – most of her stuff may be too female centric for a ten year old boy.
I’m assuming you’ve already done or excluded Narnia and Harry Potter. The Belgariad might work for him, it’s high fantasy-lite with a scrubby (initially) boy narrator. Some of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragon books are suitable for the 10-12 age range although most of them have female protags.
Arthurian fantasy: The Once and Future King by T.H. White and I swear there’s a few others that are age appropriate, but my brain is blanking. I’ll come back if I recall.
I have a close homeschooling friend with the same problem. We actually go back told old time stories for our sons. They were very well written, far above today’s standard, yet didn’t deal with such subjects as sexual violence. Our sons love GA Henty, Scott O’Dell, Howard Pyle. Ohh what about Brian Jacque’s Redwall Series? I was going to rec Ursula Le Guin, too. Gaiman’s Anasazi Boys? Terry Brooks Shannara series? Marion Zimmer Bradley?
Here’s a link I often use 1000 Good Books
Good luck!
Another thing: I might change my mind about this when my kids are older, but I don’t think parents need to monitor and control everything their children read. Kids will put down a book they don’t feel comfortable with, as your son did, Jessica. I’m glad that my mom never seemed to worry about what I was reading. It felt like she trusted me.
Here are my suggestions for a similar situation.
I second Susan Cooper’s “The Dark is Rising”. E. Nesbit and Edward Eager are well written without adult themes, though he’d have to be willing to read ‘period’ pieces.
Tamora Pierce isn’t usually too graphic, though very female-centric. The Magic Circle books include a male protag in the group though, so they might be a good place to start to see if he likes Pierce’s writing.
Lloyd Alexander was always a personal favorite of mine as well, and I can’t recommend the Prydain chronicles enough to just about anyone. I still read them periodically now, after all.
And I’ve also heard good things about Riordan’s Percy Jackson books, but I haven’t read them myself yet. *shrugs* Good luck!
I liked Sherlock Holmes at about that age– it’s challenging language. Several (all?) of the stories are murder mysteries, but I don’t think they’re any more disturbing than the average TV show these days.
Classics in general — Jules Verne, Rudyard Kipling, Treasure Island…
I second the recommendation of Rosemary Sutcliff’s books – they’re all great, with interesting characters and well-done historical settings.
Most of the books coming to my mind as suggestions are probably not available now – there were fantastic childrens/young adults books here in the 1970s that probably haven’t dated too much, and would still make fantastic reads, but alas, British and Australian 1970s books probably aren’t easy to come by in your part of the world! It’s a pity, because writers such as Ivan Southall, Colin Thiele, Hesba Brinsmead and KM Peyton, and others of their ilk wrote intelligent, enjoyable novels with realistic characters and enough grit to be challenging, without veering into the adult levels of sexuality or violence.
ETA – How about Melina Marchetta? I haven’t read her books, but have heard much positive praise.
books by zane grey sre wonderful adventure books
i use to cherish them as a youngster. none of the boorish filth we find in most. books today.
I second the Edward Eager rec–those are wonderful books with great groups of protagonists, usually split evenly between genders. If your son likes those, they may naturally lead him to E. Nesbit. Also, have you tried the *Encyclopedia Brown* series? Those might be good–they feature a young (pre-teen?) detective narrator.
My son (11) LOVES Percy Jackson. Very clever use of Greek mythology (which might lead him to reading myths). Also Artemis Fowl. Kenneth Oppel’s Airborne series and the bat one (Silverwing) might also be good. Son also recommends Brandon Mull’s Fablehaven series. He listened to The Dark Is Rising, but it was a bit scary (I found it so at that age). Terry Pratchett is fantastic–audiobook of Wee Free Men, narrated by Stephen Briggs, hooked my son. I adore Diana Wynne Jones–both the Chrestomanci books and Howl’s Moving Castle (v. romantic, Jessica). If he likes knights, try him on Gerald Morris’ funny retellings of Arthurian legend, starting with The Squire’s Tale (also good romance for mother reads). I’d agree with Turner’s Theif, and also about not going past it yet.
I’d second Terry Pratchett’s Tiffany Aching series, beginning with The Wee Free Men. It sounds as though your son is precocious enough to catch some of the references a younger child would miss. He might also enjoy Pratchett’s Nation. Has he read Scott Westerfield’s Leviathan? RfP has some good suggestions on her link, although the Ann Maxwell Firedancer books have a fair amount of lusting going on for a 10 year old, IMO.
This is so fantastic! Thank you so much. The vast majority of these I have never heard of, and are not on their book list at school. He hasn’t read any of them, at all. So we have a whole lot of terrific reading ahead. Thank you!!
Thanks for pointing that out, Aoife! I definitely didn’t intend the Ann Maxwell (Elizabeth Lowell) books for a 10-year-old. I’d marked that section “For teens”, though I could stand to make that clearer. And on the other side of the coin, I read the Roger Lancelyn Green books very young but haven’t run across others who did; the issue with them isn’t subject matter but density.
BTW, has he read Tolkien yet?
@RfP I figured it was just an oversight since the rest of the list was so good!
I second the Red Wall series rec. Also Cornelia Funke – Inkheart, The Thief Lord, Dragon Rider, etc. She writes great ya fantasy fiction. I’d also recommend The old Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators mystery series. You can get them on Ebay as they are out of print. Also some historical fiction – A Light in the Forest, Sign of the Beaver, Johnny Tremain.
When I taught fourth grade, there would be boys with higher reading levels who encountered this problem. These would be some of my recommended reads for them. Good luck!
Sign of the Beaver, though, is high on the list of books to avoid, from those who evaluate depictions of Native Americans. Something to consider, if issues of representation and cultural appropriation are important to you.
I was going to mention Megan Whalen Turner’s The Thief, but I see jmc beat me to it. I completely agree that the second and third books might be a little too mature in content but the first is just about perfect.
Since Le Guin was mentioned, I think A Wizard of Earthsea might fit the bill, too. I’m not as sure about the other Earthsea books, which I haven’t read in ages.
Someone also mentioned Melina Marchetta — the two I’ve read were both good but not age-appropriate. I would hold off on them until he’s 15 or so!
Sr. Kidlet, who is thirteen, has recently enjoyed Colfer’s Airman, the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series, and the Youngest Templar series.
I love HIS DARK MATERIALS myself, but can’t get Sr. Kidlet to read it.
Has he tried classics such as THE HOBBIT? Or even LORD OF THE RINGS itself? Sr. Kidlet’s copy of LOTR is falling apart.
@Jill Sorenson:
The Count of Monte Cristo changed my life when I read as an 8 year old; I so identifed with his rage. But be warned there is an illegitmate baby buried alive in the garden in the middle of the night….
Also books by Geofffrey Trease and Kenneth Welch which I read as a kid and young teen. These are very good at their historical contexts eg Knights Fee is about the crusades and the Norman world. I would third anything by Rosemary Sutcliffe. My God daughter reads someone called Catherine Webb, these books seem a bit steam punkish. Also don’t forget Tamora Pierce
Wow! So many great recommendations! I would add Neil Gaimon. I just read “The Graveyard Book” and it was fantastic. The hero is a boy and is geared toward your son’s age group. Adventure, intrigue, friendship and just the right amount of boyhood creepy stuff. Also, Jenny Nimo’s Charlie Bone series is good. Similar to the Potter books but these characters are much more accessible and possible. Jack London’s books are fantastic boy reads too! Nothing like the wilds of Alaska and dogs to get a guy reading.
I love to hear that your son is enjoying reading. We all know what a good friend books will be to him for the rest of his life. Enjoy this time of exploration with your son Jessica. These years really go by fast.
Happy Valentines Day Everyone.
Mame
If your son likes books with animal protags (one of my kids loved them, one wouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot pole), there are a lot out there. They tend to be about battles of different sorts, so violent to some degree, but I think not disturbing in the way of some more realistic books with humans. Brian Jacques and the Redwall series, Erin Hunter writes cats and polar bears (separate series), Kathryn Lasky writes owls and Kevin Oppel bats (Silverwing series).
@RfP:
@Sherry Thomas:
He’s read the Hobbit and Fellowship. He;s taking a break at the moment, but I expect him to get back to it.
@Mame Burkett:He’s read all the Charlie Bone books, and even the new series with a girl (can’t remember name). You’re right, those are terrific.
Gosh, I know it. And I am!
again, these are FANTASTIC! thank you, everyone.
NOT Phillip Pullman. NOT NOT NOT. The themes and topics and even parts of the plot are NOT for kids, no matter that they’re the subject of the book.
Okay, settling in to read other suggestions so I don’t duplicate…
My almost 10yo son devoured Harry Potter when he was 8, so I can totally understand where you’re coming from. He loved the Erin Hunter cat books when he was around 7, but I think he stopped reading them b/c he didn’t understand the later ones. He’s currently embedded in Percy Jackson (film apparently good). He devoured Erec Rex and The Ranger’s Apprentice more recently and they’re both series books. He’s about to dive into the Garth Nix series that someone else mentioned when he’s finished his Battle of the Books competition (which is OMG amazing and I’m so glad we switched schools so he could do it).
Watership Down might be good. And I was going to suggest LotR. C.S. Lewis The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe but the other ones are bit boring. I wouldn’t suggest Anne McCaffery, tbh. The first one is VERY sexual, even if in an understated way–the first time *I* read a description of an orgasm, although now that I think about it, that was probably when I was 11 or 12.
Good luck!
I’m old and out of sync, definitely–other than Tamora Pierce’s novels, my mind always goes back to the novels of my childhood and early youth: Verne, Salgari, Christie, Asimov, etc.
Another vote for Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising quartet. Has anyone mentioned Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea books? I think I was 11 when I read those. CS Lewis is very religious but the second in the Narnia series is a very great book.
Also my nephew – who is 10 – seems to like Charlie Higson’s books about a child James Bond figure though I’ve not read those myself.
At that age, my oldest discovered the Redwall series from Brian Jacques. I think it’s about 13 books long. It’s fantasy, with war, rodents, and a great story arc. Like your son, he was a very advanced reader, but there wasn’t a lot out there to match his age and reading level. Good luck!
McCaffrey’s Pern books are set in a *very* macho world, though she did write other series. I feel the same way about Heinlein: lots of awful female characters, but when I was 10-12 I liked a couple of his “younger” books. The problem comes when one runs down to the library for more by the same author….
Would he like the out-and-out silliness of Douglas Adams?
Re. Pern, I adore McCaffrey’s Dragonflight (it’s the book that made a romance reader out of me), but no way would I recommend it for a ten year old. I agree with Sarah F. that it is very sexual!
The first two Harper Hall books, Dragonsong and Dragonsinger, are appropriate though, but they are about the obstacles that Menolly (the main character) faces a as a girl who dreams of being a musician.
An 8 year old boy I know with advanced reading skills adored both the Percy Jackson books and the Redwall books by Brian Jacques. Me, I go for Megan Whalen Turner, Diana Wynne Jones, Elizabeth Wein (technically middle-grade, but NOT AT ALL young in plot and characterization), Rosemary Sutcliff, Susan Cooper, and Nancy Farmer. Ann Halam (pseud for Gwyneth Jones), if you can find any, is excellent science fiction though might be a little scary for him at points. He might also enjoy Ysabeau Wilce’s Flora books if the language isn’t too tricky (there are 2 so far) and Terry Pratchett, who has written adult and middle grade and YA. Nnedi Okorafor has a couple of truly interesting fantasy novels for young adults, of which I’d guess ZAHRAH THE WINDSEEKER would be more in line with his preferences.
I think most of those were mentioned above.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. I’ve heard him on NPR and his bio is so fascinating that I bought a copy for my 12-year-old cousin. Can’t tell you yet whether he’ll like it (it was presented yesterday, placed on a coffee table, and abandoned — but then the boy in question is all about books by famous cartoonists; Roz Chast is a big fave) but I felt good about giving it.
And it’s all about me, isn’t it, this giving thing?
Would it be un-pc of me to say that I think the Pern books (which I loved as a teenager) are a bit girly anyway?
When I think of boys books I think more of Jennings (Buckeridge?) and Molesworth (Williams& Searle) – and, what was the one about the airman?: I never read those, though I think my dh did.
(And he loved LOTR, though I was a Hobbit girl myself.)
I know those are all a bit dated (and terribly British!) – but perhaps there are more modern equivalents? Penguin did a range a few years back – lovely covers – where they reissued books for boys: http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/articles/boysownbooks/index.html
Of those I’ve only read The Prisoner of Zenda and The 39 steps, but my impression is that I read them when young, and didn’t find anything upsetting in either. (I used to love books like that: I reread The Swiss Family Robinson many times, though I thought it profoundly unlikely.)
The one issue with that sort of books would be that they might well have attitudes that we would find unacceptable now – though you would think that the Penguin books, at least, must have been cleared as acceptable to a new generation.
And just, Jack London: I remember being read ‘Call of the Wild’ in school as a ten year old, and being completely transfixed. I’d forgotten that till now.
Don’t know WHEN I read it, but the recs for Watership Down reminded me of Duncton Wood (which is apparently a three-part series now but wasn’t when I read it). It’s an adventure and fantasy tale about moles. All I remember about it was that it’s wonderful. But, well, it’s wonderful. Not terribly available nowadays, apparently. But there you go–another recommendation.
Just to add, a bit of googling reveals that the airmen books were the ‘Biggles’ series, and from what Wikipedia says, they’re not pc.
While I was looking I came across this:
http://www.sla.org.uk/boys-into-books-11-14.pdf
Some of the choices look too young, but others seem possible. What’s nice is, if you scroll down, it’s not just a list: there’s a synopsis of each book.
Good deal of non-fiction on the list, and my impression from manning a School Book Fair is that – without wishing to stereotype – boys were more attracted to that sort of book at that age: the girls for the most part chose stories, but the boys bought a lot of factual books.
Comment I just wrote disappeared: I’ll apologise in advance in case this now appears twice.
I googled, the airman is Biggles, and is not pc, according to Wikipedia. While looking for that information I came across this:
http://www.sla.org.uk/boys-into-books-11-14.pdf
If you scroll down through the document, it not only gives a list, but a synopsis of each book, which is useful. Some of them would be too young for your son, but others look possible.
There is a good deal of non-fiction on the list and – while I don’t want to stereotype – I noticed when I manned a school Book Fair that the boys did often choose factual books, while girls tended to buy more fiction. So while it wouldn’t have occurred to me to buy someone like Bill Bryson for a ten year old, it might be something he’d enjoy.
I would suggest Larklight by Philip Reeve and maybe try something by Daniel Pinkwater, which all my boy cousins liked tremendously. The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones is also incredibly awesome.
Late to the party as usual…
Every body has mentioned some great recomendations that I would just like to second.
Madeline L’Engle – I just loved her books as a kid. I think I read these at the 10 – 13 age group.
Encyclopedia Brown mysteries – I may have been younger maybe 8 – 11 age range.
Nath just recently review the whole Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan you can read her reviews here, this is the first book: http://natuschan.blogspot.com/2010/02/review-lightning-thief-by-rick-riordan.html
Also, I might mention the book Henry Reed’s Babysitting Service by Keith Robertson, another childhood favorite of mine. It’s old school, so your library may or may not have a copy. I don’t think it’s in print anymore. But it’s humorous and the protagonist is a boy. I read it when I was 10 or 11.
Last thought – I remembered after I posted that a friend told me her son read right through Agatha Christie at that stage.
My nephew is reading the Percy Jackson series, and with the movie coming out, it’s motivated him to read it. There’s quite a few in the series, too. Also, second the Artemis Fowl series. I love Robin McKinley’s books, although I got them for my neice…they are heroine-centric. Also, second the Encyclopedia Brown books, I loved those as a kid. What about White Fang, Call of the Wild, Indian in the Cupboard, etc…those I remember from my youth.
I would hesitate in re Eown Coifer. I read the first book to my son when he was about 10. It’s the one and only book I stopped reading to him. I got to a point where I just closed the book and told him it was not appropriate for him — due to the violence. So your sensitive son may have an issue with him.
However, I highly recommend Rick Riorden. I found Jacque’s Redwall series to be horribly written, but lots of fun. However, a 10 year old already ready at 12th grade level may not be challenged enough.
I suggest the first two of Jonathan Stroud’s Bartimaus Trilogy. The third is a bit darker and the end is not completely happy — But you know your son and if you read these yourself (which I recommend because they’re fabulous) you can decide if he’ll be OK with the last of the series.
Anything by Cornelia Funke. The inkheart series is lovely and complex enough to hold the interest of an advanced reader. There’s really no one like her in YA.
You might also try the author Avi. He’s has some great stories.
My son at 10 was ready for far more complex stories than his grade level, and I found that Sherlock Holmes fascinated him, so try that, too. Books from the late 19th and early 20th century often lack the violence and sex that can appear in more contemporary stories and they made a good place to talk about racism and sexism since those older books can be chock full of both.
SO way late, but it’s a topic quite close to my heart, so when I finally came across this post in my reader, I had to click through.
I’ve got a nine year old, reading at about a 9th or 10th grade level. (So ridiculously proud of him.) He adored the Percy Jackson books, by Rick Riordan. Liked the Fablehavens.
He’s currently reading Tunnels by Brian Williams and Roderick Gordon, and likes it enough that he bought the sequel, Deeper. It’s supposedly for 6-9th graders, so might not be quite enough for your boy.
He also adored Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers, but it’s the story of a US soldier in Vietnam, so you might have to scan it first. I’ll admit a personal tenderness (I’m married to a soldier) kept me from pointing out the semi-sequel, Sunrise over Fallujah.
Can’t believe I forgot Garth Nix. Garth is an Australian author. He has a series dealing with time with a young hero and titles involving the days of the week. I think the 7th has just been relesed so that’s an advantage if he likes them!
I am also the proud mama to a 9 year old reading at a highly above average level. My son has also loved the Percy Jackson series. The Alex rider series was one that he LOVED and my husband and I also read with enthusiasm. Right now he is reading any and all David Eddings books that he can get his hand on and loving them!
We also love the Narnia series, The Neverending Story, Peter Pan.
Oh and he really liked My Side of the Mountain (all of the trilogy) Hope this helps
thank you again everyone. This thread has been helpful beyond my wildest dreams!! I hope it can provide a resource for others in with voracious child readers in their homes.
I have a few series I’ve been saving for my son.
-The Abhorsen trilogy (by Garth Nix). (in order: Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen) The Abhorsen is kind of like the “master of death.” Its a woman, she rocks, she goes into the underworld, she uses bells to control the dead (in the underworld). Lirael (future abhorsen) is a librarian, and she makes a dog from magic (in the second book). Things that might upset a kid: 1) there are dead people. They’re not really scary, though. More sad than scary.
-Robin Hobb: Farseer Trilogy and the Tawny Man Trilogy (they’re linked – have the same characters)(there’s a trilogy in between those two, but it’s boring). Illegitimate son of a prince (his name is Fitz) is an amazing fighter! Can defend his people from “the soulless walking dead,” also, he can talk to animals! He makes friends with the court jester! who’s actually a magical person with crazy supernatural powers! There are dragons right there at the end, and by the way, the protagonist’s best friend (actually they’re way more than that – they’re more like brothers) is a wolf. Things that might make a kid uncomfortable: 1) Fitz is an assassin, and he’s good at it. 2) He falls in love with a girl (there’s only one sex scene in the entire two trilogies and it’s very tame) but has to leave her (actually he gets “killed”). 3) The court jester guy, maybe isn’t a guy (no one can really tell) and is in love with Fitz. (but that’s really late in the series). Very good series. 4) There are lots of court machinations that a 10 year old might not understand. 5) each book is like 800 pages long. Am I exaggerating? I don’t think so! Maybe 600.
I hated the His Dark Materials trilogy (except for The Golden Compass), but I *have* saved them for my son, just in case he eventually gets interested in heavy handed moralizing. And a really great heroine who, once there’s a guy in the picture, loses all sense of personality. But I digress.
Oh, I also saved “American Gods” and “Neverwhere” by Neil Gaiman. But even a very advanced 10 year old might not understand those. And there’s oral sex (in the front seat of a car) in American Gods…Neil Gaiman keeps writing the same book over and over, and American Gods is the best version he has.
And finally, Scott Westerfield – “The Uglies” “The Pretties” and “The Specials” (that’s actually a trilogy written specifically for young adults, and they’re very good. Your son might go through them quickly, but they are thought provoking and interesting thought experiments about the future). Not troubling. Well, not troubling in any way that’s obvious.
Did someone already mention “The Hunger Games?” They must’ve. If not, it’s a trilogy by the same woman who wrote Gregor the Overlander series (is her name Susanne Collins?) – the last book of the trilogy is in the works.
Hope that helps! And not too late!
*24 mentioned Rosemary Sutcliffe (actually it should be spelled without an E as Rosemary Sutcliff)….. I strongly endorse that, but I am biased in the sense that Rosemary Sutcliff was a close relative.
However all the evidence is that many many boys (and girls), young adults and indeed adults still enjoy such classics as The Eagle of the Ninth, The Lantern Bearers, Beowulf, Mark of the Horse Lord …. and The Shining Company which has just won an award in the US altough she died 20 years ago or so and it was first published 25 years ago.
See http://www.rosemarysutcliff.wordpress.com for more material that might help you about this author. I hope you (and others) try her out – you surely will be rewarded. And there are plenty of titles if someone takes to her writing and story-telling
Hi, I just wanted to thank you for this post. I was just googling for book recs for my son and stumbled across this! I have the same issue, in that my son (who is 12 and a half now) was tested when he was 8 and he was reading at a 14 yr old level at that stage. I had problems finding him books to read that were suitable for his level of maturity (which was somewhere in between 8 and 14) but ended up getting him some of the books that have already been mentioned (artimes fowl, charlie bone etc) along with the Hardy Boys and The Three Investigators.
He has also enjoyed the Urgum the Axeman series by Kjartan Poskitt (which he found hilarious and reread a billion times), Nightmare Academy series by Dean Lorey (which I should note are very similar to harry potter and also have christian undertones) and the Skullduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy.
At the moment kiddo has started on the CHERUB series by Robert Muchamore. They are a series of books about orphaned kids that are employed by the british secret service as spies. They seem to be a little grittier than your average spy kid novel but he’s only read one book in the series so far. The US website if you are interested: http://www.cherubcampus.com/usa
Other books I could recommend:
Star Wars novels (there are junior, teen, adult ones)
Star Trek novels (as above)
Hover Car Racer series by Matthew Reilly
Dragonology Chronicles series by Dugald A. Steer (which are novels based on the dragonology reference books)
Terry Pratchett
Neil Gaiman
And while they aren’t terribly challenging to read… Kiddo loooooved Asterix books at that age. Still does! They also gave him an interest in roman/gaulish history – he started reading about the “real” history that they were based on… which was a bonus.
I’d also rec this site:
http://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/
It has books featured books every month grouped by ages with synopsis and extracts and reviews and other information. I usually use it to see what new books are out that kiddo might be interested in, and then I order from my local independent bookshop.
thanks Astrogirl for adding to our growing list!
Going to second these:
Terry Pratchett – Ringworld series (comedy fantasy with some mind-bending themes, including things like spacetime and all kinds of weird physics)
Kenneth Oppel – Silverwing series (I was grade 12 reading in grade 5, and loved these books then)
Brian Jaques – Redwall Series (I was also obsessed with this series from grades 4-6)
PS: Kudos on raising a smart kid! Too many parents neglect the importance of reading.
I second Kenneth Oppel. I don’t know which trilogy it is, but Airborne, Skybreaker, and Starclimber are absolutely fantastic. Also, books by Cornelia Funke are pretty good, like the Inkheart trilogy and Dragon Rider.
Kids who like science fiction will love “The Warrior’s Apprentice” by Lois McMaster Bujold. The Hero of the story is 17 year old Miles Vorkosigan, born into the most powerful family (other than the Emperor’s) on the planet Barrayar.
Barrayar was settled by humans of mostly Russian extraction hundreds of years ago. When the colony was cut off from earth by the failure of its wormhole it regressed to a feudal, militaristic society. After the rediscovery of the planet Miles’ grandfather, General Count Piotr Vorkosigan, defeted and drove off the invading Cetagandan empire in a long and bloody guerrilla war. Miles’ father, the military genius Aral Vorkosigan, is regent for the young emperor and has shepherded the Barrayarian empire from backwater world to expanding galactic power.
Miles is desperate to follow in his father and grandfather’s footsteps by qualifying for the Barrayaran Service Academy. Because of an assassination attempt by poison gas against Miles’ mother, he was born a fragile, twisted dwarf into a culture with a horror of physical deformities. (‘Muties’ are traditionally dispatched at birth.) The odds against Miles are immense. However, Miles is brilliant, a bit of a maniac, and nothing keeps him down for long.
“The Warrior’s Apprentice” is the first in a series of 8 or 9 books detailing Miles’ adventures. It’s been reprinted in an omnibus edition entitled “Young Miles” that also contains the novel “The Vor Game” and the short story “The Mountains of Mourning”.
You can read “The Mountains of Mourning” for free at the Baen Free Library:
http://www.baen.com/library/lmbujold.htm
There are so many fantastic books recommended above, quite a few also that my 8 and 10 year olds haven’t read yet so I’m looking forward to getting hold of some of these books for them. My 10 year old is currently reading the Belgariad series which a friend of mine gave him, but prior to that he was re-reading a lot of his books and scratching around for something new, so this list of recommendations is great. One series of books which comes to mind straight away is the Horrible Histories books – my boys absolutely love them and it is amazing what they learn from them – they are wonderful books which present history in a fun and interesting way – there’s a bit of violence and gore (it is history after all) but my kids don’t seem to find it frightening or too upsetting. My 10 year old also loved the Lemony Snicket Series of Unfortunate Events Series, Eragon, Roald Dahl books, James Moloney Book of Lies series, Garth Nix Keys to the Kingdom series and has also enjoyed the Alex Rider books, Scullduggery Pleasant books and Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. I haven’t read them all but he got many from the school library so I’m guessing they’re OK.
@Mum of 3 Boys: Thanks! these are some great additions to the list!