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Help me gift books to my friends kid.
MuddBudd
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Registered User regular
So, my BF and I have some friends we visit occasionally, and they have two adorable kids. One is a girl, who I believe is 5 or 6, the other is a boy who is around 11 or 12.
I've decided next time we visit them, I want to give the kids something too as we've got some presents for their parents. I am a firm believer in giving children books. I was a voracious reader as a kid so consequently I think all children should be.
The girl loves princesses and butterflies and all that, so finding an age appropriate book for her shouldn't be too hard. It's the boy I'm having trouble with.
Their family is big on sci-fi/fantasy (Star Wars especially) so I was going to give him a copy of the first three Xanth novels (I have a collected version), but upon re-reading it to make sure it was appropriate, I have decided it isn't. Most of it is ok, but there is a little discussion of sex and more notably, rape (in terms of how the country of Xanth was first colonized).
That's not a concept I want this kid asking his parents about after reading the book I gave him, so now I need to find something sci-fi or fantasy that is a bit more age appropriate. I need suggestions.
I've decided next time we visit them, I want to give the kids something too as we've got some presents for their parents. I am a firm believer in giving children books. I was a voracious reader as a kid so consequently I think all children should be.
The girl loves princesses and butterflies and all that, so finding an age appropriate book for her shouldn't be too hard. It's the boy I'm having trouble with.
Their family is big on sci-fi/fantasy (Star Wars especially) so I was going to give him a copy of the first three Xanth novels (I have a collected version), but upon re-reading it to make sure it was appropriate, I have decided it isn't. Most of it is ok, but there is a little discussion of sex and more notably, rape (in terms of how the country of Xanth was first colonized).
That's not a concept I want this kid asking his parents about after reading the book I gave him, so now I need to find something sci-fi or fantasy that is a bit more age appropriate. I need suggestions.
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If you think it'll fly then you should go for it.
I'd suggest The Daring Book for Girls as well, but at 6 your friend's kid is probably still a little young.
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The Hitchhiker's Guide series is great, I think I was around 12 when I started it.
It's got some sci-fi as well as fantasy elements. Some of it will probably be over his head at that age but I loved it nonetheless. It does have a few anti-organized religion themes in it (which, again, will probably be right over his head) so keep that in mind if his parents are particularly religious
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I've been trying to get my son (10) to read it, but everytime he finishes a book, my wife makes him read some other crap like Eragon or Princess Bride.
"Every book is a children's book if the kid can read." -Mitch Hedberg
I'd ask his parents if he already has any of this series. But it's actually a fun read even as an adult. Very much the "I've got super powers in Jr. High School plot." Less Harry Potter, more young magical x-men vibe going on.
Now mind you I did read Xanth back around this age. However might I suggest the following:
Tripod Series
The Dark is Rising Series
Howl's Moving Castle - And Castle in the Air/House of Many Ways that followed it up.
The Wrinkle in Time set.
The Phantom Tollbooth - And/or James and the Giant Peach
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Just some classics.
But keep in mind when I was his age I was reading: Have Spacesuit Will Travel (Robert A. Heinlein had a series of young reader friendly books, but you have to be careful. Pay attention to the main character. If they're young/kids then generally it's from his youth series of books.) I was a wee bit advanced at that age. YMMV.
At 11 or 12 the kid should be able to read normal books. Have Spacesuit Will Travel is meant for 3rd and 4th graders, and it's extremely dated. At that age there's no reason the kid can't handle some sexual content and Xanth may be a decent choice. Piers Anthony also had a series called "The Incarnations of Immortality", which even though it had sexual themes, I remember enjoying when I was in 6th grade. I also recall reading The Sword of Shannarah in 5th grade or so, but it is very long and the drawn out descriptions in the book are pretty fucking ridiculous. Maybe the Death Gate cycle would be ok?
Even for the younger kid, if the parents are willing to read to her a bit, the Lloyd Alexander's Prydain series (at least, the Book of Three) shouldn't be too much of a stretch.
Seconding this. Amazing book.
Also, Interstellar Pig is fantastic sci-fi for that age range. Sounds weird, but read up on it.
And whoever said The Princess Bride is crap...whaaaaaaaat?
Thanks you. I forgot the title for Interstellar Pig.
I know Have Spacesuit Will Travel is dated, but it is a decent book for kids in that age range. That's the only point I was making. Ain't nothing wrong with old-school sci-fi. Oh course by the time I was 13 I was reading Dune, the collected works of C. J. Cherryl, and picked up Niven's Known Space... But that's an aquired taste.
I would also add Brian Jacques's "Redwall Series" to the list. They are fantastic stories, and are perfect for around the 8-14 mark.
I think David Edding's work may be a bit too mature for someone that young. They can become quite graphic at times.
Dragon's Blood by Jane Yolen (young boy raises a dragon to fight in the pits so he can escape slavery)
Nightpool by Shirley Rousseau Murphy (younger boy becomes a dragon bard/hero)
Does he like unicorns?
Birth of the Firebringer by Meredith Ann Pierce (young boy unicorn fights to save his tribe)
Does he like sci-fi?
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Pegasus in Flight by Anne McCaffrey
Does he like ninjas?
Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn
Others:
I assume he's already read Harry Potter?
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Fat Men From Space by Daniel Pinkwater (a silly but fun book)
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The Amazing Power of Ashur Fine by Donald Sobol (boy gets power from elephant to gain anyone's skills for 10 minutes)
That's all I can think of off the top of my head that aren't girls as the main character! Interstellar Pig was also a great read
Its Star Wars but with dragons.
Bunnicula is kind of in between the two age ranges. I'd say that's an 8 or 9 year old book.
I will throw in a second for Wrinkle in Time. I remember really enjoying those as a kid.
Depending on the kid, he may also be ready to give The Hobbit a read.
For the 6 year old, The Giving Tree, Beatrix Potter and Dr Seuss
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However, I'd just like to say a big no to anything by Piers Anthony. He's sometimes seen as a children's author but many of his books have age inappropriate sexual content for an 11 year old. Not wholesome sex either, but a lot of underage girl/adult male sex presented as a good thing. There's a lot of controversy about whether the implications are truly paedophilic, but it would be wise not to give the books to children who are not your own in case their parents flick through the books and take offense to something.
When I was that age, I liked Sci-Fi novels by H.M. Hoover, but they are probably a little old-fashioned by now. I also liked simpler adult sci-fi like Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy.
Bruce Coville became my favourite author for that age group.
I actually recommended it for that reason, because I still think both kids would get some enjoyment out of it.
Basically mostlyjoe is awesome.
If you want to go a little sideways, there's Watership Down, which was one of my favorite books when I was about his age, and the daughter may enjoy it in a few years.
edit: I say sideways because it is not sci-fi or fantasy, but instead an adventure book about rabbits, if you aren't familiar with it. My mom tried to read it to us as a bed time story when i was in about 3rd or 4th grade, but after a few nights I got sick of waiting to find out what happened and took it to finish myself.
Agreed about Mr. Anthony. The ONLY books of his I'd let someone under the age of 15 read is the original Xanth triology, the first 5 books of the Incarnations series, and maybe some of his weird off the cuff stuff like Prosthos Plus which is kinda funny about a space dentist. I'm not kidding. But DO NOT let them read the Phaze/Photon, Bio of a Space Tyrant, Firefly (double plus NO NO), and the later Incarnations books.
How about some more fun/safer suggestions?
Alan Dean Fosters Pip and Flinx adventures...which starts with For Love of Mother-Not (I think)
Alan Dean Fosters: With Friends like These... a great collection of Alien shorts. Also keep an eye out for Nor Crystal Tears. Set in the same universe as Pip/Flinx.
Spellsinger by Alan Dean Foster this is actually a large series, but the stories are light hearted and fun to read.
Sword of Shnnara - Brooks early books in this series arn't too bad. It's basically Fantasy Star Wars.
Feists - RiftWar Saga is actually really good. The early books are a fun read. The later stuff is a bit out there, but hey.
The Wizard of Earthsea by Le Guin is another classic.
Foster is a pop-corn writer. His books are easy but there are a few to watch out for. The Pip and Flinx is pretty safte. Most of these are more advanced/later choices. I'll leave it to your judgement.
Can you tell I practically lived in my schools library back in Junior High/High School? Heh.
Yeah, but at that age, a young boy isn't going to want to be reading "little kid" books. YMMV, but I think there are much better choices.
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant - Stephen R. Donaldson
The Sword of Truth - Terry Goodkind
Unless your ready to deal with concepts like Rape, S&M, excessive torture, Ann Rynd, stuff like that. :P
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
I think I'm weird because I never got rid of my old books. I still have my thumbed through paperbacks of yor in my collection. Every year I break open one of Tupperware boxes and pull out a series or two. I keep re-reading them they're so good. Also, I don't read individual novels. I read entire authors collections at a time. And nowadays my hunger is diminished, imagine how voracious I was as a child. I thank my parents for getting me into books young. So many good memories.
Fantastic for both genders. He may be deterred by the unicorn bit, but there's also a giant red bull and anyway it's not really about unicorns.
Oh man Bruce Coville's stuff is great. Both sci-fi and fantasy (the Aliens Ate my Homework series was probably my favorite sci-fi).
The Indian in the Cupboard series.
The Castle in the Attic.
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