Childhood Fantasy (Score 4, Interesting)

The following are all "coming of age" stories which I hope might appeal to your children. Most are winners of the Nebula and or Newberry prizes for literature - which generally means that they can be found in a local library. I will not bother to list all of the wonderful Heinlein novels and stories as they clearly have many champions, though I will plug the anthology "The Past through Tomorrow" which hooked me at age nine and started a life long passion for reading.

David Eddings

• The Belgariad
• The Mallorean

Lloyd Alexander

• The Chronicles of Prydain - wonderful series based around Welsh Mythology, basis of Disney's "The Black Cauldron". When Alexander died in 2007, his obituary in New York Magazine hoped that "The High King is everything we desperately hope Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be."

Ursula LeGuin

• The Earthsea Trilogy - I cannot recommend this series enough. If your children had any interest in the "Harry Potter" series this is a must read.

R. A. MacAvoy

• The Damiano Series
• The Book of Kells

T.H. White

• The Once and Future King - A fantasy based around the Arthurian Legend - the first book is "The Sword in the Stone".

That should keep them busy over the summer.