Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books for Smart Kids and Teens | Geekville

? October 4, 2011Posted in: Books, Literature, R. Miranda

One of the great things about being an educator and working with kids is finding the ones you know are going to be just a bit like you ten years down the road. I recently taught an art class in which every day turned into a discussion of Doctor Who and Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Battlestar Galactica. It was heaven. The only strange thing was that every bit of discussion, except mentions of bitter scorn for Twilight*, was about television.

I was raised on Star Trek, but I was also raised on books, great huge piles of them that still take up the better part of a room in my apartment. When I walk into the YA section of a big-box bookstore now?which I do frequently, under the pretense of keeping up with what students are reading?fifty percent of the imaginative fiction on the shelves, to my eye, is supernatural romance. There?s not a lot for those who aren?t fans of the current trend in vampires and werewolves and even less that appeals to a male audience.

The truth is that there are a lot of wonderful science fiction and fantasy books out there for kids and teens?if you know where to look. Unfortunately, publishers are more focused on marketing the few mass-produced subgenres that sell, and many quality books seem to have vanished from the shelves.

Here, then, are a few alternatives. Please note that recommended age ranges reflect my perception of content rather than reading level.

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Older Kids and Preteens (9-11)

• The Catwings series by Ursula LeGuin (1988-1994): LeGuin, the celebrated author of an immense range of fantasy and science fiction novels, has created a clever, funny series about a family of cats born with wings. These short stories are beautifully illustrated, making them ideal reading for younger kids, but they are accessible and appealing for upper elementary ages as well.
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (1950): These children?s classics need no introduction. Unfortunately, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has been cheapened by the effects-laden 2005 film. It?s time to go back to the original if you haven?t already.
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L?Engle (1962): Yet another classic defaced by a recent movie (see also The Dark is Rising below), although in this case Disney has a chance at redemption with another version currently in development. L?Engle?s Time Quartet is probably a kid?s best introduction to the tantalizing possibility of bending our own universe. Best for precocious fifth graders and up.

Young Teens (12-14)

• Beauty by Robin McKinley (1978): Still my favorite retelling of Beauty and the Beast. This Beauty was bookish and brave long before Disney?s Belle arrived on the scene, and McKinley fleshes out her family, home, and journey beautifully. Recommended for any age, but the depth of language is best for 11 and up.
• Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley (2007): The story of a boy growing up in the last natural reserve for dragons who finds and illegally raises a dragon kit, unintentionally becoming the only bridge between the two species. An excellent story with the added rare bonus of a male protagonist. McKinley?s Pegasus (2010) has a vaguely similar basis, but be warned: it?s a cliffhanger.
• Wise Child, Juniper, and Colman by Monica Furlong (1987-2003): Furlong gives us early Scottish girl Wise Child and her teacher, the healer Juniper. The magic is subtle enough to be just barely more fantasy than magical realism, and the story ties into historical trends such as plague, witch-hunts, and the spread of Christianity in early Britain.
• The Dark is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper (1965-1977): I hear tell they made a movie out of this series several years ago (called The Seeker) and it bombed, but that?s OK; apparently it ignored the original plot. The first book, Over Sea, Under Stone, eases readers into the epic stories of the other four, in which modern children play a role in an age-old war between The Light and The Dark. Many elements are drawn from English and Welsh folktales and the legends of King Arthur.
• Sabriel by Garth Nix (1995): Unusual and intricate world-building make this story of a young necromancer and her allies engrossing. I?ve still never read anything quite like it, except possibly the two sequels.

Older Teens (15-18)

• The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley (1982): Yeah, okay, I love her stuff. In a world reminiscent of colonial India, a Homeland girl joins the native Darians in fighting off an invasion. That?s not the half of it, but this story travels through sword, sorcery, and sand on a journey towards a new understanding of home. There is also a prequel, The Hero and the Crown, which remains my favorite fantasy book of all time.
• The Hunger Games and sequels by Suzanne Collins (2008-2010): Everyone seems to have talked about these over the past year, and I?m glad. This is quality dystopian lit, just close enough to our own world to make the stories? tension deeply real. It is dark and at times quite violent, insistently asking hard questions that the characters don?t want to face but the reader must. Adults should be reading this too.
• Uglies by Scott Westerfield (2005): Society has been transformed: poverty and disease have been eliminated and everyone is able to live indulgently. Children look forward to a coming of age when plastic surgery erases all their physical faults. Unbeknownst to them, it also erases their critical thinking and any resistance to the system. A thoughtful read.
• The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson (2011): This is a new take on the classic ?hesitant chosen one? scenario. Thrust into queenship on the brink of war, Elisa, bearer of the mysterious Godstone, seems to be the only one who doesn?t think she knows the will of God. Carson pushes the reader to reconsider issues of race, religion, and body image, carried along easily by the fast-paced story and hints of romance.

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* You will notice Twilight is very prominently not recommended on this list, at all, ever. In fact, as both a teacher and reader, I strongly recommend you spend your time on something better.

Source: http://www.thegeekville.com/2011/10/04/beyond-harry-potter-sci-fi-and-fantasy-literature-for-smart-kids-and-teens/

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