Book suggestions for children

[sciguy]

So this year I've decided to give my niece and nephews books for Christmas. I've been thinking back to my own childhood to come up with ideas, but I'd also like to hear suggestions from the Dope on other options.

I'm looking for suggestions for one brother's two boys (8 and 10) and my other brother's one girl (9). Both sets of parents are readers, so some of my initial ideas (The Hobbit, Harry Potter, Narnia, Shel Silverstein) are already in the family library. But I want to give them something that's theirs, preferable for them to read themselves.

Browsing Amazon's kid categories brought up a lot of my old favorites: Phantom Tollbooth, Little Prince, Roald Dahl, Dark is Rising series, etc. I even found this re-issue (http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Brown-Box-Set/dp/0142409855/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196197590&sr=8-1), which might go over well with any of them.

I'm thinking of getting each of them three or four books, so any and all ideas are welcome. I'm thinking mainly stories, although I might get each one something like an activity book or along the lines of "How things work".

[twickster]

Mr. Popper's Penguins!

[gigi]

The series of Oz books would be cool. I loved all the characters in those, and all the different stories in addition to The Wizard of Oz.

[Stauderhorse]

How about the Narnia books? They're a pretty good read, Christian symbolism notwithstanding.

[PaperBlob]

My daughter, who is 10, likes the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. It's about clans of cats. You can get the first three books in a very inexpensive boxed set (http://www.amazon.com/Warriors-Box-Set-Volumes/dp/0060891904/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196201254&sr=1-2) from Amazon.com.

She also likes the Lemony Snicket books, though I think they're a little harder for her to read.

[pinkfreud]

Have the kids discovered Lemony Snicket (http://www.lemonysnicket.com/books.cfm)?

[SpoilerVirgin]

My favorite at that age was The Chronicles of Prydain (http://www.amazon.com/Book-Three-Chronicles-Prydain/dp/0805080481/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196202004&sr=8-1). I recently re-read them and they stood up very well.

[Ol'Gaffer]

The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander are brilliant - my boys (8 and 6) loved them, as did/do I.

My 8 y.o. is currently working through (seemingly) all of the Three Investigators books.

They both loved the Spiderwick books. I'm not sure on the age though, my Mom read them to the boys.

[Ol'Gaffer]

My favorite at that age was The Chronicles of Prydain (http://www.amazon.com/Book-Three-Chronicles-Prydain/dp/0805080481/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196202004&sr=8-1). I recently re-read them and they stood up very well.

[Maxwell Smart]

Missed it by that much.

[/Maxwell Smart]

[MonaLizaT]

For your niece:

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (unabridged, of course)
A Stranger Came Ashore by Mollie Hunter
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

[Interrobang!?]

Keith Robertson's Henry Reed books are great. I think the first two, Henry Reed, Inc. and Henry Reed's Babysitting Service, are still in print -- and they're the best in the series.

The main character's a boy, but his best friend is a girl, so all the kids may enjoy them.

[silenus]

Terry Pratchett!

A Hat Full of Sky, The Wee Free Men, The Amazing Maurice....winners all.

[Dunawake]

Terry Pratchett!

A Hat Full of Sky, The Wee Free Men, The Amazing Maurice....winners all.

Never an age too young to get them hooked on Pratchett. :D

[Meyer6]

My cousins daughters (starting around aged 8/9) loved Little House on the Prairie. It was good for me because I could just get them the next book when I felt like spoiling them a bit (or for birthday, etc.).

[cher3]

I always put in a bid for Jonathan Strouds Bartimaeus Trilogy in these threads. They have to be good readers, but if they can handle Harry Potter, they can handle those.

My kids also like the Peter Pan sequels written by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. The last one just came out.

My daughter loves the Redwall series, too.

Daniel Pinkwater's latest, The Neddiad was also very funny.

[Freudian Slit]

My cousins daughters (starting around aged 8/9) loved Little House on the Prairie. It was good for me because I could just get them the next book when I felt like spoiling them a bit (or for birthday, etc.).
Those were fun when I was younger.

I also liked the Black Stallion books, Redwall, Narnia--which have been mentioned.

Does anyone remember a series of books called the Borrowers? They're little people who "borrow" objects from our world for their own use. And that's why things go missing so often. Sort of like underpants gnomes, but not about capitalism.

[BrainGlutton]

This (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=308215) thread should give you some ideas.

[RedRosesForMe]

I absolutely *loved* the Little House books as a child, and read them so often I can quote whole passages from memory.

Another series I liked started with a book called Bunnicula, about a vampire rabbit that sucks the juice out of vegetables, the family cat that's obsessed with defeating him, and the dog, the narrator and unwilling participant in the cat's crazy schemes. There are several books, and they're hysterically funny (even funnier now, because some of the jokes I didn't get til I was older). The other books that I can recall the names of are Howliday Inn and The Celery Stalks at Midnight. I think there were a couple more.

If I hadn't sold them to a used bookstore to finance my trip to England, I'd still read them. I started reading them in the third grade, about the age of your niece and nephews.

I also liked The House with a Clock in its Walls, a magical sort of book they might enjoy if they like Harry Potter. I think that's a trilogy, but I don't recall the other two books' names.

[robardin]

To add to the list of worthy books already mentioned: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster; Watership Down by Richard Adams; and The Tripod Trilogy by John Christopher. The last one is a bit sexist (in an implicit way) in that all the protagonists are boys and the girls are accessory characters at best, and so may be considered a "boy's book", but it was definitely a favorite of mine while growing up.

And by the age of 8-10 I would guess they've already read books like Charlotte's Web?

[ExTank]

Mrs. Frisby and the rats of NIMH. Link. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrs._Frisby_and_the_Rats_of_NIMH)

The (IMO, crappy) movie was based very loosely on Mr. O'Brien's work.

[lizardling]

Those were fun when I was younger.

I also liked the Black Stallion books, Redwall, Narnia--which have been mentioned.

Does anyone remember a series of books called the Borrowers? They're little people who "borrow" objects from our world for their own use. And that's why things go missing so often. Sort of like underpants gnomes, but not about capitalism.

I've read those! The Borrowers! ...I also remember an early 80s TV show about them, do you? Zombie Borrowers. That scene creeped me out so much as a wee lizardling.

Hmm. I'd also recommend Farley's other horse novelizations. That's how I learned about Man O'War. Or Jack London's dog books. I had an invisible wolfdog for a while after reading them.

Er, I wouldn't recommend any scary books. There's a reason I firmly refuse to own any human dolls, besides the fact that my Oma thought giving me some scary-ass dolls as a toddler was a good one, and that's a book involving a lonely girl and a magical dollhouse populated with two dolls who may or may not have been reincarnations of previous owners. Her uncle was the only one who paid attention to her, etc. The ending kept me up for weeks, and should've been a Twilight Zone episode.

Oh! What about The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder? That one made me want to have my own secrets so badly.

The Oz universe -- "The Wizard of Oz" wasn't the only one Baum did -- he wrote a whole string of those books, and I tore through them when I was about the same age as the kids.

I might be odd, but I had a complete "My Book House" set from the 50s with all sorts of abridged classics, and loved the illustrations and the stories. I remember hauling the various volumes around all the time. I've made it very clear to my parents that they are not to get rid of the set until I can mail them back here.

[pinkfreud]

When I was a youngster I was very fond of Hugh Lofting's Doctor Dolittle series. Don't let the execrable movies influence you; the books are charming and clever.

[RedRosesForMe]

The Egypt Game was an awesome book, I can't believe I forgot it.

And The Indian in the Cupboard.

You guys are making me all nostalgic.

[lizardling]

When I was a youngster I was very fond of Hugh Lofting's Doctor Dolittle series. Don't let the execrable movies influence you; the books are charming and clever.

Movies? What movies? There has never been a Dr. Doolittle movie made. No sir, not even with Eddie Murphy.

And yeah, I loved those books. However, I'd want to have a chat with the kid about some of the in-context portrayals, such as Bumppo and Long Arrow, son of Golden Arrow. Rather not PC.

Oh, that reminds me. Within reason, I'd recommend the Tintin books. It'll depend on the kids and their parents though. I remember The Golden Lotus was one of the first Tintin books I read, and I didn't have a problem with it. Same issue with in-context portrayals of the natives.

[Freudian Slit]

Another series I liked started with a book called Bunnicula, about a vampire rabbit that sucks the juice out of vegetables, the family cat that's obsessed with defeating him, and the dog, the narrator and unwilling participant in the cat's crazy schemes. There are several books, and they're hysterically funny (even funnier now, because some of the jokes I didn't get til I was older). The other books that I can recall the names of are Howliday Inn and The Celery Stalks at Midnight. I think there were a couple more.
Those were great! For kids, sure, but hilarious! I loved those.

Also, the Bailey School Kids books--for younger readers. There were books like "Vampires Don't Wear Polka Dots" or "Werewolve Don't Go to Summer Camp." These four kids meet a "scary" adult every book and are left wondering if the adult really is a vampire/werewolf/Santa (okay, sometimes it's not scary). A lot of fun.

[Jodi]

I think books are awesome gifts and I congratulate you for giving them. But, as the voice of experience: In this age of beeping, brightly colored plastic toys, be prepared for their response to to be "Oh. A book. Thanks." But IME books are appreciated by kids who like to read, even if they aren't delerious with joy over them on Christmas Day. They enjoy them later. So give 'em anyway!

My absolute favorite kids' book for the age group you're talking about is The Westing Game (http://www.amazon.com/Westing-Game-Puffin-Modern-Classics/dp/014240120X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196221980&sr=1-1).

Other recommendations: For boys, I like:

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (http://www.amazon.com/Carry-Mr-Bowditch-Jean-Latham/dp/0618250743/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196222355&sr=1-2)
Holes (http://www.amazon.com/Holes-Louis-Sachar/dp/0440419468/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196222479&sr=1-1)
Hoot (http://www.amazon.com/Hoot-Carl-Hiaasen/dp/033044543X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196222562&sr=1-1)

For girls:

The Alcott books (Little Women, etc.)
Robin McKinley's The Hero and the Crown (http://www.amazon.com/Hero-Crown-Robin-McKinley/dp/0441013058/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196222630&sr=1-1) and The Blue Sword (http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sword-Robin-McKinley/dp/0441068804/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b)
Karen Cushman's Catherine Called Birdie (http://www.amazon.com/Catherine-Called-Birdy-Summer-Reading/dp/0060739428/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196222755&sr=1-1) and The Midwife's Apprentice (http://www.amazon.com/Midwifes-Apprentice-rpkg-Trophy-Newbery/dp/006440630X/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196222755&sr=1-2)

[jsgoddess]

Strongly seconding The Westing Game and the Spiderwick books.

I'd also highly recommend From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. If any of them like that one, perhaps Chasing Vermeer, by Blue Balliett. It's not a classic, but it's fun, with puzzles and codes right in the book.

[toadspittle]

I humbly suggest the Babymouse (http://www.babymouse.com) series of graphic novels for kids. All three kids are smack in the middle of the target age range. Queen of the World (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375832297/) is probably the best fit for your niece; you can get Our Hero (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375832300/) and Rock Star (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375832327) for the boys.

[ThirdCultureKid]

There's a wonderful canadian author called Kit Pearson whose books both I, my mother and my brother loved. The best is probably her WWII trilogy, whose first book is called The Sky is Falling, but she's written a lot of amazing ones.

[Rhiannon8404]

My daughter, who is 10, likes the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. It's about clans of cats. You can get the first three books in a very inexpensive boxed set (http://www.amazon.com/Warriors-Box-Set-Volumes/dp/0060891904/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196201254&sr=1-2) from Amazon.com.

I came in specifically to recommend Warriors. My son (9) loves these books. He actually never read for pleasure before discovering this series.

[commasense]

The two couples I'm closest to each had two daughters, and it has been my firm policy since the birth of the first (my god-daughter) in 1980 to give no gifts to any child except books. They get plenty of shiny plastic crap from everyone else. From Uncle Commasense it's books.

Here is a nearly complete list of all the books I've given seven children (including the children of the first two girls) over the last 27 years.

Pre-teen
40 stories by O. Henry
A Wrinkle in Time (L’Engle)
Alice in Wonderland
Andersen's Fairy Tales
Bartholomew and the Oobleck (Dr. Seuss)
Beatrix Potter
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (Dr. Seuss)
The Giving Tree (Silverstein)
Huckleberry Finn
In the Night Kitchen (Sendak)
James and the Giant Peach (Dahl)
Lafcadio (Silverstein)
The Little Prince
Matilda (Dahl)
The McGuffy Readers
The One and Only Shrek (Steig)
Peter Rabbit
Phantom Toll Booth (Norton Juster)
Random House Book of Humor for Children
The Real Mother Goose
Through the Looking Glass
Tom Sawyer
A Treasury of Children's Literature
Where the Sidewalk Ends (Shel Silverstein)
The Wizard's Apprentice (S.P. Somtow)
Why Things Work (McCaulay)

Teens and beyond:
1984
Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do (McWilliams)
Animal House (Orwell, not Lampoon!)
The Annotated Alice, definitive edition
Brave New World
Catcher in the Rye
Collected Stories of I.B. Singer
Complete Jane Austen
Complete Shakespeare
Complete Stories of Poe
Crime and Punishment
David Copperfield
Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care (When they had their own kids, of course)
Emma
Encyclopedia Britannica on CD-ROM
Griffin and Sabine trilogy
His Dark Materials trilogy (Pullman)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Hugo)
If On A Winter’s Night A Traveller (Calvino)
Kafka stories
The Koran
Memories, Thoughts, and Reflections (Einstein)
The More Than Complete Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Real World Aptitude Test
Science, Good, Bad, and Bogus (Gardner)
Shorter OED
When Do Fish Sleep? (Feldman)

As you may notice, I am a firm believer in giving books that may be slightly beyond the child's present age.

[ThirdCultureKid]

Will you be my Unca' commasense?

[NajaNivea]

What, no love for Gary Paulsen?
Like comma, we too are the aunt and uncle who only ever give books for every possible gift-giving occasion. Our nephews are starved for reading material, and sometimes are more excited about the books than the latest noisy plastic thing.

There is a wonderful book list here, and I'll be sure to print it out as it grows.

I'll toss into the arena the following, off the top of my head:
Hatchet, The River, Dogsong, Gary Paulsen
Where the Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
The Giver, Lois Lowry
Coraline, Neil Gaiman
Caddie Woodlawn, Carol Ryrie Brink
The Cay, Theodore Taylor
Anything by Beverly Cleary, but you've got to buy them used published prior to 1984. I think that some of them have been "updated" and I don't think they read as well as they did before.
The Jungle Books, Rudyard Kipling
Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Salman Rushdie--this is one of my very favorite books of all time.

Hooray for books!

[toadspittle]

Ooh-- Also good, which I just finished reading:

The Fog Mound: Adventures of Thelonious. (http://www.amazon.com/Travels-Thelonious-Mound-Susan-Schade/dp/0689876858/) It's about a post-apocalyptic world (it's unclear what happened ... all the humans are just gone) in which many of the animals can talk, and have taken over the ruins of human cities, etc. Part novel, part graphic-novel. Good for the boys, I think.

Ah! And I see its sequel is out. I'll have to get that...

[Dangerosa]

My absolute favorite kids' book for the age group you're talking about is The Westing Game (http://www.amazon.com/Westing-Game-Puffin-Modern-Classics/dp/014240120X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196221980&sr=1-1).


I loved Raskin's books as a kid. My favorite was "The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon, I mean Noel."

Add me to the fans of Hoot and The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwiler as well

I think that age is challanging. My daughter is eight, my son is nine. They are both considered "good readers" but neither of them is voracious. They are a little old for the Magic Treehouse books, a little young for most of the chapter books a step up from them.

My daughter loved The Tale of Deparaux - well written and readable for a precocious eight year old.

My son is struggling through, but enjoys, "So You Want to Be a Wizard." However, he is currently distracted by Tin-Tin graphic novels.

My daughter is just starting the Little House books. She LOVED the Maud Hart Lovelace books (the Betsy-Tacy books) through about #3 (they get progressively harder as the girls age - and she lost interest when the girls got older than her), but they are sadly out of print (again). There is some talk that the Minnesota Historical Society Press will pick them up.

[sciguy]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. And in many cases, a trip down memory lane. I haven't thought of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwiler in probably 20 years.

I had considered Pratchett's "Wee Free Men" and Lemony Snicket, but had thought those were for a slightly older audience. But I guess it's better to give a boot that stretches them (or their parents can read to them, or they can pick up again in a year or two) than something too "babyish".

Keep the suggestions coming, I'm taking copious notes!

This (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=308215) thread should give you some ideas. Heh, I can't believe that list left out the old classic Daddy drinks because you cry. :D

[Thudlow Boink]

Does anyone remember a series of books called the Borrowers? They're little people who "borrow" objects from our world for their own use. And that's why things go missing so often. Sort of like underpants gnomes, but not about capitalism.I haven't read the books, but I know there was a movie made (with John Goodman) several years ago.

I also liked The House with a Clock in its Walls, a magical sort of book they might enjoy if they like Harry Potter. I think that's a trilogy, but I don't recall the other two books' names. Those would be by the late great John Bellairs, who wrote quite a few gothic-horror-ish books for kids.

My own recommendations, at least for boys who like to read, based on what I remember reading and liking when I was around that age:

I can enthusiastically second the Oz books, the Narnia books, the Prydain books, the Dr. Doolittle books, A Wrinkle in Time, Tom Sawyer, and Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass. And I will add

The Great Brain books John D. Fitzgerald
The Freddy the Pig books (after whom a Doper is named) by Walter Brooks
The Three Investigators books by Robert Arthur
The Encyclopedia Brown books by Donald J. Sobol

[gigi]

Caddie Woodlawn, Carol Ryrie BrinkSeconded! And seconding (thirding) The Borrowers--I loved the descriptions of everyday human objects used in very different ways by tiny people. :)

[jsgoddess]

I should have suggested another favorite of mine I haven't seen mentioned: The Weirdstone of Brisingamen. Maybe after Prydain (which I should have seconded or thirded or whatevered).

[ivylass]

The series of Oz books would be cool. I loved all the characters in those, and all the different stories in addition to The Wizard of Oz.

I have those, including a couple written by other authors.

My daughter turned me on to Artemis Fowl, and I can highly recommend those books.

[NajaNivea]

Oh, and a couple others, both starring girls: Julie of the Wolves and The Trouble with Tuck. If the kids like dogs or the outdoors, I absolutely ate up anything by Jim Kjelgaard at that age.
ETA: Cheers for The Great Brain ;)

[NajaNivea]

Other dog or horse books: Bob, Son of Battle, anything by Albert Payson Terhune, and Algonquin, Story of a Great Dog, as well as Will James with Smokey.
Oh! Oh! Owls in the Family and The Dog Who Wouldn't Be!

[jsgoddess]

Algonquin, Story of a Great Dog

Oh, such memories!

If the niece is into horses, Marguerite Henry was one of my favorite authors when I was a girl.

[Chefguy]

Oldies, but real gems:

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, Howard Pyle
Tarzan of The Apes, Edgar Rice Burroughs

I also third the Oz books, or at least the first one that was actually written by Baum. My grandson is reading it (age 11) and loves it.

[Eleanor of Aquitaine]

If the niece is into horses, Marguerite Henry was one of my favorite authors when I was a girl.Can you recommend a specific one to start with? My nine-year-old niece is into horses.

[Illuminatiprimus]

I can't believe that no-one here has mentioned the great and mighty Garth Nix!

The Old Kingdom trilogy - Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen

The Keys to the Kingdom series - Mister Monday, Grim Tuesday, Drowned Wednesday, Sir Thursday and Lady Friday (and they can have the fun of waiting for the final two books to be published too!)

I heartily agree with who suggested the Redwall series, they were great (especially the first three).

There's also the black magician trilogy by Trudi Canavan - Magicians guild, Novice and High Lord.

And of course the wonderful Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper, I loved these as a child and they stand up as an adult too.

[Chefguy]

Can you recommend a specific one to start with? My nine-year-old niece is into horses.

Black Beauty would be my first recommendation.

[Thudlow Boink]

I also third the Oz books, or at least the first one that was actually written by Baum. My grandson is reading it (age 11) and loves it.To clarify, the first 14 Oz books (of which the first, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, is the most famous) were all written by Baum. After his death, other Oz books, both "official" and unofficial, were written by other writers—for more than you ever wanted to know, see Wikipedia's list of Oz books (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Oz_books).

I read and enjoyed all the Baum Oz books as a kid, but the library didn't have the non-Baum Oz books (nor the non-Oz Baum books), so I can't speak to their quality.

[pinkfreud]

I read and enjoyed all the Baum Oz books as a kid, but the library didn't have the non-Baum Oz books (nor the non-Oz Baum books), so I can't speak to their quality.I was an Oz freak when I was a kid. It may be heresy to say this, but I thought the Oz books written by Ruth Plumly Thompson were better than many of the Baum books.

[jsgoddess]

Can you recommend a specific one to start with? My nine-year-old niece is into horses.

I think I'd start with Misty of Chincoteague.

Oooh, there's a boxed set on Amazon for a really nice price with the three Chincoteague books I read: http://www.amazon.com/Marguerite-Henrys-Horseshoe-Library-Box/dp/0689716249/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196285165&sr=8-1

[jsgoddess]

I can't believe that no-one here has mentioned the great and mighty Garth Nix!

The Old Kingdom trilogy - Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen

I adore these books, but I would have been terrified by them when I was 10 and under.

[Illuminatiprimus]

Kids have to learn about Necromancy sometime, jsgoddess.

[Jodi]

Can you recommend a specific one to start with? My nine-year-old niece is into horses.

Walter Farley! The Black Stallion, The Black Stallion Returns; The Black Stallion's Filly; etc.

And my favorite horsey book by Marguerite Henry was Justin Morgan Had A Horse.

[Lissla Lissar]

I think The Keys to the Kingdom series is for younger readers.


John Bellairs scared the living shit out of me when I was 9-11. I still find his books damn creepy. I spent a whole summer avoiding the bookshelf that had The Lamp from the Warlock's Tomb on it. Really. I can still see scenes from it and The Curse of the Blue Figurine in my head. Does anyone else remember the bit about the kid walking home at night, hearing leaves blowing, and realising it's a death mask blowing towards him across the ground?

Aagh!

Anyway, if they like to be scared, he's a good author.

For the girl, I suggest almost anything by Elizabeth George Speare, if she's remontely interested in history. The Witch of Blackbird Pond (about Puritan New England) and Calico Captive are really good. I second The Egypt Game,, too. Very good read.

The LHotP series for both. The boys might like Farmer Boy the best.

For the boys, The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende. And Momo.

[OtakuLoki]

A couple more books that haven't yet been mentioned, at least not that I noticed.

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, starting with Speaking with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede.

Not precisely scary, but dealing with ghosts, are two of Richard Peck's Blossom Culp books: The Ghost Belonged to Me, and Ghosts I Have Been.

For a pre-teen boy with a taste for sea stories, or the macabre (amazing how those two go together) I'd also reccomend any of the books of Edward Rowe Snow. I'm not sure how many are still in print (if any) but they each contain several accounts of *ahem* interesting accounts of nautical lore. I found them very readable, and a lot of fun as a pre-teen. But, they have frank accounts of things that people do to survive shipwrecks, or how deprivations of long voyages can work on a person's mind. So, if you want to avoid letting these children being confronted with the reality of cannibalism, for example, you might want to avoid these books.

[Illuminatiprimus]

Oh, on a reverse note - STAY AWAY FROM ERAGON! Friends don't let friends read Christopher Paolini.

[NajaNivea]

Duly noted. NajaHusband wanted to buy them this year for the older nephew, but I beat him into submission with my stuffed Smaug and got the kiddo the My Side of the Mountain trilogy.

[Eleanor of Aquitaine]

Oh, on a reverse note - STAY AWAY FROM ERAGON! Friends don't let friends read Christopher Paolini.Is it really that bad, for a kid? I mean, I'm not interested in reading it myself, but my 11-yr-old son just started it. Several of his friends have read it.

He's gone through Harry Potter and Narnia and Lemony Snicket and Roald Dahl and several others listed in this thread. Loved The Hobbit, but couldn't get into LOTR yet. I'll get him to try the Prydain books next, I think, although I haven't read them.


And thanks for the horsey book suggestions. I'll get my niece the Chincoteague books, and Black Beauty if she doesn't already have it.

[NajaNivea]

For horsey books, The Black Stallion is great--I think I must have read it a hundred times--but I loved Farley's other horse books, too: The Island Stallion and Man o' War and such.
For a horsey book that she may not have read, try Will James' Smokey The Cow Horse and My Friend Flicka and Marguerite Henry's King of the Wind, which I read into tatters, two copies. As far as Marguerite Henry goes, I liked Brighty of the Grand Canyon and really loved Justin Morgan Had a Horse, but had little use for the Chincoteague pony books--go figure.

PS: Do not get her Steinbeck's The Red Pony with intentions of a horsey kid story in mind. Turns out I liked Steinbeck and went on to read and love his work, but damn.

[NajaNivea]

For anyone who might not have read it:

The pony dies and the kid sees vultures picking out its eyes. Quite unexpected for a nine year old.

[DeadlyAccurate]

I always put in a bid for Jonathan Strouds Bartimaeus Trilogy in these threads. They have to be good readers, but if they can handle Harry Potter, they can handle those.

Love these. Love 'em, love 'em, love 'em. My sister loved them, too. And her student, who lost my second book.

I just bought my niece Alex and the Ironic Gentleman (http://www.amazon.com/Alex-Ironic-Gentleman-Adrienne-Kress/dp/160286005X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196349107&sr=8-1) by Adrienne Kress. I asked Adrienne what grade reader it's for, and she said it's middle grade (ages 8-12).

(By the way, to brag: my niece turns six in December. She can already read Harry Potter unassisted.)

[jsgoddess]

Is it really that bad, for a kid? I mean, I'm not interested in reading it myself, but my 11-yr-old son just started it. Several of his friends have read it.

Eragon isn't particularly good, but I think the fact that it was a kid writing it makes other kids more excited to read it, which counts for a lot.

[Illuminatiprimus]

Eragon isn't particularly good, but I think the fact that it was a kid writing it makes other kids more excited to read it, which counts for a lot.

No it doesn't! It's a terrible example of fantasy specfically and writing in general. Also Paolini was 20 by the time he finished it so he could hardly be considered a kid by that stage. There are so many other great books out there to not need to expose anyone you care about to that drek.

[jsgoddess]

No it doesn't!

It doesn't what?

I've seen kids take an interest because of the age of the author. I've seen what happens when kids get excited about reading. It's all well and good to think that the quality of a book is the only thing that matters, but it often isn't. And, of course, different people have different ideas of what makes quality to start with.

[gigi]

And my favorite horsey book by Marguerite Henry was Justin Morgan Had A Horse.
My brother was named Justin, which doesn't sound odd now, since it's had a heyday within the past 20 years. But when he was a kid, NO ONE was named Justin. (No one was named Gwendolen either--we were quite a pair among the Michaels and Jennifers.) He liked that book because it actually featured his name.

Speaking of which, does anyone know of a book about a stray cat named Scat who gets adopted and at the end they name it Gwendolyn? My friend was telling me she loved the book and hence the name, but I hadn't ever heard of it.

[Not A Tame Lion]

Slightly "outside the box" suggestion, for a child around 10 years old (especially a precocious reader type): James Herriot's All Creatures Great And Small and its sequels. They're not really children's books, but I remember reading them when I was around 10 y.o., and I really enjoyed them. Probably due to the books being very much about animals, always a popular kid topic. And they're "gentle" reads; nothing particularly heinous that a parent would have to worry about.

I'd also recommend some of Phil Pullman's children's books, particularly The Scarecrow And His Servant, I Was A Rat!, and Clockwork. Good books from one of my favorite authors. (Clockwork is a bit spooky, but nothing a young boy can't handle.)

Another good book for kids around that age is David And The Phoenix by Edward Ormondroyd. Simple fantasy, good storytelling.

And the Little House on the Prairie books are also very good, age appropriate works for kids in the 8-10 range, especially for a girl but even boys can get into them, too.

[DfrntBreign]

It seems the SDMB has fiction pretty well covered, so let me suggest something a little different.

When I was a kid I would have loved to have had The Dangerous Book For Boys (http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Book-Boys-Conn-Iggulden/dp/0061243582/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196413161&sr=8-1)

And my sisters would have been equally enthralled by The Daring Book For Girls (http://http://www.amazon.com/Daring-Book-Girls-Andrea-Buchanan/dp/0061472573/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196413161&sr=8-2)

I bought (and read) both with the intention of giving them to my grandkids, but since they are only four and two years old, PapaBreign is going to hang on to them for a few more years. (Although I have made several copies of "the world's best paper airplane" for them.)

[jsgoddess]

I (and others) mentioned the Spiderwick books upthread. Last night in Target I saw a wonderful Spiderwick tie-in book that had flaps and pullouts and letters and popups:

http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Spiderwick-Enchanted-Navigated-Thimbletack/dp/1416950389/ref=pd_bbs_sr_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196431237&sr=8-5

This thing made my heart go pitterpat, and I'm 36!

[Eleanor of Aquitaine]

Slightly "outside the box" suggestion, for a child around 10 years old (especially a precocious reader type): James Herriot's All Creatures Great And Small and its sequels. They're not really children's books, but I remember reading them when I was around 10 y.o., and I really enjoyed them. Probably due to the books being very much about animals, always a popular kid topic. And they're "gentle" reads; nothing particularly heinous that a parent would have to worry about.I've been reading those out loud to my family, and everyone has loved them. I did find myself in the position of explaining to the kids what it means for a cow to have a prolapsed uterus.

It seems the SDMB has fiction pretty well covered, so let me suggest something a little different.

When I was a kid I would have loved to have had The Dangerous Book For Boys (http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Book-Boys-Conn-Iggulden/dp/0061243582/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196413161&sr=8-1)

And my sisters would have been equally enthralled by The Daring Book For Girls (http://http://www.amazon.com/Daring-Book-Girls-Andrea-Buchanan/dp/0061472573/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196413161&sr=8-2)Those sound great - I'm going to swing by B&N and take a look at them.

Now I have gifts for all the nieces and nephews - except the one nephew who has difficulty reading due to a learning disability. I really hate to give him a book for Christmas.

[Not A Tame Lion]

I did find myself in the position of explaining to the kids what it means for a cow to have a prolapsed uterus.
Hasn't every parent had that conversation at one point in the child's life? At this point it's practically a rite of passage.

Smirk.

[rowrrbazzle]

The Hidden Treasure of Glaston http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Treasure-Glaston-History-Library/dp/1883937485/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196469960&sr=8-1

An older book back in print which won a Newberry award. A small introduction to Glastonbury and the Grail.