The Enchanted Forest Chronicles

What Hacker News says

1. esoteric_wombatJan 2016
   Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials is a solid choice. It gets dark, but so does Harry Potter, so fair game. I would say late grade school for the first book, adolescent for books 2 and 3.

   Tamora Pierce has written a number of kid appropriate fantasy books with solid writing and strong female characters. I have seen countless grade school girls get hooked on her work. Some of her books just start to get into more mature relationship themes, but it's enough to embarrass your kid a bit, not scar them.

   As a child I enjoyed C.S. Lewis, but was personally affronted when I got to the last Narnia book and discovered that good story had been compromised for christian allegory. Lewis won't make your child a bible thumped any more than Pullman will make them an atheist. Just make sure you know what your kid is reading, and find opportunities to discus the material with them critically!

   Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series is another excellent option. I believe when I read it in grade school I found the pacing too slow, so I skipped ahead a lot and inferred a number of plot points. Nonetheless, I'm certain I enjoyed it the first time, it influenced my view of fantasy literature, and I have returned to reread the series multiple times since.

   The Hobbit is a great kids book.

   Alison Croggon's Pellinor series is less well known, but perfect for pre/early teens that love fantasy.

   The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede feature a princess who runs away from home to work for a dragon. Solid writing, strong female characters, Pratchett-esque subversion of fantasy tropes. Fun and appropriate for grade school kids.

   Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

   That's off the top of my head. Of these books I consider Pullman, Le Guin, and Tolkien to be literature (worth an adult's time), while the others are just fun and well written.

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2. ktrgardinerNov 2012
   Probably my absolute favorite book series are The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede. The protagonist is a princess who grows up hating all the typical princess things she's being taught so she convinces people to teach her swordfighting, magic, Latin, and other things princes are taught. When she gets fed up she runs away to be a dragon's princess and has all sorts of great adventures.

   Those books are so refreshing and brilliant that I still reread them to this day.

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