Hatrack River Forum: YA Master List

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Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :

I'm compiling a list of must-haves for my children's library. I realized recently that I don't have a lot of reading material that is appropriate for younger readers. From cruising through some threads around here, I've come up with this list. I'd like to add more.

code:

Abadazad Series by J.M. DeMatteis, Mike Ploog (Illustrator) 
Abadazad: The Road to Inconceivable 	- Book #1
Abadazad: The Dream Thief 		- Book #2 

Day No Pigs Would Die
by Robert Newton Peck

Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander
The Book of Three 			- Book #1
The Black Cauldron			- Book #2
The Castle of Llyr			- Book #3
Taran Wanderer 				- Book #4
The High King				- Book #5

The Tripods Trilogy by John Christopher 
The White Mountains			- Book #1 
The City of Gold and Lead		- Book #2 
The Pool of Fire			- Book #3 

Futuretrack 5
by Robert Westall

The Wind in the Willows 
by Grahame, Kenneth

A Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L'Engle

The High Seas Trilogy by Iain Lawrence
The Wreckers				- Book #1
The Smugglers				- Book #2
The Buccaneers				- Book #3

Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer (Recommended by fan of the Eragon Books)
Artemis Fowl 				- Book #1
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident 	- Book #2
Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code 	- Book #3
Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception	- Book #4
Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony 		- Book #5
Series still ongoing

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
The Bad Beginning			- Book #1
The Reptile Room			- Book #2
The Wide Window				- Book #3
The Miserable Mill			- Book #4
The Austere Academy			- Book #5
The Ersatz Elevator			- Book #6
The Vile Village			- Book #7
The Hostile Hospital			- Book #8
The Carnivorous Carnival		- Book #9
The Slippery Slope			- Book #10
The Grim Grotto				- Book #11
The Penultimate Peril			- Book #12
The End					- Book #13

Holes
by Louis Sachar

Young Wizards Series by Diane Duane
So You Want to Be a Wizard		- Book #1
Deep Wizardry				- Book #2
High Wizardry				- Book #3
A Wizard Abroad				- Book #4
The Wizard's Dilemma			- Book #5
A Wizard Alone				- Book #6
Wizard's Holiday			- Book #7
Wizards at War				- Book #8
A Wizard of Mars (projected: May 2007)	- Book #9
Continuing Series			- Book #10

The Indian in the Cupboard
by Lynne Reid Banks

I Want to Go Home! 
by Gordon Korman

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede
Dealing with Dragons			- Book #1
Searching for Dragons			- Book #2
Calling on Dragons			- Book #3
Talking to Dragons.			- Book #4

Deltora Quest Series by Emily Rodda
The Forests of Silence			- Book #1
The Lake of Tears			- Book #2
The City of the Rats			- Book #3
The Shifting Sands			- Book #4
Dread Mountain				- Book #5
The Maze of the Beast			- Book #6
The Valley of the Lost			- Book #7
Return to Del				- Book #8

Half Magic
by Edward Eager

The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper
Over Sea, Under Stone			- Book #1
The Dark is Rising			- Book #2
Greenwitch				- Book #3
The Grey King				- Book #4
Silver on the Tree			- Book #5

Redwall Series by Brian Jacques 
In order of publication:       | Chronological Order:
Redwall 		(1986) | Lord Brocktree
Mossflower 		(1988) | The Legend of Luke (Book II)
Mattimeo 		(1989) | Martin the Warrior
Mariel of Redwall 	(1991) | Mossflower
Salamandastron 		(1992) | The Legend of Luke (Books I, III)
Martin the Warrior 	(1993) | Outcast of Redwall
The Bellmaker 		(1994) | Mariel of Redwall
Outcast of Redwall 	(1995) | The Bellmaker
The Pearls of Lutra 	(1996) | Salamandastron
The Long Patrol 	(1997) | Redwall
Marlfox 		(1998) | Mattimeo
The Legend of Luke 	(1999) | The Pearls of Lutra
Lord Brocktree 		(2000) | The Long Patrol
The Taggerung 		(2001) | Marlfox
Triss 			(2002) | The Taggerung
Loamhedge 		(2003) | Triss
Rakkety Tam 		(2004) | Loamhedge
High Rhulain 		(2005) | Rakkety Tam
Eulalia 		(2007) | High Rhulain
			       | Eulalia
Watership Down
by Richard Adams 

Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula K. Le Guin
A Wizard of Earthsea			- Book #1
The Tombs of Atuan			- Book #2
The Farthest Shore			- Book #3

Moonsinger Series by Andre Norton
Moon of 3 Rings 			- Book #1
Exiles of the Stars			- Book #2
Flight in Yiktor			- Book #3
Dare to Go A-Hunting			- Book #4
Brother to Shadows			- Book #5

How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found
by Sara Nickerson

Coraline
by Neil Gaiman

The Winter of Magic's Return
by Pamela F. Service

The Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster

The Hero and the Crown
The Blue Sword
Both by Robin McKinley

The Wind on Fire Trilogy by William Nicholson 
The Wind Singer				- Book #1
Slaves of the Mastery			- Book #2
Firesong				- Book #3

Dial-a-Ghost
The Great Ghost Rescue
Not Just a Witch
The Star of Kazan
The Haunting of Hiram C. Hopgood
Which Witch?
Monster Mission
Journey to the River Sea
The Secret of Platform 13
The Morning Gift
Magic Flutes
A Countess Below the Stairs
Madensky Square
A Song for Summer
A Company of Swans
Island of the Aunts
The Haunting of Granite Falls
The Beasts of Clawstone Castle
Worm & the Toffee Nosed Princess
A Song For Summer
All by Eva Ibbotson

Calico Captive
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
The Bronze Bow
The Sign of the Beaver
All by Elizabeth George Speare

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
by Robert C. O'Brien

Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :

The Chronicles of Narnia.

Posted by Tinros (Member # 8328) on :

I'd also add Sword of Shannara(and the other two in the original trilogy), and the Magic Kingdom of Lanover series(starts with Magic Kingdom for sale-Sold!), all by Terry Brooks.

Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :

Wow, I'm behind on my Young Wizards books...

Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :

I'd add Flying Solo by Roald Dahl to that list. In fact, just about anything by Dahl is enjoyable to read at any age.

Posted by PrometheusBound (Member # 10020) on :

The rest of Madeleine L'Engle

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

The Once an Future King

And, I am sorry, but these earns a "Duh:"

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Ender's Game and the Speaker/Shadow books.

(Maybe you just thought they were obvious)

Edited to add:
the works of Robert Cormier

Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Tinros:
I'd also add Sword of Shannara(and the other two in the original trilogy), and the Magic Kingdom of Lanover series(starts with Magic Kingdom for sale-Sold!), all by Terry Brooks.

The only one of those books I'd put in would be Magic Kingdom for Sale -- Sold!.

quote:
The Lord of the Rings.

That's a bit too heavy to really be good as YA fiction, IMO. Not that it cannot be enjoyed by young adults, but that's not the same thing.

Posted by PrometheusBound (Member # 10020) on :

Oooo, and

The House of the Scorpion and The Ear, the Eye and the Arm by Nancy Farmer

Summer of My German Soldier

Lois Lowry's works

Rifles for Watie (probably boys only)

E. L. Konigsburg's works

Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :

Wise Child-Monica Furlong

Harry Potters Not on there?! ASTONISHMENT!
Blue Girl
Books by Cynthia Voigt
The Alice Books
Han Nolan books, especially Dancer on the Edge
More later
Maniac Magee by Spinelli and other books by him like Stargirl
Holes by Louis Sachar and his Sideways Stories

Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :

Sorry, the list didn't include obvious ones. I'll go back and add those.

Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :

This list of Newberry Award winners might be useful. I asked my wife what 10 books she would want our children to read before they turned 14. This was her response.

- To Kill a Mockingbird
- The Giver
- Farenheit 451
- a lot of Nancy Drew
- Prydain chronicles
- Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry
- Briar Rose (by Jane Yolen)
- Dragonwings (by Laurence Yep)
- Narnia
- Wind from an Enemy Sky (by D'Arcy McNickle)

My list looks more like this
- Johnny Tremain
- Prydain (love Lloyd Alexander)
- Bridge to Terebithia
- lots of Encyclopedia Brown (inspired by her choice of Nancy Drew)
- Narnia
- Ender's Game/Speaker for the Dead
- L'Engle (not just the trilogy, many others like Arms of the Starfish, Ring of Endless Light, Many Waters, etc.) *Interestingly, L'Engle was a favorite of mine as a YA, but I can't read her now; her writing drives me to distraction
- Dark is Rising
- Island of the Blue Dolphins and The Black Pearl (by Scott O'Dell)
- The Westing Game (by Ellen Raskin)
- The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree (by Bill Brittain)

<edit>Oh, and can't forget Summer of the Monkeys, Where the Red Fern Grows, My Side of the Mountain, Hatchet, and Old Yeller, all great growing up stories for boys</edit>

Posted by Celaeno (Member # 8562) on :

The rest of the Madeleine L'Engle books.

Lois Lowrey.

Ray Bradbury.

Roald Dahl (but this might be a bit young)

Inside the Walls of Troy - Clemence McLaren

Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :

Heinlein wrote some pretty good YA novels. Just be certain you get the children's stuff, because his adult novels definitely have content that may not be appropriate for children. These three books should be fine for kids:

Have Spacesuit, Will Travel
Citizen of the Galaxy
Tunnel in the Sky

Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :

A couple more I thought of, after perusing the Newberry list:

Fog Magic (by Julia Sauer)
Tuck Everlasting (by Natalie Babbitt)
Little House on the Prarie books
King of the Wind (by Marguerite Henry)

Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :

Heinlein's YA stuff is great. I loved that stuff as a kid.

Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :

A LOT more Gordon Korman.

The Twinkie Squad
Who is Bugs Potter? and Bugs Potter LIVE at Nickaninny!
This Can't Be Happening at MacDonald Hall
Go Jump in the Pool
Beware the Fish
Our Man Weston
Son of Interflux

Posted by Kasie H (Member # 2120) on :

Does anybody remember the series of books that involved a Mormon boy named Tom who went away to a boarding school and wreaked lots of havoc? (I want to say it was Catholic school, which of course presented all sorts of issues as well as opportunities for pranks, but I could be wrong about that...)

Posted by Mig (Member # 9284) on :

So glad to see that you put the recent Abadazad books on the list. Two more books are comming out this year. Anyone who hasn't looked at these is missing a great read.

My wife's favorite book should be on this list: Black Beauty by Anna Sewell.

And how about a great western: Shane by Jack Schaefer.

Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Kasie H:
Does anybody remember the series of books that involved a Mormon boy named Tom who went away to a boarding school and wreaked lots of havoc? (I want to say it was Catholic school, which of course presented all sorts of issues as well as opportunities for pranks, but I could be wrong about that...)

Sounds like "Great Brain at the Academy" to me. I never read the books, but my wife says they're great. Here's a wiki on the series.

Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Kasie H:
Does anybody remember the series of books that involved a Mormon boy named Tom who went away to a boarding school and wreaked lots of havoc? (I want to say it was Catholic school, which of course presented all sorts of issues as well as opportunities for pranks, but I could be wrong about that...)

I remember the Great Brain books, whose title character came from a predominately Mormon town in Utah and went off to a Catholic school which gave him all sorts of opportunities for pranks.

Posted by Kasie H (Member # 2120) on :

YES!

Thank you, mph and SenojRetep!

I *loved* those books.

The Great Brain

Posted by dean (Member # 167) on :

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (I haven't read the sequel yet, but I imagine it will be awesome)

No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman

Anything by Tamora Pierce, but particularly her Circle of Magic and The Circle Opens books.

Anything by Diana Wynne Jones, but particularly Howl's Moving Castle, Dogsbody and the Chrestomanci quartet.

And here are some more obscure ones that I definitely want any kids I might have to have:

Garret Freymann-Weyr's books:
My Heartbeat
The Kings Are Already Here
When I was Older

(Warning: some of you may find these books inappropriate, but I loved them as a teen and I found that their ambivalence and emotional tenderness meant a lot to me.)

Kristen D. Randle's books:
Slumming
Breaking Rank
The Only Alien On the Planet

The Only Alien on the Planet (as the amazon review suggests) is very unrealistic in plot, but I loved it when I found it in ninth grade and immediately talked all my friends into reading it, and they loved it too.

Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :

quote:
A LOT more Gordon Korman.

You stole my line, EL.

quote:
Anything by Tamora Pierce, but particularly her Circle of Magic and The Circle Opens books.

Anything by Diana Wynne Jones, but particularly Howl's Moving Castle, Dogsbody and the Chrestomanci quartet.

I'd like to strongly second Diana Wynne Jones and add the Alanna books (Song of the Lioness Quartet) by Tamora Pierce. They were where I started out and they are still my favourites of her books.

Other than that, you appear to have hit upon most of my favourites.

EDIT:

Remembered one right after I hit 'post': "Invitation to the Game" by Monica Hughes. Great book [Smile]

Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :

How about..

Louisa May Alcott (Little Women, 8 Cousins and Rose in Bloom to start off with)
L M Montgomery (the Anne of Green Gable books)
Frances Hodgson Burnett (The Secret Garden and A Little Princess)
Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian

Emily Rodda has written two series of fantasy books for children that are extremely popular in Australia - the Deltora Quest books seem to do very well with girls in particular. The Rowan of Rin series is also good.

Posted by Boon (Member # 4646) on :

Looks like you're focusing on fiction, correct?

Posted by Nell Gwyn (Member # 8291) on :

quote:
<edit>Oh, and can't forget Summer of the Monkeys, Where the Red Fern Grows, My Side of the Mountain, Hatchet, and Old Yeller, all great growing up stories for boys</edit>

*scratching head* Except for Old Yeller, I loved all of those when I was a kid, and I'm a girl. And I wasn't particularly tomboyish, either. Huh. I wonder what that says about me? [Confused]

Books I'd add to the list:

- Libby on Wednesday and The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatly Snyder (She probably has other good ones, but those are the only ones I've read.)
- The Mozart Season by Virginia Euwer Wolff
- The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and Nothing but the Truth by Avi
- everything by Marguerite Henry (Misty of Chincoteague, King of the Wind, etc.)
- The Black Stallion by Walter Farley (at least that one, if not all the rest in the series as well)
- The Last Silk Dress by Ann Rinaldi (I'd wait till at least 12 for that one, though. Nothing really "adult" in it, but they do mention prostitution, and some of the ideas might be a little heavy for younger kids.)
- The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White, and also Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web, although I liked Trumpet a lot better than the other two.
- Beauty by Robin McKinley
- Not quite a must-read, but A Well-Timed Enchantment by Vivian Vande Velde is a lot of fun, as are other works of hers whose titles escape me at the moment.

And I'll second the L.M. Montgomery, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Francis Hodgson Burnett recommendations.

Posted by SenojRetep (Member # 8614) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Nell Gwyn:

quote:
<edit>Oh, and can't forget Summer of the Monkeys, Where the Red Fern Grows, My Side of the Mountain, Hatchet, and Old Yeller, all great growing up stories for boys</edit>
*scratching head* Except for Old Yeller, I loved all of those when I was a kid, and I'm a girl. And I wasn't particularly tomboyish, either. Huh. I wonder what that says about me?

Yeah, after I wrote it I thought I should probably have said about boys rather than for boys. I know plenty of girls who liked those books.

Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :

My favorte Great Brain book was Me And My Little Brain which focuses on his little brother after he the Great Brain went away to catholic school.

Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :

Wow this is a great list. I'm going to have to keep this for when I have grandchildren some day.

The only thing I was going to say, which apparently has already been pointed out by others, is that Iw as surprised you only had one Madeleine L'Engle book. All her books are good -- in fact there were some I liked better than Wrinkle in Time. But you need the whole series.

FG

Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :

I wonder if we can make this Young Adult list as a sub-page of the Hatrackian Film and Literature web link (which I have bookmarked for easy referral).

That would be great. Except I don't remember which user created that (he should put his Hatrack SN at the top of the page there or something [Wink]

Posted by Chris Kidd (Member # 2646) on :

Maybe papa janitor can sticky the topic.

the dragon rider series is good.

Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :

Books by Betsy Byars. She was my favourite as a kid.
Daphne's Book is another book I loved in Jr High school
Also, the Wind Blows Backwards was rather good for older kids, like in high school...

Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :

No Flying in the House
The Shades
both by Betty Brock (although The Shades is out of print)

Captain Ghost by Thelma Bell (out of print)

The Spider and Other Stories by Carl Ewald (out of print)

Golden Island by Katherine Allfrey (also out of print, unfortunately)

--Mel

Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :

I really enjoyed A Cricket in Times Square.

Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :

Paul Stewart: The Edge Chronicles
Not Eragon
Garth Nix: Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen
Garth Nix: The Seventh Tower Series
Philip Ardagh: The Eddie Dickens Trilogy
Neil Gaimon: Coraline
Philip Pullman: His Dark Materials
The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963
Patricia McKillip: The Riddlemaster of Hed(trilogy)
Mary Stewart: The Crystal Cave series
TH WHite: The Once and Future King
Ray Bradbury: Dandelion Wine, The Martian Chronicles
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Dorothy Rhoades: The Corn Grows Ripe
As many myths as you can get your hands on
Jane Yolen: Anything she's written
Fannie Flagg: Daisy May and the Miracle Man
Roald Dahl: Everything
Louis Sachar The Wayside School series
Lloyd Alexander: Time Cat
Jaws(when the kids are about twelve, for "The Chapter")(Was it 7?)
Jerry Spinelli: Star Girl more than Maniac Magee
Sid Fleischman: The Whipping Boy
Gary Paulsen: Nightjohn
Nancy Springer: Rowan Hood
Robert Newton Peck: A Day No Pigs WOuld Die

Cornelia Funke: Inkheart and Inkspell
Tracy Mack: Birdland

Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :

Primal,
Scholastic also has a neat site now where they have done each book by reading level. I can find the link if you want.