My 10-year-old is bilingual. We have just finished reading The Hobbit, and he loves it. He read Terry Practchett's Guards! Guards! by himself; but I am not sure how well he understands the book.
The problem is that he reads whatever books he stumbles upon. I hope that he can read in a more structured manner and acquire a good taste. As a Tolkien fan, I think The Lord of the Rings might be a good idea. But I am concerned that he might find the language too difficult and the theme too dark.
I am looking for fantasy or sci-fi novels that are a bit on the brighter side and not too cheesy. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks!
by Ancient_Fly4378
27 Comments
Try the Deltora Quest series by Emily Rodda
ursula k. le guin’s tales of earthsea is very good and, i think, offers a perspective on life that may help a kid growing up. it’s not the easiest read, but if he can read lotr, he can handle earthsea
If you can, I’d hold off the Lord of the Rings for a couple of years and the Earthsea books will be great then too. How about the Narnia books? Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl books might suit the sense of humour Terry Pratchett appeals to. He might like Michele Paver’s Chronicles of Darkness books starting Wolf Brother (set in prehistoric), or some of the Garth Nix books like the Seventh Tower series
What is he bilingual in by the way?
PS I really wouldn’t worry about ‘a structured manner’, my generation came into reading via truckloads of Enid Blytons (alongside Narnia and other classics) still able to recognise later that her books were neither very varied nor very well written.
Diane Duane’s Young Wizards series.
Also, tell him that you think the language in Lord of the Rings might be too difficult, he’ll finish the Silmarillion by 12 if you say that.
The Overlander Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. The lead character is a ten year old boy.
Redwall series is great. Talking anthropomorphic forest creatures eat lots of great food and have adventures that aren’t too dark.
The Prydain Chronicles is a good one for kids! It’s charming and funny and has plenty of adventure and lovable characters, and I think Taran is a good protagonist for kids to read—he’s always a fundamentally decent guy doing his best, but he also grows and matures a lot throughout the series.
I enjoyed the Reckless books by Cornelia Funke
I always recommend Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. Loved that book at his age.
See my:
* [Readers 1: For Children Who Want to Start Reading](https://www.reddit.com/r/Recommend_A_Book/comments/18bwy6a/readers_1_for_children_who_want_to_start_reading/) list (two posts).
* [Readers 2: Here are the the resources and threads I have about books for adolescents/adults who want to start reading (“Get me reading again/I’ve never read”)](https://www.reddit.com/r/Recommend_A_Book/comments/19f48jl/readers_2_here_are_the_the_resources_and_threads/) list (thirteen posts).
Diana Wynne Jones was a children’s books author, who wrote wonderful fantasy books. The Chrestomanci books feature different stories in the same universe, where there are parallel Earths, many of them with magic. The books are funny and gripping and with twists and turns in the story.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrestomanci](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrestomanci)
The shattered sea trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. Joe is the best modern fantasy author alive in my opinion and his shattered sea trilogy is aimed at around 12 and up, but if your son likes the hobbit I’m sure he’d be fine with it
Farmer Giles of Harn! Its written by Tolkien!!!!
Its a fantasy/comedy book about a common farmer who randomly becomes a dragon hunter.
I loved it!!!
hoenstly reading whatever books i stumbled upon as a child was the key to acquiring good taste. structured, planned, forced reading (for eg. prizes for reading the most) made me hate doing it. not saying thats what youre doing at all. i love parents taking an interest in their kids reading! just saying dont stress about structure too much.
Edit: especially with not understanding the book! that doesnt matter too much as long as theres nothing inappropriate. because one of the best feelings is growing with a book and acquiring new meaning that went over your head as a child.
Riftwar Saga – It can be dark, but it is lighthearted for the most part. There is nothing I can remember in it that I would be concerned about a child reading.
Riyria Revelations is clean fun, but you may have to have a conversation about prostitution with your son.
If he enjoyed the Pratchett, look into the Tiffany Aching sub-series of Discworld. It starts with *The Wee Free Men* – it’s fantastic!
Does his being bilingual (you didn’t say which languages he speaks) somehow relate to his reading choices?
*The Enchanted Forest Chronicles*? Funny mixed-up fairy-tale adventures. There are four books, the first and third with female POVs and the second and fourth with male POVs. The fourth book was written first and can be read first if he wants. (Mild spoilers for the other books.)
Terry Pratchett’s The Wee Free Men is for children
Diana Wynne Jones!
Really excellent world and character building, humor, and good values such as empathy, everyday courage, and we all have far much more in common than we are different.
A little stumbling is good.
My son read the whole of the Lord of rings when he was 10 and loved it. Voracious reader. Hilariously mispronounced certain words but understood what was going on.
The keys to the kingdom are super books for that age as well – Garth Nix. And the Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud is also great.
I second Narnia and also recommend The Neverending Story by Michael Ende. Great book for kids which has also been made into movies.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27712.The_Neverending_Story?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_17
The *Wings of Fire* books.
Alan Garner’s beautifully written books are wonderful; try The Owl Service. Some are more ‘fantasy’ than others.
Also rec Diana Wynne Jones
He’s slightly too young yet imo for Philip Pullman’s books – maybe in a year or so.
I read LOTR at eleven, you could try him on the first book in the series, and see if he takes to it? Never too early for Tolkien!
I wouldn’t worry about a ten-year-old “acquiring a good taste”, at that point just let him read anything he’s excited about instead of making it something he needs to “be good at” and make choices that please you. making suggestions and giving opportunities and variety is great of course but beyond that, I would not worry about what he reads, as long as it’s age appropriate.