# Poll: Robert Anson Heinlein Juveniles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438 "2010-11-30T18:43:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438/1 "2010-11-30T18:43:19Z")
So there’s always room for another Heinlein thread, isn’t there? In this, I thought we’d poll out the juveniles. The books that popularized Heinlein with the SF community and a million young boys in the forties and fifties. I’m going to define ‘juvenile’ as coming from the list available at the wikipedia bibliography. In it they list works by year of publication but mark those generally considered juveniles. So what say ye, my friends? Which of RAHs early books is worth the win? I’ve set the poll to allow for more than one answer and I’ll chime in later with my choices. But I want to hear the whys and wherefores of your choice! ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438/2 "2010-11-30T18:52:44Z")
If I had to pick one, it would definitely be Have Space Suit, Will Travel. But Between Planets and Time for the Stars are very close. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438/3 "2010-11-30T18:54:29Z")
Ouch. What a choice to have to make. It’s hard to seperate _which is his best_ from _which is my favorite._ **Tunnel In The Sky** and **The Rolling Stones** are my faves, but **Podkayne** and **Citizen** are better works. **Citizen of the Galaxy** by a RCH. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438/4 "2010-11-30T19:05:51Z")
Well, I’m a huge fan of his juveniles, so I voted for all of them except Time for the Stars, Rocket Ship Galileo and Space Cadet. None of those three are complete crap, but they never did much for me ( well, okay - TftS _is_ kinda crap IMHO ). Of the rest…hmmm… 1.) Citizen of the Galaxy and Have Spacesuit, Will Travel 2.) Tunnel in the Sky 3.) Star Beast ( rollicking fun ) 4.) Red Planet ( a bit inflated perhaps, sentimental favorite ) 5.) Starman Jones 6.) Farmer in the Sky 7.) Podkayne of Mars ( I _like_ bratty Podkayne ) 8.) The Rolling Stones 9.) Between Planets However all except the first two or three are subject to shuffling on any given day. I could give a solid argument as to why, say, Between Planets is better than Star Beast. Heinlein’s best novel was likely the The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and my own personal favorite work of his is probably the collection The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hogue. But his juveniles really were his greatest achievement taken as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438/5 "2010-11-30T19:05:52Z")
Like \*\*silenus \*\*I had a problem sorting favourites from the best but in the end went for **Have Spacesuit** , **The Star Beast** , and the \*\*Rolling Stones \*\*- probably in that order. ---
**Author:** ![Rattlehead02](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rattlehead02/32/3944_2.png) [@Rattlehead02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rattlehead02)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438/6 "2010-11-30T19:12:18Z")
I haven’t read (or listened to the audiobooks of) enough of the juvies to make a worthy vote (Only Citizen of the Galaxy and Farmer in the Sky, both of which I really liked). But I am curious as to whether Orphans of the Sky is considered a juvenile? Seems like it to me. Or was that an oversight? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438/7 "2010-11-30T19:40:36Z")
_OotS_ was originally serialized in **Astounding**. IIRC, it wasn’t part of RAH’s contract with Scribner’s. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438/8 "2010-11-30T19:45:36Z")
\*Have Space Suit \*with \*Citizen \*and \*Rolling Stones \*tied for second. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438/9 "2010-11-30T19:54:41Z")
My favorite is _Space Cadet_, but I figured that three was about the right number to vote for, so I also placed votes for _Tunnel in the Sky_ and _The Rolling Stones_, in that order. The only one I actively dislike is _Time for the Stars_: Heinlein never really had a good grasp on relativity, and I can gloss over that when it’s an incidental point like in “Methuselah’s Children”, but when it’s the entire focus of a book, it’s too hard to ignore. > [@](#): > > OotS was originally serialized in Astounding. IIRC, it wasn’t part of RAH’s contract with Scribner’s. I know this, but I’ve never understood why it’s considered relevant. Who published something doesn’t change who the target audience was. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438/10 "2010-11-30T19:58:19Z")
I would say the best five of his juveniles – and I view these as being as good or better than most of the adult science fiction of the time – are \*Citizen of the Galaxy \*(one of his best novels, period), _Tunnel in the Sky, Farmer in the Sky, The Rolling Stones, and Star Beast_. \*Space Cadet, Between Planets, and Have Spacesuit, Will Travel \*are pretty good. There’s not much to recommend about _Time for the Stars, Starman Jones, and Red Planet_. \*Rocket Ship Galileo \*and \*Podkayne of Mars \*are steaming piles of shite. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438/11 "2010-11-30T20:26:16Z")
I ended up voting for 7 and I regret not also voting for _Red Planet_. I voted for these 7: _The Rolling Stones, Starman Jones, The Star Beast, Citizen of the Galaxy, Have Space Suit - Will Travel & Podkayne of Mars_ All of them were such a big part of my childhood. _Rocket Ship Galileo_ is the only one that I don’t enjoy rereading though it was the first that I read. RAH really is the Grand Master of Science Fiction. Lets see if the [poll supports](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=587454) this. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438/12 "2010-11-30T20:37:20Z")
_Have Spacesuit, Will Travel_ is probably responsible for me attending MIT, so that’s a sentimental favorite. I think that _Citizen of the Galaxy_ is probably the best of his juveniles. I also voted for _Podkayne_ and _The Rolling Stones_. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438/13 "2010-11-30T20:44:17Z")
Tunnel in the Sky has always been my favorite, doesn’t mean it’s the best, but it is my choice. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438/14 "2010-12-01T02:58:11Z")
Which Podkayne are we talking about here? And don’t forget, a lot of GIRLS read Heinlein juveniles, too, even though they were written for and marketed to boys. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438/15 "2010-12-01T03:12:39Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Which Podkayne are we talking about here? And don’t forget, a lot of GIRLS read Heinlein juveniles, too, even though they were written for and marketed to boys. If we’re talking Juveniles, it should mean the old version. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438/16 "2010-12-01T12:57:15Z")
I voted for Space Cadet, Starman Jones and Have Space Suit - Will Travel. Honestly, Space Suit has always been his finest work to me. Kip Russell is exactly the right character to inspire. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438/17 "2010-12-01T13:13:09Z")
Another one of those Heinlein Reading Girls checking in. Voted for _Citizen of the Galaxy_, \*The Rolling Stones \*& _Have Spacesuit Will Travel_. Not that I wouldn’t read anything of his if given the chance. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438/18 "2010-12-01T14:07:00Z")
Embarassingly, I voted for the only two I’ve read, but since I love them both I figure it’s ok. _Citizen of the Galaxy_ is probably the Heinlein book I’ve re-read the most (well, that or _Strainger_). It’s a great story and comes off my bookshelf with relative regularity. _Have Spacesuit_ . . . well, I’ve only read it once. But I remember reading it. I remember the exact book I checked out of the library in middle school; hardcover with that special library plastic protector on it. Dark space/stars cover with nothing but the text of the title on it. I don’t remember the whole story. I remember awesome and inspiring details of how the space suit looked/worked. I remember a trial of humanity kind of thing. Mostly, I remember being enthralled by the whole thing. A significant read in my sci-fi experience. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438/19 "2010-12-01T14:26:44Z")
I like the zaniness of “Have Spacesuit Will Travel.” A personal favorite isn’t on this list – I think it’s called “Orphans of the Sky” – takes place in a huge interstellar ship, that has been traveling so long (and has become radioactively dangerous in the outer hulls) that the occupants don’t realize it is not the whole universe. Re-read it many a time. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438/20 "2010-12-01T15:16:21Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > I like the zaniness of “Have Spacesuit Will Travel.” > > A personal favorite isn’t on this list – I think it’s called “Orphans of the Sky” – takes place in a huge interstellar ship, that has been traveling so long (and has become radioactively dangerous in the outer hulls) that the occupants don’t realize it is not the whole universe. Re-read it many a time. [You want the adult poll then](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=13201289#post13201289) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-robert-anson-heinlein-juveniles/562438.md?page=2)