Slashdot Mirror
Sci-Fi Books For Pre-Teens?
o2binbuzios writes "I have two pre-teen boys who are avid readers, and I am going through my mental catalog for great sci-fi & fantasy books for them. What are some of the classics (and maybe new additions to the classics) that would be great for them to read? I am asking because some of the 'straight-up' classics I remember actually seem kind of dark & cynical for younger readers. Starship Troopers and some of the other Heinlein are definitely darker and more political than I remember... Foundation Trilogy and psycho-history maybe too dry. Road-trip reading season is upon us — what are the good reads for the kids in the back seat?"
Almost anything by Terry Pratchett.
My advice would be, don't hold back. I had a voracious appetite for books as a teenager which crossed many demographics and genres. But the most memorable to me are the ones with more of an adult edge that really made me think. Personally, I think we spend too much time holding children back and looking to make their lives better than our own. Not every novel I've read was a classic, but there are very few I would say I didn't at least enjoy. Let them read everything you can get your hands on that looks interesting.
A steaming cup of soykaf would be real wiz right now.
No doubt Slashdot is full of Harry Potter haters. I was one, too, until I actually read the entire series last month. It's still not exactly my cuppa, but it's an incredibly well-crafted work of fantasy fiction for young adults. The first couple of books are pure wish-fulfillment, which will appeal to any pre-teen. The books are too long for young readers to make it through all of them back to back, though, so by the time they get around to the later volumes, they will be just the right age to appreciate the darker aspects and more complex themes of the series's conclusion.
Unfortunately, most kids will probably just watch the movies.
Breakfast served all day!
"Foundation" is not "too dry". The best thing you can do for your kids is to give them reading material -- sci-fi or any other genre -- that challenges their mind, and makes them think.
Before Foundation, though, get them started on three Robot novels, then the seven Foundation books. After they're done with Asimov, give them the three Lord Of The Rings books. I read all three LOTR in my early teens, in high school. They weren't "too dry", in the least. I loved them. I had no problems with it, and English isn't even my native language.
Don't be afraid to challenge your kids. Challenging reading material is very good brain food. Other suggestions:
* The first three Mars books, by Edgar Rice Burrows. Some of that (mostly the first book) is a bit dated, and a bit bizarre (everyone on Mars walks around naked, and Martian women lay eggs). But, once you get passed the weird stuff, it's great pulp.
* War of the Worlds, by HG Wells
* A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's court, by Mark Twain. Yes, it's sci-fi/fantasy.
That should be enough to last until next year. Come back then for more stuff to suggest.
At first I was going to suggest The Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451, and the Foundation series -- you know, the classics. Then I got to thinking a bit and the sad thing is that I'm not sure the kids today would appreciate those works as much as we did when we were their age. If they were to read those when they're slightly older or maybe even as adults, then maybe they might appreciate them more. But now? Probably not so much. I mean, we're talking about a generation that's grown up on a style of television and film different from that that we grew up with. Today, a camera angle rarely holds for more than 10 seconds before it cuts to another angle.
All this to say that I think your recommendation of the Verne novels is pretty spot on. There's more plot and more stuff happens in those Verne novels -- which are indeed great -- than in the works of Bradbury and Asimov which tend to be more contemplative and intellectual.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Comment removed based on user account deletion
The first time I read the Narnia books, I had no idea there were "Christian overtones." But I was young and just enjoying a quick fantasy.
When I read the Narnia books when I was a kid I had no idea there were "Christian overtones.". When I read them again when I was 33 I still had no idea there were "Christian overtones."
I think whatever overtones you're reading are more about what YOU put into what you're reading than what's written on the page.
I know C.S Louis was considered by himself and others as a christian writer, but it's quite a stretch to think that the Narnia series are any more "christian" than most other fantasy novels.
Unless you consider anything with good and evil epic battles and sacrifices to be "christian", but that seems like an awfully broad definition.
A lot of the pervy stuff I totally didn't remember.
And this pretty much sums up why people worry too much about this stuff.
If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
Don't forget RAH's first - Rocketship Galileo, and also Space Cadet, Time for the Stars. Also: I think 'The Rolling Stones' is the correct title of 'Space Family Stone', although I understand many of his early works were originally published serially, and under different titles; that may be the case here, but the novel has always been known to me as 'The Rolling Stones.' I would also include 'The Moon is a Harsh Mistress' and 'Starship Troopers' here, and perhaps 'The Puppet Masters.' I read all of these before I hit 12, and had no problems with them. Indeed, Moon is perhaps my favourite book to this day, even though I don't agree with some of Heinlein's social or some of his political views, it certainly formed or firmed a lot of my beliefs then and since. I don't see any need to avoid political stuff simply due to being young. On the contrary, much like with pets, it's good to get exposure early, else you might develop an allergy later in life. :)
Other good ones include Isaac Asimov's "Lucky Starr" books (originally credited to his alter ego, 'Paul French', I think). There are also Schmitz's "Telzey Amberdon" books, as well as his classic "The Witches of Karres." Clarke's "Islands in the Sky", Gallun's "The Planet Strappers" (hard to find, but awesome), "Across a Billion Years" by Silverberg, "Space Angel" by John Maddox Roberts, "Healer" by F. Paul Wilson, "Eridahn" by Robert Young (dinosaurs! Time travel! Martians! Aliens! (yes, Martians and Aliens are listed separately here :)), someone else already mentioned "Welcome to Mars" by Blish, and I'll certainly second that. There's a LOT more to E.E. Doc Smith than his Lensman and Skylark books, and I think I'd recommend them all. "Spacial Delivery" by Gordon Dickson was a good one, as are "Talking to Dragons" by Patricia Wrede, (which is apparently part of a series. This is the only one that I've read, and it stands alone brilliantly), the Harper Hall trilogy by Anne McCaffrey (set on the Pern world), and the undersea books by Jerry Pournelle (I think) I remember as being quite fun, too. Also: Robert Aspirin's "MythAdventures" books, and Piers Anthony's "Xanth" books (though the older you are, the more you'll get the 'awful' puns).
Many, if not most, of these, will need to be purchased used, due to the sad state of the publishing industry. *sigh*
I actually wrote a gigantic list on this subject several years ago on Slashdot - you may be able to find it via a search by using some of the more unique titles or names listed here as keywords.
You don't remember these books as dry and cynical because you didn't care.
You're not seeing them the same way today. Just as I look back on books I loved as a child and see new things, so do you. But the fact remains: they were good books. Children are very, very good at ignoring the things they don't understand in favor of the things they do.
Consider just handing them Heinlein, and letting them figure it out for themselves. Children are robust little machines for making sense of the world. Give them "Stranger in a Strange Land"; all the sex and religion parts whizzed right by me as a kid, and I mainly came away from it with an appreciation for cultural differences. So if you were looking at that book thinking the sex and religion parts were too much, you might be right, but you're also throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
Microsoft cheerleader, blue flag waving, you got a problem with that?
Lloyd Alexander's books. His "Chronicles of Prydain" (starting with "The Book of Three") are probably his best work, but he's got some other wonderful stuff.
Jeff Smith's Bone -- don't hold the fact that it's a graphic novel against it. :)
Tweet, tweet.
Terry Pratchett's books are funny, but they tend to spoof the politics and happenings of the US and the UK, so your kids might not grasp all the jokes.
You're just thinking of the Discworld, which isn't even Sci-Fi. Then there's the Diggers and the Johnny Maxwell trilogy, both of which are actually Sci-Fi series written for children. Kids should be able to get those jokes. They have lessons in them, too. It's a complete package. Pratchett also happens to be an amazing writer. His command of language, plotlines, and character development are a wonder to behold. People have written doctorate theses examining the art that is Terry Pratchett's work. So he's definitely a good choice.
Anne McCaffery has some good ones
You're reading them as an adult, and you're glossing over things. Her novels are definitely PG-13, or possible R rated. She makes sex and death an everyday part of her novels, and not the Judy Bloom way. Characters are mating with/killing other characters, and she's describing how it makes them feel, which makes it much more real than seeing random redshirt die in Star Trek, or Kirk sleep with the green chick.
CS Lewis' Space Trilogy is excellent, though it gets pretty violent, and might be a bit advanced for pre-teens.
Definitely. The language is too complex for most. It's also highly Christian. As in, the protagonist is a Christian fighting the forces of Satan with the aid of angels. And this isn't all symbolic/easy to overlook like it is with the Chronicles of Narnia. So if you're hostile to Christianity, don't have them read it. If, however, you're not, it's a really good read. One of the first sci-fi novels written where you actually end up getting to know what the characters are *feeling*.
Which is a problem with the early works of the genre as a whole (i.e., pre-1960 or so). Start with people who actually write well to get them hooked on reading. Sadly, quite a few of the classics - Heinlein, Asimov, Bradbury, Wells - are terrible writers. They have excellent ideas from the broad "wouldn't this make a good story?" sense, but their command of language, plot development, and characters aren't as vivid as many of their counterparts of the times they wrote. That was just the way that sci-fi was. Most important of these is the characters. The timid reader has to become attached to them early on in the story so that he'll keep reading.
Later, once they're voracious readers, they can take on the guys who have great ideas but don't write well. They won't need to constantly be fed the writing equivalent of high definition to want to "view" it.
And for that reason, I definitely like the parent. These writers he has chosen are really good at writing to grab the readers and hold their attention.
Bearing that in mind, I have two more authors to add:
David Eddings - he's known for his endearing characters. Unfortunately, I don't think he's ever strayed from writing fantasy. The important poitn is that you can basically start with "you liked Harry Potter? Why don't you read this..." IMHO, going from Harry Potter books to David Eddings is a fairly natural progression. Once you've absorbed those, you're pretty well prepared to move into heavier stuff.
Alan Dean Foster - writes, among other things, the "Pip and Flinx" novels. While he's not the greatest writer in the world, Flinx is a young boy at the start, and very well developed as a character. Young readers will identify with the feelings and attitudes that Flinx goes through as he transitions into someone remarkable.
Mod me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!
The burning lands series has some great elements of questions about science and technology whether or not its use is ultimately good or evil -- good food for thought for youngersters raised in the Internet age, and also is sex-scene free.
Additionally, if you read some books you now think are too old for your kids, maybe you should consider that those books were too old for YOU, and you turned out fine! I cringe when my son reads MAD, but it was probably just as nihlistic and subversive in the 1970s as it is today.
Dude, I think I can see my house from here.
Where did we get the idea that pre-teens can't be exposed to sex in any way? It's a good idea to read books before recommending them to your children to make sure the presentation of sex isn't sinister in any way, but the mere presence of sex shouldn't disqualify a book.
I see several posts on this page where people rule out any sex whatsoever, but nothing at all lamenting the fact that most classic sci-fi is absurdly sexist. Usually naively and unintentionally sexist, perhaps, and only occasionally misogynistic, but not suitable to be the bulk of your kid's literary diet.
In fact, the best reason for tolerating a little sex is that most of the non-chauvinistic sci-fi does contain sex. Plus, it is a good idea for kids to be self-consciously, abstractly wondering about sex before they encounter their own urges in a concrete form. They aren't going to take their ideas from you, their parents, and the alternatives are books, movies, TV, and peers. Obviously, good books and a few movies are your best hope if you want your kids to take a thoughtful, critical approach.
I don't know ANYTHING about pre-teens except what I know from being one, but I know I read several books about sex as a pre-teen and was alternately amused and horrified by the unreflective, superstitious, fetishistic approach to sex that my peers took to sex. Whatever they heard from anyone between their age and twenty-one, they took as gospel truth. Whatever they knew at a given time was assumed to be pretty close to the whole truth. Good science fiction is a wonderful inoculation against those attitudes. (Unfortunately, it seems that most science fiction is optimized to sell to people who would rather fantasize about sex than think about it, but you just have to find the exceptions.)
Here are a few books that might be suitable for preteens.
Island , by Aldous Huxley. I actually read this as a pre-teen. The main thing I took away from it is that sex and love present some thorny problems, and different people have come up with many very different ways of coping with them. It influenced me to approach sex with a combination of compassion, love, and pragmatism, in that order. I learned to keep that attitude to myself in the macho culture I grew up in, and gave up on it altogether by the time I went to college, but eventually my adult experiences with sex brought me right back to where Aldous Huxley started me out. This is a no-brainer choice to give to freethinking kids. It does advocate judicious use of hallucinogens for spiritual purposes, but I read and admired it as a preteen and was never tempted to test that particular idea. (Twenty years later, I still haven't.)
Fledgling , by Octavia Butler. Perhaps this one should be saved for older teens. I really don't know what to say about this book except that it made me think. I'm normally a pretty quick reader, but I kept putting this one down just so I could think for a while. (I know, I'm supposed to do that with every book. So I'm a philistine; sue me.) The takeaway lesson from this book is that people have to be very ethically careful about relations of power and dependency.
Stranger in a Strange Land , by Robert Heinlein. The older I get the more I realize that Heinlein was a pompous dick who loved to put ridiculous ideas over on people, take undeserved adulation from naive people (like my teenage self,) and then defend himself against the critics by saying he was just "throwing things out there" or "seeing who would take him seriously." So I would definitely rer
Sure, you can propose some books you think they will like, but please also take them to a library and let them browse and pick up whatever they want. This is how you get kids into reading in the first place. We are all different, I have a lot of books that are dear to me that I've pushed on this or that youngling, and with some I have been successful, with some I have failed totally. I think I bought my sister Michael Ende's "Momo" twice by mistake, and she never read it once.
Real readers start omnivorous, reading all sort of good as well as bad books, but of all the books I read as a child, very few of the more important (for me) were "for children".