On Mon, Nov 25, 2002 at 10:26:10PM +0000, H. T. wrote: > in the lead is Heinlien, Patricia Wrede and Norton Juster, closely followed > by Susan Cooper, Ursula Le Guin and C.S. Lewis (though I must say that I > think Lewis is a little old for an 11 year old, and especially a little old > for my step-brother). Narnia was _written_ for 11 year olds. Stuff I read at young, young, ages: Roald Dahl's children books, which are kind of fantasy.[1] L'Engle's Wrinkle et al. books. Le Guin's Earthsea. The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Lloyd Alexander's Prydain books. MacAvoy's _Raphael_. (I'm Damien Raphael Sullivan. I had to read it.) The Blue Sword, although I then totally forgot it. But lots like it. The Harper Hall of Pern books. Jane Yolen's dragon books seem good too. Besides, very few books actually take place in another galaxy. :) Now, I'm a freak, because I read LotR before 10, Moby Dick at 8, and much of Mallory at 7. (I'm not sure that much chivalry before puberty is a good thing.) But none of the above books are like Moby Dick; except for LotR and MacAvoy, they're pretty much written for children/young adults, but not in a dumb way. And often shelved for children/young adults. There's also a dim, dim, memory of Dr. Doolittle. [1] I'd also read Dahl's short stories, but your parents would kill you for those. > Christmas. Seriously though, thank you all, as every year I struggle with > what to buy this kid, and now I have many many wonderful ideas. *smile* I sympathize with the situation, especially if you're used to books-as-gifts and the kid isn't much of a reader. -xx- Damien X-)