Note: I'm sure someone will ask so I'm going to say it first (lol). I haven't included the Harry Potter series because the kiddo isn't as keen on them as I thought he would be.
Roald Dahl
Timeless classics, appropriate for any age imho although I've heard reviews against some of Dahl's themes.
Gerald Durrell's childhood memoirs and other books
Durrell's childhood antics in the Greek island of Corfu are marvelously captured in My Family and Other Animals and Birds, Beasts, and Relatives. The other three are about his adventures collecting animals for his zoo. Suggested for ages 8 onwards. Some mild, bawdy humor.
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce series
Mystery-loving boys and girls alike will enjoy this very intelligently-written series. Kiddo's read the three and often bids me to keep a look-out for more novels expected to be published soon. Perfect for 7-year-old advanced readers and up.
Another one of his frequent reads! Decent fun for any age. For books of a similar flavor, also check out the Alvin Fernald series by Clifford B. Hicks.
Leon Garfield
Absolutely brilliant renditions of the classic British ruffian. Perfect for the anglophile child (about 7-8 years old if he/ she's an advanced reader).
Another two Anglophile-friendly series we've loved:
PG Wodehouse and Agatha Christie novels
The following fed his mythology/ fantasy craze for a bit:
Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
The Bartimaeus Trilogy + Prequel by Jonathan Stroud
Not very cerebral but entertaining. I would classify this as young adult rather than for kids.
Philip Pullman's Dark Materials
Kiddo read the first two books of the Dark Materials series and was fine (at 8 years old). He read about half of the third and I suggested he not finish as the themes felt a little too deep for his age. I will wait a year before suggesting he read it again.
Grooming young heroes and young villains: two series kiddo is still working through:
The Mysterious Benedict Society (3-book series) and HIVE (6-book series)
OTHER BOOKS we've entertained at some time or other on our night stands (or hope to entertain in the future) -- all likely to be appropriate for ages 8 onwards (possibly younger):
The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi (kiddo read this series only once which tells me it isn't extremely popular with him)
The Time and Space of Uncle Albert and others by Russell Stannard (recommended for its living science appeal, hit-and-miss with kiddo)
The Tale of Despereaux and other books by Kate DiCamillo (we found most of her books wonderful if a little sad)
L. Frank Baum's Oz Series
Mrs Frisby and The Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien and A Rat's Tale by Tor Seidler (both are absolute delights!)
The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander (a little too dry for kiddo but I enjoyed it)
The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin (a little too dry and heavy for humor-loving kiddo but I enjoyed it. The fourth book, Tehanu, has mature themes, including a sex, mention of rape etc.)
The Great Brain series by John D. Fitzgerald (fun for any age)
Homer Price, Centerburg Tales: More Adventures of Homer Priceby Robert McCloskey (fun for any age)
Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
Knight's Tale and Squire's Tale series by Gerald Morris
I, Robot books by Isaac Asimov
The Gideon Trilogy by Linda Buckley-Archer
Books by E.L. Konigsburg (more young adult in flavor so perhaps age 10+ onwards might be a better bet for some of the books)
Books by Arthur Ransome
The Time and Space of Uncle Albert and others by Russell Stannard (recommended for its living science appeal, hit-and-miss with kiddo)
The Tale of Despereaux and other books by Kate DiCamillo (we found most of her books wonderful if a little sad)
L. Frank Baum's Oz Series
Mrs Frisby and The Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien and A Rat's Tale by Tor Seidler (both are absolute delights!)
The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander (a little too dry for kiddo but I enjoyed it)
The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin (a little too dry and heavy for humor-loving kiddo but I enjoyed it. The fourth book, Tehanu, has mature themes, including a sex, mention of rape etc.)
The Great Brain series by John D. Fitzgerald (fun for any age)
Homer Price, Centerburg Tales: More Adventures of Homer Priceby Robert McCloskey (fun for any age)
Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
Knight's Tale and Squire's Tale series by Gerald Morris
I, Robot books by Isaac Asimov
The Gideon Trilogy by Linda Buckley-Archer
Books by E.L. Konigsburg (more young adult in flavor so perhaps age 10+ onwards might be a better bet for some of the books)
Books by Arthur Ransome
Historical fiction by Henry Winterfield
Books by Alexandre Dumas (we will start with The Three Musketeers)
Books by Jules Verne
Books by Alexandre Dumas (we will start with The Three Musketeers)
Books by Jules Verne
The Graveyard Book and others by Neil Gaiman
Abarat and sequels by Clive Barker (supposedly violent and bloody so please preview)
Ender's Game and sequels by Orson Scott Card
The Warlock in Spite of Himself (Gramarye series) by Christopher Stasheff (supposedly has mild sexual theme, please preview)
Norby the Mixed-Up Robot (Norby Chronicles) by Janet and Isaac Asimov
Comet in Moominland and others in the Moominland series by Tove Jansson
The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet and others by Eleanor Cameron
The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet and others by Eleanor Cameron
Suji, what a great list! One fun (completely secular) read for the holidays is The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, by the author of the Oz books, Frank L. Baum. We plan to move on to the Oz books afterwards, as you are the second person to remind me about them in the past couple of days.
ReplyDeleteWe just finished Despereaux, and it was a great story. The movie looks like it may be halfway decent, too.
Have fun!
Hi Christina! We loved Edward Tulane by Ms DiCamillo :) And if you haven't already, check out A Rat's Tale by Tor Seidler! Excellent stuff!
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