Books & Comics for a Ten-Year-Old?

taosaur · 10-26-2011, 11:47 PM

I'm planning to give my nephew a netbook for birthday/Xmas (hopefully he'll forgive me combining them given the nature of the gift), and among other things I want to start him on ebooks, and he already frequently borrows my tablet for comics.

Does anyone have recommendations for his age group? Much of my collection isn't all that appropriate to his maturity or reading level (which, AFAIK, is right at his grade level, neither behind nor advanced).

I know he likes D&D-style fantasy, and he likes the Wimpy Kid series.

I'll try to include some of my own favorites from around that time like Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, and a book called Born into Light. Are there any current series along the lines of Encyclopedia Brown or the Mad Scientists Club? I suppose I'll get Harry Potter in there.

Any recommendations? Maybe I'll get some Heinlein juveniles and the Irish Red series in there, too.

I'm also interested in current comics (manga's cool, too) aimed at his age group.

xg4bx · 10-27-2011, 12:08 AM

when i was around that age the original Dragonlance trilogy was my life: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night and Dragons of Spring Dawning.

i also thought the classics like War of the Worlds, The Time Machine and 20,000 Leagues were the bees knees.

stuff like Harry Potter would probably also be appropriate.

i'm sure somebody with kids will be along with better suggestions lol.

tswan · 10-27-2011, 12:44 AM

My son has been reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series by Rick Riordan for several years now. For a while they were the only books I could get him to read. They're fun books.

taosaur · 10-27-2011, 12:45 AM

The Dragonlance books are probably beyond his current attention span (ADD is in the picture, but I was an advanced reader and probably couldn't have stuck with those books at age 10). Wells and Verne are great suggestions, though. I'll probably load him up with sci-fi short stories (most of Wells' books are novellas by today's standards).

xg4bx · 10-27-2011, 01:17 AM

maybe even stuff like Asimov's I, Robot and other various works. every kid likes robots lol and theyre also short stories.

Ray Bradbury stuff may also be worth looking into, Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Martian Chronicles, stuff like that.

JeremyR · 10-27-2011, 05:58 AM

There are a number of Discworld novels aimed at kids. Well, 5:

Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
A Hat Full of Sky
Wee Free Men
Wintersmith
I Shall Wear Midnight

taosaur · 11-15-2011, 02:43 PM

If anyone has some non-sci-fi recommendations, I'd love to hear them. Current comics for kids would be great, too. I was hoping some parents would chime in.

stxopher · 11-15-2011, 04:10 PM

Some of the more popular ones for the kinder around that age around here(varies of course, check yourself)...

Series:
Fablehaven
Pendragon (the D.J. MacHale one, not the classic.)
Eric Rex
Book of Magics (real like/hate dichotomy there for kids)
Young Wizards (more popular with girls than boys here though)
Redwall (everyone likes fighting mice!)
The Librarian (Little Boy Lost is the first book but popular. Not sure how a non-reader will enjoy it though. Still, right now the first one is free so you can make a quick judgement.)

Comics:
Mouse Guard
Bone

taosaur · 11-15-2011, 11:36 PM

I haven't heard of any of those books, so I'll be sure to check them out. Bone was already on the comics list

It's looking like it'll be all older comics, except for the Franklin Richards, Boy Genius stories, which were written by a buddy of mine for a while in the aughts.

covingtoncat73 · 11-16-2011, 08:29 PM

Suzanne Collins' Gregor the Overlander series should please him. I thought they were great.

taosaur · 11-16-2011, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

Suzanne Collins' Gregor the Overlander series should please him. I thought they were great.

I might check that one out myself

Another set I found indirectly by way of these recommendations was the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan.

I couldn't find word one on this series - all I got were the Vertigo comics:

Quote:

Originally Posted by stxopher

Book of Magics (real like/hate dichotomy there for kids)

Also, I'm leaning heavily on series at this point and would love some individual, even *gasp* non-genre recommendations, as well as nonfiction. I'd like to get some good mythology books in there.

The Terminator · 11-16-2011, 11:37 PM

I used to like the Redwall books by Brian Jacques.

ATDrake · 11-17-2011, 12:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taosaur

Also, I'm leaning heavily on series at this point and would love some individual, even *gasp* non-genre recommendations, as well as nonfiction. I'd like to get some good mythology books in there.

Lloyd Alexander's classic "Chronicles of Prydain" tells a complete story arc in 5 readable-standalone linked novels (plus a book of short stories) and has a pretty good grounding in Welsh mythology. They're all available in Kindle versions, at least, and the early books are kind of D&D-adventurish.

When I was a kid I really liked reading Bernard Evslin's books about the Greek and Roman myths (published by Scholastic) from the library. They get reprinted every so often in paper, but it doesn't look like they're available as e-books yet.

Unfortunately the two major comics I could give you for Greek mythology (Shanower's Age of Bronze and Messner-Loeb's Epicurus the Sage; both very good indeed) would probably be considered above the age-appropriate level simply for the mostly non-sexual nudity involved. There is a comic book series aimed for younger readers as an intro to the Greek gods: The Olympians, by George O'Connor, which I've read the Athena volume of from the library. It looked like it was aimed at an older pre-teen slot (which was where the library filed it) and seemed a pretty nifty cartoony retelling. And there's always the Adventures of Asterix and Obelix, which are an awesome way to introduce Rome circa Julius Caesar to any age group.

For Japanese myths and legends and (pseudo)history, Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo comics are very good and highly recommended and truly all-ages. There isn't much in the way of overt sex or violence in the storylines so that older kids couldn't read it (allowing for the fact that it is about a masterless samurai rabbit in a land at unrest, that is) and Sakai really does the research to incorporate reasonably accurately depicted myth and history (allowing for the samurai rabbit thing).

LynnaMerrill · 11-17-2011, 12:51 AM

The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud: "The Amulet of Samarkand," "The Golem's Eye," "Ptolemy's Gate."

These are books about a boy wizard living in an alternative version of London. I have the paper books, though. I don't see e-books on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, so I am not sure where you can buy them.

Xoanon · 11-17-2011, 04:21 AM

A someone mentioned above, the Percy Jackson books are a fun read. Charlie Higson's Young Bond novels and the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz are both popular with your nephews age group.

The Young Samurai series by Chris Bradford is a fun historical adventure series. Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy is another humorous fantasy series similar to Harry Potter.

10-26-2011, 11:47 PM	#1
taosaur intelligent posterior Posts: 1,562 Karma: 21295618 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ohiopolis Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2, Samsung S8, Lenovo Tab 3 Pro	Books & Comics for a Ten-Year-Old? I'm planning to give my nephew a netbook for birthday/Xmas (hopefully he'll forgive me combining them given the nature of the gift), and among other things I want to start him on ebooks, and he already frequently borrows my tablet for comics. Does anyone have recommendations for his age group? Much of my collection isn't all that appropriate to his maturity or reading level (which, AFAIK, is right at his grade level, neither behind nor advanced). I know he likes D&D-style fantasy, and he likes the Wimpy Kid series. I'll try to include some of my own favorites from around that time like Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, and a book called Born into Light. Are there any current series along the lines of Encyclopedia Brown or the Mad Scientists Club? I suppose I'll get Harry Potter in there. Any recommendations? Maybe I'll get some Heinlein juveniles and the Irish Red series in there, too. I'm also interested in current comics (manga's cool, too) aimed at his age group.

11-17-2011, 12:51 AM	#14
LynnaMerrill SF/F writer, programmer Posts: 34 Karma: 509838 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: USA Device: Kindle 4	The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud: "The Amulet of Samarkand," "The Golem's Eye," "Ptolemy's Gate." These are books about a boy wizard living in an alternative version of London. I have the paper books, though. I don't see e-books on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, so I am not sure where you can buy them. Last edited by LynnaMerrill; 11-17-2011 at 12:59 AM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Ten More Frederick Pohl books for $40 (Multiformat, DRM-free)	pdurrant	Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links)	6	05-19-2011 07:53 PM
What are your favorite Top Ten books read in 2010?	durkinrobinson	Lounge	5	12-27-2010 10:53 AM
Kidnapped & Catriona — Ten Free Copies [OFFER ENDED]	pdurrant	Self-Promotions by Authors and Publishers	3	08-26-2010 07:13 AM
Ten Free Books (Kindle) from Zondervan	koland	Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links)	3	07-22-2010 10:19 AM
iPad iPad & Comics	Over	Apple Devices	88	05-12-2010 05:43 PM

10-27-2011, 12:08 AM	#2
xg4bx Are you gonna eat that? Posts: 1,633 Karma: 23215128 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Phillipsburg, NJ Device: Kindle 3, Nook STG	when i was around that age the original Dragonlance trilogy was my life: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night and Dragons of Spring Dawning. i also thought the classics like War of the Worlds, The Time Machine and 20,000 Leagues were the bees knees. stuff like Harry Potter would probably also be appropriate. i'm sure somebody with kids will be along with better suggestions lol.

10-27-2011, 12:44 AM	#3
tswan Member Posts: 15 Karma: 4064 Join Date: Aug 2011 Device: Sony PRS-T1	My son has been reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series by Rick Riordan for several years now. For a while they were the only books I could get him to read. They're fun books.

10-27-2011, 12:45 AM	#4
taosaur intelligent posterior Posts: 1,562 Karma: 21295618 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ohiopolis Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2, Samsung S8, Lenovo Tab 3 Pro	The Dragonlance books are probably beyond his current attention span (ADD is in the picture, but I was an advanced reader and probably couldn't have stuck with those books at age 10). Wells and Verne are great suggestions, though. I'll probably load him up with sci-fi short stories (most of Wells' books are novellas by today's standards).

10-27-2011, 01:17 AM	#5
xg4bx Are you gonna eat that? Posts: 1,633 Karma: 23215128 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Phillipsburg, NJ Device: Kindle 3, Nook STG	maybe even stuff like Asimov's I, Robot and other various works. every kid likes robots lol and theyre also short stories. Ray Bradbury stuff may also be worth looking into, Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Martian Chronicles, stuff like that.

10-27-2011, 05:58 AM	#6
JeremyR Guru Posts: 973 Karma: 2458402 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: St. Louis Device: Kindle Keyboard, Nook HD+	There are a number of Discworld novels aimed at kids. Well, 5: Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents A Hat Full of Sky Wee Free Men Wintersmith I Shall Wear Midnight

11-15-2011, 02:43 PM	#7
taosaur intelligent posterior Posts: 1,562 Karma: 21295618 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ohiopolis Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2, Samsung S8, Lenovo Tab 3 Pro	If anyone has some non-sci-fi recommendations, I'd love to hear them. Current comics for kids would be great, too. I was hoping some parents would chime in.

11-15-2011, 04:10 PM	#8
stxopher Nameless Being	Some of the more popular ones for the kinder around that age around here(varies of course, check yourself)... Series: Fablehaven Pendragon (the D.J. MacHale one, not the classic.) Eric Rex Book of Magics (real like/hate dichotomy there for kids) Young Wizards (more popular with girls than boys here though) Redwall (everyone likes fighting mice!) The Librarian (Little Boy Lost is the first book but popular. Not sure how a non-reader will enjoy it though. Still, right now the first one is free so you can make a quick judgement.) Comics: Mouse Guard Bone

11-15-2011, 11:36 PM	#9
taosaur intelligent posterior Posts: 1,562 Karma: 21295618 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ohiopolis Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2, Samsung S8, Lenovo Tab 3 Pro	I haven't heard of any of those books, so I'll be sure to check them out. Bone was already on the comics list It's looking like it'll be all older comics, except for the Franklin Richards, Boy Genius stories, which were written by a buddy of mine for a while in the aughts.

11-16-2011, 08:29 PM	#10
covingtoncat73 Wizard Posts: 2,745 Karma: 83407757 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Lenovo Duet Chromebook, Moto e	Suzanne Collins' Gregor the Overlander series should please him. I thought they were great.

11-16-2011, 11:37 PM	#12
The Terminator Retired Posts: 2,552 Karma: 37638420 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Vancouver Island Canada Device: Kobo Touch, Optimus One (2.3), Nexus 7 (4.2)	I used to like the Redwall books by Brian Jacques.

Advert

Advert

11-17-2011, 04:21 AM	#15
Xoanon Enthusiast Posts: 32 Karma: 502326 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: Kindle	A someone mentioned above, the Percy Jackson books are a fun read. Charlie Higson's Young Bond novels and the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz are both popular with your nephews age group. The Young Samurai series by Chris Bradford is a fun historical adventure series. Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy is another humorous fantasy series similar to Harry Potter.