Books for 11-year-old boy who loves dragons

March 8, 2022 7:13 AM

I want to buy a book or books for an 11-year-old relative. He loves dragons, superheroes, and anime. I'm hoping for a book that features dragons or similar creatures. Any suggestions?

He read and loved a few of the Eragon books. I'm hoping for something shorter than those, because I'd like to read the books aloud to him over the course of several visits.

posted by southern_sky to Media & Arts (23 answers total)

Has he read any of the Wings of Fire books? My 10-year-old son has torn through those like no books I've ever seen. It may be that 11 makes him just on the edge of being too old for them (depending on his reading level and the sophistication of the books he currently reads; Eragon is definitely a level up from Wings of Fire), but they're worth considering.
posted by Betelgeuse at 7:20 AM on March 8, 2022 [8 favorites]

What about books about mythology? Might be something different than he would think to pick out himself or get from a friend, and I'm betting it would scratch the same itch.
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 7:22 AM on March 8, 2022

Adding on to Green Eyed Monster, the other book series my 10-year-old is currently obsessed with is the Percy Jackson series (and all the other spin-off series that followed). He knows way more about Greek Mythology than I ever did.
posted by Betelgeuse at 7:24 AM on March 8, 2022

I read the original Dragonriders of Pern trilogy and the Harper Hall trilogy at about that age. I recall them as not being inappropriate.

I also found the Gor series about the same time at the same used book store. *Fascinating*, but not appropriate.
posted by john m at 7:34 AM on March 8, 2022 [5 favorites]

The Hobbit springs to mind, I think it's suitable for that age, more so than the LotR. There's a dragon very much part of the story, but it might not be dragon-centric enough.
posted by snusmumrik at 7:35 AM on March 8, 2022 [1 favorite]

RE: Anne McAffrey - Harper Hall trilogy YES - wonderful short books with a female protagonist (2 books) and male protagonist (1 book), and a lot about miniature dragons. These are Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, Dragondrums. And they are small books.

But Dragonriders of Pern trilogy NO - there is some sexual content.
posted by Glinn at 7:43 AM on March 8, 2022 [7 favorites]

The How to Train Your Dragon books are great fun, and theres a lot of them!
posted by Cannon Fodder at 7:56 AM on March 8, 2022 [2 favorites]

Was also going to suggest the Dragonriders of Pern series. So many wonderful books, and a great introduction to Anne McCaffrey, who has written so much more than the Dragonriders series. Yes, there is some sexual content in some of the books, but it is not pornographic, and is likely much milder than what a typical 11yo has already encountered on TV or online.
posted by xedrik at 8:00 AM on March 8, 2022 [1 favorite]

It's not just sex in Pern -- it's several scenes of rapey coerced sex. I think 11-year-olds can do better.

Naomi Novik's Temeraire series might work.
posted by humbug at 8:08 AM on March 8, 2022 [6 favorites]

I did love Dragonsong at around this age (and as Glinn pointed out, that series doesn't have the same sexual elements as the other Pern books), but for read-aloud books, maybe see if you can get a hold of E. Nesbit's short story collection The Book of Dragons.
posted by babelfish at 8:25 AM on March 8, 2022

Agreeing with others on the Pern books. We all enjoyed them back in the day (before the internet and you took what you could find at the bookstore), but the weird rape sex overtones and things like McCaffrey's beliefs on sexual orientation (google her name along with the words "tent peg" for some ...interesting... views on how gay men can be "created" through anal sex) kind of make me hesitant to reccommend them to anyone nowadays.

The Temeraire series would be decent for a kid that age I think, my impression when reading them was that the reading level of them was around YA or easy adult level. No overt sex scenes from what I remember, the books are about war though so people do get hurt and die but not too gorily I think.
posted by mochi_cat at 8:27 AM on March 8, 2022 [2 favorites]

I think Dragonriders of Pern is more appropriate for a tween, as it is very much YA fiction not children’s fiction.

A great non-narrative book option for the dragon-obsessed is Dragonology, it’s a beautifully illustrated hardcover encyclopedia of dragons. I was gifted a copy as a kid and to this day I’ve never owned a more delightfully crafted book.
posted by Pemberly at 8:42 AM on March 8, 2022

Pratchett isn't short, but I started reading him at around that age. Either Colour of Magic or Guards! Guards!
posted by I claim sanctuary at 8:42 AM on March 8, 2022 [2 favorites]

Guards! Guards! would be a great book for reading aloud. There is also a graphic novel.

However, I think it may be worth pointing out that for that age group, when you think dragons, you think Percy Jackson, in the same way Harry Potter is the default for wizards.
posted by DarlingBri at 8:55 AM on March 8, 2022

Jane Yolen's Pit Dragon trilogy
posted by shadygrove at 9:18 AM on March 8, 2022 [3 favorites]

Dealing With Dragons, by Patricia C. Wrede - my partner loved it as a kid, and I’m about halfway through as a grown-ass adult. It’s light and charming, and has great personalities for dragons as characters.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 9:22 AM on March 8, 2022 [10 favorites]

Another vote for Dealing With Dragons. It's the first in a series and all of the books are wonderful.
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 9:40 AM on March 8, 2022 [3 favorites]

Seconding Wings of Fire - my 11 year old is very into them, and has read the series 2x now, including the graphic novels (he also likes Sutherland's other, shorter, series The Menagerie).
posted by ryanshepard at 11:01 AM on March 8, 2022 [2 favorites]

I really liked Jeremy Thatcher Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville at that age.
posted by MaryVictoria at 12:57 PM on March 8, 2022

We recently read two books in a series, Seekers of the Wild Realm, and Legend of the Realm, with our 11 year old. Both are about 12 year olds in a village where everyone has magical powers, but only five designated Seekers get to travel in the realm where dragons live. I'm not sure if a third book is planned (the second one just came out last year). I especially liked that the narrator is a girl who has to overcome the village tradition of male-only Seekers.
posted by terooot at 5:05 PM on March 8, 2022

Laurence Yep's Dragon of the Lost Sea series, maybe?
posted by esker at 7:40 PM on March 8, 2022

I really liked Susan Fletcher’s Dragon’s Milk when I was around that age.

Thirding Dealing With Dragons.
posted by tan_coul at 9:35 PM on March 8, 2022

The Hobbit. It's still as good now as it was in Tolkien's day. There's a fearsome dragon, and there's no sex or racism.
posted by monotreme at 11:25 PM on March 9, 2022