Parent Child book club selections

[Sheherezade]

Thanks for the heads up. On Amazon, a few reviewers suggested both DragonSong and The White Dragon as entry points. We read the descriptions for several and she found the one for The White Dragon interesting as well. I will put that aside.

[poky]

It's been years, but as I recall, the white dragon was the "youngest" of the more adult Pern books. It's pretty standalone, and it's about a youngish kid who's a misfit, and impresses a unique "runt" white dragon, and they go on to do great things together - I'm pretty sure they don't get into the more adult mating ritual stuff. That particular one is probably fine (though I'd probably read it myself to make sure)...it's dragonflight and dragonquest that I think are the worst (and the ones mostly being talked about in that post I pointed to).

[ladymoreta]

Good point. I just remember some of the plot was about resolving some of the "technical" questions about Pern. But I wasn't thinking about how age-appropriate the earlier books were. Then again, my mom recommended the Clan of the Cave Bear series to me when I was 11, so I'm not really one to ask...

[poky]

Then again, my mom recommended the Clan of the Cave Bear series to me when I was 11, so I'm not really one to ask...

Ha! That's about when I read that, too. My mom was mildly concerned that I'd picked it up to read, not encouraging me, though.

[poky]

Remembered a dragon-y book that I read recently:

http://www.mercedeslackey.com/books/joust.html - it's not strictly YA, but it's a coming-of-age story; I don't remember it being too adult, though there are some pretty serious themes (revenge and slavery). Haven't read the rest in the series, but now that I know there are more, I probably will.

And got some recommendations from others, too:

We loved Patricia Wrede's Dealing With Dragons series. The reworking of fairy tales and also making wizards accountable was quite enjoyable for my then-11-year-old, and for me as well. She continues to reread those books at 13.

I recently read _Dragonhaven_ by Robin McKinley and absolutely loved it. The protagonist is male, but that didn't bother me much, because he's more human than male. It's YA but far from shallow.

And here's a pretty comprehensive list. I'd find each on amazon and read reviews, since the list doesn't give much in the way of opinion or guidance on how "old" of a YA they are. http://www.ferrum.edu/thanlon/dragons/novel.htm

[Vanquisher]

Love Anne of Green Gables. What about something like A Girl Named Zippy?

[poky]

Some more dragon-y suggestions:

Loved Susan Fletcher's series that started with _Dragon’s Milk_. And one of my all-time favorite YA dragon books: _The Hunting of the Last Dragon_ by Sherryl Jordan. Great female character in Jing-wei, a Chinese noblewoman, who joins with a fumbling, male not-quite-hero, leading to an interesting dragon encounter.

Here's another series, by Dawn Cook:
First Truth, 2002, ISBN 9780441009459
Hidden Truth, 2002, ISBN 9780441010035
Forgotten Truth, 2003, ISBN 9780441011179
Lost Truth, 2004, ISBN 9780441012282

Alissa is on a path of discovery, saving her worlds
in a few different ways as she goes. The dragons are
shapeshifters and time travellers. Good for all ages,
and should be completely suitable for an 11yo.

Ahhh, another suggestion if you are into dragons . . . Eragon by Christopher Paolini (the movie was horrible, but the book was fabulous -- in fact, this could be a great discussion to have as well!). I highly recommend those as well. I'm also in the middle of The Maze Runner by James Dashner. This one is good, filled with lots of action and suspense!!

[Sheherezade]

Thanks all. She tore through the Eragon series and is waiting for him to finish his fourth book. (Hurry up!) She is very insistent that we do A Little Princess. I think it does bring up lots of discussion topics about wealth, status and personal ethics - but I wouldn't have chosen it myself. It's a bit Victorian! Still, I'm leaning towards picking that for the next read because I want the kids to be empowered. The first book was picked by a mom and I think that if I make it known that the second was picked by a kid (with a mom's approval) it will help establish the idea that mom and daughter should pick together. I don't want this club to turn in to another "classroom experience". They get enough school. This is supposed to be fun, interesting and bonding.