Ask Slashdot: Best Science-Fiction/Fantasy For Kids? 726
Posted
by
Soulskill
from the getting-them-started-early dept.
from the getting-them-started-early dept.
Jason Levine writes "My son is 8 years old. I'd love to get him interested in science-fiction, but most of the books I can think of seem to be targeted to older kids/adults. Thinking that the length of some novels might be off-putting to him, I read him some of the short stories in Isaac Asimov's I, Robot. He liked these, but I could tell he was having a hard time keeping up. I think the wording of the stories was too advanced and there was too much talking and not enough action. Personally, I love Asimov, but I think much of it just went over his head. Which science fiction and/or fantasy books would you recommend for an 8-year-old? (Either stories he could read himself or that we could read together over the course of a few weeks.)"
Re:Tolkien, of course (Score:5, Funny)
I hope it was the original version where Bilbo stabs first.
Re:Dune (Score:4, Funny)
I think GRRM's Game of Thrones might be slightly more kid friendly.
Re:Don't try (Score:5, Funny)
Age 7 or 8 would be about appropriate for Sherlock Holmes, but you might find it's neither sci-fi, nor fantasy.
The Hobbit is the obvious choice, along with the Perilous Realm collection (which, I know, was never meant as a collection).
A good prose translation of Beowulf would be worthwhile (not sure if this fits the bill [fanfiction.net]—my work proxy blocks fanfiction.net).
I'd suggest the Bible, the Torah, and the Qu'ran, (different editions of the same story) but they're a bit much for a child to handle, what with all the rape and killing, judgmental attitude of this "God" character, and the zombie at the end. It really goes beyond the bounds of what's decent.
Re:The Hobbit (Score:4, Funny)
(no depth, just a series of rather hum-drum encounters and a load of nonsense about magic and superstition)
Wow. I'd hate to hear your review of Homer's Odyssey.