Quick! I need a book for an 11-12 year-old boy who loves Harry Potter & LOTR.

[nevermore]

My cousin's an extremely sharp kid who LOVES reading, so for Christmas I thought I'd get him a cool book. Thing is, I don't really read fantasy, and that's what he seems to like-- I know he's read and loved all of Harry Potter, The Hobbit and any other LOTR books he's gotten his hands on, A Series of Unfortunate Events (when he was maybe 9-10), and I'm sure he's read the Chronicles of Narnia.

Initially I was thinking maybe Spiderwick Chronicles, but I flipped through the first book at the store, and it's ridiculously short, plus it looks like it's written for younger kids. Then I thought possibly A Wrinkle in Time, but then I heard it's not so much fantasy as uh... metaphysical-journey-ish? (Otherwise it sounded like a great candidate, since his parents are VERY Christian and apparently the series mentions God a few times.) I thought of Eragon, too, but to be honest, I don't feel those books are particularly well-written, and at any rate, since there's already been a movie about it, he's probably already read it.

So, now I'm drawing a blank. Does Neil Gaiman write anything suitable for older kids? He's great at creating fascinating, immersive worlds, and that's the kind of thing I'm looking for. I want something irresistibly exciting and enchanting, that stays away from curse words, sex, violence, drugs, and homosexuality (so his parents will actually let him read it).

Any ideas?

[thwartme]

When I was 12, I started reading David Edding's "Belgariad". It's a five book epic quest series, with another five book series to follow, if you like. There's no content worries for kids, and there's plenty of memorable characters and action. I loved 'em when I was a kid.

In order:

1. Pawn of Prophecy
2. Queen of Sorcery
3. Magician's Gambit
4. Castle of Wizardry
5. Enchanters' End Game

Thanks,
thwartme

[wolfman]

The first three books of Piers Anthony's Xanth series are really good at that age. The other 1289844 books of the series aren't good in an way shape or form.

[ivylass]

My daughter turned me on to Artemis Fowl. I've truly enjoyed them. It's about a genius boy about your age of your cousin's son, so he will get a big kick out of it.

[Beadalin]

The Dark is Rising (http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Rising-Boxed-Set-Greenwitch/dp/1416949968/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198003975&sr=8-1) sequence would be perfect for his age and interests.

His Dark Materials (http://www.amazon.com/Materials-Trilogy-Golden-Compass-Spyglass/dp/0440238609/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198004024&sr=1-1) trilogy would be great, but his parents might object.

Clive Barker wrote a great young-teens book called The Thief of Always (http://www.amazon.com/Thief-Always-Clive-Barker/dp/0061091464/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198004066&sr=1-1) which would fit the bill, too.

[One And Only Wanderers]

another vote for Dark is Rising or the Belgariad

[jjimm]

Another vote for His Dark Materials - if he's got a mature outlook.

[WhyNot]

I'll second The Dark is Rising series. Lloyd Alexander, as well, if he hasn't read them yet.

My son really liked The Bartimaeus Trilogy (http://www.bartimaeustrilogy.com/), but I haven't really been able to get into it.

The Giver (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giver) is also an excellent book for his age group. Challenging, in topic and theme, and a great bridge into scifi.

I would not recommend His Dark Materials until he's older, and if his parents are Christian, my guess is they would not approve.

[simster]

Zelazny - Amber Series, Jack of Shadows, Changeling, Madwand - all good...

I also enjoyed Stasheef around that age - get the "Warlock in Spite of himself" to start.

[WhyNot]

Oh, right. Gaiman's Coraline and InterWorld are age appropriate, as well.

[cher3]

Most of Gaiman's stuff is a little rough for kids. Coraline is good and quite scary.

I always recommend The Bartimaeus Trilogy in these cases.

[well he's back]

There's a very recent series of books by Angie Sage, the Septimus Heap trilogy. I thought they were well written and a lot of fun, though maybe aimed a little young for your needs.

Diane Duane wrote the "So You want to be a Wizard" series long before Harry Potter came out, and its been popular. and there's the Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones.

Gerald Morris has a series of retellings of King Arthur legends that are hilarious. "Pure Dead Magic" and the others in that series by Deb Gliori are also hilarious, and also well written.


I am reading the Obernewtyn books by Isobelle Carmody now, and I think they are wonderful.

[USCDiver]

I read the The Chronicles of Narnia at about that age. Fifth grade if I remember.

[Beadalin]

Oooh, yes, Lloyd Alexander -- the Prydain Chronicles (http://www.amazon.com/Prydain-Chronicles-Cauldron-Wanderer-Foundling/dp/B0006DBJOC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198004608&sr=8-5) are just wonderful.

[silenus]

Pratchett - Start with Guards! Guards!

[Hodge]

I'd bet he'd enjoy the Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser (http://www.amazon.com/Lankhmar-Book-Swords-Deviltry/dp/1595820795/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198003988&sr=8-2) stories. I loved these when I first read them as an adolescent. A couple of rogues go on a series of adventures. Think Conan with a sidekick and a sense of humour. Fritz Lieber is woefully overlooked when people discuss fantasy literature.

And I definitely second the Chronicles of Prydain.

Also, don't be so quick to dismiss A Wrinkle in Time. It really is a classic of children's literature.

[Hodge]

Oh...and The Myth Adventures (http://www.amazon.com/Another-Fine-Myth-Conceptions-2-in1/dp/044100931X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198005237&sr=1-1) series by Robert Asprin. Funny and exciting. Also, the more fantasy books he reads, the more he'll appreciate this series' send up of the genre.

[susan]

Diane Duane's Young Wizard series--good, extensive, and moral in useful ways
Stroud's Bartimaeus trilogy--excellent, well-written, but rather dark
Sage's Septimus Heape--okay, a little toward the juvenile end
MacHale's Bobby Pendragon series--more on the action/adventure end, with some inconsistencies that bug me, but young teenagers seem to like them
L'Engle's Time quartet
Le Guin's Earthsea--more stylistic but very well written
Lloyd Alexander, Cooper--yes

If I had to bolt into a bookstore and grab something, it would be Stroud.

Does anyone know how the Ridley Pearson/Dave Barry "Peter" trilogy is? They're intended for 9-12 year olds, and have very high Amazon ratings.

[Skammer]

I was going to suggest Mary Stewart's Crystal Cave and its sequels, which cover the Arthurian legend from the perspective of Merlin, which I read for the first time at about that age. However, come to think of it, I think there are a couple of sex scenes implied that, while tame, may not please his parents.

[WhyNot]

Does anyone know how the Ridley Pearson/Dave Barry "Peter" trilogy is? They're intended for 9-12 year olds, and have very high Amazon ratings.
I like them. They aren't going to change the world or anything, but they're not Sweet Valley High brain-drainers, either.

[Hello Again]

That's just about the perfect age for Ender's Game by Orson Scot Card.

For something off the beaten track I adore The City of Ember by Jeanne Duprau. Apparently its being made into a movie of the same name for sometime in in 2008. Note: the sequels do not even approach the first novel, I could take or leave them, but mostly leave them.

[anu-la1979]

I strongly recommend the The Giver as suggested by WhyNot upthread. Another one is Gerald Durell's "Battle for Cockatrice Castle". I read it originally as "The Talking Parcel" ( :rolleyes: to the name change). Awesome awesome book that doesn't get enough play.

Growing up I was always taking these books out from the library-culture specific myth/folklore/fairytale books. I don't know who wrote them/published them....I was a kid in the 8os and these looked old back then. But it was a series (they were chapter books incidentally) and they were great. I went through Native America, Russia, China, Greek & Roman etc.. Fantasy is awesome but you might give him an age appropriate folktales/myths book. I'm sure someone at a bookstore could recommend a good one.

Oh, and here's the link to the Gerald Durell book

Battle for Cockatrice Castle (http://www.amazon.com/Battle-Castle-Cockatrice-Gerald-Durrell/dp/0064407802/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198006610&sr=8-1).

[Ghanima]

Eragon is pretty popular with that set. Haven't read it myself.

[Elenfair]

Get him going on the David Eddings books. He's always a fun read at that age. I notice some people have suggested some to you. :)

[Hello Again]

Eragon is pretty popular with that set. Haven't read it myself.
Its horrible. Do me a personal favor and don't.

[anu-la1979]

Boreragon.

I still don't know how that book got published. Was there an orgy and a dead hooker involved? Where have the bodies been hidden and who knows what?

it's THAT terrible.

[dangermom]

If you want something brand-new that he's not likely to have read yet, Brandon Sanderson just came out with Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, a fun YA fantasy adventure. It's not Great Literature, but it's better and more original than a lot of the fantasy dreck currently being published.

Another lesser-known good YA read is the Hungry City Chronicles by Philip Reeve.

Not quite as good but still pretty good is the Ember trilogy by Jeanne DuPrau. They should all be out in paperback by now, so that might make a good gift set.

Many of the above authors are better, though; Diane Duane and Diana Wynne Jones, Lloyd Alexander and Susan Cooper are all more classic. But he's also more likely to have read them, so these are some lesser-known good ones.

[Thudlow Boink]

Oooh, yes, Lloyd Alexander -- the Prydain Chronicles (http://www.amazon.com/Prydain-Chronicles-Cauldron-Wanderer-Foundling/dp/B0006DBJOC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198004608&sr=8-5) are just wonderful.This would be my number one recommendation.

While it's not exactly the same sort of fantasy as many of the others mentioned, there's a good chance he'd enjoy Watership Down.

The Enchanted Forest chronicles by Patricia Wrede are a fun light read, though I'd feel slightly more comfortable recommending them to a girl than to a boy.

And, yeah, Piers Anthony's Xanth books aren't a bad suggestion provided you stick with the earliest ones forgoodnesssake.

[Oredigger77]

I'll throw another vote behind David Eddings. Just for something diffrent I'll thow out R.A. Salvadore's Drizzt books starting with the Icewinddale trillogy. Although I started reading Robert Jordan at that age and Eye of the World is a great book.

[susan]

Eragon is terrible. I keep trying to read Eldest, which I've heard is better.

Has anyone mentioned the John Christopher tripod books yet? Or his other trilogy?

[MrDibble]

I'm not sure if this will fly, since the OP turned down Spiderwick, but I can't recommend The Edge Chronicles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Edge_Chronicles) by Paul Stewart and iChris Riddell highly enough. Madly inventive, just enough darkness, great setting, wonderful illustrations. They Rock! Can't believe it seems no-one else has read them.

[DeadlyAccurate]

I always recommend The Bartimaeus Trilogy in these cases.


Ditto. Plus, Bartimaeus would totally be a Doper if he were real.

[nevermore]

Wow. Thanks so much for all the ideas so far. Totally didn't expect so much help!

I haven't made a decision yet (though, some of these are actually sounding good to me), but I did want to add that if his parents weren't uber-Christian, His Dark Materials would be the first thing I grabbed. I absolutely love the first book (haven't gotten to the next two yet), but his parents would have a FIT if I even suggested it for him. They're very aware of anything even rumored to be anti-Christian (it took them YEARS to cave in and let him read HP, because they thought it promoted witchcraft), and since the rumors are actually true this time, there's no way they'd let him read it.

Also wanted to mention that I'd love to get him Ender's Game (another book I loved), but it's way too violent for his parents to be OK with. I think there's a bit of cursing, too, but I could be remembering incorrectly.

Would anyone be willing to expound further on A Wrinkle in Time? What is the storyline of the first book, and what made it such a classic?

[well he's back]

re - A Wrinkle in Time - I bet another Doper will come along with a better summary but here's the thing - I had a teacher who read it to us in elementary school & I never forgot it. Very powerful. Here goes my summary - Insecure teen Meg (?) Murry's scientist father goes missing. She and her genius little brother travel the galaxy to save with the help of some eccentric witches. They travel by using what they call tesseracts, or wrinkles in time. Only by learning the power of love can the father & brother be saved from a horrible fate - which sounds corny but when its well written, it isn't.

[Saratoga Sam]

I want something irresistibly exciting and enchanting, that stays away from curse words, sex, violence, drugs, and homosexuality (so his parents will actually let him read it).


Er, well, guess that rules out Bukowski as my first suggestion...

These are a bit old but still have life in them, and shouldn't be too hard to find:

L. Sprague de Camp/Fletcher Pratt: Land of Unreason and The Incomplete Enchanter

Clifford Simak's The Goblin Reservation is SF but with fantasy elements, and quite enjoyable

Lord Dunsany's The King of Elfland's Daughter is harder to find but has good lyrical moments, though there is some mild anti-clerical sentiment. In fact anything by Lord Dunsany might, on the surface, gain his parents approval.

Or, you might get him some of the fantasies of James Branch Cabell...they were written in the 1920's, so you can be sure there's nothing in them to upset his parents.... :D

[Bosstone]

Another vote for Dark is Rising. If they accepted Harry Potter, getting them to accept Dark is Rising should be a relative cinch. Still, although there's a sheen of Christian values throughout the books -- the first book takes place around Christmas, which features prominently in the plot -- it deals significantly more with British mythology and what uber-Christians might term paganism.

There is some violence, but no more than the Harry Potter series. It's written for youths, so there's very little adult material in the series.

[Thudlow Boink]

Would anyone be willing to expound further on A Wrinkle in Time? What is the storyline of the first book, and what made it such a classic?Take a look at this thread (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=391516) discussing the book!

[susan]

The Diane Duane Young Wizard books really treat magic as an unexplained technology--no covens, master witches, dark sabaths, mainstream religion-bashing, funny hats, etc. They are about doing good acts on behalf of others. They are very moral in a non-preachy way.

[simster]

Stasheef is pretty safe, as is Zelazny's works....

[Thudlow Boink]

Lord Dunsany's The King of Elfland's Daughter is harder to find but has good lyrical moments, though there is some mild anti-clerical sentiment.Good lyrical moments, indeed, but hardly "irresistibly exciting." If you must give him a Dunsany, I'd imagine a boy his age would be more likely to appreciate The Charwoman's Shadow, or some of the shorter works.

[pantheon]

Another vote for LeGuin's Wizard of Earthsea, and a reccomendation for Stephen R. Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever

[Polycarp]

re - A Wrinkle in Time - I bet another Doper will come along with a better summary but here's the thing - I had a teacher who read it to us in elementary school & I never forgot it. Very powerful. Here goes my summary - Insecure teen Meg (?) Murry's scientist father goes missing. She and her genius little brother travel the galaxy to save with the help of some eccentric witches. They travel by using what they call tesseracts, or wrinkles in time. Only by learning the power of love can the father & brother be saved from a horrible fate - which sounds corny but when its well written, it isn't.

Nicely summarized. Actually, quite a lot of the L'Engle ouevre might be appropriate, but Wrinkle was first and arguably best. If it's not a "wrap[ it and surprise him" type of gift, why not ask him -- "This is considered a really great story by a lot of fans of HP/LOTR type stories. The lead character is a girl about your age (Meg's 13, IIRC) but it's not a 'girl's book.' Interested?"

[Hello Again]

...reccomendation for Stephen R. Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever
Contains a rape scene within the first 10 pages... doubt the family would approve.

[Rysto]

MacHale's Bobby Pendragon series--more on the action/adventure end, with some inconsistencies that bug me, but young teenagers seem to like them
My 16-year-old sister and 12-year-old (male) cousin both love this series.

a reccomendation for Stephen R. Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever
That's be the series in which the protagonist rapes a woman correct?

Uh, I haven't read the series so perhaps I shouldn't pass judgment, but is it really age-appropriate for a 12-year-old?

[kaylasdad99]

I suppose The Eye of Argon wouln't make it past Standards and Practices?

[pantheon]

Contains a rape scene within the first 10 pages... doubt the family would approve.

If you're referring to Lena, it's about 90 pages in (from quick search on Amazon), but yes, there is a single paragraph rape scene. It's not graphic, and it's the driving force that the main character spends the next five books trying to redeem himself for, once he accepts that it really happened.

It's an excellent series, and the parents could be sold on it as the unbeliever becoming a believer.

Take it or leave it, it was just a suggestion.

[Polycarp]

Try him on the Heinlein juveniles. If he's reading at LOTR level at age 11-12, they're right on target.

[photopat]

Pratchett's Juvenile books would be excellent too.

The Johnny Maxwell Trilogy,

Only You Can Save Mankind
Johnny and the Dead
Johnny and the Bomb

The Bromeliad Trilogy (I gave them to the son of a friend who is 11 and he loved them)
Truckers
Diggers
Wings

The Tiffany Aching books
Wee Free Men
A Hat Full of Sky
Wintersmith

The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
The Carpet People

[cher3]

How about Terry Pratchett? He has some books for younger readers that don't contain anything objectionable and even the adult series are pretty tame in terms of sex and curse words. There's some violence, but nothing much worse than the Potter books. My daughter loves them--she's an advanced 10-year old reader.

Dangit. Every time I think of something someone else posts it while I'm typing.

[susan]

Good idea, Polycarp. I vote for Starman Jones and Farmer in the Sky over The Star Beast, Rocketship Galileo, or Have Spacesuit--Will Travel.

I learned to use a slide rule to calculate logs from one of these long, long ago.

[Lars Aruns]

Since Pratchett and other favourites of mine, including Mary Stewart, have been already suggested, I'll throw in a slightly different suggestion: the Videssos cycle by Harry Turtledove. A detachment of a Roman legion is mysteriously ported in another dimension where magic actually works. Lots of battles, intrigues and good old fashioned Roman stubborness - ahem, sense of duty.

[nevermore]

Just so yours isn't the only post on this page, Lars, because that bugs me to death--

I ended up getting him the first in the Dark is Rising series. Sounded really interesting, and I couldn't ignore the fact that like four of you recommended it. In fact, if there'd been another copy at the local B&N, I would've grabbed myself one just to see what the fuss is about! ;)

Thanks, guys, as always.

[RTFirefly]

I second the Prydain chronicles, and absolutely, positively A Wrinkle in Time, which IMHO is the best YA novel ever. When Meg realizes
she's the only one who can rescue her brother,
to me it's one of the most moving moments in any kind of fiction.

Oh, and The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. Gawd, what fun that one is.

[Wendell Wagner]

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
The Green Knowe series by L. M. Boston
The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander
The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
The Chubby Lewis series (The House with a Clock in Its Walls and its sequels) by John Bellairs
A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels by Madeleine L’Engle
The Oz books by L. Frank Baum
Five Children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet, and The Story of the Amulet by Edith Nesbit
The House of Arden and Harding’s Luck by Edith Nesbit
The Earthsea books by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Snarkout Boys books by Daniel Pinkwater
The Charlie and Willy Wonka books by Roald Dahl
The Princess and Curdie and The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

[Scoundrel Swanswater]

My daughter turned me on to Artemis Fowl. I've truly enjoyed them. It's about a genius boy about your age of your cousin's son, so he will get a big kick out of it.
I would like to add my 2 cents and heartily recommend the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer.
I think that is one of the best series ever written for young boys.
It has magic, weapons and lots of humour and suspense.

[Surok]

Another vote for Diana Wynne Jones (http://www.leemac.freeserve.co.uk/), particularly the books that are listed under 'Miscellaneous' on her wikiepedia entry.

And I'll second Have Space Suit - Will Travel as well.

[Illuminatiprimus]

The Old Kingdom triology and the Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix would be good choices (the first one is a bit dark though - features necromancy and magic and whatnot). The first books of each are Sabriel and Mister Monday respectively (I'd probably plump for Mister Monday, based on the information you've given us).

[JustThinkin']

Patricia Wrede's Talking to Dragons foursome. Great fun.

[What Exit?]

I would highly recommend the mentioned Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander

Wrinkle in Time should be loved by any kid that is already a fan of Tolkien and Potter.

The Earthsea books by Ursula K. Le Guin should be particularly appealing to a Potter fan.

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper, David Edding's Belgariad & even the first 3 books of Xanth are great choices.

I will add:

Anne McCaffrey for her Dragonriders of Pern series.

Riddlemaster of Hed by Patricia A. McKillip

Another good one is Master of the Five Magics by Lyndon Hardy.

Jim

[Sailboat]

Has anyone mentioned the John Christopher tripod books yet? Or his other trilogy?

Found an interesting review of the Tripod trilogy here. (http://www.gnelson.demon.co.uk/tripage/trilogy.html)

It' not as richly-detailed as Tolkien and Potter, but it is about interesting ideas, and it's got some realism to it that made me feel more adult when I was young and read the trilogy for the first time.

Sailboat

[GuanoLad]

My favourite fantasy series of all time is currently Tad Williams's Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, comprising The Dragonbone Chair, Stone of Farewell, and To Green Angel Tower. It's my favourite because it contains all the elements of fantasy that I personally love, and none of the things I dislike. It also wears its inspirations on its sleeve, as it is so Tolkienesque in so many ways, it's almost painful - but in a good way; It's miles ahead of anything with the word 'Shannara' in it.

[simster]

My favourite fantasy series of all time is currently Tad Williams's Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, comprising The Dragonbone Chair, Stone of Farewell, and To Green Angel Tower. It's my favourite because it contains all the elements of fantasy that I personally love, and none of the things I dislike. It also wears its inspirations on its sleeve, as it is so Tolkienesque in so many ways, it's almost painful - but in a good way; It's miles ahead of anything with the word 'Shannara' in it.

I personally enjoyed TailChaser Song (http://www.amazon.com/Tailchasers-Song-Tad-Williams/dp/0886779537) by Tad Williams as well - never started the other series.

[NajaSong]

My daughter, who just turned 11, really loves the Gregor the Overlander (http://www.amazon.com/Gregor-Overlander-Suzanne-Collins/dp/0439435374/ref=pd_bbs_sr_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198083413&sr=8-5) series. From what she's told me of the story, it sounds really interesting.

And it's been a while since I've read them, but what about the Dragonlance (http://www.amazon.com/Dragonlance-Chronicles-Trilogy-Gift-Set/dp/0786926813/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198084071&sr=1-1) series? I recall them being relatively tame.

[Darth Sensitive]

I'm 4th ing Diane Duane's Young Wizards series.

I got "So You Want to be a Wizard" for Christmas at about that age, and I'm still hooked and waiting for the next one.

[Larry Borgia]

China Mieville has written a YA fantasy: Un Lun Dun. I haven't read it, but he's an amazing writer.

[Quercus]

Why not The Once and Future King?
Really, the book is better than either the Disney movie, or the musical Camelot, so don't pass it up on their account.

It gets a little serious and philosophical at the end, but at some point he'll be able to appreciate it. In the meantime, the beginning is perfect for bright 12 year olds.

[Jophiel]

Dennis McKiernan's Iron Tower Trilogy and Silver Call Duology are extremely Tolkien-esque. In fact, McKiernan (according to Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_L._McKiernan)) originally intended the trilogy to be a sequel to Tolkien's work but failed to get permission from Tolkien's estate and Doubleday requested that McKiernan rework them into an "original" world.

They're good books if you want something that reads just like Tolkien but isn't and there's nothing in them which a parent would find offensive to a 12 year old.

[Ponder Stibbons]

So, has anyone mentioned Pratchett?

Oh. So they have.

Well, I'll just kick in again and say that "Wee Free Men", which introduces young Tiffany Aching, is a good introduction for a young reader, and if he likes the Aching novels, he may well enjoy the whole Discworld, um, "saga", for want of a better term.

Then again, an 11-12 year old boy may feel a book geared towards young women is not for him, so maybe "Guards! Guards!", as suggested earlier, would be a better place to start.

[well he's back]

I loved the Johnny Maxwell trilogy by Pratchett! He should try those!

I liked the first few "Gregor" books, but then they got tedious. Hey I lasted longer with those than I did with Harry Potter.
Well lots to choose from. We can all agree that "Gormenghast" is too dark. and almost all of us can agree, I bet, that everyone should be kept far far away from the awful Eragon and Shannara books.

[appleciders]

[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner]
The Snarkout Boys books by Daniel Pinkwater
/QUOTE]
YES! Daniel Pinkwater is just right for that age, and he's really underrated. Anything by him is liable to be good.

I'll also recommend Heinlein's "boy's books"- ok, so we know now that Mars is uninhabited and Venus is an oven, but so what? They're still the best introduction to hard sci-fi for a kid, and they're squeaky-clean to a parent. Try The Rolling Stones, Have Spacesuit, Will Travel, Space Cadet, or Farmer in the Sky.

Back in the realm of fantasy, Lloyd Alexander's Prydain stuff is good but he may have slipped past the perfect age for that. Still worth reading, though.

Madeline L'Engle is a genius. He should absolutely read A Wrinkle in Time.

LeGuin's Earthsea stuff is very good, though sometimes a little bit girly. If he's enjoying LOTR, though, it should be fine.

[Shirley Ujest]

I am going to change gear here and offer three distinctly different areas:

Asterix (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterix) is a wonderful 50+ year old comic series that is very rarely heard of here in the States, AFAIK. I only found out about it from another Doper or maybe some Farker and I have to say that my 10 year old adores this series and we have about 15 of the adventures. It is for all ages and one learns history and a smattering of Latin too boot. It is just not for kids.



For pure adventure and a great all around satisfying read, ala Indiana Jones: Operation Red Jericho (http://www.amazon.com/Operation-Red-Jericho-Guild-Specialists/dp/0763626341/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198096327&sr=8-1) . Two british kids* in the 1920'ish ( or maybe the 30's, it's been a few weeks since I read it and didn't know I would be quizzed on it! whose parents go missing in some Chinese desert are sent to live with another relative (a stern ship owning uncle in the Pacific) after wearing out their welcome with their Aunt and their wacky hijinks.

Along the way there is a Secret Organization, a mysterious device that everyone wants, A Man in a Panama Hat ( or maybe it was a linen suit.), a secret battle ship, Kung Fu Sects ( not sex) An Island Fortess and a tamed tiger!




*why is it always British Kids who get these adventures?

The sequel: Operation Typhoon Shore is suppose to be even better. I cannot find it at any book store and I didn't have time to read it from my library interloan thingie.


Last Suggestion: 21 Balloons (http://www.amazon.com/Twenty-One-Balloons-William-Pene-Bois/dp/0140320970/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198096934&sr=1-2) . After 40 years as a Math Teacher, Professor William Waterman Sherman decides to sail for a year in a large balloon (complete with a wicker house) and enjoy the peace and quiet. Naturally, when he crash lands on the Volcanic Island of Krakatoa wacky hijinks ensue and diamonds are involved. I am in the middle of reading this and enjoying it immensely. This book is also a favorite of our own Twickster. I bought a copy for my 13 year old nephew for Xmas.




May I make a suggestion for you to peruse Chinaberry (ages 8 and up) (http://www.chinaberry.com/cat.cfm/pgc/11300) for alternate books that you may have never heard of that they find. To me, it is a Doper Bookstore for kids of all ages. Chinaberry has a special affinity for Fantasy (TA Barron, which seems really popular. I haven't gotten to that level yet.) No commercialized books with cartoons or movies attached to them will be found here. (Ok, maybe a few, but classic books.)


Another writer who is popular amongst Christian Homeschoolers* is G.A. Henty (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._A._Henty) and are larger book reads or done on a cd (http://www.greathall.com/onlinebro.html) (3/4th of the way down) format by an outstanding narrator Jim Weiss. I have most of Jim Weiss' stuff for younger kids and will tell you he is simply one of the best out there. His company Great Hall Productions is a bit slow at times, but overall, 1000% thumbs up for the product. Plus, it is also worth mentioning my kids love his stuff too. I am going to get some of Henty's stuff from interloan for my own dining and dancing pleasure one of these days.


*Two things I am neither.


Good luck and have fun picking!

[GuanoLad]

Note to self: Shirley Ujest likes wacky hijinks.

[elfkin477]

Boreragon.

I still don't know how that book got published. Was there an orgy and a dead hooker involved? Where have the bodies been hidden and who knows what?

it's THAT terrible.

You don't know? Guess what his parents do for a living. They....publish books (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Paolini#Biography)! So they published his and promoted the hell out of it. :dubious:


My vote goes for Redwall by Brian Jacques. My little brother hated to read as a kid and the only books besides Calvin and Hobbes he ever asked were the first few Dark Tower books and ones in the Redwall series.

[susan]

I also want to anti-recommend the Charlie Bone series. the first book had promise; books 2-6 are extremely disappointing.

[Cillasi]

Thomas Covenant may not be appropriate. I started reading it again lately and had completely forgotten the rape in the first book. On reflection, some of the themes may be a little mature and not presented in the best of taste.

Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars, Blue Mars and Green Mars is a good trilogy about the colonization and terraforming of Mars. Although adult-themed, if he likes futuristic stuff, there is enough there to keep his attention and nothing much to offend his parents, if I remember correctly.

I also enjoy Tad Williams, especially the Dragonbone series and the Otherland series. Otherland is futuristic sci-fi, not fantasy, although things that happen in it are sometimes fantastical.


Another vote for LeGuin's Wizard of Earthsea, and a reccomendation for Stephen R. Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever

[Shirley Ujest]

Note to self: Shirley Ujest likes wacky hijinks.



Hey, how doesn't?

[Rhubarb]

Hey, how doesn't?
How, indeed :dubious:

A third for Heinlein's juveniles, especially The Star Beast. I've not known any tween-ager that didn't like this book. Who wouldn't want a talking pet that could literally eat a Buick? Plus the book has a subversive undertone about tolerance and respect for others. Which I just realized was Heinlein's commentary against segregation and bigotry in the '50's.

Any of the others would be good; The Rolling Stones, Citizen of the Galaxy, Between Planets, Space Cadet, Time for the Stars, Tunnel in the Sky, all good reads.

[squeegee]

On Heinlein juveniles: Starman Jones doesn't hold up well (navigators can only be human savant calculators?). I also once recommended Red Planet to a teen who just hated it, go figure.

[Omniscient]

I can't believe you are saying that Ender's Game is too violent. Harry Potter is probably worse. I realize that the overall plot is about a war against unseen aliens, but I hardly call that violence the way it plays out. Ender gets into a few scuffles, but they aren't gratuitous and I'd say they are less graphic than the Sectumsempra curse.

That book is too great, especially for that age, to be off limits.





[off topic]The over protectiveness of these parents turns my stomach, I almost feel like you're morally required to get him something they won't approve of.[/off topic]

[Zabali_Clawbane]

My daughter turned me on to Artemis Fowl. I've truly enjoyed them. It's about a genius boy about your age of your cousin's son, so he will get a big kick out of it.

Seconding Artemis Fowl. Start at the beginning. ETA: Also, The Young Wizard series, (Make sure you also get the tangentla/same world books The Book of Night With Moon by Diane Duane and To Visit The Queen as well.) Wrinkle in Time series, and Earthsea.

[Zabali_Clawbane]

I personally enjoyed TailChaser Song (http://www.amazon.com/Tailchasers-Song-Tad-Williams/dp/0886779537) by Tad Williams as well - never started the other series.


Although I enjoyed this book too, it is pretty dark and gruesome later on, and the themes in it are dark. I think it might be too adult for an 11-12 year old whose parents are watching violence content. ETA: Grueseome isn't exactly the word I was looking for, but when the scene with the huge, bloated fat cat lying on a mound of dead and dying cats and langourously being fed them comes along, it's not gentle, and I don't think the parents would approve it.

[Wendell Wagner]

Don't worry about whether someone is too old for particular series. I read all the books I mentioned in my post as an adult except for the Alice books, and those are perhaps the most difficult of the ones I'm recommending. By the time someone is 11- or 12-years-old, any book that they would like are books that an adult will like too.

appleciders writes:

> Daniel Pinkwater is just right for that age, and he's really underrated.

I'm not sure if Pinkwater is underrated. He's well known and highly rated among experts on children's literature. He sells well if not on a Harry Potter level. He just doesn't have the kind of super-popularity he should have.

[Tamex]

My daughter, who is 11, also loved the Gregor books. She (and most of her friends) are now reading a series called "Warriors" by Erin Hunter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warriors_(novel_series)). It is a fantasy series about a society of wild cats. There are different clans of cats who battle each other, etc. I'm not absolutely sure if the series would appeal to boys, since I haven't read them, but it certainly appeals to girls. They even call each other over the phone and plan which scenes they are going to act out at recess.

[Der Trihs]

Zelazny - Amber Series, Jack of Shadows, Changeling, Madwand - all good...Very good, but the occasional short & mild sex/nude scene might freak out prissy parents. And he might be hard going, depending on how good a reader the kid is.

Still, he's very good.

[Tamex]

I talked to my daughter, and she says that boys are reading the "Warriors" books, too. They seem to be quite popular.

[susan]

I talked to my daughter, and she says that boys are reading the "Warriors" books, too. They seem to be quite popular.I found the first pretty girly, but I may be overinterpreting based on the gushy recommendation from a girl. The protagonist cat is male. The insult "kittypet" (which I call my partner when I go out in the rain for firewood and she stays inside) is second only to "cakesniffer" from Snicket.

[dangermom]

Are the Snarkout Boys books even in print any more? What about Alan Mendelsohn? Those are my favorites. I have them all, in ancient falling-apart paperbacks.

Actually, Pinkwater's new book, The Neddiad, is pretty good. His last couple have been really repetitive and disappointing, but I enjoyed the new one quite a bit.

[What Exit?]

I talked to my daughter, and she says that boys are reading the "Warriors" books, too. They seem to be quite popular.
These are more for younger readers. 3rd-5th grade and girls oriented. My daughter loved them. She read them at ages 8 and 9.

Jim

[RTFirefly]

I am going to change gear here and offer three distinctly different areas:

Asterix (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterix) is a wonderful 50+ year old comic series that is very rarely heard of here in the States, AFAIK. That's a great recommendation. Asterix, Obelix, and the gang are a lot of fun. (The father of one of my childhood friends was in the Foreign Service, stationed in Belgium for several years, and my friend grew up reading the Asterix comics in French. Me, I settle for the English translations.)

[Wendell Wagner]

dangermom writes:

> Are the Snarkout Boys books even in print any more? What about Alan
> Mendelsohn?

Look for the anthologies _5 Novels_ and _4 Fantastic Novels_.

[Mtgman]

[off topic]The over protectiveness of these parents turns my stomach, I almost feel like you're morally required to get him something they won't approve of.[/off topic]Mmmm, Aztec. :)

In a more serious vein, it's hard to go wrong with the swords and sorcery, or swords and technology, and twisted sense of humor, of Simon Green. Blue Moon Rising is the book I wish I had read at his age(you could usually find me in the biography section of the library during that point in my life). Barring that, The Princess Bride by William Goldman would be a good one as well.

Enjoy,
Steven

[MrDibble]

If Asterix is on the table, what about Tintin? Of course, not Tintin in the Congo, but otherwise...

[Pixilated]

if you want to branch out to any must-have collectors dvd's I would definately recommend The Labrynth as well as The Dark Crystal (which has a really nice collector's edition). He's the perfect age for them.