Percy Jackson and the olympians series, I didn't read anything while I was a kid bt this is great!!!! And I still have a child's mind so I think it counts and also anything by terry prachett, I recommend the tiffany aching series
@@MichaelaDrechselova The Colour Of Magic was my first step into more adult books and it was a wonderful start for that - it's not necessarily a great pick for a young adult book in my opinion. A fair bit of humour in the books also comes from playing off of other fantasy tropes so it might be wise to wait until they're a bit more familiar with fantasy to give Discworld to someone. There are books in the series which were written with young adults in mind, such as the Tiffany Aching books or The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents. Another good Pratchett book to get kids into him would be Only You Can Save Mankind - which is a wonderful book about a child who ends up in a conflict from a video game that he plays
I'm 16 years old . I've read Harry Potter and Percy Jackson . After that, I thought nothing would be as good as these two series . I was lost. I couldn't find any good fantasy series. But thanks to Daniel's review of The Black Prism, I was intrigued by the concept of magic based on light. So I gave Lightbringer a try ..... I gotta say, it's really good . I'm currently reading the 3rd book, The Broken Eye. Thanks Daniel! , for introducing me to Lightbringer. After Lightbringer , I'll try Mistborn. This channel has become my favourite on RUclips. Keep up the good work , Daniel! Love from India 🇮🇳
hey man its been about 3 yrs so i dont know i ur gonna reply however im in the exact same situation u were in. Im 15 have read hp and pjo and want to continue reading fantasy but cant choose what to read next and im a bit lost. If u could recommend what helped u it would mean a lot, thanks.
@@DanielGreeneReviews We can write it off as "Well, of course the Hobbit. I didn't mention it because that's just how obvious it was." Great subject, by the way. You're right that it's overlooked by most Book Tubers and bloggers.
One of my son's English teachers told my son to stop reading Fantasy and to read more "worthwhile" fiction. This was years ago and it still infuriates me.
Thats so bad 😭 my mom told me to stop reading because i literally did nothing besides reading but now i'm trying to get back Info reading and i already have some good books
when it comes to animal fantasy, I'd show someone (particularly boys) Mistmantle first. Get them to read the first 3 books at say, 9 or 10 Show them Redwall after, first 2 books, then whatever books feature squirrels (if they're anything like me, they'll greatly enjoy squirrel characters after reading Mistmantle. I forget the books name, but the Redwall book with the main character Danflor i liked wuite a lot as a kid
Redwall was my childhood! I devoured the entire series and my parents even got me a signed copy of Mossflower (my favorite). What I love most is the feeling I got, the cozy warmth of Redwall Abby and the sheer epic ness of Salamandastron. Also for any fellow Redwall fans a band called Syr made a song called Eulalia and it’s awesome. Anyhow, I love this channel and I’m definitely going to pick up A Wizard of Earthsea, thank you!
I’m a teen librarian and we do a lot of readers’ advisory for the tween/intermediate grades as well. My go to newer books to go to from Harry Potter are Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend and Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger. Both have a lot of the same themes (magic school, found families, etc) as Harry Potter and gave me the same warm and fuzzy feelings. Furthermore and Whichwood by Tahereh Mafi are wonderful, especially for fans of Alice in Wonderland. Anything written by Kelly Barnhill is fantastic, especially The Girl Who Drank the Moon and Witch’s Boy. I think her books are great picks if a parent wants to buddy read with their child - they are just fantastic, heart-wrenching magical stories that anyone of any age can appreciate. Howl’s Moving Castle is a great classic fantasy to hand to a tween. I also think The Hobbit and LOTR are fine to hand to younger kids who are fluent readers. I agree with you that Redwall is fine for younger fluent readers - there’s no inappropriate content but I’d say the writing/vocab may be harder for struggling younger readers. And I’d say Series of Unfortunate Events is good for 8+ as long as the child is a fluent reader. If you like Series of Unfortunate Events, jump into The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place. Has a similar writing style but with a few more fantastical elements. In terms of graphic novels, Amulet is awesome for fantasy lovers - such a whimsical story! Edit to add: Completely forgot to add Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book. Holly Black has some great middle grade as well - Doll Bones is a delightfully spooky magic realism horror book that I loved. She also has some more traditional fantasy as well.
The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. The first book is called the Book of Three. It is the source for the Disney movie The Black Cauldron. Underrated and excellent. I believe their source material is a group of Welsh tales called The Mabinogion.
Nice! I loved these in my early teens. I'd also add Piers Anthony and David Eddings as okay for earlier teens. Maybe mid teens, really as some of the subject matter can be pretty graphic.
My 11 yr daughter and 9yr old son devoured skyward and the second one. They do have all of the above recommendations under their belt as well. All great options.
Deltora Quest by Emily Rodda is extremely popular in Australia, but I'm guessing doesn't have much exposure elsewhere (considering I never hear about it). Cannot recommend it higher for kids, I'd hazard a guess it's 2nd only to Harry Potter as most read children's fantasy in Australia. 3 unlikely companions adventure around a fantasy world to find 7 gems hidden in the 7 most dangerous places, which the dark lord hid away. Each book has a fantasy monster on the front cover which invariably protects that book's gem. It's very easy to read, very engaging, lots of puzzles for readers to work out ahead of time. And kid's ADORE the gems, remembering all their names, where they were found, what protected them, etc.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians + the rest of that world, by Rick Riordan. The Bartimaeus Sequence by Jonathan Stroud. Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy. Septimus Heap by Angie Sage.
My daughter and I have been bonding by reading the Percy Jackson books. It's been a great experience and she's a voracious reader. Even the later books where the characters are 16 are still appropriate for younger readers.
Some of my favorites: -Chronicles of Prydain, by Lloyd Alexander -Song of the Lioness quartet, byTamora Pierce -A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle -The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper
Earthsea and Eragon are good picks. Percy Jackson is probably nice too, and for a more modern take, Sanderson's Evil Librarians. I read a lot of Dragonlance in my early teens--you never mention this series, don't like it? I'd say it truly made me the fantasy fan I am today. Thanks for your videos!
First and second series I ever read were the Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy (its a damn trilogy... the Dragons of Summer does not exist except as its own tale) and The Twins trilogy from Dragonlance.
Narnia is very good if read from the Christian worldview, but would not recommend to a non-Christian. Also, read them in publication order (starting with Lion Witch and the Wardrobe). The Oz series is good as a classic for a fan of Alice. There's also 14 of them, which most people don't realize. But to anyone, probably the best modern series is Percy Jackson. Low fantasy, and actually manages to get people into classic Greek mythology.
Just burned through "Chronicles of Narnia" recently, and I really agree that it is a good read for children. Against some of the criticism i have read that it was sexist, the people making those claims seemingly missed that the female characters are many times the most important characters in the books. As an adult reading it the first time I had some issues with certain things, but the series was meant for kids, especially the first couple of books. And YES, please for the love of what is good, just read it in publication order... It is crystal clear that is how it should be read to anyone that actually read them this way.
@@VicRibeiro777 I just watched a video where the the person said C.S. Lewis was sexist for saying that girls should not fight in battles, yet he ignored the fact that Lucy spent the aftermath of the battle healing people with the potion Father Christmas gave to her. So apparently taking life is more valuable than saving life...... Cool
It's classic allegory, nobody in the west is going to be able to escape that story format. It's okay to challenge kids and help them unpack the archetypal stories. I remember an article after the first Narnia movie came out a while back where an atheist parent was nervous about what his kid would get out of the movie, and the kid loved the movie but didn't really pick up on anything Christian in the story. Kids who aren't familiar with Christianity aren't going to connect Narnia to it.
There’s actually another book before the lion, the witch and the wardrobe, called magicians nephew. It’s important to understand the making of the world
@@daviddewilde3310 Yes-- The Magician's Nephew and The Horse and his Boy, though published later, take place before The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe. I recommend reading them first.
The Phantom Tollbooth should be on every child's reading list. Whimsical, smart, funny, timeless. And excellent for mixed-age read aloud sessions. Adults will have just as much fun as the kids.
Ink heart is a series that I enjoyed a lot as a teen, haven’t read it in a long time but I remember liking Cornelia Funke’s writing style. Also The Hobbit
A recommendation that I don't know ever got big outside the UK is The Edge Chronicles! They are a fantastic series of books that cover 3 different trilogies over 3 different time periods with main characters who descend from one another. They are also full of amazing illustrations that I really enjoyed as a kid. Definitely the "Fantasy Epic" that I enjoyed the most as a kid.
My sister just finished reading the Way of Kings... she’s 12. I feel like she hasn’t had a childhood, so maybe I’ll try to recommending her some of these books. Though right know I feel like there’s just a little Jasnah running around our house...
When I was 12, I had read all Agatha Christie's books, Tolkien everything, and many other classics of all genre. I went back to kids and teens books decades later, when I came back to Fantasy, and highly enjoyed every serie I read for those age range. Don't worry, early bloopers always find their way. It just adds a little wisdom on it all.
Daniel, I will ship you a copy of The Chronicles of Prydain, because I can't tolerate the internet's ignorance of this series anymore. I didn't find out about these books until I was an adult and and yet it's still my favorite coming of a age story. The Hobbit is a great stepping stone (not just for kids) for anyone looking to delve into Tolkien. Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians by Brando Sando himself is also a great stepping stone for kids to delve into the Cosmere down the road.
Amen. Daniel has such a gaping hole in his fantasy education with the classics. Don't know how anyone can be a fantasy reviewer and have never read lloyd alexander or donaldson. The black cauldron was even made into a disney movie.
My kids are 6 and 8 and I've been reading them The Spiderwick Chronicles. Really good gateway fantasy with stakes and kids and magic. It's a series but short.
For young Harry Potter fans (especially 9 year olds I think), Charlie Bone is a great series. Also set at an english boarding school with talented/ magically gifted children. Also probably anything by Brandon Mull. My recommendation is definitely fablehaven. The magical world is hidden within the real world and the characters are very relatable for kids in the 8-15 range I think.
100% agree with Charlie Bone, I started reading it after a few books after finishing Harry Potter (back when there was only 4 HP books) and I found I really enjoyed Charlie Bone (I was 11yrs old).
So, one thing that was missed is the Edge Chronicles. From when I was (I think) 8-11 this series was like WoT was for my mid teens. Paul Stewart is an amazing author and his writing combined with Chris Riddell's amazing drawings make for one of the best fantasy ever. The Edge is one of the most unique fantasy settings and just seeing the changes that the wprld goes through in the various trilogies is agreat experience. I have not disliked a single entry in the series. This series occasionally deals with some pretty dark themes and has some very brutal moments, of which many have been drawn, so if your kid is somewhat sensitive to that sort of content it might be worth waiting until they're a little older, but for me, I just adored those books and looking back I still do, especially the extremely rich world that Stewart and Riddell created.
Thank you for covering redwall that was the book that really truly got me into fantasy. I'd read Narnia and Hobbit, but redwall showed me just how amazing reading can be.
Earthsea is marvellous for adults to! Deeply philosophical and highly influential. Soif/Got- Arya stumbling around in the dark is a big nod to earthsea
After reading HP and getting hooked on Fantasy (I was maybe 12-13 Years old) I discovered Terry Pratchett's Discworld and Margaret Weis' Dragonlance. Both cemented my love for fantasy. Most important was that my Dad took me to a bookstore with a big Kids/YA section and a whole floor dedicated to SF/F and I could look and choose for Hours on my own. SO maybe just take your Kid to a bookstore and let them walk around and choose for themselves (maybe with a little guidance so they dont buy vampire smut or something :D)
Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend (magical competition adventure), The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell (unlikely friends), The Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge (Norse Mytholgy), The Hobbit by Tolkien of course, The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flammell by Michael Scott (mixed mythology), The Wind on Fire by William Nicholson (somewhat dark saving the world story), The Mediator by Meg Cabot (urban ghost fantasy), Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (meta fantasy), City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab (urban ghost fantasy), The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (discovering magic) and Howls Moving Castle by Diana Wynn Jones (absurdist fantasy). Those are some I read growing up and others I've discovered more recently as an adult reader. I love MG fiction so I hope this list helps someone
I was hoping someone had mentioned The Wind on Fire. The WInd Singer is my favourite book of all time! I have the voice of the Wind Singer tattooed on my upper back.
Young readers will love Percy Jackson and The Olympian. This is a five-book series and a great prelude to reading adult mythology books such as The Iliad. Rick Riordan writes well. He can easily connect with young readers. He writes in first-person POV, his writing style makes you laugh and each book ends with a good lesson. I was 34 when I finished the series for the first time and woah, I realize I was too late lol.
My son is 13 and he has read and reread “The Land Of Stories” series several times. He even started writing his own short stories because he loved them so much. He found the first one at a book fair in elementary school. He liked the Tales of unfortunate events books enough. Loves Harry Potter. And asked for Eye if the World for Christmas as my copy was loaned out to a friend of a friend and never returned.
1. Percy Jackson and basically everything else Rick Riordan wrote (I liked Harry Potter but it were these books that really got me into reading) 2. Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan, they are rather short, but I would say really good fantasy for younger kids 3. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, haven't read all of them as I picked them up a bit too late, but very good books 4. Temeraire series by Naomi Novik, it's not meant for kids, but I read it first when I was twelve and it still remains one of my absolute favorites. I would even say it's way more kid-friendly than Harry Potter. 5. Would not recommend His Dark Materials. I was given that right after Harry Potter and I am ashamed to say I found it boring and dragging way too much and didn't even finish it. When I gave it another shot recently, I loved it, though I still think the first book does drag a bit. But maybe it's just me. Edit: 6. Also, watch Avatar The Last Airbender.
Some of my favorites during my childhood were: The Brothers Lionheart (Swedish: Bröderna Lejonhjärta, 1973) Mio, My Son (aka: Mio, My Mio, Swedish: Mio, min Mio, 1954) Ronia the Robber's Daughter (Swedish: Ronja rövardotter, 1981) by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren (She also wrote Pippi Longstocking).
Brothers Lionheart is very good, for kids especially! But oh man, kind of depressing and terrifying in places. Even just the way it begins is a bit traumatic.
I completely agree; the Belgariad and Malloreon are fantastic. I think people don't talk about them as much because they were published 30-40 years ago ("Pawn of Prophecy" was published in 1982), but they are still great books - I just re-read them last year (for the 5th or 6th time) and remembered why I have them all in my library.
A Series of Unfortunatel Events is brilliant! Coraline and The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman are honestly amazing. They kind of have a bedtime-story kind of feel to them. Also A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. It's kind if depressing but well worth the read xx
Series. Definitely Fantasy. -> Among his 41 novels, 83 short stories, 200+ poems and at least 42 scripts, Frank Baum wrote 14 novels in the Oz series (one of which was make into a movie you may have heard of). I have only read a few, but they were very good. (I wonder why I never read them to Daniel??)
It's a newer series, only two books are out and I have no idea how many are going to be in the series, but Nevermoor series by Jessica Townsend (First book is The Trials of Morrigan Crow, book 2 The Calling of Morrigan Crow) is fantastic. It gave me Harry Potter vibes without being a rip-off of the series :cough:IronTrial:cough:
I listen to some middle grade books because I think that I should read anything that sounds interesting regardless of whether it’s middle grade younger daughter or adult. So I do have some recommendations. I like the Alcatraz series and the rhythmic test by Brandon Sanderson. Also, a lot of kids that I know like the fable haven books.
Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians series from Brandon Sanderson is insanely good. Humor, magic “talents”, adventure, and plenty of breaking the fourth wall to keep you turning every page.
These are my favorite kids books that are enjoyable for all ages: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson The Nevermoor series by Jessica Townsend The Princess Academy series by Shannon Hale The Small Spaces series by Katherine Arden The Ascendance Trilogy by Jennifer A Nielsen Sweep by Jonathan Auxier
colan biemer oooh yes! I read that this year and loved it and I’m not even a kid! Bartimaeus has got to be one of the funniest characters I’ve ever read!
Garth Nix - Old Kingdom series fave fantasy growing up! And Nancy Farmer - House of the Scorpion for kids sci-fi. Surprisingly a series that made me develop patience was these weird books about children living in a boxcar (it's like a never ending series) 😂 looking back at those books it's no shocker I'm obsessed with grim dark orphan tropes.
Ha! Im 17 and i give a shit about age range! I enjoy my Narnia, my Harry Potter, I haven’t read his dark materials but that is because they are not for sale where I live and I haven’t order them, and I love Disney, so I’m watching this video for recomendaciones because again, My inner child is still there.
If you are really into Disney try Kingdom Keepers as it just circulates around the characters (mostly the villains) and the parks. It is more on the sci-fi side but is a fantastic read in my opinion
Jack Lulich also, I believe that if an adult with problems and insecurities (like everyone) can overcome them to make a child happy for a while is a hero. As CS Lewis said “a children story that can only be enjoyed by children, is a bad children story”, there is so much to learn in them, I enjoy Disney movies as a work of art, I see more magical the fact that someone can imagine and write (whatever format, movie, book, poem) a magical world, than actual magic.
I started reading the Pendragon series when I was about 10 or 11 and absolutely fell in love with it and ended up reading the whole series. A lot of cool, trippy stuff having to do with portals to different worlds with many different cultures and things like that. Some cool little twists and turns long the way too. I really fell in love with the whole concept of the series at that age and it still has a very dear place close to my heart even now, just over ten years later.
I couldn’t recommend The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud enough it’s a series I read after being done with what was published of Harry Potter and Eragon and I in my personal opinion it tops both series. The writing is witty and hilarious at times, it takes on heavy subjects in a way that makes it more accessible for children (classism and imperialism among others), you have morally grey characters, GROWTH, a great ending. It’s a kind of urban fantasy set in an alternate modern time. The Wizard of Oz is also a HUGE series that any child can dive into with no problems, I also deeply love Ella Enchanted.
I reread the first Bartimaeus book recently and it still holds up! It's weird, I remember when this came out it was being advertised as similar to Harry Potter, which made zero sense to child-me...now that I work in publishing I recognize the marketing ploy. Think this series is important in that it can teach kids to look critically at authority/harmful systems that are considered normal...
I'll throw in my two cents and say Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland A series that I enjoyed even as an adult, but I know a lot of younger readers like as well And goodreads proves that with the 4.28 average with (at the moment) 25,634 ratings for the 1st book and each subsequent entry in the series having 4.5+ average Also, Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians. Get them addicted to Brandon Sanderson as early as it gets
the Magisterium series by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black is middle grade and a lot of fun! it flips a few tropes on their heads Percy Jackson series and all of Rick Riordan's series have great comedy and teaches kids so much about different pantheons of gods
If you want more children's and middle grade fantasy suggestions that are newer, I'd recommend watching Gavin Hetherington's channel. He reads a LOT of that, and I have been very impressed by what's out there for kids these days! In fact the most original fantasy I have read lately I've seen on his channel!
I recently read Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson and this is a series I will own in my home and require my kids to read. It is hilarious and well written. It doesn't hurt that it is by my favorite author either. I also read a lot of those suggested here in the comments but one series I liked growing up was Gregor the Overlander. There are 5 books I think and it is about a kid who discovers a world beneath his apartment building where Rats, Spiders, etc. live. It is definitely geared toward a younger audience and I think 9 years old would be a great place to start.
Currently mining books for a reader in this age range. The School for Good and Evil series, the Warrior Cats series, the Song of the Lioness series. For the top end of the age range, the Harper Hall of Pern series of The Paper Magician series. I second the people who suggested Percy Jackson. I could go on.
if that reader likes the warrior cats books/animal adventure books in general, i can recommend The Sight and Firebringer by David Clement-Davies! Both are a bit long, but with wonderfully developed characters...and in the case of Firebringer, real warnings against the dangers of authoritarianism?
The Pendragon series, by D J MacHale (has nothing to do with king Arthur Pendragon). One of the very best YA series I read as a kid. There are about 11 books and I eagerly awaited each one as I got into my twenties. I gave away the first book to a co-worker for her son. She said he finished it in a week and was now trying to figure out how to afford the rest of the series because he was tirelessly asking for the next book, so I gave her the rest of my set. Now that I have a newborn, I'm already waiting for her to be about 11 so I can introduce her to the series.
I LOVED the Redwall books as a kid excellent recommendation! Def also heard good things about percy jackson. Narnia is a great alternative rec instead of his dark materials
I recommended the Mistborn series to my 13 year old sister. I wasn't sure if it would go well or not, but I thought it was worth the risk. She ended up LOVING them. She went through the books faster than I did. She now goes to me every time she wants a new book recommendation.
I see there are some comments for The Belgariad by David Eddings, which is superb and one of my favorites, but I’m going to give some love to his other series The Elenium and Tamuli. 6 book series, interesting magic systems, heroic knights, a young queen, trolls, Big Magic McGuffin with a surprise inside, a treatise on the ridiculousness for religious discrimination, and an easily digestible writing style. It’s one I read round and round when I was a young person and cemented my addiction to fantasy. Notable mention: Dragonlance series. I still want to be a Dragon Highlord to this day.
I love the Elenium and Tamuli, even more than the Belgariad and Mallorean, but there are definitely a few scenes there that I'd wait closer to the teen mark to read. Especially a certain part of The Ruby Knight.
The "Land of Stories" series is amazing. Fairy tales brought into a contemporary setting. And "Nevermoor" series. *(can't recommend these enough)* Also, Percy Jackson series.
Percy Jackson is a good read with Eragon. I grewup with the Artemis Fowl books, and the are still Som3 of my Favourites and good reads even for Adults.
Redwall 😭 my heart can't take it! Wow! I forgot about that! Dude another great series is Pendragon i think someone else commented that but, it brought back so many memories. That series blew my 10 year yr mind 😂
Patricia C Wrede's dragon series! The first was Dealing with Dragons. I reread those just as much as I did the Harry Potter books (well, the ones that had been released so far)
Other recommendations for young fantasy bookshelves: The Wingfeather Saga, How to Train your Dragon, The Unwanteds, the Warriors series, The Archives of Anthropos series, and The Dragon King Trilogy.
I’m 14, nearly 15 and read red wall a few years ago and really enjoyed it. I have read lotr and stormlight archive, currently reading the broken eye. But yeah... really loved red wall
I am 14 and and relatively new to the channel(a few months ago) and bc of you, have read mist born era 1(near the end of the 3rd one), the first law trilogy(which some may think is too much for me but um I've read it so what r u gonna do), etc.... my tbr is long af tho bc I haven't read Harry Potter, stormlight, the poppy war, name of the wind, earthsea, the 5th season, etc...
I'm so glad I found this! You're my faaaaavorite fantasy booktuber, so I'm thrilled that you've got me covered! I was specifically looking for fantasy books for children because one of my closest friends just had her first baby, a precious little girl...& as her "auntie" I want to use that influence to encourage a love of reading because its so magical! I don't have kids, nor do my 3 siblings, so I'm excited!
*"Recommendations for the kids in the crowd..." me being a 31 year old who mainly reads Middle-Grade lol* Some of my favorites are: The Lamp from the Warlock's Tomb by John Bellairs The Spiderwick Chronicles series by Tony Deterlizzi and Holly Black Liesl and Po by Lauren Oliver The Thirteen Treasures by Michelle Harrison
Thanks for this video! I am doing my student teaching in 5th grade and will be teaching in the 5th-8th grade range next year when I have my teaching license. I have been reading and experiencing lit with kids and trying to share my fantasy love with them. I plan to read several that kids have recommended to me as well, like the Unwanted series and Amulet. Kids also love anything dystopian, so Hunger Games, Divergent, etc. As a kid, I LOVED to read and especially remember The Chronicles of Prydain, Redwall, Lost Years of Merlin, as well as some easy reads like Animorphs. His Dark Materials, Earthsea, and Eragon are on my TBR shelf right now, but I missed them growing up.
"The Neverending Story" by Michael Ende. The movie pales in comparison to the book and they have very little similarities, just wanna get that out there first. Especially for a child who considers themselves a 'reader' Neverending Story is one of those books that is very easy to get important life lessons out of. The whole thing is this sort of metacommentary about escapism through reading fantasy books, and the natural projection we do between ourselves and what we read. In the end it culminates in the (imo) incredibly positive message that stories can serve both as comfortable escapism but also as constructive experiences that can help you grow as a person. It sure helped me a ton as a kid. I'm honestly kind of sad that it doesn't get more attention for being such an amazingly written, mind-warpingly meta, yet at times disturbingly relatable book that can be enjoyed by all ages while having such specific positive lessons for young readers that can impact the way they consume fiction for the rest of their lives.
I was about to post a comment about the Neverending Story, glad I'm not the only one who thought of it :) And I completely agree that the movie, although part of my childhood, is very much inferior to the book. That's partly because the movie of course only includes roughly the first half of the book. But even the 'surface' fantasy elements in the first half of the story are, in my opinion, much better executed in the book than in the movie. Plus, they didn't even include Ygramul the Many and their special poison (the effects of which I think are very cool and also kinda poetic)
You got a sub from me as soon as you mentioned Redwall. I remember reading the first book around 9 or 10 and was immediately hooked on reading and never looked back since. Brian Jacques inspired me to become an amateur writer myself and I remember crying so hard when I learned he died around when I turned 13. I remember wanting to be able to speak with him on how he came up with his stories and even show him how his work had inspired me
Dragon Riders of Pern and most other Anne McCaffrey books tend to have more sexual content then most parents are comfortable letting kids under 10 read.
I absolutely loved the Song of the Lioness books by Tamora Pierce, books by Gail Carson Levine including Ella Enchanted, as well as the Damar Series and other books by Robin McKinely, and the Temeraire Series by Naomi Novik. His Dark Materials, the Inheritance Cycle, and a heavy amount of Neil Gaiman were also read and adored. I think it's wonderful that there are so many fantasy books written for kids, but even in middle school I was reading "grown up fantasy". I don't think there is anything stopping a 12 or 13 year old from reading The Lord of the Ringsor Diskworld. After Harry Potter I read the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn Series by Tad Williams, and after that Outlander (though in retrospect that was a very interesting Librarian who recommended that to a 13 year old). As you mentioned in the video, kids are more advanced than we give them credit for and should roam and read libraries freely. I was so confused in middle school when a Librarian yelled at me for reading The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants which even in retrospect is definitely PG13. Anyone else read some maybe too saucy books as a kid?
So glad you included Series of Unfortunate Events and His Dark Materials. I know they've gotten more popular due to the adaptations but they're some of my favorites! I haven't read Earthsea but I'll have to check it out! Some of my other favorites include Chronicles of Prydain, Inkheart, Song of the Lioness and anything else by Tamora Pierce, Percy Jackson and Rick Riordan's other series, The Divide by Elizabeth Kay, City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab, and Dark Hills Divide series by Patrcick Carman.
I still love a series of unfortunate events. I reread a bunch of the last year and they definitely hold up. Also the dark is rising series was a great one I read as a kid.
I would be so interested to see you review "The Last Unicorn"! While it was made into a children's movie I wouldn't necessarily say its target audience was young readers! I could be wrong but I do believe it is a piece of adult fantasy? Or perhaps, like most good stories, it has a little bit of something for every age :) Anyways, keep up the fantastic work! Your videos are simply the best ;)
The eyes of the dragon. No, it's not a series just a standalone book. Yes, it's Stephen King, someone who is usually definitely not appropriate for children, but The Eyes of the Dragon is a whole different deal from usual King. It has kings, queens and princes, it has dragons and evil sorcerers. The story itself doesn't take any awards for originally, but the way it's told helps its case a lot cause it makes the book so good. Personally, I read it kinda recently, therefore not in my childhood, but I've met people who reas it at a young age and they still managed to enjoy every page
This was actually my introduction to king because my dad knew I prefer fantasy over anything else so he gave me this one before the Horror. I think I read it in a day or two and really enjoyed it!
If I started off fantasy off with this book i would have stopped with this book. Nothing happened.... I've read 1 other SK book past this Dark tower, and I can say SK in my opinion is over rated.
Other books I'd like to recommend are: - Basically all books by Michael Ende but especially The Neverending Story as well as Momo - Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (wonderful trilogy and loved by everyone that I know) - Anything by Wolfgang Hohlbein - Kerstin Gier writes stories with magical elements and a focus on first love so maybe that would also be intersting (All books by german authors :D)
Percy Jackson for me was hugely impactful and once you get into Rick Riordan, you have so many books. And Narnia throughout my childhood was read and listened to and reread again and again. But I know you are not a fan
The Obernewtyn Chronicles (this was my Harry Potter), anything by Erin Hunter, and Spirit Animals really got me to explore more books. I always read as a kid, but until I discovered these titles I refused to read anything that wasn't written by Ben M. Baglio or had a unicorn on the cover. The Unicorn Chronicles by Bruce Colville is great, as well as The Last Dragon Chronicles by Cris d'Lacey and the Silverwing trilogy by Kenneth Oppel. The last two I read with some friends and we were all obsessed with the series. The Last Dragon Chronicles is really long and has a lot of elements that I found very interesting and unique and shaped a lot of what I like to read today. I can't say I've found series quite like it since. It's also really long, I think around seven books, if you want something longer.
My 10 year old and I are currently listening to the Obernewtyn Chronicles audio books in the car. We are up to the Stone Key He absolutely loves it and gets excited to go in the car. Im struggling getting through it, because Isobelle Carmody is the reader and she has a strange rhythm to her voice, but hey, the kid loves it so thats what matters. Id recommend it too.
I’ve still got to read the last Obermewtyn book but it’s over 1000 pages. I’ve been rereading the series coz I remember loving the first few when I was younger but it wasn’t completed yet but it could really do with some editing
The inkheart trilogy by Cornelia funke is a great fantasy series for that age rage. Also, pjo(percy jackson and the olympians) read the first book when I was 18 but it is aimed at 9-12 year olds. Also, the shamer's daughter series by lene kaaberbøl, danish high fantasy. For 9_12 year olds HIGHLY recomend it.
I love this video and its motive . It took me 17 years to realize that i love books. Now i have only 3 years of reading experience. When i could have been 7 or 8 years.
Chronicles of Prydain is great to read for kids that aren't quite ready for LOTR. I read it in 4th grade and have reread twice as an adult and still have fun with it. Wish it got more love!
Daniel is very prejudice against classic fantasy. The late 60s, 70s, and even the 80s was the revival of high fantasy that Tolkien started and it was a lot of exploring of ideas much like Sci Fi. Its a shame Greene is intent on keeping himself in the dark about where all the ideas of modern fantasy comes from.
@@nwhitton11 yea, he has also read White, but reading 2 things compared to the piles of modern good and bad that he has read is very insufficient when you are trying to be a professional book critic.
The Fairyland series by Cathyrenne Valente is a bit darker (12+) but it is criminally underrated. It has elements of classic dark fairytales, absurdist elements, steampunk elements, a blend of fantasy creatures from different cultures, gorgeous paragraphs and ideas, and one of my favorite villains, yet NO ONE talks about it. Please go pick up A Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making, I need more people to talk to about it!
Percy Jackson and the olympians series, I didn't read anything while I was a kid bt this is great!!!! And I still have a child's mind so I think it counts and also anything by terry prachett, I recommend the tiffany aching series
@@alphabah49 I read them back to back and I just kept thinking that its so awesome and why don't enough people talk about it...
@@MichaelaDrechselova The Colour Of Magic was my first step into more adult books and it was a wonderful start for that - it's not necessarily a great pick for a young adult book in my opinion. A fair bit of humour in the books also comes from playing off of other fantasy tropes so it might be wise to wait until they're a bit more familiar with fantasy to give Discworld to someone. There are books in the series which were written with young adults in mind, such as the Tiffany Aching books or The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents. Another good Pratchett book to get kids into him would be Only You Can Save Mankind - which is a wonderful book about a child who ends up in a conflict from a video game that he plays
My Kids liked percy jackson, though I as an adult had difficulty maintaining my interest.
Was this ghostwritten by me? I swear to god I was just about to post this exact comment.
Save the not much of a reader part.
Read both series, I'm in the 9-13 age range, and they're great!
I'm 16 years old . I've read Harry Potter and Percy Jackson . After that, I thought nothing would be as good as these two series . I was lost. I couldn't find any good fantasy series. But thanks to Daniel's review of The Black Prism, I was intrigued by the concept of magic based on light. So I gave Lightbringer a try ..... I gotta say, it's really good . I'm currently reading the 3rd book, The Broken Eye.
Thanks Daniel! , for introducing me to Lightbringer. After Lightbringer , I'll try Mistborn.
This channel has become my favourite on RUclips. Keep up the good work , Daniel!
Love from India 🇮🇳
hey man its been about 3 yrs so i dont know i ur gonna reply however im in the exact same situation u were in. Im 15 have read hp and pjo and want to continue reading fantasy but cant choose what to read next and im a bit lost. If u could recommend what helped u it would mean a lot, thanks.
The Hobbit. The language will not be too challenging yet will increase their reading level. And it's as classic a quest fantasy as exists.
The hobbit was my introduction to fantasy and I totally agree
I have no idea why Daniel left it out...
Brian D. Anderson I can’t believe I didn’t put that in. Shame on me
@@DanielGreeneReviews We can write it off as "Well, of course the Hobbit. I didn't mention it because that's just how obvious it was."
Great subject, by the way. You're right that it's overlooked by most Book Tubers and bloggers.
My favourite kid's book, and one of my favourite books ever!
One of my son's English teachers told my son to stop reading Fantasy and to read more "worthwhile" fiction. This was years ago and it still infuriates me.
Thats so bad 😭 my mom told me to stop reading because i literally did nothing besides reading but now i'm trying to get back Info reading and i already have some good books
What does the teacher mean by that?
Ignore that ignorant teacher! Kids can learn a lot about the craft of writing from all types of genres
The same thing happened to me! :( they tell me to read more " historic books"
Redwall is definitely under appreciated
Omgosh yes! 👏
The redwall fandom was a huge part of my childhood experience of the early web. Sad that it seems to be fading in recognition.
when it comes to animal fantasy, I'd show someone (particularly boys) Mistmantle first. Get them to read the first 3 books at say, 9 or 10
Show them Redwall after, first 2 books, then whatever books feature squirrels (if they're anything like me, they'll greatly enjoy squirrel characters after reading Mistmantle.
I forget the books name, but the Redwall book with the main character Danflor i liked wuite a lot as a kid
@@rionislander9878 Marlfox is the name of the book you're thinking of
@@masterninjaman1 i forgot how awesome that book's name was.
Redwall was my childhood! I devoured the entire series and my parents even got me a signed copy of Mossflower (my favorite). What I love most is the feeling I got, the cozy warmth of Redwall Abby and the sheer epic ness of Salamandastron. Also for any fellow Redwall fans a band called Syr made a song called Eulalia and it’s awesome. Anyhow, I love this channel and I’m definitely going to pick up A Wizard of Earthsea, thank you!
I’m a teen librarian and we do a lot of readers’ advisory for the tween/intermediate grades as well. My go to newer books to go to from Harry Potter are Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend and Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger. Both have a lot of the same themes (magic school, found families, etc) as Harry Potter and gave me the same warm and fuzzy feelings. Furthermore and Whichwood by Tahereh Mafi are wonderful, especially for fans of Alice in Wonderland. Anything written by Kelly Barnhill is fantastic, especially The Girl Who Drank the Moon and Witch’s Boy. I think her books are great picks if a parent wants to buddy read with their child - they are just fantastic, heart-wrenching magical stories that anyone of any age can appreciate. Howl’s Moving Castle is a great classic fantasy to hand to a tween. I also think The Hobbit and LOTR are fine to hand to younger kids who are fluent readers. I agree with you that Redwall is fine for younger fluent readers - there’s no inappropriate content but I’d say the writing/vocab may be harder for struggling younger readers. And I’d say Series of Unfortunate Events is good for 8+ as long as the child is a fluent reader. If you like Series of Unfortunate Events, jump into The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place. Has a similar writing style but with a few more fantastical elements. In terms of graphic novels, Amulet is awesome for fantasy lovers - such a whimsical story!
Edit to add: Completely forgot to add Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book. Holly Black has some great middle grade as well - Doll Bones is a delightfully spooky magic realism horror book that I loved. She also has some more traditional fantasy as well.
Oh my god thanks
Keeper of the lost cities is PERFECT for getting kids addicted. Had me reading 600 page books in only two days as an 11 year old. :)
What about “The girl who circumnavigated fairyland with a ship of her own making”?
The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. The first book is called the Book of Three. It is the source for the Disney movie The Black Cauldron. Underrated and excellent. I believe their source material is a group of Welsh tales called The Mabinogion.
Emilio Rodriguez I remember watching that movie years ago and loved it! Kinda sad it didn’t do so well commercially.
Nice! I loved these in my early teens. I'd also add Piers Anthony and David Eddings as okay for earlier teens. Maybe mid teens, really as some of the subject matter can be pretty graphic.
I immediately thought of Prydain when I saw the title. I have fond memories of my dad reading them to me when I was little
This is such a great recommendation
Oh I'm hoping to read these soon!
Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull
The Rhismatist by Brandon Sanderson
The Narnia series
The Hobbit
The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riodian
Would skyward be okay for a 10 year old?
Yes! My little brother just read it and it’s his favorite series now!!
Sydney Waterbury
Oh nice how old is he? I got it for my 10 year old sister for Christmas hopefully she loves it 😂
My 11 yr daughter and 9yr old son devoured skyward and the second one. They do have all of the above recommendations under their belt as well. All great options.
Rithmatist was one on my favorite Sanderson books. I really wish he would get on with the sequel.
Deltora Quest by Emily Rodda is extremely popular in Australia, but I'm guessing doesn't have much exposure elsewhere (considering I never hear about it). Cannot recommend it higher for kids, I'd hazard a guess it's 2nd only to Harry Potter as most read children's fantasy in Australia. 3 unlikely companions adventure around a fantasy world to find 7 gems hidden in the 7 most dangerous places, which the dark lord hid away. Each book has a fantasy monster on the front cover which invariably protects that book's gem. It's very easy to read, very engaging, lots of puzzles for readers to work out ahead of time. And kid's ADORE the gems, remembering all their names, where they were found, what protected them, etc.
I loved that series when I was a kid and I'm from the US.
Same it was probably the series that really got me into reading as a kid
Deltora Quest is what got me into fantasy back when I was 9 years old
Such a great series!!!! First series my son really got into!
My son devoured Deltora when we found the series at a 2nd had book store here!
Percy Jackson and the Olympians + the rest of that world, by Rick Riordan.
The Bartimaeus Sequence by Jonathan Stroud.
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy.
Septimus Heap by Angie Sage.
My daughter and I have been bonding by reading the Percy Jackson books. It's been a great experience and she's a voracious reader.
Even the later books where the characters are 16 are still appropriate for younger readers.
Yessss another Skulduggery Pleasant fan
Semptimus deserves way much more love and recognition! Highly underrated!
Some of my favorites:
-Chronicles of Prydain, by Lloyd Alexander
-Song of the Lioness quartet, byTamora Pierce
-A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle
-The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper
Tamora Pierce is great! I really loved the Protector of the Small quartet, but I've enjoyed all of them so far.
A Wrinkle in Time! 😍
All of those are so amazing and I love them all.
Earthsea and Eragon are good picks. Percy Jackson is probably nice too, and for a more modern take, Sanderson's Evil Librarians. I read a lot of Dragonlance in my early teens--you never mention this series, don't like it? I'd say it truly made me the fantasy fan I am today. Thanks for your videos!
Jaime Ortiz Evil Librarians is a great series to throw at the kiddos.
First and second series I ever read were the Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy (its a damn trilogy... the Dragons of Summer does not exist except as its own tale) and The Twins trilogy from Dragonlance.
Earthsea goes dark FAST, specially in the second book. But of course they're great reads for any age.
Dragonlance is what got me hooked on fantasy when I was in Junior high. I'm currently in a Death Gate Cycle reread. 😊
Narnia is very good if read from the Christian worldview, but would not recommend to a non-Christian. Also, read them in publication order (starting with Lion Witch and the Wardrobe).
The Oz series is good as a classic for a fan of Alice. There's also 14 of them, which most people don't realize.
But to anyone, probably the best modern series is Percy Jackson. Low fantasy, and actually manages to get people into classic Greek mythology.
Just burned through "Chronicles of Narnia" recently, and I really agree that it is a good read for children.
Against some of the criticism i have read that it was sexist, the people making those claims seemingly missed that the female characters are many times the most important characters in the books.
As an adult reading it the first time I had some issues with certain things, but the series was meant for kids, especially the first couple of books. And YES, please for the love of what is good, just read it in publication order... It is crystal clear that is how it should be read to anyone that actually read them this way.
@@VicRibeiro777 I just watched a video where the the person said C.S. Lewis was sexist for saying that girls should not fight in battles, yet he ignored the fact that Lucy spent the aftermath of the battle healing people with the potion Father Christmas gave to her.
So apparently taking life is more valuable than saving life...... Cool
It's classic allegory, nobody in the west is going to be able to escape that story format. It's okay to challenge kids and help them unpack the archetypal stories. I remember an article after the first Narnia movie came out a while back where an atheist parent was nervous about what his kid would get out of the movie, and the kid loved the movie but didn't really pick up on anything Christian in the story. Kids who aren't familiar with Christianity aren't going to connect Narnia to it.
There’s actually another book before the lion, the witch and the wardrobe, called magicians nephew. It’s important to understand the making of the world
@@daviddewilde3310 Yes-- The Magician's Nephew and The Horse and his Boy, though published later, take place before The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe. I recommend reading them first.
The Phantom Tollbooth should be on every child's reading list. Whimsical, smart, funny, timeless. And excellent for mixed-age read aloud sessions. Adults will have just as much fun as the kids.
I loved that book
the Septimus Heap series and Artemis Fowl series are fantastic reads for kids.
Artemis Fowl is also a good recommendation! I actually thought Daniel was going to talk about them.
Both are so good!
Francis Lally I actually don’t know the Septimus Heap 😅
@@SakkiMirai92 I would try it out! It has some really loveable characters and a whole lot of charm
Oh those are nostalgic names for me!
Ink heart is a series that I enjoyed a lot as a teen, haven’t read it in a long time but I remember liking Cornelia Funke’s writing style. Also The Hobbit
A recommendation that I don't know ever got big outside the UK is The Edge Chronicles! They are a fantastic series of books that cover 3 different trilogies over 3 different time periods with main characters who descend from one another. They are also full of amazing illustrations that I really enjoyed as a kid. Definitely the "Fantasy Epic" that I enjoyed the most as a kid.
My sister just finished reading the Way of Kings... she’s 12. I feel like she hasn’t had a childhood, so maybe I’ll try to recommending her some of these books. Though right know I feel like there’s just a little Jasnah running around our house...
I was reading Stephen King at that age. If she's mature enough to appreciate 'Way Of Kings', awesome! A little Jasnah sounds adorable.
When I was 12, I had read all Agatha Christie's books, Tolkien everything, and many other classics of all genre.
I went back to kids and teens books decades later, when I came back to Fantasy, and highly enjoyed every serie I read for those age range.
Don't worry, early bloopers always find their way. It just adds a little wisdom on it all.
Daniel, I will ship you a copy of The Chronicles of Prydain, because I can't tolerate the internet's ignorance of this series anymore. I didn't find out about these books until I was an adult and and yet it's still my favorite coming of a age story.
The Hobbit is a great stepping stone (not just for kids) for anyone looking to delve into Tolkien.
Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians by Brando Sando himself is also a great stepping stone for kids to delve into the Cosmere down the road.
Amen. Daniel has such a gaping hole in his fantasy education with the classics. Don't know how anyone can be a fantasy reviewer and have never read lloyd alexander or donaldson. The black cauldron was even made into a disney movie.
Prydain is great.
Agree. Daniel needs to read Prydain.
My kids are 6 and 8 and I've been reading them The Spiderwick Chronicles. Really good gateway fantasy with stakes and kids and magic. It's a series but short.
And the boxsets are beautiful!
For young Harry Potter fans (especially 9 year olds I think), Charlie Bone is a great series. Also set at an english boarding school with talented/ magically gifted children.
Also probably anything by Brandon Mull. My recommendation is definitely fablehaven. The magical world is hidden within the real world and the characters are very relatable for kids in the 8-15 range I think.
100% agree with Charlie Bone, I started reading it after a few books after finishing Harry Potter (back when there was only 4 HP books) and I found I really enjoyed Charlie Bone (I was 11yrs old).
The series of unfortunate events books are not only great quirky books, but they also look amazing on your shelf if you have the full set.
So, one thing that was missed is the Edge Chronicles. From when I was (I think) 8-11 this series was like WoT was for my mid teens. Paul Stewart is an amazing author and his writing combined with Chris Riddell's amazing drawings make for one of the best fantasy ever. The Edge is one of the most unique fantasy settings and just seeing the changes that the wprld goes through in the various trilogies is agreat experience. I have not disliked a single entry in the series. This series occasionally deals with some pretty dark themes and has some very brutal moments, of which many have been drawn, so if your kid is somewhat sensitive to that sort of content it might be worth waiting until they're a little older, but for me, I just adored those books and looking back I still do, especially the extremely rich world that Stewart and Riddell created.
Omg I love the edge chronicles! Also barnaby grimes and just read Fergus crane to my kids!! 😍
Thank you for covering redwall that was the book that really truly got me into fantasy. I'd read Narnia and Hobbit, but redwall showed me just how amazing reading can be.
Earthsea is marvellous for adults to!
Deeply philosophical and highly influential.
Soif/Got- Arya stumbling around in the dark is a big nod to earthsea
After reading HP and getting hooked on Fantasy (I was maybe 12-13 Years old) I discovered Terry Pratchett's Discworld and Margaret Weis' Dragonlance. Both cemented my love for fantasy. Most important was that my Dad took me to a bookstore with a big Kids/YA section and a whole floor dedicated to SF/F and I could look and choose for Hours on my own. SO maybe just take your Kid to a bookstore and let them walk around and choose for themselves (maybe with a little guidance so they dont buy vampire smut or something :D)
Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend (magical competition adventure), The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell (unlikely friends), The Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge (Norse Mytholgy), The Hobbit by Tolkien of course, The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flammell by Michael Scott (mixed mythology), The Wind on Fire by William Nicholson (somewhat dark saving the world story), The Mediator by Meg Cabot (urban ghost fantasy), Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (meta fantasy), City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab (urban ghost fantasy), The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (discovering magic) and Howls Moving Castle by Diana Wynn Jones (absurdist fantasy). Those are some I read growing up and others I've discovered more recently as an adult reader. I love MG fiction so I hope this list helps someone
I was hoping someone had mentioned The Wind on Fire. The WInd Singer is my favourite book of all time! I have the voice of the Wind Singer tattooed on my upper back.
Young readers will love Percy Jackson and The Olympian. This is a five-book series and a great prelude to reading adult mythology books such as The Iliad. Rick Riordan writes well. He can easily connect with young readers. He writes in first-person POV, his writing style makes you laugh and each book ends with a good lesson. I was 34 when I finished the series for the first time and woah, I realize I was too late lol.
My son is 13 and he has read and reread “The Land Of Stories” series several times. He even started writing his own short stories because he loved them so much. He found the first one at a book fair in elementary school. He liked the Tales of unfortunate events books enough. Loves Harry Potter. And asked for Eye if the World for Christmas as my copy was loaned out to a friend of a friend and never returned.
1. Percy Jackson and basically everything else Rick Riordan wrote (I liked Harry Potter but it were these books that really got me into reading)
2. Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan, they are rather short, but I would say really good fantasy for younger kids
3. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, haven't read all of them as I picked them up a bit too late, but very good books
4. Temeraire series by Naomi Novik, it's not meant for kids, but I read it first when I was twelve and it still remains one of my absolute favorites. I would even say it's way more kid-friendly than Harry Potter.
5. Would not recommend His Dark Materials. I was given that right after Harry Potter and I am ashamed to say I found it boring and dragging way too much and didn't even finish it. When I gave it another shot recently, I loved it, though I still think the first book does drag a bit. But maybe it's just me.
Edit: 6. Also, watch Avatar The Last Airbender.
Did you just call rangers Apprentice short?
One that I always enjoyed as a kid was the spiderwick chronicles by holly black loved the art style of the covers and the story was fun
Some of my favorites during my childhood were:
The Brothers Lionheart (Swedish: Bröderna Lejonhjärta, 1973)
Mio, My Son (aka: Mio, My Mio, Swedish: Mio, min Mio, 1954)
Ronia the Robber's Daughter (Swedish: Ronja rövardotter, 1981)
by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren (She also wrote Pippi Longstocking).
Brothers Lionheart is very good, for kids especially! But oh man, kind of depressing and terrifying in places. Even just the way it begins is a bit traumatic.
MistireMie hell yeah!!! Some of my childhood memories, but let us all agree that Emil i Lönneberga is the best Astrid Lindgren series
The Belgariad by David Eddings was the first fantasy series that pulled me in and I’ve never got out of. Definitely a great entrance for kids/teens
I absolutely second this suggestion. It is what got me addicted not just to reading fantasy but to reading in general. Totally life changing.
Same here. Will always be thankful for my mother giving me this series to read.
I completely agree; the Belgariad and Malloreon are fantastic. I think people don't talk about them as much because they were published 30-40 years ago ("Pawn of Prophecy" was published in 1982), but they are still great books - I just re-read them last year (for the 5th or 6th time) and remembered why I have them all in my library.
Jen W And that’s not mentioning the follow ups of Belgarath and Polgara which take this series from really good to fantastic!
A Series of Unfortunatel Events is brilliant!
Coraline and The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman are honestly amazing. They kind of have a bedtime-story kind of feel to them.
Also A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. It's kind if depressing but well worth the read xx
seconded all your recs! :)
Series. Definitely Fantasy. -> Among his 41 novels, 83 short stories, 200+ poems and at least 42 scripts, Frank Baum wrote 14 novels in the Oz series (one of which was make into a movie you may have heard of). I have only read a few, but they were very good. (I wonder why I never read them to Daniel??)
It's a newer series, only two books are out and I have no idea how many are going to be in the series, but Nevermoor series by Jessica Townsend (First book is The Trials of Morrigan Crow, book 2 The Calling of Morrigan Crow) is fantastic. It gave me Harry Potter vibes without being a rip-off of the series :cough:IronTrial:cough:
I absolutely LOVED the Rangers Apprentice when I were smoll
I had a stroke reading that but I agree
I listen to some middle grade books because I think that I should read anything that sounds interesting regardless of whether it’s middle grade younger daughter or adult. So I do have some recommendations. I like the Alcatraz series and the rhythmic test by Brandon Sanderson. Also, a lot of kids that I know like the fable haven books.
Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians series from Brandon Sanderson is insanely good. Humor, magic “talents”, adventure, and plenty of breaking the fourth wall to keep you turning every page.
Completely agree! Glad someone put it on the list!
These are my favorite kids books that are enjoyable for all ages:
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson
The Nevermoor series by Jessica Townsend
The Princess Academy series by Shannon Hale
The Small Spaces series by Katherine Arden
The Ascendance Trilogy by Jennifer A Nielsen
Sweep by Jonathan Auxier
The Bartimaeus Series by Jonathan Stroud
colan biemer oooh yes! I read that this year and loved it and I’m not even a kid! Bartimaeus has got to be one of the funniest characters I’ve ever read!
Was looking for someone to say it!
Didn't finish the prequel, but the original trilogy was amazing.
Garth Nix - Old Kingdom series fave fantasy growing up! And Nancy Farmer - House of the Scorpion for kids sci-fi. Surprisingly a series that made me develop patience was these weird books about children living in a boxcar (it's like a never ending series) 😂 looking back at those books it's no shocker I'm obsessed with grim dark orphan tropes.
Ha! Im 17 and i give a shit about age range! I enjoy my Narnia, my Harry Potter, I haven’t read his dark materials but that is because they are not for sale where I live and I haven’t order them, and I love Disney, so I’m watching this video for recomendaciones because again, My inner child is still there.
If you are really into Disney try Kingdom Keepers as it just circulates around the characters (mostly the villains) and the parks. It is more on the sci-fi side but is a fantastic read in my opinion
also 17 and same. perfect age to be able to enjoy disney stuff, but also longer and more complex series like The Wheel of Time. Just starting it out
Jane Creek I have had it in mind for a while, I will read them
Jack Lulich I have seen Daniel talk about it and still don’t know anything about it 😂
Jack Lulich also, I believe that if an adult with problems and insecurities (like everyone) can overcome them to make a child happy for a while is a hero. As CS Lewis said “a children story that can only be enjoyed by children, is a bad children story”, there is so much to learn in them, I enjoy Disney movies as a work of art, I see more magical the fact that someone can imagine and write (whatever format, movie, book, poem) a magical world, than actual magic.
I started reading the Pendragon series when I was about 10 or 11 and absolutely fell in love with it and ended up reading the whole series. A lot of cool, trippy stuff having to do with portals to different worlds with many different cultures and things like that. Some cool little twists and turns long the way too. I really fell in love with the whole concept of the series at that age and it still has a very dear place close to my heart even now, just over ten years later.
Got Wheel of Time for Christmas, started last night. Love it so much already
I couldn’t recommend The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud enough it’s a series I read after being done with what was published of Harry Potter and Eragon and I in my personal opinion it tops both series. The writing is witty and hilarious at times, it takes on heavy subjects in a way that makes it more accessible for children (classism and imperialism among others), you have morally grey characters, GROWTH, a great ending. It’s a kind of urban fantasy set in an alternate modern time.
The Wizard of Oz is also a HUGE series that any child can dive into with no problems, I also deeply love Ella Enchanted.
I reread the first Bartimaeus book recently and it still holds up! It's weird, I remember when this came out it was being advertised as similar to Harry Potter, which made zero sense to child-me...now that I work in publishing I recognize the marketing ploy. Think this series is important in that it can teach kids to look critically at authority/harmful systems that are considered normal...
Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series. Arthurian inspired and just overall excellent.
I'll throw in my two cents and say Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland
A series that I enjoyed even as an adult, but I know a lot of younger readers like as well
And goodreads proves that with the 4.28 average with (at the moment) 25,634 ratings for the 1st book and each subsequent entry in the series having 4.5+ average
Also, Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians. Get them addicted to Brandon Sanderson as early as it gets
the Magisterium series by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black is middle grade and a lot of fun! it flips a few tropes on their heads
Percy Jackson series and all of Rick Riordan's series have great comedy and teaches kids so much about different pantheons of gods
As a kid I really loved The Edge Chronicles. It’s fantastically weird and has some excellent illustrations.
The Edge chronicle is the most amazing display of world building creativity I've ever read.
If you want more children's and middle grade fantasy suggestions that are newer, I'd recommend watching Gavin Hetherington's channel. He reads a LOT of that, and I have been very impressed by what's out there for kids these days! In fact the most original fantasy I have read lately I've seen on his channel!
Hard hard agree!
I also recommend Gavin!
OMG red wall is the best thing ever!!! I also remember watching the show and this was honestly great!!
I recently read Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson and this is a series I will own in my home and require my kids to read. It is hilarious and well written. It doesn't hurt that it is by my favorite author either. I also read a lot of those suggested here in the comments but one series I liked growing up was Gregor the Overlander. There are 5 books I think and it is about a kid who discovers a world beneath his apartment building where Rats, Spiders, etc. live. It is definitely geared toward a younger audience and I think 9 years old would be a great place to start.
Currently mining books for a reader in this age range. The School for Good and Evil series, the Warrior Cats series, the Song of the Lioness series. For the top end of the age range, the Harper Hall of Pern series of The Paper Magician series. I second the people who suggested Percy Jackson. I could go on.
if that reader likes the warrior cats books/animal adventure books in general, i can recommend The Sight and Firebringer by David Clement-Davies! Both are a bit long, but with wonderfully developed characters...and in the case of Firebringer, real warnings against the dangers of authoritarianism?
The Pendragon series, by D J MacHale (has nothing to do with king Arthur Pendragon).
One of the very best YA series I read as a kid. There are about 11 books and I eagerly awaited each one as I got into my twenties. I gave away the first book to a co-worker for her son. She said he finished it in a week and was now trying to figure out how to afford the rest of the series because he was tirelessly asking for the next book, so I gave her the rest of my set. Now that I have a newborn, I'm already waiting for her to be about 11 so I can introduce her to the series.
Second Pendragon. They are great!
Heck yes pendragon is BEYOND awesome
I LOVED the Redwall books as a kid excellent recommendation! Def also heard good things about percy jackson. Narnia is a great alternative rec instead of his dark materials
This channel exploded this year. Not mad though. Proud of you, Daniel!
I’m 13 and have read Six of Crows, Stormlight Archive, and halfway finished WOT. I feel like those 3 series are perfect for people my age.
I recommended the Mistborn series to my 13 year old sister. I wasn't sure if it would go well or not, but I thought it was worth the risk. She ended up LOVING them. She went through the books faster than I did. She now goes to me every time she wants a new book recommendation.
I see there are some comments for The Belgariad by David Eddings, which is superb and one of my favorites, but I’m going to give some love to his other series The Elenium and Tamuli. 6 book series, interesting magic systems, heroic knights, a young queen, trolls, Big Magic McGuffin with a surprise inside, a treatise on the ridiculousness for religious discrimination, and an easily digestible writing style. It’s one I read round and round when I was a young person and cemented my addiction to fantasy.
Notable mention: Dragonlance series. I still want to be a Dragon Highlord to this day.
I like the Belgariad and am an avid Dragonlance fan, but I wouldn't consider then kid's/YA books.
I love the Elenium and Tamuli, even more than the Belgariad and Mallorean, but there are definitely a few scenes there that I'd wait closer to the teen mark to read. Especially a certain part of The Ruby Knight.
Lol,fine. Clan of the Cave Bear it is then.
The "Land of Stories" series is amazing. Fairy tales brought into a contemporary setting.
And "Nevermoor" series. *(can't recommend these enough)*
Also, Percy Jackson series.
Percy Jackson is a good read with Eragon. I grewup with the Artemis Fowl books, and the are still Som3 of my Favourites and good reads even for Adults.
Fantastic list, as a children's bookseller this is super super helpful!
Redwall 😭 my heart can't take it! Wow! I forgot about that! Dude another great series is Pendragon i think someone else commented that but, it brought back so many memories. That series blew my 10 year yr mind 😂
Pendragon is highly underrated these days!
It's amazing, and I read it as an adult!
I read Redwall when i was 11 and it tought me so many great things at that age, its a gread recommendation Daniel!
The Bionicle books are really good and can definitely get a child into fantastical worlds, I recommend those
I have the entire Redwall series in a box somewhere!
So glad to see you shout this one out and clearly you loved it like I did as a child
Everyone knows that ASOIAF is the best fantasy children book series! :D
Patricia C Wrede's dragon series! The first was Dealing with Dragons. I reread those just as much as I did the Harry Potter books (well, the ones that had been released so far)
Percy Jackson, The Cry of the Icemark, and Inkheart. Are all amazing. The Cry of the Icemark is the first fantasy book I ever read.
Other recommendations for young fantasy bookshelves: The Wingfeather Saga, How to Train your Dragon, The Unwanteds, the Warriors series, The Archives of Anthropos series, and The Dragon King Trilogy.
The Pendragon series by DJ MacHale is amazing, really got me into fantasy when I was in middle school (11-14 years old)
I’m 14, nearly 15 and read red wall a few years ago and really enjoyed it.
I have read lotr and stormlight archive, currently reading the broken eye.
But yeah... really loved red wall
I am 14 and and relatively new to the channel(a few months ago) and bc of you, have read mist born era 1(near the end of the 3rd one), the first law trilogy(which some may think is too much for me but um I've read it so what r u gonna do), etc.... my tbr is long af tho bc I haven't read Harry Potter, stormlight, the poppy war, name of the wind, earthsea, the 5th season, etc...
I'm so glad I found this! You're my faaaaavorite fantasy booktuber, so I'm thrilled that you've got me covered! I was specifically looking for fantasy books for children because one of my closest friends just had her first baby, a precious little girl...& as her "auntie" I want to use that influence to encourage a love of reading because its so magical! I don't have kids, nor do my 3 siblings, so I'm excited!
*"Recommendations for the kids in the crowd..." me being a 31 year old who mainly reads Middle-Grade lol*
Some of my favorites are:
The Lamp from the Warlock's Tomb by John Bellairs
The Spiderwick Chronicles series by Tony Deterlizzi and Holly Black
Liesl and Po by Lauren Oliver
The Thirteen Treasures by Michelle Harrison
Try the Semptimus Heap serie by Angie Sage, pretty sure you'll.love it!
Thanks for this video! I am doing my student teaching in 5th grade and will be teaching in the 5th-8th grade range next year when I have my teaching license. I have been reading and experiencing lit with kids and trying to share my fantasy love with them. I plan to read several that kids have recommended to me as well, like the Unwanted series and Amulet. Kids also love anything dystopian, so Hunger Games, Divergent, etc. As a kid, I LOVED to read and especially remember The Chronicles of Prydain, Redwall, Lost Years of Merlin, as well as some easy reads like Animorphs. His Dark Materials, Earthsea, and Eragon are on my TBR shelf right now, but I missed them growing up.
"The Neverending Story" by Michael Ende.
The movie pales in comparison to the book and they have very little similarities, just wanna get that out there first. Especially for a child who considers themselves a 'reader' Neverending Story is one of those books that is very easy to get important life lessons out of. The whole thing is this sort of metacommentary about escapism through reading fantasy books, and the natural projection we do between ourselves and what we read. In the end it culminates in the (imo) incredibly positive message that stories can serve both as comfortable escapism but also as constructive experiences that can help you grow as a person. It sure helped me a ton as a kid. I'm honestly kind of sad that it doesn't get more attention for being such an amazingly written, mind-warpingly meta, yet at times disturbingly relatable book that can be enjoyed by all ages while having such specific positive lessons for young readers that can impact the way they consume fiction for the rest of their lives.
my favourite book...even though i saw the movie first, it's the images from the book that have stuck most clearly in my head.
I was about to post a comment about the Neverending Story, glad I'm not the only one who thought of it :) And I completely agree that the movie, although part of my childhood, is very much inferior to the book. That's partly because the movie of course only includes roughly the first half of the book. But even the 'surface' fantasy elements in the first half of the story are, in my opinion, much better executed in the book than in the movie. Plus, they didn't even include Ygramul the Many and their special poison (the effects of which I think are very cool and also kinda poetic)
You got a sub from me as soon as you mentioned Redwall. I remember reading the first book around 9 or 10 and was immediately hooked on reading and never looked back since. Brian Jacques inspired me to become an amateur writer myself and I remember crying so hard when I learned he died around when I turned 13. I remember wanting to be able to speak with him on how he came up with his stories and even show him how his work had inspired me
Well, when I was a kid/young teen, I've read a Way of Kings.
Maybe that's why I grew up so cool.
Dragon Riders of Pern, Dragonlance, Magician, and David Eddings Belagariad
Dragon Riders of Pern and most other Anne McCaffrey books tend to have more sexual content then most parents are comfortable letting kids under 10 read.
How dare you not mention The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander!!
I absolutely loved the Song of the Lioness books by Tamora Pierce, books by Gail Carson Levine including Ella Enchanted, as well as the Damar Series and other books by Robin McKinely, and the Temeraire Series by Naomi Novik. His Dark Materials, the Inheritance Cycle, and a heavy amount of Neil Gaiman were also read and adored. I think it's wonderful that there are so many fantasy books written for kids, but even in middle school I was reading "grown up fantasy". I don't think there is anything stopping a 12 or 13 year old from reading The Lord of the Ringsor Diskworld. After Harry Potter I read the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn Series by Tad Williams, and after that Outlander (though in retrospect that was a very interesting Librarian who recommended that to a 13 year old). As you mentioned in the video, kids are more advanced than we give them credit for and should roam and read libraries freely. I was so confused in middle school when a Librarian yelled at me for reading The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants which even in retrospect is definitely PG13. Anyone else read some maybe too saucy books as a kid?
Fablehaven. Fablehaven. Fablehaven. Amazing series for kids to get into
So glad you included Series of Unfortunate Events and His Dark Materials. I know they've gotten more popular due to the adaptations but they're some of my favorites! I haven't read Earthsea but I'll have to check it out! Some of my other favorites include Chronicles of Prydain, Inkheart, Song of the Lioness and anything else by Tamora Pierce, Percy Jackson and Rick Riordan's other series, The Divide by Elizabeth Kay, City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab, and Dark Hills Divide series by Patrcick Carman.
I still love a series of unfortunate events. I reread a bunch of the last year and they definitely hold up.
Also the dark is rising series was a great one I read as a kid.
Redwall was probably the first fantasy I read as a kid! Loved the series! Thanks for the video!
The Belgariad/Mallorean by David Eddings were the books that got me into fantasy. They are amazing.
I would be so interested to see you review "The Last Unicorn"! While it was made into a children's movie I wouldn't necessarily say its target audience was young readers! I could be wrong but I do believe it is a piece of adult fantasy? Or perhaps, like most good stories, it has a little bit of something for every age :) Anyways, keep up the fantastic work! Your videos are simply the best ;)
The eyes of the dragon. No, it's not a series just a standalone book. Yes, it's Stephen King, someone who is usually definitely not appropriate for children, but The Eyes of the Dragon is a whole different deal from usual King. It has kings, queens and princes, it has dragons and evil sorcerers. The story itself doesn't take any awards for originally, but the way it's told helps its case a lot cause it makes the book so good. Personally, I read it kinda recently, therefore not in my childhood, but I've met people who reas it at a young age and they still managed to enjoy every page
This was actually my introduction to king because my dad knew I prefer fantasy over anything else so he gave me this one before the Horror. I think I read it in a day or two and really enjoyed it!
That book was written for one of his children, his daughter I believe.
If I started off fantasy off with this book i would have stopped with this book. Nothing happened.... I've read 1 other SK book past this Dark tower, and I can say SK in my opinion is over rated.
Other books I'd like to recommend are:
- Basically all books by Michael Ende but especially The Neverending Story as well as Momo
- Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (wonderful trilogy and loved by everyone that I know)
- Anything by Wolfgang Hohlbein
- Kerstin Gier writes stories with magical elements and a focus on first love so maybe that would also be intersting
(All books by german authors :D)
Percy Jackson for me was hugely impactful and once you get into Rick Riordan, you have so many books.
And Narnia throughout my childhood was read and listened to and reread again and again. But I know you are not a fan
The Obernewtyn Chronicles (this was my Harry Potter), anything by Erin Hunter, and Spirit Animals really got me to explore more books. I always read as a kid, but until I discovered these titles I refused to read anything that wasn't written by Ben M. Baglio or had a unicorn on the cover. The Unicorn Chronicles by Bruce Colville is great, as well as The Last Dragon Chronicles by Cris d'Lacey and the Silverwing trilogy by Kenneth Oppel. The last two I read with some friends and we were all obsessed with the series. The Last Dragon Chronicles is really long and has a lot of elements that I found very interesting and unique and shaped a lot of what I like to read today. I can't say I've found series quite like it since. It's also really long, I think around seven books, if you want something longer.
My 10 year old and I are currently listening to the Obernewtyn Chronicles audio books in the car. We are up to the Stone Key He absolutely loves it and gets excited to go in the car. Im struggling getting through it, because Isobelle Carmody is the reader and she has a strange rhythm to her voice, but hey, the kid loves it so thats what matters. Id recommend it too.
I’ve still got to read the last Obermewtyn book but it’s over 1000 pages. I’ve been rereading the series coz I remember loving the first few when I was younger but it wasn’t completed yet but it could really do with some editing
The inkheart trilogy by Cornelia funke is a great fantasy series for that age rage.
Also, pjo(percy jackson and the olympians) read the first book when I was 18 but it is aimed at 9-12 year olds.
Also, the shamer's daughter series by lene kaaberbøl, danish high fantasy. For 9_12 year olds HIGHLY recomend it.
I found the books very hard to follow at that age. They're great but i recommend Thief Lord if you want a younger reader to enjoy her works.
@@samreddig8819 I suppose it depends on the person. I read the inkheart trilogy when I was 12 loved them.
I love this video and its motive . It took me 17 years to realize that i love books. Now i have only 3 years of reading experience. When i could have been 7 or 8 years.
Chronicles of Prydain is great to read for kids that aren't quite ready for LOTR. I read it in 4th grade and have reread twice as an adult and still have fun with it. Wish it got more love!
Daniel is very prejudice against classic fantasy. The late 60s, 70s, and even the 80s was the revival of high fantasy that Tolkien started and it was a lot of exploring of ideas much like Sci Fi. Its a shame Greene is intent on keeping himself in the dark about where all the ideas of modern fantasy comes from.
@@Uhlbelk didn't Earthsea start in the late 60's/ early 70's? Lol
@@nwhitton11 yea, he has also read White, but reading 2 things compared to the piles of modern good and bad that he has read is very insufficient when you are trying to be a professional book critic.
My son fell in love with fantasy when we read Neverending Story and Fablehaven together. He is 10 now and loves the Wings of Fire series.
From Australia, Emily Rodda's Deltora and Rown of Rin are also some recs :)
At last somebody recommending Deltora Quest! 😁
The Fairyland series by Cathyrenne Valente is a bit darker (12+) but it is criminally underrated. It has elements of classic dark fairytales, absurdist elements, steampunk elements, a blend of fantasy creatures from different cultures, gorgeous paragraphs and ideas, and one of my favorite villains, yet NO ONE talks about it. Please go pick up A Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making, I need more people to talk to about it!