T&T style reading books for younger players

[cupboardgnome]

Hi everyone.  I'm looking for any recommendations for reading books with T&T-style stories for 9-10 year-olds.  Something that captures the fun of swords and sorcery and the excitement of delving, but safe for a younger audience.

[ProfGremlin]

Hmmm.... good question, cupboardgnome . First thing that comes to mind is the Spiderwick Chonicles. I read them myself after the movie came out. It captures the feeling of magic, discovery and adventure though it is in a modern setting. They're definitely written for a younger audience but I enjoyed them and they're not long either. All of them combined made me feel as if I'd read a novella.

Second book that comes to mind is the classic, "The Hobbit".  As I understand it, Tolkien created the story from a collection of bedtime stories he told his children.  You'd have to gauge the reading level of the recipient to determine if the writing would work for them.  I read it around that age so, it's certainly doable.

Any of the Velgarth series written by Mercedes Lackey, the best known which are the Heralds of Valdemar. My favorites have always been the Last Herald Mage trilogy. The books are standard novel length but are truly an easy read. I recommend reading them in chronological order rather than published order. That way the series of events makes a bit more sense. Also, the main character of one trilogy is frequently found as a cameo or supporting character in a subsequent trilogy.

There's also the Dragon Riders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey. Much like the Heralds of Valdemar, not a tough read but certainly an immersive universe. Thoroughly enjoyed what I read of the series but, honestly, it was decades ago so I'm a little fuzzy on the details.

There's also this thread, Authors & books that make you think of T&T which may give you some additional insight.

That's about all I have for now. If I think of anything else, I'll be happy to pass it along.

[cupboardgnome]

Thanks ProfGremlin, I shall seek these out. We read through The Hobbit earlier this year and that was a really winner.

[jeffb]

The Lion , The Witch, and the Wardrobe...et.al.

edit to add- I have a list on PDF of Fantasy books for Children. I'll find it and post it at some point today, I have to be getting my 10yo ready for 1st day of school, now.

[jeffb]

And here we go (shoot me a PM if you'd just rather have me send the PDF to your email!)

Series Fiction for the Young
Adult Reader

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Book 1: Artemis Fowl
Book 2: Artemis Fowl : The Arctic Incident
Book 3: Artemis Fowl : The Eternity Code
Book 4: Artemis Fowl: The Files

Daughter of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce
Book 1: Trickster's Choice
Book 2: Trickster 's Queen
Book 3: Trickster's Bet

Daughters of the Moon by Lynne Ewing
Book 1: Goddess of the Night
Book 2: Into the Cold Fire
Book 3: Night Shade
Book 4: The Secret Scroll
Book 5: The Sacrifice
Book 6: Lost One, The
Book 7: Moon Demon
Book 8: Possession
Book 9: The Choice
Book 10: The Talisman
Book 11: The Prophecy
Book 12: The Becoming

Endless Quest
Book 1: Dungeon of Dread by Rose Estes
Book 2: Mountain of Mirrors by Rose Estes
Book 3: Pillars ofPentegarn by Rose Estes
Book 4: Return to Brookmere by Rose Estes
Book 5: Revolt of the Dwarves by Rose Estes
Book 6: Revenge of the Rainbow Dragons
by Rose Estes
Book 7: Hero of Washington Square by Rose
Estes
Book 8: Villains of Volturnus by Jean
Blashfield
Book 9: Robbers and Robots by Mike Carr
Book 10: Circus of Fear by Rose Estes
Book 11: Spell of the Winter Wizard by
Linda. Lowery
Book 12: Light on Quests Mountain by
Mary Kirchoff
Book 13: Dragon of Doom by Rose Estes
Book 14: Raid on Nightmare Castle by
Catherine McGuire
Book 15: Under Dragon's Wing by John
Kendall
Book 16: Dragon's Ransom by Laura
French
Book 17: Captive Planet by Morris Simon
Book 18: Kings Quest by Tom McGowen
Book 19: Conan the Undaunted by James
Ward
Book 20: Conan and the Prophecy by
Roger Moore
Book 21: Duel of the Masters by Chris
Martindale
Book 22: Endless Catacombs by Margaret
Weis
Book 23: Blade of the Young Samurai by
Morris Simon
Book 24: Trouble on Artule by Catherine
McGuire
Book 25: Conan the Outlaw by Roger
Moore
Book 26: Tarzan and the Well of Slaves by
Douglas Niles
Book 27: Lair of the Lich by Bruce Algozin
Book 28: Mystery of the Ancients by Morris
Simon
Book 29: Tower ofDarkness by Regina Fultz
Book 30: Fireseed by Morris Simon
Book 31: Tartan and the Tower of Diamonds
by Richard Reinsmith
Book 32: Prisoner ofElder-wood by Bruce
Algozin
Book 33: Knights ofIllusion by Mary Kirchoff
Book 34: Claw of the Dragon by Bruce Algozin
Book 35: Vision of Doom by Mary Kirchoff
Book 36: Song of the Dark Druid by
Josepha Sherman

Endless Quest - Second Series
Book 1: Dungeon of Fear by Michael Andrews
Book 2: Castle of the Undead by Nick Baron
Book 3: Secret of the Djinn by Jean Rabe
Book 4: Siege of the Tower by KemAntilles
Book 5: AWild Ride by Louis Anderson
Book 6: Forest ofDarkness by Michael
Andrews
Book 7: American Knights by Nick Pollotta
Book 8: Night of the Tiger by Jean Rabe
Book 9: Galactic Challenge byAllen Varney
Book 10: Bigby's Curse by Anne Brown
Book 11: The 24-Hour War by NickPollotta
Book 12: The Test by Wes Nicholson
Book 13: Sands of Deception by Jean Rabe

EverWorld by K.A. Applegate
Book 1: Search for Senna
Book 2: Land of Loss
Book 3: Enter the Enchanted
Book 4: Realm of the Reaper
Book 5: Discover the Destroyer
Book 6: Fear the Fantastic
Book 7: Gateway to the Gods
Book 8: Brave the Betrayal
Book 9: Inside the Illusion
Book 10: Understand the Unknown
Book 11: Mystify the Magician
Book 12: Entertain the End

Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling
Book 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone
Book 2: Harry Potter And The Chamber Of
Secrets
Book 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban
Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Book 5: Harry Potter and The Order of the
Phoenix
Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood
Prince


Here Comes Heavenly by Todd Strasser
Book 1: Here Comes Heavenly
Book 2: Dance Magic
Book 3: Pastabilities
Book 4: Spell Danger

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
Book 1: The Golden Compass
Book 2: The Subtle Knife
Book 3: The Amber Spyglass

New Adventure Series
Book 1: Temple of the Dragonslayer by Tim
Waggoner
Book 2: The Dying Kingdom by Stephen D.
Sullivan
Book 3: The Dragon Well by Dan Willis
Book 4: Return of the Sorceress by Tim
Waggoner
Book 5: Dragon Sword by Ree Soesbee
Book 6: Dragon Day by Stan Brown

Pendragon : An Adventure Through Time
and Space by D. J. MacHale
Book 1: The Merchant of Death
Book 2: The Lost City of Faar
Book 3: The Never War
Book 4: The Reality Bug
Book 5: Black Water
Book 4: Of Two Minds by Carol Matas
Book 5: Princess Nevermore by Dian Curtis
Regan
Book 6: Shadow of the Red Moon by
Walter Dean Myers

Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce
Book 1: Alanna: The First Adventure
Book 2: In the Hand of the Goddess
Book 3: The Woman Who Rides Like a Man
Book 4: Lioness Rampant

Sons of the Dark by Lynne Ewing
Book 1: Barbarian
Book 2: Escape
Book 3: Outcast

The Books of Magic by Carla Jablonski
Book 1: The Invitation
Book 2: Bindings
Book 3: The Children Crusade
Book 4: Consequences
Book 5: Lost Places

The Claidi Journals by Tanith Lee
Book 1: Wolf Tower
Book 2: Wolf Star
Book 3: Wolf Queen
Book 4: Wolf Wing

Point Fantasy
Book 1: Book of Enchantments by
Patricia Wrede
Book 2: Dragonslayer 's Apprentice by David
Calder
Book 3: More Minds by Carol Matas

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by
Patricia C. Wrede
Book 1: Dealing With Dragons
Book 2: Searching For Dragons
Book 3: Calling on Dragons
Book 4: Talking to Dragons

Quartets for the Young Adult Reader
The Spectrum Chronicles by Thomas Locke
Book 1: Light Weaver
Book 2: Dream Voyager
Book 3: Path Finder
Book 4: Heart Chaser

The Dalemark Quartet by Diana Wynne Jones
Book 1: Cart and Cwidder
Book 2: Drowned Ammet
Book 3: The Spellcoats
Book 4: The Crown of Dalemark

The Watcher's Quest by Margaret Buffie
Book 1: The Watcher
Book 2: The Seeker
Book 3: The Finder

Young Wizards by Diane Duane
Book 1: So You Want to Be a Wizard
Book 2: Deep Wizardry
Book 3: High Wizardry
Book 4: A Wizard Abroad
Book 5: The Wizard's Dilemma
Book 6: A Wizard Alone
Book 7: The Wizard's Holiday
Book 8: Wizards at War

Trilogies for the Young Adult Reader
Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix
Book 1: Sabriel
Book 2: Lirael: Daughter of the Clayr
Book 3: Abhorsen

Harper Hill Trilogy by Anne McCaffrey
Book 1: Dragonsong
Book 2: Dragonsinger
Book 3: Dragondrums

Pit Dragon Trilogy by Jane Yolen
Book 1: Dragon's Blood
Book 2: Heart's Blood
Book 3: A Sending of Dragons

The Immortals Quartet by Tamora Pierce
Book 1: Wild Magic
Book 2: Wolf-Speaker
Book 3: Emperor Mage
Book 4: The Realms of the Gods

The Magician's House Quartet by
William Corlett
Book 1: The Steps Up the Chimney
Book 2: The Door in the Tree
Book 3: The Tunnel Behind the Waterfall
Book 4: The Bridge in the Cloud

[jeffb]

Actually, didn't notice the button over there >>>>>>> 


here is the attachment

FANTASY BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS.pdf (463.03 KB)

[cupboardgnome]

Sept 1, 2021 8:09:47 GMT -5 jeffb said:

Actually, didn't notice the button over there >>>>>>> 


here is the attachment

View Attachment

wow, okay, that's plenty!

[nebless]

My local Comic Book / Gaming store as a bunch of children's books that would fit what you're looking for like JeffB posted. Letting the kids check out and pick out what they like might be the way to go.

You could also look at the graphic novels / combined comic book sets. The Adventure Zone series is pretty good.

Also in the category of 'choose your own adventures', D&D has one's for all the major archtypes (Druid, Fighter etc...) that the kids might like since not only would they have the story, but some gaming choices to go with it.

[ProfGremlin]

Just remembered, there's also the Redwall series by Brian Jacques. It's a rather popular series that's been around for a long time. I've tried reading them myself but found the dialogue written for some of the characters, written in dialect, would break me out of the flow of the story. Not saying it's bad by any means, just didn't work for me.

Related thematically to Redwall is Mouse Guard; DriveThru listings available too. Bonus points, it also has an RPG, 1st Ed, 2nd Ed! Though, I can't say much about the RPG as I haven't looked beyond a review of it. As I recall, it had some interesting points.  I would definitely recommend looking over the books before handing them to your youngins.  It's been a few years since I read them and I seem to recall the feeling as being a bit grimmer than Redwall.

[oldskolgmr]

Hi cupboardgnome , this is one of the few contributions I have not seen listed yet, Bone by Jeff Smith .
It's not a book, it's a comic/graphic novel series. The humor, warmth, and depth of the characters is excellent. Here in Tucson, AZ (USA) it's stocked in the public library. 
WARNING!! Jeff Smith's other projects may contain material NOT appropriate for people under 18+ (Yeah! Shocked me too compared to Bone ). 
Here's a book that may fit,  Stardust by Neil Gaiman .
These links should have helpful reviews.
Lewis Carol's Alice in Wonderland deserves mention.

+1 on The Hobbit, Narnia, Harry Potter, His Dark Materials, Jim Hines Goblin Hero series (read the link from ProfGremlin ), and the Abhorsen books listed above. I've re-read all of them through the years and I always enjoy them.


If anything else occurs to me I will post it.

EDIT: +1 also Too Many Curses by A. Lee Martinez, Robert Asprin's Myth series , Piers Anthony's Xanth books, and Mouse Guard.

Note: as always thanks to ProfGremlin for the thread link which I upvoted from . 

[d4caltrops]

Comprehensive list so far... I read "Knight's Wyrd" around that age and remember liking it.

[dungeondevil]

+1 for gamebooks. Choose Your Own Adventure, Fighting Fantasy, Lone Wolf, Endless Quest, Fabled Lands, etc. CYOA was the bomb when I was 10 or so. Many very fond memories.

[jeffb]

I saw a boxed collection of CYOA* books at my local Target a week or two ago.


*choose your own adventure, not cover your own @$$


Edit to add- I bought some of the recent WOTC D&D "CYOA" type books back in 2019- I would say it had a few sections that  I thought might be a little much for my little girl when she was 8 yo. For example= a pretty clear/direct description of her rogue character being stabbed in the stomach, and bleeding to death. It wasn't elaborate, but maybe jarring (wouldn;t have phased me at 8-I'd been hunting for 3 years already and used to blood).  I think they are geared more towards tweens/teens..

[scintillant]

I will put a plug in for one of the series that introduced me to fantasy when I was young: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Prydain.

[zanshin]

I would also throw in Fighting Fantasy Books and the Lone Wolf books as CYOA books for the younger reader.

I greatly enjoyed Henry Treece's historical novels as a child, ranging through Viking , Saxon and Greek adventures, as well as the Roger Lancelyn Green collections of Myths.