posted
I'm compiling a list of must-haves for my children's library. I realized recently that I don't have a lot of reading material that is appropriate for younger readers. From cruising through some threads around here, I've come up with this list. I'd like to add more.
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Abadazad Series by J.M. DeMatteis, Mike Ploog (Illustrator) Abadazad: The Road to Inconceivable - Book #1 Abadazad: The Dream Thief - Book #2
Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander The Book of Three - Book #1 The Black Cauldron - Book #2 The Castle of Llyr - Book #3 Taran Wanderer - Book #4 The High King - Book #5
The Tripods Trilogy by John Christopher The White Mountains - Book #1 The City of Gold and Lead - Book #2 The Pool of Fire - Book #3
Futuretrack 5 by Robert Westall
The Wind in the Willows by Grahame, Kenneth
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
The High Seas Trilogy by Iain Lawrence The Wreckers - Book #1 The Smugglers - Book #2 The Buccaneers - Book #3
Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer (Recommended by fan of the Eragon Books) Artemis Fowl - Book #1 Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident - Book #2 Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code - Book #3 Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception - Book #4 Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony - Book #5 Series still ongoing
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket The Bad Beginning - Book #1 The Reptile Room - Book #2 The Wide Window - Book #3 The Miserable Mill - Book #4 The Austere Academy - Book #5 The Ersatz Elevator - Book #6 The Vile Village - Book #7 The Hostile Hospital - Book #8 The Carnivorous Carnival - Book #9 The Slippery Slope - Book #10 The Grim Grotto - Book #11 The Penultimate Peril - Book #12 The End - Book #13
Holes by Louis Sachar
Young Wizards Series by Diane Duane So You Want to Be a Wizard - Book #1 Deep Wizardry - Book #2 High Wizardry - Book #3 A Wizard Abroad - Book #4 The Wizard's Dilemma - Book #5 A Wizard Alone - Book #6 Wizard's Holiday - Book #7 Wizards at War - Book #8 A Wizard of Mars (projected: May 2007) - Book #9 Continuing Series - Book #10
The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
I Want to Go Home! by Gordon Korman
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede Dealing with Dragons - Book #1 Searching for Dragons - Book #2 Calling on Dragons - Book #3 Talking to Dragons. - Book #4
Deltora Quest Series by Emily Rodda The Forests of Silence - Book #1 The Lake of Tears - Book #2 The City of the Rats - Book #3 The Shifting Sands - Book #4 Dread Mountain - Book #5 The Maze of the Beast - Book #6 The Valley of the Lost - Book #7 Return to Del - Book #8
Half Magic by Edward Eager
The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper Over Sea, Under Stone - Book #1 The Dark is Rising - Book #2 Greenwitch - Book #3 The Grey King - Book #4 Silver on the Tree - Book #5
Redwall Series by Brian Jacques In order of publication: | Chronological Order: Redwall (1986) | Lord Brocktree Mossflower (1988) | The Legend of Luke (Book II) Mattimeo (1989) | Martin the Warrior Mariel of Redwall (1991) | Mossflower Salamandastron (1992) | The Legend of Luke (Books I, III) Martin the Warrior (1993) | Outcast of Redwall The Bellmaker (1994) | Mariel of Redwall Outcast of Redwall (1995) | The Bellmaker The Pearls of Lutra (1996) | Salamandastron The Long Patrol (1997) | Redwall Marlfox (1998) | Mattimeo The Legend of Luke (1999) | The Pearls of Lutra Lord Brocktree (2000) | The Long Patrol The Taggerung (2001) | Marlfox Triss (2002) | The Taggerung Loamhedge (2003) | Triss Rakkety Tam (2004) | Loamhedge High Rhulain (2005) | Rakkety Tam Eulalia (2007) | High Rhulain | Eulalia Watership Down by Richard Adams
Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula K. Le Guin A Wizard of Earthsea - Book #1 The Tombs of Atuan - Book #2 The Farthest Shore - Book #3
Moonsinger Series by Andre Norton Moon of 3 Rings - Book #1 Exiles of the Stars - Book #2 Flight in Yiktor - Book #3 Dare to Go A-Hunting - Book #4 Brother to Shadows - Book #5
How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found by Sara Nickerson
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
The Winter of Magic's Return by Pamela F. Service
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
The Hero and the Crown The Blue Sword Both by Robin McKinley
The Wind on Fire Trilogy by William Nicholson The Wind Singer - Book #1 Slaves of the Mastery - Book #2 Firesong - Book #3
Dial-a-Ghost The Great Ghost Rescue Not Just a Witch The Star of Kazan The Haunting of Hiram C. Hopgood Which Witch? Monster Mission Journey to the River Sea The Secret of Platform 13 The Morning Gift Magic Flutes A Countess Below the Stairs Madensky Square A Song for Summer A Company of Swans Island of the Aunts The Haunting of Granite Falls The Beasts of Clawstone Castle Worm & the Toffee Nosed Princess A Song For Summer All by Eva Ibbotson
Calico Captive The Witch of Blackbird Pond The Bronze Bow The Sign of the Beaver All by Elizabeth George Speare
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien
posted
I'd also add Sword of Shannara(and the other two in the original trilogy), and the Magic Kingdom of Lanover series(starts with Magic Kingdom for sale-Sold!), all by Terry Brooks.
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posted
I'd add Flying Solo by Roald Dahl to that list. In fact, just about anything by Dahl is enjoyable to read at any age.
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quote:Originally posted by Tinros: I'd also add Sword of Shannara(and the other two in the original trilogy), and the Magic Kingdom of Lanover series(starts with Magic Kingdom for sale-Sold!), all by Terry Brooks.
The only one of those books I'd put in would be Magic Kingdom for Sale -- Sold!.
quote:The Lord of the Rings.
That's a bit too heavy to really be good as YA fiction, IMO. Not that it cannot be enjoyed by young adults, but that's not the same thing.
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Harry Potters Not on there?! ASTONISHMENT! Blue Girl Books by Cynthia Voigt The Alice Books Han Nolan books, especially Dancer on the Edge More later Maniac Magee by Spinelli and other books by him like Stargirl Holes by Louis Sachar and his Sideways Stories
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posted
This list of Newberry Award winners might be useful. I asked my wife what 10 books she would want our children to read before they turned 14. This was her response.
- To Kill a Mockingbird - The Giver - Farenheit 451 - a lot of Nancy Drew - Prydain chronicles - Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry - Briar Rose (by Jane Yolen) - Dragonwings (by Laurence Yep) - Narnia - Wind from an Enemy Sky (by D'Arcy McNickle)
My list looks more like this - Johnny Tremain - Prydain (love Lloyd Alexander) - Bridge to Terebithia - lots of Encyclopedia Brown (inspired by her choice of Nancy Drew) - Narnia - Ender's Game/Speaker for the Dead - L'Engle (not just the trilogy, many others like Arms of the Starfish, Ring of Endless Light, Many Waters, etc.) *Interestingly, L'Engle was a favorite of mine as a YA, but I can't read her now; her writing drives me to distraction - Dark is Rising - Island of the Blue Dolphins and The Black Pearl (by Scott O'Dell) - The Westing Game (by Ellen Raskin) - The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree (by Bill Brittain)
<edit>Oh, and can't forget Summer of the Monkeys, Where the Red Fern Grows, My Side of the Mountain, Hatchet, and Old Yeller, all great growing up stories for boys</edit>
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posted
Heinlein wrote some pretty good YA novels. Just be certain you get the children's stuff, because his adult novels definitely have content that may not be appropriate for children. These three books should be fine for kids:
Have Spacesuit, Will Travel Citizen of the Galaxy Tunnel in the Sky
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posted
A couple more I thought of, after perusing the Newberry list:
Fog Magic (by Julia Sauer) Tuck Everlasting (by Natalie Babbitt) Little House on the Prarie books King of the Wind (by Marguerite Henry)
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The Twinkie Squad Who is Bugs Potter? and Bugs Potter LIVE at Nickaninny! This Can't Be Happening at MacDonald Hall Go Jump in the Pool Beware the Fish Our Man Weston Son of Interflux
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posted
Does anybody remember the series of books that involved a Mormon boy named Tom who went away to a boarding school and wreaked lots of havoc? (I want to say it was Catholic school, which of course presented all sorts of issues as well as opportunities for pranks, but I could be wrong about that...)
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posted
So glad to see that you put the recent Abadazad books on the list. Two more books are comming out this year. Anyone who hasn't looked at these is missing a great read.
My wife's favorite book should be on this list: Black Beauty by Anna Sewell.
And how about a great western: Shane by Jack Schaefer.
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quote:Originally posted by Kasie H: Does anybody remember the series of books that involved a Mormon boy named Tom who went away to a boarding school and wreaked lots of havoc? (I want to say it was Catholic school, which of course presented all sorts of issues as well as opportunities for pranks, but I could be wrong about that...)
Sounds like "Great Brain at the Academy" to me. I never read the books, but my wife says they're great. Here's a wiki on the series.
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quote:Originally posted by Kasie H: Does anybody remember the series of books that involved a Mormon boy named Tom who went away to a boarding school and wreaked lots of havoc? (I want to say it was Catholic school, which of course presented all sorts of issues as well as opportunities for pranks, but I could be wrong about that...)
I remember the Great Brain books, whose title character came from a predominately Mormon town in Utah and went off to a Catholic school which gave him all sorts of opportunities for pranks.
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posted
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (I haven't read the sequel yet, but I imagine it will be awesome)
No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman
Anything by Tamora Pierce, but particularly her Circle of Magic and The Circle Opens books.
Anything by Diana Wynne Jones, but particularly Howl's Moving Castle, Dogsbody and the Chrestomanci quartet.
And here are some more obscure ones that I definitely want any kids I might have to have:
Garret Freymann-Weyr's books: My Heartbeat The Kings Are Already Here When I was Older
(Warning: some of you may find these books inappropriate, but I loved them as a teen and I found that their ambivalence and emotional tenderness meant a lot to me.)
Kristen D. Randle's books: Slumming Breaking Rank The Only Alien On the Planet
The Only Alien on the Planet (as the amazon review suggests) is very unrealistic in plot, but I loved it when I found it in ninth grade and immediately talked all my friends into reading it, and they loved it too.
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quote:Anything by Tamora Pierce, but particularly her Circle of Magic and The Circle Opens books.
Anything by Diana Wynne Jones, but particularly Howl's Moving Castle, Dogsbody and the Chrestomanci quartet.
I'd like to strongly second Diana Wynne Jones and add the Alanna books (Song of the Lioness Quartet) by Tamora Pierce. They were where I started out and they are still my favourites of her books.
Other than that, you appear to have hit upon most of my favourites.
EDIT:
Remembered one right after I hit 'post': "Invitation to the Game" by Monica Hughes. Great book .
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Louisa May Alcott (Little Women, 8 Cousins and Rose in Bloom to start off with) L M Montgomery (the Anne of Green Gable books) Frances Hodgson Burnett (The Secret Garden and A Little Princess) Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian
Emily Rodda has written two series of fantasy books for children that are extremely popular in Australia - the Deltora Quest books seem to do very well with girls in particular. The Rowan of Rin series is also good.
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Boon
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posted
Looks like you're focusing on fiction, correct?
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quote: <edit>Oh, and can't forget Summer of the Monkeys, Where the Red Fern Grows, My Side of the Mountain, Hatchet, and Old Yeller, all great growing up stories for boys</edit>
*scratching head* Except for Old Yeller, I loved all of those when I was a kid, and I'm a girl. And I wasn't particularly tomboyish, either. Huh. I wonder what that says about me?
Books I'd add to the list:
- Libby on Wednesday and The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatly Snyder (She probably has other good ones, but those are the only ones I've read.) - The Mozart Season by Virginia Euwer Wolff - The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and Nothing but the Truth by Avi - everything by Marguerite Henry (Misty of Chincoteague, King of the Wind, etc.) - The Black Stallion by Walter Farley (at least that one, if not all the rest in the series as well) - The Last Silk Dress by Ann Rinaldi (I'd wait till at least 12 for that one, though. Nothing really "adult" in it, but they do mention prostitution, and some of the ideas might be a little heavy for younger kids.) - The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White, and also Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web, although I liked Trumpet a lot better than the other two. - Beauty by Robin McKinley - Not quite a must-read, but A Well-Timed Enchantment by Vivian Vande Velde is a lot of fun, as are other works of hers whose titles escape me at the moment.
And I'll second the L.M. Montgomery, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Francis Hodgson Burnett recommendations.
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quote: <edit>Oh, and can't forget Summer of the Monkeys, Where the Red Fern Grows, My Side of the Mountain, Hatchet, and Old Yeller, all great growing up stories for boys</edit>
*scratching head* Except for Old Yeller, I loved all of those when I was a kid, and I'm a girl. And I wasn't particularly tomboyish, either. Huh. I wonder what that says about me?
Yeah, after I wrote it I thought I should probably have said about boys rather than for boys. I know plenty of girls who liked those books.
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posted
My favorte Great Brain book was Me And My Little Brain which focuses on his little brother after he the Great Brain went away to catholic school.
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posted
Wow this is a great list. I'm going to have to keep this for when I have grandchildren some day.
The only thing I was going to say, which apparently has already been pointed out by others, is that Iw as surprised you only had one Madeleine L'Engle book. All her books are good -- in fact there were some I liked better than Wrinkle in Time. But you need the whole series.
posted
I wonder if we can make this Young Adult list as a sub-page of the Hatrackian Film and Literature web link (which I have bookmarked for easy referral).
That would be great. Except I don't remember which user created that (he should put his Hatrack SN at the top of the page there or something
posted
Books by Betsy Byars. She was my favourite as a kid. Daphne's Book is another book I loved in Jr High school Also, the Wind Blows Backwards was rather good for older kids, like in high school...
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Paul Stewart: The Edge Chronicles Not Eragon Garth Nix: Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen Garth Nix: The Seventh Tower Series Philip Ardagh: The Eddie Dickens Trilogy Neil Gaimon: Coraline Philip Pullman: His Dark Materials The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963 Patricia McKillip: The Riddlemaster of Hed(trilogy) Mary Stewart: The Crystal Cave series TH WHite: The Once and Future King Ray Bradbury: Dandelion Wine, The Martian Chronicles A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Dorothy Rhoades: The Corn Grows Ripe As many myths as you can get your hands on Jane Yolen: Anything she's written Fannie Flagg: Daisy May and the Miracle Man Roald Dahl: Everything Louis Sachar The Wayside School series Lloyd Alexander: Time Cat Jaws(when the kids are about twelve, for "The Chapter")(Was it 7?) Jerry Spinelli: Star Girl more than Maniac Magee Sid Fleischman: The Whipping Boy Gary Paulsen: Nightjohn Nancy Springer: Rowan Hood Robert Newton Peck: A Day No Pigs WOuld Die
Cornelia Funke: Inkheart and Inkspell Tracy Mack: Birdland
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posted
Primal, Scholastic also has a neat site now where they have done each book by reading level. I can find the link if you want.
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