Need some literary advice

[ellejir]

Greta wrote:
> 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!
> 

I agree with those who recommended "A Series of Unfortunate Events" 
by Lemony Snicket.  The books are cleverly written and my 7 year old 
son (a rotten reader, sad to say) loves to have me read them to him.  
The characters are one-note and cardboard (especially when compared 
to HP) but the vocabulary is fantastic and the kids are the heroes in 
the tales (because, as someone already pointed out, all the adults 
are idiots or evil.)
He might also like Susan Cooper's "The Dark is Rising" series.  A 
couple of the books in this series won Newbery Awards or Honors.  The 
books are really great, although they lack the humor of the HP series.
Two of my favorite books from childhood were "A Wrinkle in Time" by 
Madeline L'Engle and "The Silver Crown" by Robert C. O'Brien--both 
fantasty books with female child heroines.  I re-read them both 
within the last year and was not as thrilled with them as I once was, 
but as a grade-schooler I found them *delightful*.

Elle