# Best SFF children's book.



## deaconllq (Jun 19, 2009)

What do you think is the best book for the very young that would/could fall within the general description of SFF? 


I would start the discussion out with an obvious nod to Where The Wild Things Are, however, my first choice is:

I Had Trouble In Getting To Solla Sollew   by Dr. Seuss


     Our hero is driven from his beloved Valley of Vung by a cadre of attackers. He comes across an advisor (albeit an arrogant one) who coaxes our hero to join him on a quest to the wondrous city of Solla Sollew. Along the way they encounter difficulty and our hero must leave his advisor behind and set out on his own.
      The way becomes even more difficult. A mysterious storm forces our hero to take cover. He is washed into a dangerous flood, rescued by an army that conscripts him into service against a monster, escapes the monster by fleeing into a series of tunnels, and ultimately arrives at the focus of his quest only to be barred from entry.
     Along the way we are taught lessons about perseverance and staying true to your beliefs.

Anyone have another favorite?


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## Pyar (Jun 19, 2009)

My favourite is *The Giver*, although I'm not sure if that exactly fits as a "children's" book.


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## Rodders (Jun 19, 2009)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory surely? Or the Iron Man? Chocky?


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## Pyan (Jun 19, 2009)

What about _The BFG_, by *Roald Dahl*?


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## deaconllq (Jun 19, 2009)

Certainly the Dahl stories qualify. Excellent choices. However, are Chocky and The Giver appropriate for say a 7 year old? Educate me.


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## kythe (Jun 19, 2009)

Many children's picture books could be considered fantasy, but that's because small children tend toward a sort of "magical" view of the world.  With chapter books, I completely agree with Roald Dahl as a fun starting point.

Many of the Magic Tree House books could be considered SFF.  They are very popular, and were highly recommended as introductory chapter books by my daughter's kindergarten teacher.  Somehow I've never been able to get my kids inot them though.

My 8 year old enjoys Dinotopia stories, but they are still somewhat above her on a 4th-5th grade level.  The original Dinotopia is basically a glorified picture book though, which helps younger kids enjoy it.

Now we are starting the Animorphs series, which are around a 3rd grade level.  They are about kids who shape-shift into animals.


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## ironvelvet (Jun 22, 2009)

I'm thinking dwarves (Snow White) and talking bears (Goldielocks) and Ugly Duckings turning into swans - probably the ultimate female fantasy.
Having been grounded in fairy tales (Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty etc.) What about the Narnia Books.
At what age/maturity does a childlike love of imagination become an "interest in SFF?"


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## deaconllq (Jun 23, 2009)

Agreed that fairy tales, inherent in the name, are great examples of fantasy for the very young. I guess since Disney has co-opted them and basically stamped them with their "brand" I tend to ignore them. Not that there is anything wrong with their work, I just feel duped when I purchase their stuff because of their massive marketing campaigns. The Narnia books are wonderful, but for the very young (ie: 7 years old and below) I feel they are a bit much. However, they are probably one of the best vehicles for that transition period between fairy tales and a true love of adult SFF.


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## Teresa Edgerton (Jun 23, 2009)

Are you talking about books for 7 year olds to read on their own, or books that  7 year olds might have read to them?  It makes a difference.


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## deaconllq (Jun 23, 2009)

Is "both" a valid answer?  I remember being young, 10 or 11, and reading Neil Hancock's The Circle of Light. I haven't picked it up since and have only a vague recollection of the story line, but the "feeling" I had when I read it is still quite tangible. A lot like the feeling I received from reading an anthology of Norse myths from around 8 years old. 
    Of course, the 7 year old's reading aptitude is important in your question. My daughter (she is 7) just read several of the Oz books by Baum. I have to say, there are some pretty violent and psychedelic sections in those books. I was unaware until we discussed some of it over dinner. Some of what she read went way over her head, and I'm pretty sure some of the more difficult words and concepts were skipped outright, but all in all she managed her way through.


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## Teresa Edgerton (Jun 23, 2009)

If she's reading the Oz books on her own, I don't see why she shouldn't be able to manage Narnia, either by herself, or read by an adult.

One of my favorite books when I was about that age was (since you mention Dr. Seuss) "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins."


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## Moggle (Jun 25, 2009)

What about Winnie the Pooh or Alice in Wonderland or Pinnochio? At her age just about anything will do won't it?  There are so many.  My old elementary school classroom had copies of Reader's Digest in it's little library.  I never read them but it must have been there for a reason.  Give her a copy and let us know what she thinks.


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## manephelien (Jun 27, 2009)

Fairy tales in their original form (uncorrupted by Disney) are hardly fare for modern children, at least not very young ones, filled as they are with stories of murder and mayhem, evil stepmothers and stepfathers, fattening kids up in order to eat them etc.


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## Lioness (Jun 27, 2009)

Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree and Magical Wishing Chair series are good. I really enjoyed them when I was young and they are fantasy.


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## Dimentio (Jun 27, 2009)

deaconllq said:


> What do you think is the best book for the very young that would/could fall within the general description of SFF?
> 
> 
> I would start the discussion out with an obvious nod to Where The Wild Things Are, however, my first choice is:
> ...



Well, Swedish primary school teachers use to read "The Brothers Lionheart" and "Mio min Mio" to seven year olds (even though they always get scared and start to cry). They are doing it in the wrongful assumption that because Astrid Lindgren almost exclusively wrote children's litterature, all her books are for children.

But kids below 10 use to like Tove Jansson's Moomin Valley.


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## Jev (Jul 7, 2009)

I read 'A Wrinkle In Time' around 7 or 8, although the book is pitched to older readers. It's a great book, and the following series (multiple series) are mostly well worth it, too.

LeGuin's 'Earthsea' series (although it gets fairly mature-in-a-conceptual-way as the series goes on) and Lloyd Alexander's 'Prydain' series (and 'Westmark' series, for older/tween readers) also belong here.


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## deaconllq (Jul 7, 2009)

Excellent choices. I too read Earthsea when younger. How could I have overlooked it?!


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## Urlik (Jul 8, 2009)

manephelien said:


> Fairy tales in their original form (uncorrupted by Disney) are hardly fare for modern children, at least not very young ones, filled as they are with stories of murder and mayhem, evil stepmothers and stepfathers, fattening kids up in order to eat them etc.


 
I disagree. 7 and 8 year olds can easily cope with the original fairy tales.
and more importantly, the fairy tales teach them those basic survival rules like "don't talk to strangers" and "don't accept gifts from strangers" (*Little Red Riding Hood* and *Snow White* respectively)
yes there is murder and mayhem but children are actually quite bloodthirsty and fairy tales always have a happy ending where the bad guys get what they deserve and the hero/heroine gets the reward.
there is also a great opportunity for the adult reading to the child to ask loaded questions at appropriate points in the story to get the child to think about what the hero did wrong to get into a tricky situation and what the hero did right to get out of it and what the villan did that justified his grisly end.

one of my favourites when I was about that age (possibly a bit younger) was *Jack the Giant Killer *which is a pretty good introduction into fantasy.
other stories that I had read to me when I was about that age were from mythology (you just have to love a grandmother who will sit down and tell a 7 year old about *Jason and the Argonaughts* and *Hercules* and *Beowolf* and *King Arthur* etc.)


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## deaconllq (Jul 8, 2009)

Mythology, unlike the fairy tales you mentioned, does not always end happily. (Not that everything must. To discover life a child sometimes must discover that things don't always end happily)  Also, many times the "heroes" of mythology are motivated by some of the darker places of the soul.


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## shadowbox (Jul 20, 2009)

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.


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## daveac (Aug 29, 2009)

Best Science Fiction books for young kids - Stig of the Dump

Where Barney befriends a Caveman.

It's been made into a TV series

Cheers, daveac


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## Contrary Mary (Aug 30, 2009)

Way back in 1958, I read "The Space Ship Under the Apple Tree " by Louis Slobodkin.  I re-read it as an adult.  A bit basic, for a good first book for age 7 or 8.

Also, "The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet" by Eleanor Cameron.  There are sequals to that.

And, Yes, Theresa Seuss's "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins"==read in second grande and still recall it after all these years!


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## JRV (Aug 31, 2009)

I think I read my first Terry Brooks book, Sword of Shannara, at 10 or 11. I find it an easy read for any age. In fact, the story line is so straightforward that a 7 or 8 year-old could easily comprehend it's content these days.


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## ratsy (Aug 31, 2009)

I remember really enjoying the *Princess and the Goblin *by George Macdonald, I think.  Don't recall too much about it just that my mom read it too my brother and I, and we ate it up


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