Need some literary advice

[junediamanti]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "augustinapeach" 
<augustinapeach at y...> wrote:
> Hi, everyone.
> 
> Christmas is coming, and I'm looking for books to give my 8-year-
old 
> son.  He is a fairly advanced reader (has finished all five HP 
> books) who really likes the fantasy genre.  Usually, I like to 
> browse through a book before I recommend it to him (hope I don't 
> sound like "Mommy Dearest" -- just not quite ready yet to explain 
> certain things to an 8-year-old!!), but I can't see myself having 
> much time to do that in the next month. I'm wondering if any of you 
> might be able to give me a brief review of the following books -- 
or 
> be able to suggest others he might like.  
> 
> Eragon -- Christopher Paolini
> The Thief Lord -- Cornelia Funke
> Wicked -- Gregory Maguire
> A Rumor of Dragons -- Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
> 
> I've tried to get him to read the Chronicles of Narnia, but no luck 
> so far.  Can only keep trying, I guess!
> 
> Thanks for your help.
> 
> Greta (finally feeling ready to peek out from behind her pseudonym)

Sadly I'm posting this from works so cannot run and check the 
bookshelves.  So this is going to be rather vague.

I got my daughter some excellent books in the form of comic strips - 
beautifully illustrated.  They covered the Shakespeare stories and 
another covered the Greek Myths and the Tale of Troy.  

The Shakespeare one was called something like Mr Shakespeare's 
amazing plays.  

I'm sure you'd be able to find something like this in a good bookshop 
with a good children's section - it seems to me like it might 
originally be a US idea, because I think your publishers can often be 
more imaginative.  

Further to that, any adaptation the "great stories" by which I mean 
the myths and such is probably worth a try.  I discovered Roger 
Lancelyn Green's "Tales of the Greek Heroes" when I was seven and 
that was that.  Hooked on myths and legends for ever. 

June