I need help with literature for an 11 year old

[TheYellowCellPhone]

You could give him the Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy. That was a fairly entertaining book.

Yes, this, but the later books got a bit more sex in them.

Ah, who cares, he's eleven, should know by now.

 

[TheRobotandtheBeast]

Give him Animal farm, flowers for alganon and one flew over the cuckoos nest. They maybe old but he will never be able to forget them.

 

[smearyllama]

The Star Wars Thrawn Trilogy.
They're really good, and something I could grasp at that age. Most Star Wars novels are good, because they're well written (mostly), and have great action and recognizable characters.
I loved them in fifth grade, and I'm guessing so will this kid.

 

[Ramin 123]

I'd say Artemis Fowl (note the first book is just called Artemis Fowl as there's around 7 books). It's like kind of fantasy thief stuff.

 

[Amethyst Wind]

Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.

Enough fantasy and religious metaphor in there, all wrapped up in an easy to read and exciting story.

For the love of god, though, whatever you do don't let the kid watch the film. It is an abomination.

 

[manaman]

Most fiction is written at an 8th or 7th grade reading level. It's easier consumption by the masses. Not saying your average person couldn't read something at a college reading level and understand it, just that reading and absorbing something written at a lower reading level is easier, which makes it great as something to read a few chapters as your a settling in for the night.

So it really depends on the child, if they can handle something at that reading level then you just need to look out for context.

Basically some examples of what you think would be appropriate would help. Is some mild sexual content okay, or do you want to stay more towards all ages material, etc?

 

[DougNotDougie]

My little brother has been reading a (long) series of books called "So You Want To Be A Wizard?" Note that I have NEVER touched them, so I'm not sure if they suck or not, but he seems to love them.

This is an awesome series... I would recommend it. It not only has that stuff, it has hidden meaning for good morals.

I recommend the Percy Jackson series, or even the Artemis Fowl series.

 

[DougNotDougie]

EDIT: Accidentally posted twice... Just ignore this post.. *whistling inconspicuosly*

 

[Bravo 21]

Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's "Good Omes"
Excellent book for an 11 year old

Any warhammer books from Dan abnet will do
Gotta love Space Marines...

That's a good read at 11 years old??

probably, id let my younger brother read them

 

[Oinodaemon]

A Wrinkle in Time...The Hobbit. Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series (i started reading it at about 10) Hitchhikers Guide...OH OH, Robert Salvatore's Drizzt series(s). They're easy reading, action packed, and have 0 sexual content...I would say they're probably one of the best for a young fantasy enthusiast.

 

[Oinodaemon]

A Wrinkle in Time...The Hobbit. Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series (i started reading it at about 10) Hitchhikers Guide...OH OH, R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt series(s). They're easy reading, action packed, and have 0 sexual content...I would say they're probably one of the best for a young fantasy enthusiast.

 

[EMFCRACKSHOT]

One of the best books i read at that age was The Weirdstone of Brisingamen
It has elements of celtic, norse and arthurian mythology in it ands it nice and easy to read too. Still one of my fave books
Whats also really good is the Pawn of Prophecy series by David Eddings. Its a nice and easy to read too.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman both kind of get into a mythology basis, and are great reads that a developing mind can readily get into, and love more as they grow. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (by Douglas Adams) books are always a great read. And Brian Jacques' Redwall series is a fun read for that age range.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

I read the Star Wars expanded universe at that age, and there's so many to choose from that are of varying styles, so you'd want to do a little research. I recommend the excellent X-Wing series, but that's just me.

Also, I read a series of books by Elizabeth Moon called the Serrano Legacy, but they are very dense and a lot harder to get into. If he's a high reading age for 11 then go for it but they really aren't for everyone, and they start getting more and more about politics later in the series as well.

EDIT: And if you can find it, the Xenoncide Mission by Ben Jeapes is an excellent read.

 

[Manicotti]

The Redwall books
Ender's Game
His Dark Materials
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Hobbit
The first couple Harry Potter books
Dune
The Hitchhiker's Guide
Anything by Roald Dahl

 

[SangRahl]

At 11, I was reading the Xanth novels by Piers Anthony... first one is called "A Spell for Chameleon". They were heavy in adventure, magic, and incessant puns. Seriously, there are more puns in a single chapter than most adults can stand in a year. They're also a bit older for the first books (late-70's publication, so they may be harder to find), but the series reaches the double digits, if he gets hooked and keeps on reading.

I'd also recommend the Artemis Fowl books. I've recently read the first couple, on recommendation of my niece, and they should be fine for the age. (She's been reading them, over and over, since before she was 10.)

I currently have my paperback copies of Jim Hines' Jig the Goblin series ("Goblin Quest", "Goblin Hero", "Goblin War") boxed up and sitting by the front door to send up to her (with a Munchkin Fairy Dust supplement pack tucked inside as a surprise). Almost PnP-based humor, without requiring prior dice-play to get the jokes.

 

[Berserker119]

The Kane Chronicles, or the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan.

 

[Nouw]

Robert Heinlein wrote a series of different books for kids. One of my favorites is "Tunnel in the Sky" Also check out Asimov and other older Sci-Fi books. They aren't too racy or violent.
Then again I read "Brave New World" at 10 and it had a big impact on me.

*Cough*Starship Troopers*Cough*

It depends how good of a reader he is.

I'd recommend Ender's Game and the RedWall series. Also Harry Potter and the kids books by Roald Dahl.

 

[WrcklessIntent]

Depends, how close does the Mythology have to be and what version of Mythology (Greek, Egyptian, Chinese, etc etc.)

If its Greek, then I could suggest the Percy Jackson novels. They weren't all that bad when I read them (Granted that was 4-6 years ago, before I realized that most of the Olympic Pantheon was made up of pervy gods and jealous goddesses.)

Other then that, I'm not a big reader of Sci-Fi myself so I'm really of no use there.

damn ninja'd
Um I'd go with Artemis Fowl and Enders game although that might be a bit complicated.