Books for an advanced reading soon to be 9-year-old

[wolverine]

A couple years ago I let my friend's nine-year-old borrow Ender's Game and he loved it.

So did I.

At abou that age I started reading Louis L'Amour and I still think he is an awesome storyteller who would be appropriate for younger audiences.

[Lady Gwynhyfvar]

I'm going to helicopter in here because it's my thing- 15 years as a children's bookseller + 2 kids of my own- I could talk kids books all day :)

There are some great recs here- Joan Aiken, DW Jones, Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising, and (it goes without saying) GRRM's Ice Dragon (it's out of print but you can still find it) The Graveyard Book is great (one of my favs) if your child doesn't scare easily- you'll be able to judge if you read the first chapter yourself. The Catherine Valente book is one of the best I've read in years.

Other favorites- L.M.Boston's Green Knowe series, Cornelia Funke's Dragon Rider or The Thief Lord, any Bruce Coville, Suzanne Collins' Gregor series, Michael Hoeye has a great mystery series featuring anthropomorphized rodents (a decent hook for Redwall in a couple of years) and while I always lean toward fantasy- everyone needs a good laugh. Roddy Doyle and Philip Ardagh rock the comedy books for kids.

As for YA recs- be wary. Just because an 8 or 9 year old can read something doesn't mean they should. The point I like to make is that even minor themes that are too advanced can turn a kid off an otherwise great book and spoil it for them- there are plenty of great selections in the "young" or "middle" reader category to keep even the best readers going. (If you're hesitating at continuing Harry Potter, I doubt you need me to tell you that.)

Sorry if this is long and annoying. It's somewhat of a passion for me :*)

Eta- One more to keep on your radar- John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series is kind of like ASoIaF for kids- medieval type fantasy setting, usually for 10-14 y.o. but worth remembering.

[Underfoot]

I think I read Tamora Pierce's books around that age, but he might be a bit young for them, or at least some of them. Does he mostly like fantasy, or does he like other stuff as well?

If so, would recommend E.B. White's books, I think he'd be about the right age for that. Also: Indian in the Cupboard, The Giver, Artemis Fowl, The Seventh Tower, My Side of the Mountain, Andrew Clements, and the Hardy Boys.

[RedEyedGhost]

The dark is rising?

This

A Wrinkle in Time?

and this.

[Darth Richard]

Narnia?

[Gertrude]

The Chronicles of Prydain by Alexander Lloyd were my first foray into fantasy and I loved loved loved them. Still do. It's based on Welsh mythology and follows the hero Taran in a coming of age arc.The first one is The Book of Three. There is some scary stuff in it, but it's a very appropriate level of scary - the age range is 8 and up according to Amazon. (mainly reanimated armies - not that zombies would phase kids these days)

eta: and it's number 13 on the list posted earlier! I, of course think it should be higher, but I'll take 13. It also has another favorite, Watership Down, on that list. I wouldn't have thought to recommend it, but I can't see why not. It's bunnies!

[Argonath Diver]

I remember loving Prydain as a kid, as well.

More illustrated kids book than novel, but I absolutely adored Dinotopia and its sequel - the YA novelizations didn't grip me the same, though. But, I was a huge dinosaur nut, so that's a big bias.

I loved the Brian Jacques Redwall series back then. And anything by Roald Dahl. Man, it's depressing to think how much more I read as a 10 year old than I do now.

[Whitestripe]

Thanks guys!

He's read Narnia and he got the Prydian books for Christmas, but he hasn't read them yet, There's a series by Erin Hunter called Warriors that he's nearly done with. He read the Percy Jackson books, and would probably read the Heroes of Olympus series, but I think they are too YA. His grandparents got him a bunch of Dahl books for his birthday, so they are waiting for him at their house. We read the EB White books aloud over the summer, but he might want to read them on his own. He took the first Redwall book on vacation last year but it didn't really click, however, he was a young 8 so it might have been too early. (and who wants to read when you have your cousins to run around with?) I read the first Aretmis Fowl book and absolutely hated it, but then again, I am not (nor ever have been) a 9 year old boy. I just bought From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler and The Graveyard Book. (I don't think it's too creepy, I think he'd love it and if not him, then my daughter) I think we have Treasure Island and Watership Down on the shelves at home from our childhoods.I want to suggest Jules Verne also. I read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea at about that age (I did a book report in it!) and loved it. I loved A Wrinkle in Time and all the books that followed, and I think I read them around grade 3, so I should probably get those as well.(I only hesitate because I remember some pretty heavy Christian and stereotypical gender roles in those books and that's not really where I want to go.) I never read Susan Cooper, but I wonder if my husband did. Henry is more likely to read something that he picks out on his own, so my plan is to stock his bookshelf with age appropriate books of all genres and just let him pick and choose what he wants. Actually my plan is to have the bookshelf for BOTH the kids, but I feel like I have a much better handle on what middle reader girls would like (having been one myself!) What I worry about, with the popularity of YA now, is what Lady Gwynfvar mentions, just because he can read something that is popular, should he? And, don't get me wrong, I don't want to helicopter parent his reading to death, I think what you read is a very personal choice, and I don't want to stifle that at all I just want to make sure that he's got appropriate and engaging things to enjoy.

[Nearly Headless Ned]

TH White's Merlin series.

Le Guinns Earthsea Quartet.

Mary Stewart's Arthurian trilogy

Guy N Smiths Crab series.

[3CityApache]

Yes, Jules Verne is a great idea. Ma dad used to read The Mysterious Island to us when I was a bit younger than 9 and I was completely fascinated by that book. Enough to create a complete rewrite as a comic book (some 40 notebook pages long).

I don't know if they are available in English translation, but Alfred Szklarski's The Adventures of Tomek Wilmowski (ten books series) is beautifully written and haven't aged a bit, though it was written more than half a century ago. I loved those books maniacally early in my teenage years.

I'd also definitely recommend Pratchett's young adult books, Tiffany Aching series and Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, as well as Nation and (probably) Dodger (I haven't read the last one myself).

Edit. Sorry, just noticed, that Tomek Wilmowski books haven't been translated to English.

[drawkcabi]

The Great Brain series by John Fitzgerald featuring a main character that's too smart for his own good but told from the pov of his younger (and from his own opinion, not as bright) brother who is continually vexed by his older brother's schemes - usually along with the whole town.

I loved those books when I discovered them at 12 and will still reread them now and then. Great historic background as children have adventures in a frontier type town right at the time Utah became a state (1896). The main characters are Catholic, not Mormon, but religion is not an essential part of the series but does play a part in filling out the background of the stories.

[WilliamofToms]

The Belgariad by David Eddings should be ok.

[Sun]

Michael Ende's The Never Ending Story.

[Serious Callers Only]

The Wren series is ok, if he doesn't mind reading about gurls.

[Whitestripe]

I'm not sure how he feels about reading about gurls. I should ask. ;)

[Lummel]

How about some John Christopher? The Tripods Trilogy maybe or The Sword of Spirits Trilogy? Admittedly particularly in Tripods there aren't many girls, but that might not be a huge concern to a nine year old boy :dunno:

[Migey]

For a 9 year old?

Don't think about what to give them, just think about the few things they shouldn't read, although those are few in my opinion. If a 9 year old wants to read this stuff, they are presumeably quite intelligent and should be able to handle most of what you could throw at them, and there's no real point (except in some extreme circumstances) in coddling them and withholding certain books. I was 11 when I read ASoIaF, up to A Feast for Crows, and loved it. I've read quite a lot of 'gritty' stuff at a young age, but also a lot of more standard young fantasy.

Sure bets are David Eddings (not great, but good for young readers, and it's handy for talking about fantasy because it clearly establishes a lot of very common tropes and is great for comparison to more advanced works). Sanderson is a definate for any young reader. Robin Hobb would be great for kids, as would Robert Jordan or Trudi Canavan. There is a lot of material from these authors, which could easily keep him occupied for months or longer, depending on how fast and often he reads.

Depending on how discerning he is with quality, and how diverse he is with genres, you could also give him some shittier, but entertaining stuff. Eoin Colfer (Artemis Fowl), Anthony Horowitz (Alex Rider) are fine ish for young readers, but not as good as what I've recommended above. Phillip Pullman could be okay for him. Darren Shan is really shit these days, but his Saga of Darren Shan is great for kids, and I adored it when I was about 9. His Demonata series is also kind of cool, but that probably would be too gruesome. That was perhaps the one series I ever read at a young age that I regretted based on the content: it manages to come across as young literature while still having some genuinely gruesome, adult stuff in it.

Honestly though, don't be condescending. If he's old enough to want to read adult stuff, then within reason, let him. If he can't handle it, both you and he will learn something. I say this from the perspective of someone who was a very young and advanced reader many years ago who vastly enjoyed reading adult literature, and wouldn't have benefited in the slightest from having these things withheld from me. I was largely allowed to explore literature at my own discretion and benefited from this, going through my school life with a far greater vocabulary and grasp of language and nuance in writing then just about anyone else in my school. So yeah, give him the slighty more PG stuff (like the fantasy authors I suggested), I'd say, and see how he reacts to good quality, yet not too explicit fantasy. If he handles it well, there shouldn't really be much reason to hold back the more advanced stuff like Lynch, Abercrombie, Martin, etc.

That said, I wouldn't give him Bakker or Erikson. Those are too advanced for a 9 year old.

[MinDonner]

One series I've not seen recommended here yet is the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy (Foundling/Lamplighter/Factotum) which is a great steampunky kids' fantasy with fabulous worldbuilding. But lots of good recs in here anyway.

[Angalin]

The Great Brain series by John Fitzgerald featuring a main character that's too smart for his own good but told from the pov of his younger (and from his own opinion, not as bright) brother who is continually vexed by his older brother's schemes - usually along with the whole town.

I loved those books when I discovered them at 12 and will still reread them now and then. Great historic background as children have adventures in a frontier type town right at the time Utah became a state (1896). The main characters are Catholic, not Mormon, but religion is not an essential part of the series but does play a part in filling out the background of the stories.

The Great Brain has been both vastly entertaining and a very bad influence in my house. ;) Rather like with Calvin and Hobbes, I've had to explain a few times that because something was funny to read about doesn't mean that it's funny in real life.

[PetrusOctavianus]

When I was that age I devoured Jules Verne and the Flash Gordon novels (ghost) written by Ron Goulart. The latter is according to Wikipedia "adult oriented", and probably rather hard to find today.