SF/Fantasy books for kids under 10

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Jonski

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#199193 8-Aug-2016 12:13

Following on from the Last Read Thread I was browsing Twitter last night and saw a mention of A Wrinkle In Time. It wasn't related to the books (new movie coming soon!) but it reminded me of books I read as a kid and started wondering what I should start feeding my kids (6 & 8) in that area.

I fondly remember reading the Dragonfall 5 series as a younger kid (8ish?) but that's well out of print now and (of course) there are no ebooks I can find.

I think the Wizard of Earthsea should go on their reading list soon, plus the Wrinkle In Time series. I liked the Weirdstone of Brisingamen as well.

Asimov is one of my favourite authors (not so much Clark) but that's a little old for them at this stage- that's teen reading.

So what would be on your SF/Fantasy reading list for under-10's?

Cheers

Jon

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sidefx

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#1606306 8-Aug-2016 12:25

On the fantasy side of the equation: all of Neil Gaiman's books for children\young adults.

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andrew027

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#1606367 8-Aug-2016 14:46

I started reading Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders series at about 10 and I seem to remember enjoying them at the time. I also remember the Tripods books (google tells me the author is John Cristopher) from about that same time.

For some thing a bit more contemporary, my daughter read a few of Jeanne DuPrau's City of Ember series, which are aimed at kids around that age.

BlueShift

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#1606375 8-Aug-2016 14:53

Pratchett of course! The Wee Free Men (movie also coming soon). The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. The Bromeliad.

I remember Dragonfall 5 as well, I also remember looking for copies of them for my boys and not being able to :-(

The Hobbit

The short stories of Isaac Azimov and Arthur C Clarke.

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#1606376 8-Aug-2016 15:03

Some of my favourites from around that age

Dragonfall 5 (BlueShift remembers!)

Arthur C CLark and Asimov (BlueShift again!)

The Last Legionary series - Douglas Hill (maybe a little old?)

The Dark Rising series - Susan Cooper (might be a little old)

Most of Alan Garner's works - Weirdstone of Brisengamen etc

Mrs Frisby and the Rats of Nimh - Robert O'Brien

The Sword in the Stone - T.H White

Hobbit and LOTR (Obviously, though again the latter is a little old for 8 perhaps - I was probably 10ish when I attempted that one)

Earthsea trilogy as per OP

The Narnia books...although having gone back and read them as an adult, they don't stand up too well these days...

2000AD Comics!

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#1606377 8-Aug-2016 15:10

Also!

Chronicles of Prydain Black Cauldron etc.) Lloyd Alexander

The Neverending Story - Michael Ende

Most stuff by Diana Wynn Jones

...I also loved the David Eddings books - Belgariad and Mallorean series, but again I have gone back and tried to read them as an adult and they are atrociously written and painfully repetitive...unlike a lot of the other stuff I have listed which I could still enjoy as a grown up!

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#1606378 8-Aug-2016 15:12

BlueShift:

I remember Dragonfall 5 as well, I also remember looking for copies of them for my boys and not being able to :-(

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dragonfall-Haunted-World-Brian-Earnshaw/dp/0416300901/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1470625884&sr=8-5&keywords=dragonfall+5

I had exactly this edition...should have kept it, looking at that price!

Hammerer

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#1606384 8-Aug-2016 15:33

I'm listening to a BBC radio play from Asimov's Foundation series at the moment - it's on Spotify. I read him a lot at primary school and that's partly why I'd recommend his stories to a 10-year old. They're easy reads although I find his writing can be ponderous and preachy but he does have a whole universe of stories so it is easy to keep reading them if you like his style.

Old SF writers like Andre Norton and Robert Heinlein wrote for kids.

I really like the others you mention. They are much better:

Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea series is excellent. I read it every few years. Plus kids can see the Studio Ghibli animated feature although it the shortened plot is very disappointing. And there was a TV mini-series a few years ago.
Alan Garner's Weirdstone of Brisingamen really stood out at 10 years old. Suitably thrilling but not too heavy.

Have at the book medal/award lists like the UK Carnegie Medal, Newbery Medal, etc. And don't forget the short lists too:

Phillip Reeve - Mortal Engines - Peter Jackson has optioned it
Peter Dickinson - Changes trilogy
C.S. Lewis - Narnia series + TV and movie series
Phillip Pullman - Dark Materials trilogy + Golden Compass movie
Madeleine L'Engle - Wrinkle in Time series mentioned above
Diana Wynne Jones - Howls Moving Castle series + Studio Ghibli movie
etc. - I stopped when I saw what others had added

I much prefer series but there are good single stories, e.g.:

Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting

And look at the lists others have prepared, e.g.:

Best Children's Science Fiction

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JayADee

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#1606393 8-Aug-2016 15:48

The Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan is recommended for 9 and up.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger%27s_Apprentice

but I know it's read to a lot of younger kids. I can vouch that ten and eleven year olds love it.

MikeAqua

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#1606408 8-Aug-2016 16:08

At that age I enjoyed Lewis, Tolkien, Maurice Gee (Halfmen of O Series, Under the Mountain), Arthur C Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Margaret Mahy wrote some interesting paranormal stuff

My daughter enjoyed the His Dark Materials (golden compass etc) trilogy when she was about 8 or 9.

The Eragon series is another option. I read that as an adult, but I think it would be OK for kids under 10.

Mike

BurningBeard

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#1608584 10-Aug-2016 13:44

The Neverending Story.

Forget the movie.

This is deep and rich and suitable for children as well as adults. I couldn't stop thinking about the book whenever I put it down - a bit like the book in the story, come to think of it!

My very metal Doctor Who theme

PhantomNVD

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#1608614 10-Aug-2016 14:27

Does Rahl Dahl no longer count as great kids fantasy? I can't believe nobodies mentioned it...

after a quick survey my class (schoolteacher) of 8-10 year olds love:

Rahl Dahl

J.K Rowling

C.S.Lewis

BlueShift

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#1608641 10-Aug-2016 14:54

BlueShift:

Pratchett of course! The Wee Free Men (movie also coming soon). The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. The Bromeliad.

I remember Dragonfall 5 as well, I also remember looking for copies of them for my boys and not being able to :-(

The Hobbit

The short stories of Isaac Azimov and Arthur C Clarke.

What everyone else above said, plus also The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. If your kid has an appreciation of puns and/or dad jokes, this will tickle them.

Stephen King & Peter Straub's The Talisman is (from memory) suitable for that age group, unlike most of the rest of Mr King's works.

The hugely Manichean (if not flat-out racist) nature of The Belgariad and other David Eddings books went right over my head at that age, but then so did the Christian allegory in the Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe. They were just fun, exciting stories for young me.

I ripped through dozens of Dr Who novelizations at around that age (Along with my school library, the Tokoroa Public Library was my happy place) .

sir1963

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#1609931 11-Aug-2016 09:29

David Eddings

PhantomNVD

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#1609983 11-Aug-2016 10:37

sir1963:
David Eddings

Under 10?

I'd put that at 12-15 ish myself... though I guess the difference is "can read" vs "can understand"

These are quite good for that age too;

http://www.unearthlytales.com/official-book-page-island-of-fog.html

sir1963

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#1609984 11-Aug-2016 10:41

PhantomNVD:
sir1963:

David Eddings

Under 10?

I'd put that at 12-15 ish myself... though I guess the difference is "can read" vs "can understand"

These are quite good for that age too;

http://www.unearthlytales.com/official-book-page-island-of-fog.html

Eddings is easier to read than "The Hobbit"

E.E."Doc" Smith is another option for Sci-fi