Since our latest episode is a little on the dark side, we thought it would be a good idea to have a happier question for you all to think about. We’ve also brought in a friend to sweeten the deal:
Shaun
The hard thing about choosing books for middle school kids is that a great deal of books for their age group that are fantastic in nature are actually fantasies, rather than science fiction. There isn’t enough science fiction written explicitly for their age group, let alone for the two groups around them (children’s lit and young adult). If we were talking high school, the doors would be wide open for all kinds of stuff, from John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War to Tobias Buckell’s Xenowealth novels (Crystal Rain, Ragamuffin, and Sly Mongoose). But because this group is a young group, content is a big issue. I have no doubt that they can handle more adult material than we’d like to think, but they are still younglings.
With that in mind, I would have to pick The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. The novel may not be meant for middle school kids, but it’s hilarious, fun, and all kinds of weird. Whether they’ll get all the jokes is irrelevant, because the characters are funny enough on their own. The big question, of course, is whether Adams is a good gateway into the SF genre as a whole. I don’t think I can say…
Jen
Honestly. I have no idea! I started reading science fiction earlier than middle school, but I think the same books are appropriate. However, they’re a little outdated. To be honest, though I haven’t even read the series yet, I would start with The Hunger Games. I’ve always been of the opinion that to get a kid interested in something for the first time, you have to play to their interests. Not only is The Hunger Games a new series of books, it is also being made into a series of movies. Double win to a teenager (especially if that hot guy from Beastly and I Am Number Four is in it, then you’ll get every girl in America reading the series). I see no reason to throw them straight into the complexities of Ender’s Game or something by Heinlein. I started with Ray Bradbury and Madeleine L’Engle (although I was never a big L’Engle fan) and these are still great authors to begin a science fiction journey with, but to snag a kid so late in the game (yes, I’m calling middle school late) – appealling to them on a less “literary” level might be a good way to go.
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card.
I think the story is accessible to kids because it’s about kids, their relationships and a lot of themes involved with growing up that they’ll relate to. Plus, the kids are the smartest people in the story (for the most part), which I think they’ll like too.
So, what do you think would be a good SF book to start middle school kids on? Let us know in the comments!
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I would recommend any of the Lois McMaster-Bujold Miles books. Ender’s Game would be another choice. I’d be very wary of recommending the ‘classics’, especially Heinlein, since I, not from that generation, find a lot of SF from that area off-puttingly patronising.
I agree about Heinlein. It’s really tough to select classic SF texts for kids for the reasons you’ve said.
I’ll have to look at the Bujold books. Thanks for the suggestions!
I find it hard to believe that you find SF of the period “off-puttingly patronizing”. I have always found them to be easy reads, clear in character development and conceptualization, and all-around fun. I particularly enjoy the Heinlein books, although I can acknowledge that they might be a bit unsettling to anyone uncomfortable with Heinlein’s libertarian/ personal freedom passion. Perhaps it is the growing social acceptance of the decrease in personal freedom over the past several decades that makes such books seem out of touch to modern young readers?
Guys,
why are you engaging in such ageism? The experience of most science fiction readers is that of being early readers, usually reading 4+ grades past their age (if not far more).
Think back to when you were in middle school. What were you reading? Me? I was working my way through Heinlein, Asimov’s Foundation trilogy, collections of Clarkes’ short stories and devouring every copy of Amazing, Fantastic, If, F&SF, Analog with the covers torn off that I could lay my hands on. I read Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness in 7th grade and Dune a year later.
Stop worrying about “age appropriate” material for SF kids – they’re well beyond their years and can handle anything you might want to throw at them.
I don’t consider it ageism to think about what is appropriate for middle school kids. What works for you isn’t necessarily going to work for everyone.
Personally, I wasn’t much of a reader when I was in middle school. I read a lot of Goosebumps, though.
This isn’t so much about kids that are already SF fans, this is more about kids that are NOT SF fans. How would you get THEM to start reading SF? I’m pretty sure Heinlein and Asimov are the last place you’d want to go.
Some of the first stuff I read would have been things like A Wrinkle In Time… I remember reading the first novelization of Star Wars the week it came out (still have it!). I was 8. I read Bradbury, of course. There was a book that I later found out boosted a fair bit from The Forever War, but on the cover a guy held a gun that looked like an Imperial stormtrooper gun, so I knew it was cool. I cannot remember the name of that one. 🙁
Ender’s Game would be one of my top choices, especially because there aren’t as many YA SF books as there are fantasy. I’d also recommend the Zamonia books by Walter Moers. While they aren’t exactly aimed at kids, there is plenty there to get a kid jazzed about fantasy.