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First Fantasy Book or Series


unJon

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My oldest child is almost 8 and loves to read. I have been thinking through which first real fantasy book to give him. I would probably read it to him at least at first, though he has a habit of finishing books on his own that I start reading to him. 

This wouldn't truly be his "first" as he has read Harry Potter #1, 2 and part of 3. He stopped on 3 because it got "too scary" and he has no interest in picking it back up. 

He also reads very young kid fantasy like Eerie Elementary and Dragon Master series. But I think he's ready for a real introduction to the genre.

When I was his age, my mother read me the Dragonlance Chronicles and Legends series. While those books have a special place for me because they opened my eyes to the world of fantasy books, I don't think I would choose those for my son as a first. 

I don't read a lot of YA, so am not sure what is out there (though I am following the YA thread on this board. 

I was thinking about giving him the His Dark Materials trilogy. But afraid he might find that "too scary" also. I have also considered starting him on The Hobbit. 

Many other thoughts or recommendations greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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8 seems very young for Dragonlance but alright for the Hobbit. Also consider Astrid Lindgren's somewhat fantastic Ronia, the Robber's daughter, Mio, my son and maybe (although again 8 is quite young for its dark themes) The brothers Lionheart. (FWIW around 8 seems perfect for some other Lindgren like Bullerby children, Pippi, Karlsson, Emil of Lönneberga although all of this is not really Fantasy, despite some elements). I am not sure if they are available in English but when I was 7-8 my favorites were the two Jim Button novels by Michael Ende (of The Neverending Story fame but for this one 8 seems a little too young?)

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I was probably about 8 or 9 when I started reading David Eddings. Before that I'd have read Narnia and The Hobbit (plus a bunch of Polish stuff which probably doesn't apply here, plus the Moomins and a bunch of Lindgren). Oh, and Doctor Dolittle. While some aspects of those books haven't aged well in terms of racial perceptions, I loved them when I was growing up (and I think most of the potentially awkward stuff that'd come up is the type of thing you could have a conversation with a kid about).


I wouldn't start him on HDM to be honest- it's not just going to be too scary which it will certainly be if Azkaban is, but there's a lot of heavy stuff in there that I can't see even a particularly bright 8-year-old really understanding or having the patience for. You'd have to be prepared for some potentially deep questions in any case.


Maybe Pratchett's Tiffany Aching series?

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No to His Dark Materials if he found PoA too scary. For the same reasons as polishgenius said above.

The Hobbit might be a good choice, or possibly Narnia. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fairly safe choice, and simple enough. The Hobbit should be fine, as it's no more scary than a man with two faces eating unicorns and trying to kill you. And if he enjoys that you can ease him into LotR when he finishes

The Tiffany Aching books by Terry Pratchett were favourites of mine. Not sure if 8 would be a good age there or not, I don't recall when I read them first. I seem to recall that they got slightly more mature each new book as Tiffany grew up, but maybe that was just me. 

I believe he also wrote a couple of other younger reader books though? The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents is a children's book, but I never read that one so can't recommend it. Just an idea though.

Neil Gaiman has a number of children's books too that you could check out. Again, I've not read these but based on his adult work he's an author I would expect to provide quality series. Some of the stuff might be creepy, if the movie adaptation of Coraline is anything to go by. 

And talking of Gaiman, has your son read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland?

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Narnia and The Hobbit are good recommendations.  I read the Hobbit when I was 9.

At that age I was tearing through Goosebump books, and there are a ton of those, so those might be a good one for him.  Some of the Star Wars novels maybe?

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Narnia seems to be a good choice for an 8-year-old.

I also loved Ende's Jim Button books (two of them) around that age, you should check if they are available in English. I do not think The Neverending Story is too complicated for 8 years, as it is a book you can always go back to and discover something new in it.

Also you can check Cornelia Funke - I am pretty sure the King of Thieves is available in English; I would assume also Dragon RIder (not sure about the titles though). The Inkheart trilogy certainly is, and that one is worth reading too.

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I would be remiss if I didn't recommend the Dream Merchant by Isabel Hoving which was one of my favourite books as a child. I must have been around 8 or so when I read it because it was still fairly new at the time. It's quite long so would presumably keep him going for a while

 

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Around about that age I really liked Narnia, Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain and Alan Garner's The Weirdstone of Bringsamen. Prydain was probably my favourite series at the time, although if someone finds Azkaban too scary they might not get on well with the Cauldron Born.

I suspect I'd have enjoyed The Hobbit at that age as well but didn't read it until I was about 10-11.

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Thanks everyone, these are all great! Lots of books recommended that I have never read so I will check them out. Narnia is a good call to go along with The Hobbit. Alice in Wonderland is also a good classic that could work.

I also may try The Princess Bride. 

 

Will check out these other other recs also and see if anything looks like it might click. Will let people know how it goes. 

 

Feel free to keep adding ding more recs or weigh in! 

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56 minutes ago, Darth Richard II said:

I honestly have nothing to really rec other than the Hobbit. Most of my pre Hobbit reading I can't seem to remember other than some Narnia in there.

What grade is he in?

Second grade.  

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Too young for The Dark is Rising?  Maybe.  Possibly too scary.  Will is 11 at the start of the series, and isn't it usually a decent rule of thumb to have the main character around the same age?  (I just made up that rule of thumb, but it makes sense to me...)

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15 minutes ago, RedEyedGhost said:

Too young for The Dark is Rising?  Maybe.  Possibly too scary.  Will is 11 at the start of the series, and isn't it usually a decent rule of thumb to have the main character around the same age?  (I just made up that rule of thumb, but it makes sense to me...)

I'm under the impression they tend to prefer reading about protagonists a bit older than themselves. The Dark is Rising sequence definitely seems like a good idea to me.

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It is also a difference whether you will be reading the books to him (to be around and occasionally mitigate scary stuff) or whether he will read them himself. I got scared very easily at that age; even at 10 or 11 I could not handle ghost stories well. (I was scared shitless when in an anthology that started with funny "ghost stories" I encountered real ones by MR James and especially Benson's "The room in the tower".)

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I might wait another year or two before he reads this series, but as a middle schooler the Mortal Engines quartet was (and still is) one of my favorite SFF series of all time. It doesn't get talked about as much as it should imo. It does have some parts that might be scary for an 8 year old, but overall I think it's a fantastic YA series. 

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