Childrens/ introduction to fantasy and Sci-fi recommendations

[Carrie]

Greetings and salutations, I'm wondering if I could get a few childrens/introduction to fantasy and science fiction recommendations for a 7 year old. She's reading chapter books on her own like the Dear Dumb Diary,The Diary of a Wimpy Kid and the Rainbow Faries books. I've read out loud some like The Magic Theif and Inkheart. But I would like to find some that she can read herself. I have toyed with the idea of Harry Potter but I am not sure if the later books would really be suitable just yet. Thank you in advanced.

[Jonathon]

I remember I absolutely loved A Wrinkle in Time when I was around that age. Its recommended reading age is about 9-12, but maybe give it a quick read and see if you think it's suitable? It's only about 200 pages so you could breeze through it. Ummm check out The City of Ember as well.

And what about Roald Dahl? I read all his books when I was about 6 or 7 years old. The BFG, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, Danny the Champion of the World and The Twits were my favourites. You can get a boxed set of all his novels now for a reasonable price. They're suitable for quite young kids but they're just really good fun and wonderfully quirky and imaginative.

I'll keep having a think of more books and get back to you!

[Liam || Books 'n Beards]

Ender's Game is fantastic for younger readers, although possibly a bit older than 7. I'd say she'd be alright with the first three-four Harry Potter novels - they don't get particularly dark/older-focused until book 5 - but she might not want to stop there if she gets through them.

[Carrie]

Jonathon wrote: "I remember I absolutely loved A Wrinkle in Time when I was around that age. It's recommended reading age is about 9-12, but maybe give it a quick read and see if you think it's suitabl..."

The City of Ember sounds interesting, I hadnt heard about it before. The only Roald Dahl that we have done was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Which she did enjoy when I read it to her.
Thank you for the suggestions.

[Carrie]

Liam wrote: "Ender's Game is fantastic for younger readers, although possibly a bit older than 7. I'd say she'd be alright with the first three-four Harry Potter novels - they don't get particular..."

Thank you.

See that's what I was thinking with regards to Harry Potter.

[Sandi]

Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
Seven-Day Magic by Edward Eager
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher and Jennifer Murdley's Toad by Bruce Coville or Into the Land of the Unicorns(he has several series that would probably be suitable)
Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander or Time Cat
My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents or The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey
Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

and in a year or so try The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
Red Planet by Robert A. Heinlein

These are some of the books my daughter enjoyed at that age (I still have her AR list from then). She also enjoyed Roald Dahl's books. Most of the above books are parts of series so if she enjoys one, you will have more from which to peruse and choose.

[Melanie, the neutral party]

My Little Pony and The Wizard of Oz books are great independent reads at that age. You can also read the older books to her (like Harry Potter, The Hobbit, The Thirteenth Unicorn, Lemony Snickett) a chapter at a time each night. Makes for great family time and you get to read a book too.

[Betelgeuze]

As far as I remember the writing of the Harry Potter books does not become more difficult in the later books, they're just bigger.

These are some fantasy children's books of different levels.

The Golden Compass
Tailchaser's Song
The Lightning Thief
Abarat
Artemis Fowl
Etiquette & Espionage

[Carrie]

Sandi wrote: "Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
Seven-Day Magic by Edward Eager
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher and [book:Jennifer Murdle..."

Oh wow thank you for the large selection. I can not wait to check them out.

[Carrie]

Betelgeuze wrote: "As far as I remember the writing of the Harry Potter books does not become more difficult in the later books, they're just bigger.

These are some fantasy children's books of different levels.

[b..."

Thank you. It has been quite sometime since I have read the Harry Potter books myself so for remembering the difficulty level is far from my memory.

[Carrie]

Melanie wrote: "My Little Pony and The Wizard of Oz books are great independent reads at that age. You can also read the older books to her (like Harry Potter, The Hobbit, The Thirteenth Unicorn, Lemony Snickett)..."

Oh she loves My Little Pony. I had thought about perhaps reading the Harry Potter books to her. I have actually read parts of The Hobbit to her when she was just a baby. We actually spoke about that this morning when I was puting our new Hobbit chibis on the bookcase. She told me she didn't remember me doing so. I would have been pretty impressed if she had.

[Trike]

My cousin's 7-year-old LOVES the Adventure Time comics.

I really liked The Enormous Egg at that age.

I hear good things about How to Train Your Dragon and The Borrowers, and the bonus being they also have movies based on them.

[Carrie]

^Thank you she has watched Adventure Time with her father I should see if I can get my hands on some comics.

She wanted to buy the first How to Train Your Dragon book yesterday but the store never had a copy.

[Chris]

Nobody's mentioned Narnia yet...

There is Dragons at Crumbling Castle: And Other Stories, a recently published collection of short stories by Pratchett. He wrote them early in his career, and they're pretty well written.

[Carrie]

I actually have the Lightning Theif books mysrlf. Haven't read them yet, so I wasn't sure if they would be suitable. Thank you.

[Sarah]

My daughter absolutely loves the Wings of Fire series by Tui T. Sutherland. She's reread each book several times while waiting for the next in line to come out. I believe this author also does Spirit Animals which my daughter also loves and which may be a little easier than the Wings of Fire series. I'm trying to remember when my daughter started reading them but I think it was around 8 years old so it sounds like your daughter should be close. (My daughter really enjoyed the Dear Dumb Diary series as well).

[M.]

I remember really liking the Edge Chronicles around that age - the illustrations were fantastic too. The Chronicles of Narnia are always a safe bet as well. And of course Roald Dahl is brilliant.

[Carrie]

Sarah wrote: "My daughter absolutely loves the Wings of Fire series by Tui T. Sutherland. She's reread each book several times while waiting for the next in line to come out. I believe this author also does Sp..."

Thank you. I guess I will start with the Spirit Animals books then move on to the Wings of Fire ones.

[Carrie]

M. wrote: "I remember really liking the Edge Chronicles around that age - the illustrations were fantastic too. The Chronicles of Narnia are always a safe bet as well. And of course Roald Dahl is brilliant."

I've never heard of The Edge Chronicles. I will be sure to check them out. Thank you.

[Leonie]

Our kids loved Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton and Deltora Quest by Emily Rodda around that age.

[Freya]

Sorry I don't have a link as I'm on my phone but, The Fire Within by Chris D'Lacy is brilliant :)

[Rebecca]

Depending on the child, of courde... Some of the books I enjoyed are:


The City of Ember - a series of 4 I think
The Golden Compass - a trilogy
Piers Anthony's Xanth series
The Chronicles of Narnia - 7 books
Frank L. Baum's Oz series
The Neverending Story
Uglies - series of ... 4?
The Giver - series of 4
Dragonsong trilogy
Animorphs series
The BFG

Just to name a few. Hope it helps.

[Carrie]

Leonie wrote: "Our kids loved Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton and Deltora Quest by [author:Emily Rodda|39..."

Part of the reason for making this request actually had to fo with Deltora Quest. The other day we had been at the used bookstore and the first book in the Deltora Dragon's books was there. I picked it up and read to her the back and she say "oh that sounds really interesting" and yes it did sound intrtesting. So of course then I had to buy it. It wasn't until getting home was I to discover that it was part of a world. So I made my request for at the library for book one of the series in which you have mentioned. Thank you.

[Carrie]

Freya wrote: "Sorry I don't have a link as I'm on my phone but, The Fire Within by Chris D'Lacy is brilliant :)"

I had randomly read one of thd books in that series many many years ago not knowing it was part of one when starting it. I agree this series would be great. Thank you.

[Carrie]

Rebecca wrote: "Depending on the child, of courde... Some of the books I enjoyed are:


The City of Ember - a series of 4 I think
The Golden Compass - a trilogy
Piers Anthony's Xanth series
The Chronicles of Narn..."

Thank you for the selection to go through.

[Leonie]

Carrie wrote: "Leonie wrote: "Our kids loved Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton and Deltora Quest by [author..."

That's great to hear, Carrie :) I had the pleasure of listening to the author (Emily Rodda) last week at the Mudgee Readers Festival

[Carrie]

^ I have never been to a readers festival that, rather jealous.

[Leonie]

Carrie wrote: "^ I have never been to a readers festival that, rather jealous."

They're lots of fun - both reader and writer festivals. There's always something happening, and the author panels and workshops are great!

[Kristin]

Ella Enchanted and Fairest by Gail Carson Levine are both excellent.

So many good ones have already been mentioned. I would ask for suggestions at your local library or bookstore if you can too, because there are always so many great kids books coming out. It's a great time to be a young reader!

An easy reader that my 2nd graders loved was Lunch Walks Among Us. I love Franny too for that matter. :)

[M♡]

Fairyland
There's a prequel you can read for free here to see if you enjoy the writing style and the world of Fairyland.
The series:
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There
The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two
The Boy Who Lost Fairyland

Sometimes a standalone is nice
A Snicker of Magic

I read these recently and loved them.

[Carrie]

Kristin wrote: "Ella Enchanted and Fairest by Gail Carson Levine are both excellent.

So many good ones have already been mentioned. I would ask for suggestions at your local library or..."

Thank you. Hopefully I'll have a more helpful person next time I'm at the bookstore. I was looking for some for myself but they just recommend books I either own or read. Haha.

[Carrie]

Melissa the Shelf Stalker wrote: "Fairyland
There's a prequel you can read for free here to see if you enjoy the writing style and the world of Fairyland.
The series:
[book:The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her O..."

Oh thank you, I'll be sure to check out that prequel.

[Cheryl]

Betelgeuze wrote: "As far as I remember the writing of the Harry Potter books does not become more difficult in the later books, they're just bigger.
[b..."

And darker, and more complex & sophisticated, and more mature.
Let the child be a child - she'll have plenty of time for books for older ppl when she's older. A good rule of thumb is that the child in the book should be one to three years older than the young reader.

I have lots of recommendations, I'll be back later to post them. Meanwhile, I just discovered [book:The Thief of Always|32638] which I recommend to all ages 9 up through adult.

[Rebecca]

The Monster Blood series is really good. Very imaginative and well written, imho. Its also good as a book on take, well read and fun.

[Diane L]

Half Magic by Edward Eager. Sandi recommended another in this series.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

Second the recommendation of the Animorphs series.

[Carrie]

Cheryl wrote: "Betelgeuze wrote: "As far as I remember the writing of the Harry Potter books does not become more difficult in the later books, they're just bigger.
[b..."

And darker, and more complex & sophist..."

Thank you, which part of the reason why Ive been holding back on them. Your rule sounds like a good rule to follow. Looking forward to your recommendations when you post them.

[Carrie]

Rebecca wrote: "The Monster Blood series is really good. Very imaginative and well written, imho. Its also good as a book on take, well read and fun."

The R.L Stine books?

[Carrie]

Diane L wrote: "Half Magic by Edward Eager. Sandi recommended another in this series.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

Second the recommendation of the Animorphs series."

I don't even remember if I myself have read the Phantom Tollbooth.

[Margaret]

Definitely treat yourself, if you haven't. :)

[Silvio]

Seems to me the kid should decide what's too scary.

[Freya]

I don't know how old your child is, but to give some context to the Harry Potter series, they were released over a ten year period 1997-2007 when I was between the ages of 6-15. Lots of my friends were read the first one as bedtime stories when they were 7, I was given the first three books when I was around 8 ish. I probably would have been fine reading them all before I hit my teens - it depends on the child and their maturity really.

I read Lord of The Rings by 11, and books by David Eddings, Terry Brooks (Shannara) and Anne McCaffrey by 13...

[Carrie]

She is 7.

[Angel]

It really depends on your daughter. Has she watched Harry Potter yet? I think Harry Potter is ok. When Rowling was trying to get published, the editor at Bloomsbury gave the first few chapters to his 8 year old to read who then begged to read the rest. This is actually what drove the publisher to give Rowling her first advance.

My husband Slade actually learned to read at age 5 by reading the Hobbit. His babysitter read him half the book, but when his parents no longer needed the babysitter's services, Slade was just dying to know what happened next and that's when he learned to read.

[Lilly]

A good series to start is also So You Want to Be a Wizard by Diane Duane

[Rebecca]

I realize my post had a couple of errors in it. I appologize. It was the Monster Blood Tattoo series by D. M. Cornish, and I meant to say book on tape.

[Carrie]

Angel wrote: "It really depends on your daughter. Has she watched Harry Potter yet? I think Harry Potter is ok. When Rowling was trying to get published, the editor at Bloomsbury gave the first few chapters to h..."

I never knew that.

[Carrie]

Lilly wrote: "A good series to start is also So You Want to Be a Wizard by Diane Duane"

Thank you, I believe our library has a copy.

[Carrie]

Rebecca wrote: "I realize my post had a couple of errors in it. I appologize. It was the Monster Blood Tattoo series by D. M. Cornish, and I meant to say book on tape."

Ok ok. Thank you, I'll check them out.

[Mary]

Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon
The 13 Clocks by James Thurber
Of Giants and Ice by Shelby Bach
The Cloak Society by Jeramey Kraatz (You may want to have Villains Rising and Fall of Heroes on hand)
Remarkable by Lizzie K. Foley
A Drowned Maiden's Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz
The Court of Stone Children by Eleanor Cameron

[Carrie]

Oh thank you Mary