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Posted by: db105
« on: November 26, 2017, 05:05:16 pm »

Another recommendation: The Princess Bride, by William Goldman. This one doesn't need an introduction, I guess.

Also, the Deryni novels by Katherine Kurtz. Particularly the original trilogy (Deryni Rising, Deryni Checkmate and High Deryni) are very appropriate for boys, telling the story of how a boy king gets to the throne in the midst of serious plots against his life.

The Chronicles of Prydain, by Lloyd Alexander is another readable option. Another "farmboy who is more than he seems" fantasy.

The Hobbit, of course.

The Dunk and Egg short novels, by George R. R. Martin.

On the other hand, I wouldn't recommend Eragon and Narnia. I'm not too fond of those.
Posted by: db105
« on: November 26, 2017, 04:45:17 pm »

Quote from: squarecutter on November 26, 2017, 04:11:55 pm
When the books came out the original audience grew up as it went along as there was one book a year. Im not convinced a 6 year old could read them but would probably enjoy the audio books. The fiirst deathis Quirrell in the first book but probably not a problem as hes one of the bad guys. First big issue may be in the Goblet of Fire after which it does get darker and for me it does depend a bit on the little guys and how sensitive they might be. Id have fewer reservations with the 9/10 ups but 6? Not so sure Also there are complexities later on the little ones just wont get till they are older. I wouldnt say no but I thin theyd enjoy the books more later on

Spoiler warning for Goblet of Fire, in case there's anyone who intends to read it and hasn't done so yet:

I remember reading an interview with J K Rowling where she told about how she read the books to her children, and she was quite worried when she got to the end of Goblet of Fire, because she was not sure how they would take Cedric's death, but she said she was surprised because they were so focused on wanting Harry to survive that once he did they did not seem to be too concerned about Cedric. For me that makes a lot of sense. The emotional investment that we readers have with Harry, Ron and Hermione has nothing to do with the one we have with Cedric.
Posted by: squarecutter
« on: November 26, 2017, 04:11:55 pm »

When the books came out the original audience grew up as it went along as there was one book a year. Im not convinced a 6 year old could read them but would probably enjoy the audio books. The fiirst deathis Quirrell in the first book but probably not a problem as hes one of the bad guys. First big issue may be in the Goblet of Fire after which it does get darker and for me it does depend a bit on the little guys and how sensitive they might be. Id have fewer reservations with the 9/10 ups but 6? Not so sure Also there are complexities later on the little ones just wont get till they are older. I wouldnt say no but I thin theyd enjoy the books more later on
Posted by: Jack
« on: November 26, 2017, 04:01:31 pm »

Quote from: db105 on November 26, 2017, 12:41:02 pm
Young Samurai series, by Chris Bradford. The adventures of Jack Fletcher, an English boy who is shipwrecked off the coast of Japan, his father and ship crew slaughtered by ninja pirates. Rescued by the legendary swordmaster Masamoto Takeshi, Jack's only hope of survival in a foreign land is to become a samurai warrior.

I think you've recommended this before. I know some of the boys read this one, but I just coudn't get into it, and quit part way through the first book.

On the other hand, Ranger's Apprentice is highly recommended, so I should give it a look.  It does sound a LOT like Magician: Apprentice (in the set up, at least0.
Posted by: db105
« on: November 26, 2017, 01:02:26 pm »

Some more suggestions:

The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende. I just loved this one as a boy. I was Bastian Balthazar Bux, the bookish boy who gets transported to a magical kingdom, threatened by a terrifying, formless entity called "The Nothing". I have heard some complaints against the English translation, but the book is wonderful.

For slightly younger kids:

The Witches, by Roald Dahl. Dahl is a genius storyteller for children. This one is about a seven-year-old British boy and his Norwegian grandmother in a world where child-hating evil witches secretly exist. By the way, getting on topic for the site: Boy: Tales of Childhood, is Dahl's autobiography about his childhood and it features a lot of canings.

The Little Vampire series, by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg. Tony, a nine-year-old horror story addict is delighted when a little vampire called Rudolph lands on his windowsill one evening and, together, the two have a series of hilarious adventures involving visits to Rudolph’s home – The Vampire Family Vault – where Tony narrowly escapes the clutches of Great-Aunt Dorothy.
Posted by: db105
« on: November 26, 2017, 12:41:02 pm »

Let's see:

About Harry Potter: yes, I think the latter books get too dark for most 6 year old boys. The idea was one book a year, so that the readers grow along with the characters. Maybe that's the way to go.

Other suggestions:

Ranger's Apprentice, by John Flanagan. An orphan boy in the court of the king of Araluen dreams of becoming a knight. However, when the time comes, he is not chosen as an apprentice warrior. He is just not big or strong enough. However, he is surprisingly chosen as apprentice by Halt, the ranger. He learns that rangers are a mixture of explorers and secret agents striving to keep the kingdom safe from invaders, traitors, and threats. It's a series of books of 12 books, covering Wil's apprenticeship and later on his life as a young ranger.

The Bartimaeus trilogy, by Jonathan Stroud. (Actually, it seems now it's a tetralogy). A great series about a ambitious teenage magician apprentice who summons the djinni Bartimaeus and tries to bind him. The books are really good and Bartimaeus is a riot.

Young Samurai series, by Chris Bradford. The adventures of Jack Fletcher, an English boy who is shipwrecked off the coast of Japan, his father and ship crew slaughtered by ninja pirates. Rescued by the legendary swordmaster Masamoto Takeshi, Jack's only hope of survival in a foreign land is to become a samurai warrior.

If they don't mind a girl hero, they will surely enjoy some Tamora Pierce series. Her most famous is the Alanna series, but I have only read her Protector of the Small series, which I loved. It's a four book series, about a girl called Kelandry who is determined to become the first female knight of the realm in over a 100 years. Although girls are officially allowed to train for knighthood, in practice it is not done, and almost everyone is pretty much against it, both the masters and her fellow pages. Although the hero is a girl, the story is very "boyish", in a very male-dominated environment and full of adventures and action, along with a sympathetic hero who is determined to beat the odds and prove she belongs as a future knight.

To go for some classic young adult epic fantasy, how about The Belgariad, by David Eddings? A very classical "farmboy gets a wise mentor, finds out he is the Chosen One" story. Not great literature but plenty of kids have loved it.
Posted by: Jack
« on: November 26, 2017, 11:55:37 am »

Quote from: Zyngaru on November 26, 2017, 10:51:38 am
Quote from: Jack on November 26, 2017, 05:17:12 am
Thanks for the suggestions.

Just for future reference, these are NOT books for Curtis to read (though he does already read well above first grade level).  These are books for us to read together (for me to read to them) during storytime each evening.

Oh Okay!  That makes a huge difference.  Then just about any saga where a boy is the hero will be perfect for the boys.

I kind of disagree about this point, which is what made me start this in the first place. 

I know part of it depends on the individual boy as much as anything else, but I know there are parts of the Harry Potter books that are hard for anyone to deal with.  JKR does such a great job creating lovable, relatable characters, that it's hard to deal with when bad things happen to some of them (which really starts with the fifth book).  On the other hand, it's hard to keep kids from being exposed to that kind of thing.

I remember reading Basil Brokentail many years ago, but I think it was when the series first began, and I don't think I ever finished it.  I started reading the Pern novels back in about 76 or 77, though I thikn she went a bit crazy with them.

Thanks to everyone for all the recommendations.
Posted by: Zyngaru
« on: November 26, 2017, 10:51:38 am »

Quote from: Jack on November 26, 2017, 05:17:12 am
Thanks for the suggestions.

Just for future reference, these are NOT books for Curtis to read (though he does already read well above first grade level).  These are books for us to read together (for me to read to them) during storytime each evening.

Oh Okay!  That makes a huge difference.  Then just about any saga where a boy is the hero will be perfect for the boys.

On the top of my list would be:  Basil Broketail by Christopher Rowley.  It is about an orphan boy and his rejected dragon saving a kidnapped princess.  This is a multi book book series.  The first one, Basil Broketail being my personal favorite.

Followed very closely by: The Dragon Riders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey.  Three book series.  Once you get to book 2 DragonQuest, the story gets into the life of 11 year old Jaxom, doing what an 11 year old does, explores.  He finds the hatching ground of dragon eggs and inadvertently Impresses the smallest egg, which when it hatches at the great Impression Ceremony, instead of Impressing on one of the young boys selected to become dragon riders, the littlest egg hatches and is already impressed on Jaxom.  The littlest egg is also a very rare White Dragon. Then in book 3, The White Dragon, Jaxom trains to become a dragon rider.

This is one of my favorite series.  It also has little fire lizards in it, which become status symbols for the lords and ladies and their kids.  It is just a nice series that grabs boys interests, or at least it did mine.

And lastly I will suggest, the Eragon Series by Christopher Paolini.  15 year old Eragon finds a shiny blue stone while hunting and takes it home.  Then the stone hatches, because it is really a dragon egg and young Eragon has his very own dragon.

The books are so much better than the movie.

Well that is three epic series, that might be of interest to your boys.  Since you are reading them, then no problem in the reading level of the books.
Posted by: Jack
« on: November 26, 2017, 05:17:12 am »

Thanks for the suggestions.

Just for future reference, these are NOT books for Curtis to read (though he does already read well above first grade level).  These are books for us to read together (for me to read to them) during storytime each evening.
Posted by: Zac
« on: November 25, 2017, 08:07:03 pm »

Quote from: Leti on November 25, 2017, 06:52:04 pm
The Narnia books
Rudyard Kipling the jungle book, (1 and 2) Just so stories
...
The wizard of OZ
[Bangs head against table] How could I overlook the Narnia books!?! I love and still them, and on some places I take my user name from one the books. However, I was 10 when we started reading them at school.
It might be a good idea to skip some of the Jungle Book stories, especially The White Seal.
There a lot of books about OZ.
Posted by: mahoover
« on: November 25, 2017, 07:48:49 pm »

I am not sure that the boys could read them themselves, but the Zanth books by Philip Antony are full of fun puns that young kids love.
Posted by: Leti
« on: November 25, 2017, 06:52:04 pm »

The Harry Potter books are good if you read them with the kiddies
The borrowers
The Narnia books
Rudyard Kipling the jungle book, (1 and 2) Just so stories
Jules Verne  around the world in 80 days, voyage to the bottom of the sea
A series of unfortunate events
The Mary Poppins books
The wizard of OZ

Posted by: Zyngaru
« on: November 25, 2017, 06:19:11 pm »

In my opinion, the later HP books get too dark for young boys to read.  When the good guys begin being killed in the book and Voldemort becomes real again, I think that might be too dark for young minds.

As far as I know all fantasy books are good against evil, so there is a certain amount of darkness in all fantasy books.  But some deal with it in a better light than others.

It is difficult suggesting books for a 6 year old, because I have no idea what reading level a 6 year old is at, thus I don't know how much they can get out of which books.

I do suggest once the Curtis and Connor are able to read them, the Dungeon and Dragons Game books are a good option.  The one I have is "An Endless Quest"  Book 2  "Mountain of Mirrors.  The copy I have was printed 1988, being the fifth printing.  First printing was 1982.

It is a book you chose where you go and what path you take.  You read and then are given options and you chose which option you want to take and turn to that page and read and then chose the option at the end of that page and so forth.  Role play on your own.

This little book has lots of illustrations and only cost $2.00 new.  Not sure if you can get it online or at your local used book store.

Another set of books I would suggest, once Curtis and Conner can read them, are the "Circle of Light" series by Niel Hancock.  It is a series, with talking animals.  So it isn't as dark as with people.  But again, I am not sure the boys can read them yet.  Only you know how advanced their reading abilities are and if they will know the words and understand what they are reading.

Lastly from my library, there is a book written by one of the D & D Endless Quest books author, Rose Estes.  "Children of the Dragon."  About three children trying to protect a dragon egg.  It might be on their reading level or soon will be.

Sorry, I can't be of much help.  When I was a boy, there weren't any fantasy books, for young boys.  I assume there are some now, but I don't know about any.
Posted by: Zac
« on: November 25, 2017, 05:21:45 pm »

Quote from: Jack on November 25, 2017, 04:54:06 pm
My first question - do you think the second half of the HP series is too mature/dark/serious for a 6 year old?
If a 6 year-old can read through the first four Harry Potter books I was be very impressed. At that age I was still going through the 'Peter and Jane' books of the Ladybird Key Reading scheme books.

Quote
Second: do you know of other fantasy books/series that would be good for that age?
I am very out of touch with recent children's book though I have no problems being seen to read 'children's' book but these might be a little out of date. The first things that comes to mind is Truckers/Diggers/Wings trilogy by the late Terry Pratchett. These are not Discworld books. A book I enjoyed a lot at that age was 'Stig of the Dump' by Clive King which about an boy who finds a caveman - the eponymous Stig - in a dump though I am not if that quite qualifies as fantasy. Still on the stone age theme and definitely fantasy is the Wolf Boy series (just checked and the series is known as The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness) by Michelle Paver  but I should warn you that it does start off with the main character's father being killed by a bear.
Posted by: Jack
« on: November 25, 2017, 04:54:06 pm »

My (pretty much no longer) tweens and I have been re-reading the Percy Jackson novels recently.  Connor and Curtis overheard some of it and became interested.  Then, to go along with that, they were shown Harry Chambers and the Sorcerer's Stone.  Now, I have no problem with that, but they want to read Harry Potter now. 

My first question - do you think the second half of the HP series is too mature/dark/serious for a 6 year old?

Second: do you know of other fantasy books/series that would be good for that age?  We've already been reading Diane Wynne Jones.