# Good Fantasy Books for Children?



## Androxine Vortex (Mar 23, 2012)

I the other night my little brother comes into my room and says he can't sleep. He asked me to tell him a story. Even though he's almost 9 he is in love with Skyrim (He plays it more than I do lol even though he just runs around hunting dragons and killing wild animals) and so I made up a Skyrim based story. Ever since then he asks me to make up another story almost every night!

So I wanted to know if there are any good Fantasy style stories for young children. You know, nothing too dark or violent but full of magic and "adventure."

I also would like to someday create a book of collected fantasy short stories for children so I want to know if any of know any good ones out there! Sort of like a "bedtime story" book and will act as a stepping stone to get children into the fantasy genre.


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## Saigonnus (Mar 23, 2012)

I read one as a kid called Sir Nobonk and the Terrible, Awful, Dreadful Dragon... I only vaguely remember the story, but it was basically about an elderly knight who wanted to save the dragons. I looked it up and it is for sale on Amazon.


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## Rikilamaro (Mar 23, 2012)

At age 9 my dad had already read the Chronicles of Narnia to me, plus the Lord of the Rings. I would suggest Eragon by Christopher Paolini, the first couple Harry Potters may be ok, the Redwall series, or Emily Rodda's Rowan series.


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## kadenaz (Mar 24, 2012)

The more children know, the sooner they will become adult. 
"Safe" books look safe but they make children stay in a little world that sooner or later will be too little for them.


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## Ophiucha (Mar 24, 2012)

"he is in love with Skyrim" "nothing too dark or violent"
Are we talking about the same game, here? I think the least 'dark' thing in that game is the Samguine quest, and that involves heavy drinking, a joke about 'consummating' a relationship with a hargraven, and questionable business practices with goats.

That aside, at 8, I had just gotten into _Harry Potter_, so that would be the easy and obvious recommendation. You can read a couple of chapters a night rather easily. For some shorter stories, something you can read through in a night, I'd recommend some of the works of Neil Gaiman. There's also the classics: _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_, the Oz books, Narnia (the Christian imagery turned me off the series as a child, but that might not bother your brother). _How to Train Your Dragon _is a cute book, though I preferred the film. I'd probably recommend _The Hobbit_ over the whole _Lord of the Rings _trilogy, if not for the length than for the themes. The Earthsea series, by Ursula K. LeGuin. Which 'inspired' _Eragon_, in a rip-off kind of way. Not a book I'd recommend usually, but a kid won't know the difference, so either series would probably be fine.


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## Androxine Vortex (Mar 24, 2012)

Ophiucha said:


> "he is in love with Skyrim" "nothing too dark or violent"
> Are we talking about the same game, here? I think the least 'dark' thing in that game is the Samguine quest, and that involves heavy drinking, a joke about 'consummating' a relationship with a hargraven, and questionable business practices with goats.
> 
> That aside, at 8, I had just gotten into _Harry Potter_, so that would be the easy and obvious recommendation. You can read a couple of chapters a night rather easily. For some shorter stories, something you can read through in a night, I'd recommend some of the works of Neil Gaiman. There's also the classics: _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_, the Oz books, Narnia (the Christian imagery turned me off the series as a child, but that might not bother your brother). _How to Train Your Dragon _is a cute book, though I preferred the film. I'd probably recommend _The Hobbit_ over the whole _Lord of the Rings _trilogy, if not for the length than for the themes. The Earthsea series, by Ursula K. LeGuin. Which 'inspired' _Eragon_, in a rip-off kind of way. Not a book I'd recommend usually, but a kid won't know the difference, so either series would probably be fine.



I said all he does is run around hunting dragons and wolves, he doesn't do quests. He likes exploring and the animals. And thank you for the suggestions.

@Kadenaz
I'm sorry but that doesn't make any sense. I'm asking for a harmless bedtime story. With the mentality of your suggestion I should read to him the Divine Comedy and why stop there? Let's let him watch Sparticus. I mean come on, you're telling me Green Eggs & Ham is a "dangerous" book?


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## Telcontar (Mar 24, 2012)

There is a fantasy series I read as a kid that I remember pretty fondly. It took some searching to find the name of it again (it's been awhile) but it was called "The Enchanted Forest Chronicles" and it starts with the book "Dealing with Dragons."

It's a pretty old series, so I don't know how easy or hard it might be to find now.

Redwall is also fun, I enjoyed those as a kid too.


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## drkpyn (Mar 24, 2012)

I've always felt like The Hobbit read more like a children's book than anything else, which is exactly why I love it so much.


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## Steerpike (Mar 24, 2012)

Telcontar said:


> There is a fantasy series I read as a kid that I remember pretty fondly. It took some searching to find the name of it again (it's been awhile) but it was called "The Enchanted Forest Chronicles" and it starts with the book "Dealing with Dragons."
> 
> It's a pretty old series, so I don't know how easy or hard it might be to find now.
> 
> Redwall is also fun, I enjoyed those as a kid too.



Those are by Patricia Wrede. I don't think it would be too hard to find them through Amazon or other online outlets.


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## Queshire (Mar 24, 2012)

For wore modern books I suggest the Percy Jackson sereies as well as the Fable Haven sereies. Those border on urban fantasy at times but are still good.


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## Hominid (Mar 24, 2012)

I recommend the _Lionboy_ trilogy by Zizou Corder. I would hardly call them "fantasy," though--they're sort of a weird hybrid between fantasy, "realistic" adventure, and science fiction. The main fantastical element is that the main character can talk to cats and other members of the Felidae family. After his parents are kidnapped, he goes on a quest to find them, befriending a group of circus lions and promising to return them to Africa. They were published from 2004 to 2006, and they are very original and full of adventure and fun characters.


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## Xanados (Mar 24, 2012)

I am violently opposed to the idea that the Lord of the Rings is a children's book. I can't even describe how pathetic that sounds. 

It is not.

That is all I will say.

Edit: I don't mean to cause any commotion, but that is just such an absurd notion! Garh!


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## Elder the Dwarf (Mar 24, 2012)

Harry Potter is wonderful, of course, but it can be a bit scary to really young kids.  Still, that is a great series, but try not to read too fast, you don't want to get to book 5 when he's still 10.  Redwall is definitely the best suggestion I can give you.  I read about 15 of them by the time I was 10, and I absolutely loved those books.  They're about talking animals with swords and stuff, what could be more kid friendly?  Plus, you can have fun with the different accents and voices the writing lends to the characters.


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## Ophiucha (Mar 24, 2012)

I can't imagine finding the Harry Potter books to be scary by the time you're 9 years old.

@Xanados, I don't think they are meant for kids, but I don't think that means kids can't handle them. I saw the first film when I was nine, and couldn't have been older than eleven or twelve by the time the last one came out. And I read at least the first one before the film came out (not of my own volition, mind, but my dad made me). The language might be challenging for someone younger than ten, but I don't think there's anything in it a kid couldn't handle.


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## Hominid (Mar 24, 2012)

Ophiucha said:


> @Xanados, I don't think they are meant for kids, but I don't think that means kids can't handle them. I saw the first film when I was nine, and couldn't have been older than eleven or twelve by the time the last one came out. And I read at least the first one before the film came out (not of my own volition, mind, but my dad made me). The language might be challenging for someone younger than ten, but I don't think there's anything in it a kid couldn't handle.



Agreed. I'm opposed to the notion that when children read a book, it somehow disrespects the book. Children are people just like anyone else; if they can't handle something, they can't handle something, but otherwise, nothing bad happens to the book.


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## InsanityStrickenWriter (Mar 24, 2012)

It should be noted that most fairytale stories were once thought for adults rather than children (poisonous apples and evil stepsisters...). Don't be overly afraid with what books you give him, I'm a coward but none of the books that I read when I was younger affected me much, only films and Courage the Cowardly Dog (somehow a cartoon for children) had that power over me. I'd recommend Roald Dahl (Twits, Witches, etc.), Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland and perhaps Narnia. Though I'd stop with Harry Potter at book 3 or 4.


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## Elder the Dwarf (Mar 25, 2012)

InsanityStrickenWriter said:


> It should be noted that most fairytale stories were once thought for adults rather than children (poisonous apples and evil stepsisters...). Don't be overly afraid with what books you give him, I'm a coward but none of the books that I read when I was younger affected me much, only films and Courage the Cowardly Dog (somehow a cartoon for children) had that power over me. I'd recommend Roald Dahl (Twits, Witches, etc.), Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland and perhaps Narnia. Though I'd stop with Harry Potter at book 3 or 4.



Yeah, but have you read the original fairy tales?  Ariel dies and the prince marries another girl.  Hansel and Gretel are abandoned in the woods by a terrible father and in some versions murder their stepmother.  The original fairy tales weren't quite as peachy as disney movies or modern collections have made them.

Still, I agree with your point.  Just wanted to point that out.


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## Steerpike (Mar 25, 2012)

I read _Lord of the Rings_ for the first time when I was about ten (the copy I had was a single book). Most people I know who are fans of the book first read it as children. I think it is just fine for kids if they turn out to be interested in it.


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## Elder the Dwarf (Mar 25, 2012)

Steerpike said:


> I read _Lord of the Rings_ for the first time when I was about ten (the copy I had was a single book). Most people I know who are fans of the book first read it as children. I think it is just fine for kids if they turn out to be interested in it.



I read the same version (all in one book) in 4th grade, which would be around 10 I guess.


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Mar 25, 2012)

I read LotR for the first time when I was around 21, and I loved it. (It wasn't my first exposure to fantasy, not by a long shot.) So take that for what it's worth.

I remember being most astonished by the fact that Sauron does not actually appear once in the whole book!


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## charleshudgen (Apr 23, 2012)

I would like to suggest 2 fantasy books that I really like and it is very interesting story. The Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter are the books that I would like to recommend for children. I am also confident enough to say that these two books are watched by your kids already. These are the ultimate series for younger readers.


_________________________
Buy Science Fiction Book Online


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## undertheshepherd7 (Apr 23, 2012)

I'd have to say, you can't go wrong with C.S. Lewis' _Chronicles of Narnia_.  Those books are what got me into fantasy and I they are intentionally for children that are your brother's age.


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## sharebear (Oct 24, 2012)

My list of mostly fantasy books with a few mystery books added in that I find appropriate for children are as follows and are ordered by authors last name:

Multi-Author - The 39 Clues books - great especially if you like mystery.
Lloyd Alexander's Prydain - a classic children's high fantasy.
Jodi Lynn Anderson's May-Bird series - a little dark and strange but a good series.
Piers Anthony's Xanth novels - especially if you live in Florida. Visit the ogres at Lake Ogrechobee.
Robert Asprin's Myth series - Skeeve is fun and funny.  Demon's are short for Dimensional Travellers.
Clive Barker's Imajica and Weaveworld - a little dark and strange but good.
L. Frank Baum's Oz series - the first one we all know but there were a ton of books in this series.
Peter S. Beagle's The last Unicorn - cute classic story.
Vicki Blum - The Dragon Prince - cute story of a boy being saved by a pair of young dragons.
Enid Blyton's Famous Five - first famous kids mystery series.
Herbie Bennan's Fairie Wars - more of a teen reader but fun and exciting.
Holly Black and Tony Diterlizzi's The Spiderwick Chronicles - pretty much a classic now.
Adam Blade's BeastQuest Series - A story like Magic Treehouse that my kids loved.
Terry Brooks' Magic Kingdom for Sale - fun series written for adults but appropriate for kids.
Patrick Carman's Elyon and Atherton Series - my boys loved Atherton.
Carol Lewis' Wonderland series - what can I say, it's a classic.
P. W. Catonese's Umber Trilogy - My boys loved it.  Fast paced fun.
Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl Series - another favorite of my kids.
Cressida Cowell's How to Train Your Dragon Series - cute stories.
Roald Dahl - just about everything he wrote. We all know and love Wonka.
Tony Diterlizzi's Kenny and the Dragon - cute story from one of the creators of Spiderwick.
Franklin W. Dixon's Hardy Boy Mysteries - Again a mystery series not fantasy, but good none the less.
Chris D'Lacey's The Last Dragon Chronicles - Great story for Children and Adults.
Dianne Duane's Young Wizard series - good stories of the fight against good and evil.
Jeanne Duprau's Ember series - interesting and engaging with a good message.
John Flannagan's Ranger Apprentice books - fun series.
Cornelia Funke's Dragon Rider, Thief Lord, and the Inkheart series.  She also has ghost series that is fun.
Goscinny and Uderzo's Asterix and Obelix - it's a comic from Europe that has world wide acclaim.
Collen Houk's Tiger Saga - good series.
Robert Jordan's Conan series - series began with Robert Howard which were continued by Jordan and L. Sprague DeCamp.  I found Jordan's Conan series to be the best read.
Erin Hunter's Warriors collection of series - very good especially if you are a cat person.
Brian Jacques' Redwall - you gotta love sword slinging mice.
Carolyn Keene's Nancy Drew Mysteries - also mystery not fantasy, but it is a classic.
Liz Kessler's Emily Windsnap - more for girls but still a good read.
Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid - More of a comic like Asterix and Obelix but kid's love it.
Rudyard Kipling's the Jungle Book - another classic.
Kathryn Lasky's The Guardians of Ga'hoole novels - Fun Story of a group of wizened owls.
Ursula K. Lequin's Earthsea novels - Great Classic about Ged the wizard.
Madelaine Le'Engle's the Time Quartet - fascinating classic.
C. S. Lewis' Narnia series - classic fantasy at it's finest.
D. J. MacHale's Pendragon Series - very good Arthurian fantasy.
Anne McCaffrey's Dragon Riders of Pern - harder for kids to read, but fun for them if a parent is reading it.
Megan McDonald's Judy Moody series - more for girls, but still fun to read.
A. A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh Books - It's Winnie the Pooh need I say more???
Brandon Mull's FableHaven - very fun good against evil while protecting the bizarre book.
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's Shiloh trilogy - cute story for boys.
Garth Nix - Pretty much anything he wrote.  My boys loved Keys to the Kingdom and The Seventh Tower Series
Jenny Nimmo's Magician Trilogy and Dragon's Child - Very good English children's book author.
Marry Norton's The Borrowers - must have been the inspiration behind Redwall.
Brian Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim books - more of a teen reader but good.
Mary Pope Osbourne's The Magic Tree House Series - Another Arthurian fantasy that my kids loved.
Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle - Dragonriding, wars, good against evil - great story by a teen.
James Patterson's Witch and Wizard series as well as his Maximum Ride Novels.
Donnita K. Paul's Dragonkeeper books - another good dragon fantasy.
Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabit and Squirrel Nutkin - classic fantasy.
Terry Pratchett's Discworld - especially the Tiffany Aching Books. Fun, Funny, just plain awesome.
Phillip Pullman's Dark Materials - a big time world wide best seller. 
Rick Riordan's Olympians and Kane Chronicles - also a big time world wide best seller.
Jonathan Rogers' Wilderking series - very good series of Aiden of Corenwald's destiny to become king.
J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter Series - It's Harry Potter, Enough said.
Rebecca Rupp - Children visit their Aunt on a remote island and discover dragons also live there.
Angie Sage's Septimus Heap stories - Another top seller that my children liked allot.
F. Salten's Bambi stories - again a classic.
Michael Scott's The Alchemist Nicholas Flamel series - Great series that weaves history and magic
Obert Skye's Levin Thumps Foo Series - You may not have heard of Obert, but he's great.
Lemony Snickett's Unfortunate Events - dark and sometimes depressingly funny, but good.
Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island - another classic.
Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell's Edge Chronicles - Wow great imagination.  Very strange land but fun stories.
R. L. Stine's Goosebumps - horror stories for children.
Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus Trilogy - Similar to Myth where Demon's aren't necessarily the bad ones, but are used by those that are bad.  good story.
J. R. R. Tolkein's The Hobbit - the quintessential classic Fantasy.
Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues, Journey to the Center of the Earth, etc.
Margarette Weiss and Tracy Hickman's Dark Sword trilogy - DragonLance and Guardians would also be gook for kids.
E. B. White's Charlotte's Web - another kids classic.
N. D. Wilson's 100 Cupboards trilogy - interesting story of children finding cupboards that lead to other worlds.
Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest Quadrilogy - a little more set for girls, but great for anyone to read.


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## dangit (Oct 25, 2012)

Uuh I was reading David Eddings, Mercedes Lackey,  Robin Hobb, George R.R Martin by the time I was ten if thet helps.


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## Konrad (Nov 12, 2012)

The Graveyard Book by Gaiman would seem a good bet, but... the killing in the beginning seems a bit horrific for kids. 

Or am I being too over-protective? 

(My kid is only two-and-a-half, so it's not like I'm going to read it to her tonight, but I'm curious what you guys think). 

K


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## Rainbowbird (Nov 18, 2012)

How about Tamora Pierce? I know she writes mainly for/about girls, but that shouldn't matter, should it? I first read her books when I was about eight and I still adore them... They are funny, adventurous, magical and - in my opinion - teach children some important things.

Otherwise, I'd go with Angie Sage's Septimus Heap series.

The Last Unicorn and His Dark Materials? I don't know, I think nine years might be a little young to grasp all the wonderful details of those stories... But then again, maybe that was just me.

Rain


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## CTStanley (Nov 18, 2012)

I loved the redwall series as a kid, and wilbur smiths books (I started reading them aged 10, and though they have adult bits, I was a bit of an advanced reader for my age!)


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## Sparkie (Nov 18, 2012)

The Redwall series was my favorite series growing up, especially the first few books.


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## Reaver (Nov 19, 2012)

I recommend *Lorelei and the Lost and Found Monster* by R. Scott Kimsey. I bought this book to read to my kids. It's an amazing story and my kids (and I) love it.


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## amadhava (Nov 28, 2012)

What about Enid Blyton? She has those amazing Wishing Chair series, Enchanted Faraway tree series (Moon-face, slippery-slip, silky, saucepan-man - totally awesome!), some fantastic animal-friend series that I cannot recall. Then there's Tamora Pierce, Patricia Wrede, Caroline Stevermere, and if your brother likes animals, there's Willard Price (he's not fantasy, but his books - Amazon Adventure, south sea adventure, tiger adventure, elephant adventure, etc - they're brilliant!)


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## Steerpike (Nov 28, 2012)

Reaver said:


> I recommend *Lorelei and the Lost and Found Monster* by R. Scott Kimsey. I bought this book to read to my kids. It's an amazing story and my kids (and I) love it.



Thank you, Sir!


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## keiani (Nov 28, 2012)

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci by Diana Wynne Jones! She is still one of my favorites.


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## QueensAdvisor (Dec 1, 2012)

I haven't seen Spider-wick Chronicles listed on here. Those are a really good introduction to a lot more traditional fantasy. It's a series of 6 or so (really) short books.


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## saellys (Dec 2, 2012)

Rainbowbird said:


> The Last Unicorn and His Dark Materials? I don't know, I think nine years might be a little young to grasp all the wonderful details of those stories... But then again, maybe that was just me.



I second _His Dark Materials_ (maybe just _The Golden Compass_/_Northern Lights_ for a while), and even though the reader might not grasp all the details, if he revisits the book later in life, it will reward him. The same goes for _The Hobbit_.

EDIT: My husband loved Susan Cooper's _The Dark Is Rising_ when he was a kid. I read the first book a few years ago and there was an utterly terrifying scene in a church sanctuary (I think?) with evil forces trying to get inside, akin to that one _Doctor Who_ episode, so be forewarned if your reader is prone to nightmares. Otherwise it was a very enjoyable protagonist-discovers-secret-powers-and-savior-destiny type of story.


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## Reaver (Dec 3, 2012)

Steerpike said:


> Thank you, Sir!



You're most welcome, my friend! It's a fantastic story and it never gets old to us.


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## Steerpike (Dec 3, 2012)

Reaver said:


> You're most welcome, my friend! It's a fantastic story and it never gets old to us.



I have a very rough outline for a sequel


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## Reaver (Dec 7, 2012)

Awesome! It'd be great to have a sequel to read to my little monkeys.


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## Gerald F (Mar 10, 2013)

There are a lot of great series out there.  I read to my daughter a lot when she was growing up, so I became familiar with many.

Angie Sage - The Septimus Heap series.  (great books)
Eoin Colfer - Artemis Fowl (I loved these books, my mother loved these books, my daughter loved them)
Jenny Nimmo - Charlie Bone Series

These three should get you started.  They are great.  I have written a book as well which I am trying to get out there and see how people like.  It's called Thomas Kindercook and the Pink Pyjamas.  It's aimed really at anyone who doesn't mind a 364 page novel, but would be suitable for anyone aged 12 and up.  
I have a website with preview video setup if you care to take a look!
Thomas Kindercook

Thanks
G


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