Fantasy Literature for Children ages 9-12.
I first read The Haunting when I was about ten or eleven years old, and now — almost twenty years later — I was stunned by how much I remembered it. Usually good books leave an imprint of enjoyment on your memory, but such is the potency of Margaret Mahy‘s writing that I recalled almost every beat of her story. At the same time, there were parts of The Haunting that I could appreciate much more as an adult than as a child.
October 21st, 2014. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 5 | Margaret Mahy | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Hello from 2030 by Jan Paul Schutten
I had some mixed feelings about Hello from 2030, a Middle Grade (grades 3-7) non-fiction book by Jan Paul Schutten that over the course of about 200 pages speculates on what the future might hold for human culture — driverless cars, robots, living houses, a changing environment — as well as explains how such “futurology” predictions are made. On the one hand, it is full of interesting moments of speculation about future technology, has a quick pace, is clear and easy to follow.
October 16th, 2014. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3 | Children, Non-fiction | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Secret of the Key by Marianne Malone
The Secret of the Key appears to be the final book in Marianne Malone’s SIXTY-EIGHT ROOMS adventures. This children’s series has been a bit of a disappointment for me and the only reason I have continued with it is that I requested a review copy of the audiobook edition of this final book and so I felt obligated to read it. As three of us have previously mentioned, the premise is fabulous, but the execution falls short.
September 17th, 2014. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2 | Marianne Malone | Audio, Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Maddigan’s Fantasia by Margaret Mahy
Early in the 22nd century, the world underwent a vast and radical change, in which the tectonic plates of the Earth shifted and a series of devastating earthquakes changed the face of the planet. As a result of these events — now known as the Great Chaos — the population has severely dropped and most technology has been lost. What remains is a dangerous wilderness where communities are isolated and bandits roam the unmapped highways.
Yet out of the ashes of the old world comes Solis,
September 17th, 2014. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Margaret Mahy | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Pirate’s Coin by Marianne Malone
The Pirate’s Coin, the third book in Marianne Malone’s SIXTY-EIGHT ROOMS fantasy adventure series for children, is a slight improvement over the first two novels, The Sixty-Eight Rooms and Stealing Magic, which three of us here at FanLit agreed did not meet the potential of Malone’s excellent premise. Readers who haven’t dropped out yet, presumably because they have enjoyed the series so far, should also be pleased with this installment.
September 13th, 2014. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2.5 | Marianne Malone | Audio, Children | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
A Wonderlandiful World by Shannon Hale
In A Wonderlandiful World, Shannon Hale’s story about the teenage children of famous fairytale characters shifts focus from the conflict between the Royals and the Rebels about their “happily ever after” destiny to the problems caused by one of the students’ previous misadventures. They had accidentally let the Jabberwock (from Wonderland) loose into their world. The Jabberwock is not happy about not being in Wonderland anymore, so he’s making life miserable for the students and faculty of Ever After High by making all the magic go wrong.
September 3rd, 2014. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Shannon Hale | Audio, Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Stealing Magic by Marianne Malone
Stealing Magic is the second book in Marianne Malone’s SIXTY-EIGHT ROOMS adventure series for middle grade readers. The series has a fascinating premise — two 6th grade kids find a way to explore the Thorne Rooms in the Art Institute of Chicago and discover that they can use the rooms to get into the world of the time period the rooms depict. But Bill, Kelly, and I were disappointed because there was too little time spent actually exploring the fantasy worlds (which would be the fun part).
September 2nd, 2014. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2 | Marianne Malone | Audio, Children | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Editor, publisher, and essayist Lou Anders’ debut novel is a sweet Middle Grade story inspired by Norse legends. Frostborn, the first in a series, has two likeable heroines. The first is Karn, the son of a prosperous farmer who’s head of their clan. Karn is his father’s heir, which secretly infuriates Karn’s uncle, a twin who is only a few seconds younger than Karn’s father. However, Karn isn’t interested in running the family farm and being clan chief. He spends his time playing a strategy board game called Thrones &
August 5th, 2014. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Lou Anders | Audio, Children | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Dragon of Avalon by T.A. Barron
Recent republications of The Dragon of Avalon number it as the sixth instalment in T.A. Barron‘s MERLIN series. To be more accurate, it was published *after* the five-part LOST YEARS OF MERLIN and THE GREAT TREE OF AVALON trilogy, but is placed between them in the chronology of events. Confusing, right?
Although reading this in the newly designated order certainly doesn’t give away any spoilers, there’s a definite sense that Barron expects you to have some awareness of the Great Tree of Avalon (it’s kind of like reading The Magician’s Nephew before The Lion,
July 16th, 2014. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3.5 | T.A. Barron | Children | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Cat Who Wished to Be a Man by Lloyd Alexander
No one does it better than Lloyd Alexander. One of his early children’s chapter books, The Cat Who Wished to Be a Man contains all of his trademark wit, wisdom and warmth, as well as a valuable lesson and plenty of delightful characters.
After giving his cat the gift of speech, the magician Stephanus is now harangued by requests to turn him into a man. Lionel is desperately curious about the world of mankind,
July 15th, 2014. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Lloyd Alexander | Children | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Your review made me curious, so I looked this book up. Sure enough: Tor. Tor seems to specialize in these…
It's a tightrope act for sure.
[…] Stuart (2 December 2015). “Roadside Picnic: Russian SF classic with parallels to Vandermeer’s Area X | Fantasy Lit…. fantasyliterature.com. Retrieved 8 […]
yes, I mean, there are certainly lots of good sci-fi/fantasy novellas out there, so they aren't impossible to do, but…
Well, your review is a perfect match for what they marketed it as, so... that's good. I'm having the same…