My son (now 11) has loved the Dan Dare books since he was 4 and had to have us read the text bubbles to him. Also "Amulet" (and anything else from Kazu Kabuishi), the Bone series (Jeff Smith) and the recent adaptations of some of the Wizard of Oz books. Then chapter books, the Dragonslayers Academy ones are great, Tom Swift Jr if you can find them, the Secrets of Droon Series. It seems like most recent "speculative" fiction for kids centers on fantasy not science. If you can cope with delving into the past though there are more options (such as the Dan Dare books I mentioned). He's probably a bit old already for Franny K Stein but I have to give her honorable mention for pure adult-repelling grossness.
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My son (now 11) has loved the Dan Dare books since he was 4 and had to have us read the text bubbles to him. Also "Amulet" (and anything else from Kazu Kabuishi), the Bone series (Jeff Smith) and the recent adaptations of some of the Wizard of Oz books. Then chapter books, the Dragonslayers Academy ones are great, Tom Swift Jr if you can find them, the Secrets of Droon Series. It seems like most recent "speculative" fiction for kids centers on fantasy not science. If you can cope with delving into the past though there are more options (such as the Dan Dare books I mentioned). He's probably a bit old already for Franny K Stein but I have to give her honorable mention for pure adult-repelling grossness.