Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Series: Children

Fantasy Literature for Children ages 9-12.

The Lost Years: Initial novelty has worn off

The Lost Years by T.A. Barron

Perhaps because it was a tad over-hyped for me, perhaps because since its publication there have been several other books and films that tell the story of Merlin’s youth, but T.A. Barron‘s The Lost Years left me a little cold. I enjoyed it well enough, though certain segments dragged a little, but ultimately I think that much of its initial novelty has worn off. What was an innovative look at an unknown aspect of a legendary figure’s life back in 1996 may feel like a somewhat generic fantasy-adventure by today’s standards.

Hercules: The best of McCaughrean’s retellings

Hercules by Geraldine McCaughrean

Geraldine McCaughrean has written four retellings of Greek myths, fleshing out the personalities of various heroes and the circumstances that made them legendary. In her beautiful, fluid prose, McCaughrean hits the perfect balance in presenting the darker aspects of the myths without being either too gratuitous or too prissy. In this case, McCaughrean takes the figure of Hercules (who in a Greek setting, should technically be called “Heracles”). In his youth Hercules meets the personifications of Virtue and Vice, who offer him the choice of his destiny.

King of Shadows: Historical fantasy for children

King of Shadows by Susan Cooper

Nat Fields is a young boy with a tragic family history who has just joined a new theatre group. Run by the eccentric Arby Babbage, Nat finds solace and escape from his past with the rehearsals of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Nat is to play the part of Puck, and despite some minor difficulties, Nat is happy with his role as an actor, especially as the director plans to make the performance as loyal as possible to the original performances (including having boys play the part of women).

Luka and the Fire of Life: A Quest to Write an Ageless Story

Luka and the Fire of Life by Salman Rushdie

The Little Prince and Alice in Wonderland are sometimes considered “Children’s Literature,” but both stories speak to the human imagination so directly that they free themselves from the shackles of young age. In his latest novel, Luka and the Fire of Life, Salman Rushdie seeks to write a transcendently ageless, imaginative story about Luka, a boy who was born to turn back time.

Luka is an unusual child.

Rowan Hood: Feels like an appetizer

Rowan Hood by Nancy Springer

Thirteen year old Rosemary returns home from gathering herbs to find her home burnt to the ground and her mother dead. Not willing to try her luck in a town or on an estate, she decides to disguise herself as a boy and travel to Sherwood Forest in order to find her father: Robin Hood. Rosemary has never met or even seen her father, who is already a famous hero in ballads across England. Unsure why he left her mother or even if he wants a daughter,

The Ring of Solomon: Bartimaeus is back!

The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud

Fans of Jonathan Stroud’s fantastic Bartimaeus Trilogy, which began with The Amulet of Samarkand and ended with Ptolemy’s Gate, will be happy to know that the title character — the wise-cracking fourth-level djinn who has long-standing issues with authority — is back and funny as ever in The Ring of Solomon.

Rather than continue the story of the first trilogy,

Perseus: A great way to introduce children to Greek myths

Perseus by Geraldine McCaughrean

There are probably much shorter retellings of this hero-story, and there are probably quite a few longer ones — but if you wish to avoid the simplicity of a picture book and the long-windedness of an epic, then I don’t think you’d find any reason to complain about Geraldine McCaughrean‘s version of the Perseus myth. In fact, I would go so far as to say that its fidelity to the well-known myth and the lyrical prose in which it is told make it the quintessential retelling of the ancient story (perhaps a premature claim considering I’m far from having read them all,

Silver on the Tree: The final book of an immensely rewarding series

Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper

Silver on the Tree is the fifth and final book in The Dark is Rising series, and if you have never picked up the previous installments, then don’t start here — you won’t have a clue what’s going on. If, however, you have read Over Sea, Under Stone, The Dark is Rising, Greenwitch and The Grey King, then here is the big finale you’ve been waiting for.

The Lost Hero: A fresh new adventure from the world of Percy Jackson

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan’s The Lost Hero picks up shortly after his Percy Jackson & The Olympians series ended and continues onward in the same universe with both new and familiar characters. Actually, I should say “mostly” the same universe, as Riordan has broadened his Greek mythology premise to include the Roman gods as well (or as is often the case, the familiar Greek gods in their less-familiar Roman aspects).

Percy literally isn’t around for this one (don’t worry — he appears to play a major role in the next);

No Such Thing as Dragons: Tweens will certainly enjoy

No Such Thing as Dragons by Philip Reeve

No Such Thing as Dragons, by Philip Reeve, is aimed at a somewhat younger group than his excellent Mortal Engines series, though it has moments that might be a bit beyond that younger target audience.

Set in a medieval time period, No Such Thing as Dragons follows a young mute boy named Ansel who is sold by his father to Brock, the famed itinerant dragon-slayer. As Ansel soon learns,

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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