Scifi for a 9yo boy?

[TheCountessofFitzdotterel]

Does anyone have any suggestions?

I find it quite hard to find fiction to interest DS1 - he isn't really into magic, would rather read non-fiction philosophy but I'm running out of philosophy aimed at kids/teens.

He likes stuff that is thought-provoking (hence the philosophy) and is currently really excited by a project at school about different planets, so I am hoping to find some child-friendly scifi to push his way. (He thinks The Martian is too long, which is a pity because I think he would like it.)

All I can think of is Nicholas Fisk from my childhood. The stuff DH and I read when we are slightly older, like Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, is a little too old for him.

Thanks!

[CMOTDibbler]

There are some childrens books written by Stephen Hawking and his daughter that ds has really enjoyed.

I'd love your recs on philosophy books though as I think ds would be v interested

[TheCountessofFitzdotterel]

thank you, I will check those out.

The Philosophy Files by Stephen Law is the one that sparked it all off! It's very good.

[CMOTDibbler]

Thank you! I've put them on his birthday list

[TheCountessofFitzdotterel]

And I have just ordered the first Stephen/Lucy Hawking one - it looks like just the thing.

[BlueChampagne]

Jules Verne?

[TheCountessofFitzdotterel]

Thanks BlueChampagne, might be worth a try! Will see if dh has any stashed away anywhere.

[schmalex]

Phoenix by SF Said is fabulous.

[Maladicta]

Mortal Engines by Phillip Reeve is worth a look

[harryhausen]

I second Mortal Engines. Fabulous book/series. Wish my kids would read them!

[TheCountessofFitzdotterel]

I like Mortal Engines very much but it's too violent for him (too violent for 9yos in general imo but I got it in the middle grade section of a bookshop rather than YA so obviously not everyone agrees with me on that!)

[mrsmortis]

On the classics front: Arthur C Clarke wrote some children's books. They may not be in print but try searching for Islands in the Sky. Asimov's Lucky Starr books might also be good (Think westerns set in space).

He might be a bit young right now but have you thought about Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game? It may be a bit YA. Heinlein's Citizen of the Galaxy might also work, but again it may be too YA.

[BlueChampagne]

Seems to be a gap in the market ...

[mrsmortis]

Oh and how about the tripods? while it's not a space opera i'd class it as sci-fi. Of chocky by John Wyndham?

[milliemolliemou]

Second Mrsmortis on John Wyndham. Very .provoking stuff - I read it at 8 and wasn't perturbed at all but read the wikipedia before you buy. Kraken Wakes, Triffids and the Chrysalids are brilliant but watch out for the Midwich Cuckoos which has a whole tribe of alien children wiped out.

[madamehooch]

Boy in the Tower by polly yen ho

[AuditAngel]

Has he tried Beastquest or Seaquest?

[HeyBells]

I think Mortal Engines are better for secondary school age.

DS enjoyed the Hawking books. At that age DS (science minded) liked Frank Cotterell Boyce - we still have his "Cosmic" on the shelf. Also some Mallorie Blackman, such as Pig Heart Boy and Hacker.

Have you looked at the Itch books by Simon Mayo (science based adventure)?

When he was 10 or 11 he liked the Hive books by Mark Walden (?) and the shapeshifter books by Ali Sparkes.

[ExtremelyConfidential]

Rebecca's World by Terry Nation is excellent and very thought-provoking, of you can find a copy.

[strawberrypenguin]

Was coming on the suggest Itch by Simon Mayo but see it's already been suggested!
If he thinks the Martian is too long to read would he listen to it as an audio book?

[albertcampionscat]

Another vote for Wyndham. Other ideas: China Mieville's Un Lun Dun, Ursula Le Guin, Phantom Tollbooth, Rats of Nimh.

[Daffydil]

He might like the Heinlein Juveniles

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinlein_juveniles

(Just be careful, as if he does get in to Heinlein some of the adult ones are very, erm, adult!)

I'd second John Wyndham, and How about The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh?

[notagiraffe]

The HIVE books by Mark Walden and Horowitz's Power of Five books might interest him.

[PomBearWithAnOFRS]

The Starstormers series by Nicholas Fisk? Or Grinny, or anything come to think of it
John Christopher wrote some fabulous sci-fi/dystopian books for younger readers - just make sure it's NOT "The Pendulum Swings" cos that is a) shit and b) adult in themes.
Robert Swindells writes some brilliant sci-fi/dystopian stuff for younger and older readers - Room 13 springs to mind as being one for the younger reader - but not perhaps if he is prone to being scared of the dark etc. It's about a school trip to Whitby where some of the children tackle the "mysterious figure" we all know it's Dracula! in Room 13 of their hotel. It is lighthearted, but not for the sensitive child maybe.
Susan Cooper's "The Dark is Rising" series is lovely - ignore that ridiculous pathetically bad film they made please - the first one is "Over Sea Under Stone" and there are five altogether.
Actually, all of SC's stuff is good, the two "Boggart" books would be lovely for a 9 yr old I think, and "Victory" and "King of Shadows" in a year or two.
If you can find anything by H.M. Hoover, they are brilliant - I adored them when I first read them as a child, and still read them to my DCs and myself now.