Sci-Fi anthology recommendations for an 8yr old.
January 23, 2012 12:39 PM Subscribe
Sci-Fi anthology recommendations for an 8yr old.
Does anyone have any good recommendations for short sci-fi collections that would be suitable for any 8yr old.
Thanks!
Does anyone have any good recommendations for short sci-fi collections that would be suitable for any 8yr old.
Thanks!
I loved The Mad Scientists' Club when I was a kid.
posted by and for no one at 1:18 PM on January 23, 2012
posted by and for no one at 1:18 PM on January 23, 2012
Best answer: I absolutely loved Robert Heinlen's Future History
posted by timsteil at 1:22 PM on January 23, 2012
posted by timsteil at 1:22 PM on January 23, 2012
Response by poster: Relatively advanced reader yes - looking for something really thought provoking.
posted by zeoslap at 1:25 PM on January 23, 2012
posted by zeoslap at 1:25 PM on January 23, 2012
Best answer: How about Ray Bradbury? There are a couple of classic short story collections: The Illustrated Man, The Martian Chronicles, I Sing the Body Electric. I got to them a bit later than 8, but they should be appropriate.
posted by Ducks or monkeys at 1:30 PM on January 23, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by Ducks or monkeys at 1:30 PM on January 23, 2012 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Isaac Asimov's "Azazel" stories, and any of his short story collections, nearly all of which blew my mind around that age.
Also, an 8-year-old might be ready to read about Ender Wiggen for the first time.
posted by Sunburnt at 1:47 PM on January 23, 2012
Also, an 8-year-old might be ready to read about Ender Wiggen for the first time.
posted by Sunburnt at 1:47 PM on January 23, 2012
Response by poster: Okay cool - I'll scan through all of these. Thanks.
posted by zeoslap at 1:52 PM on January 23, 2012
posted by zeoslap at 1:52 PM on January 23, 2012
Response by poster: "When the parents threaten to take the nursery away, the children lock their parents inside where it is implied that the parents are mauled and killed by the "harmless" machine-generated lions of the nursery." - hmmmmm :)
posted by zeoslap at 1:53 PM on January 23, 2012
posted by zeoslap at 1:53 PM on January 23, 2012
How advanced? My own introduction to science fiction at age eight was Robert Silverberg's Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume I, 1929-1964 (1970). (Bester's "Fondly Fahrenheit" provided a pretty earth-shattering "hey, wait, I didn't know you were allowed to do that in stories!" moment.) Wikipedia has the TOC.
posted by thomas j wise at 2:57 PM on January 23, 2012
posted by thomas j wise at 2:57 PM on January 23, 2012
I'll second most stuff by Ray Bradbury. And add specifically Dandelion Wine.
posted by elendil71 at 3:18 PM on January 23, 2012
posted by elendil71 at 3:18 PM on January 23, 2012
Best answer: For age 8, I'd recommend anything written or edited by Bruce Coville, in this case especially including Bruce Coville's Book of Aliens, an anthology that includes stories by Ray Bradbury, Damon Knight, and other notable SF authors--selected for just this age range.
posted by Monsieur Caution at 4:10 PM on January 23, 2012
posted by Monsieur Caution at 4:10 PM on January 23, 2012
I wasn't reading short stories at that age... but when I was 9 I did read, "A Fall of Moondust" by Arthur C. Clarke and "Five Against Venus" by Philip Latham.
posted by brownrd at 4:22 PM on January 23, 2012
posted by brownrd at 4:22 PM on January 23, 2012
Best answer: Artemis Fowl is an excellent recommendation, though it is more fantasy than sci-fi, I feel. But the age range is just right!
The Daniel X series is written for boys of your son's age! When he is slightly older he could transition to Maximum Ride. Both by James Patterson.
The Shadow Children is a popular series, with lots of sequels to keep him busy.
The John Carter of Mars series is an oldie, but a goodie, and there's a movie coming out! There are LOTS of books, and don't let the sexy Frazetta covers bother you--Burroughs never had any couple in his books do more than look longingly at each other, proclaim their undying love and maybe kiss at the end of the book.
And lastly, I think everyone should read Isaac Asimov's I, Robot and Bradbury's Martian Chronicles.
posted by misha at 4:23 PM on January 23, 2012 [1 favorite]
The Daniel X series is written for boys of your son's age! When he is slightly older he could transition to Maximum Ride. Both by James Patterson.
The Shadow Children is a popular series, with lots of sequels to keep him busy.
The John Carter of Mars series is an oldie, but a goodie, and there's a movie coming out! There are LOTS of books, and don't let the sexy Frazetta covers bother you--Burroughs never had any couple in his books do more than look longingly at each other, proclaim their undying love and maybe kiss at the end of the book.
And lastly, I think everyone should read Isaac Asimov's I, Robot and Bradbury's Martian Chronicles.
posted by misha at 4:23 PM on January 23, 2012 [1 favorite]
Ack! Where did I get the idea this was for a boy? Anyway, all my recommendations stand for girls, too. I'm a girl, and I liked them!
And when the kid is older, get the Amber chronicles, too.
posted by misha at 4:25 PM on January 23, 2012
And when the kid is older, get the Amber chronicles, too.
posted by misha at 4:25 PM on January 23, 2012
Response by poster: @misha Well it is for a boy but his sister is only trailing him by a couple of years :)
posted by zeoslap at 5:46 PM on January 23, 2012
posted by zeoslap at 5:46 PM on January 23, 2012
Some very good suggestions here: ERB, Artemis Fowl, Bradbury. I discovered sf around that age and read Heinlein's HAVE SPACESUIT WILL TRAVEL, though that is not an anthology. If you can find it, the Healy-McComas anthology ADVENTURES IN SPACE AND TIME might do. It's old (1946) but has some wonderful classic tales in it. It might be the single best anthology the field ever produced (at least, until DANGEROUS VISIONS). In it you will find the John W. Campbell chiller Who Goes There? from which the film THE THING was derived. Among many many other stories from masters in the field. Start the kid off right! Give him some good reading as well as a firm grounding in the history of the genre.
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 5:48 PM on January 23, 2012
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 5:48 PM on January 23, 2012
Oops! For a girl. Well, sure -- this is great stuff!
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 5:56 PM on January 23, 2012
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 5:56 PM on January 23, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by dgeiser13 at 1:14 PM on January 23, 2012