# Book suggestions for children
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [November 27, 2007, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964 "2007-11-27T21:49:31Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@sciguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciguy)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2007, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964/1 "2007-11-27T21:49:31Z")
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”.
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### Author:  [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2007, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964/2 "2007-11-27T21:57:27Z")
_Mr. Popper’s Penguins_!
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### Author:  [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2007, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964/3 "2007-11-27T22:00:52Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@Stauderhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stauderhorse)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2007, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964/4 "2007-11-27T22:09:00Z")
How about the Narnia books? They’re a pretty good read, Christian symbolism notwithstanding.
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### Author:  [@PaperBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaperBlob)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2007, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964/5 "2007-11-27T22:13:35Z")
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](http://Amazon.com).
She also likes the Lemony Snicket books, though I think they’re a little harder for her to read.
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### Author:  [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2007, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964/6 "2007-11-27T22:15:36Z")
Have the kids discovered [Lemony Snicket](http://www.lemonysnicket.com/books.cfm)?
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### Author:  [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2007, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964/7 "2007-11-27T22:22:56Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2007, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964/8 "2007-11-27T22:24:22Z")
**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.
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### Author:  [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2007, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964/9 "2007-11-27T22:25:45Z")
[QUOTE=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.
[/QUOTE]
[Maxwell Smart]
Missed it by that much.
[/Maxwell Smart]
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### Author:  [@MonaLizaT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonaLizaT)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2007, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964/10 "2007-11-27T22:31:07Z")
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
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### Author:  [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2007, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964/11 "2007-11-27T22:38:03Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2007, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964/12 "2007-11-27T22:41:20Z")
Terry Pratchett!
**A Hat Full of Sky, The Wee Free Men, The Amazing Maurice** …winners all.
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### Author:  [@Dunawake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunawake)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2007, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964/13 "2007-11-27T23:49:44Z")
[QUOTE=silenus]
Terry Pratchett!
**A Hat Full of Sky, The Wee Free Men, The Amazing Maurice** …winners all.
[/QUOTE]
Never an age too young to get them hooked on Pratchett. 😃
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### Author:  [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2007, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964/14 "2007-11-28T00:01:06Z")
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.).
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### Author:  [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2007, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964/15 "2007-11-28T00:09:17Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2007, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964/16 "2007-11-28T00:18:10Z")
[QUOTE=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.).
[/QUOTE]
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.
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2007, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964/17 "2007-11-28T00:40:15Z")
[This](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=308215) thread should give you some ideas.
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### Author:  [@RedRosesForMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedRosesForMe)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2007, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964/18 "2007-11-28T00:44:46Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2007, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964/19 "2007-11-28T00:52:53Z")
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**?
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### Author:  [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2007, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/book-suggestions-for-children/427964/20 "2007-11-28T00:53:46Z")
_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.
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