DD (8) is about to finish the Harry Potter series and be bereft- what next?

Has she read all the roald Dahls?
Narnia is good for the first couple but I tried reading the whole series to my DS and had to stop because it was horribly racist.
The edge chronicles are amazing but apart from the first too dark for 8 year olds. My DS is 8 and is fine with all the Harry potters but the 2nd edge book was too much I had to censor while I was reading it so we decided to leave it. Definitely on the shelf for a couple of years time though.

I agree, Newt. I didn't censor dd's reading at any stage, but did try to steer her towards age-appropriate books. Thankfully, dd has gone back to re-read some of the more complex stuff.

We should let our kids be kids for as long as they can!

I think the Northern Lights books are wasted on an 8yo.

absolutely agree but the first book (and to an extent the second but it doesn't work as a stand alone in the way that Northern Lights does) can still be enjoyed by them as a story at that level. The understanding of the heavy religious stuff kicks in upon re-reading at a later age.

The sad thing is if parents rush to push the books on children who are too young to appreciate them and they never are re-read and appreciated at a later stage. I actually think the Hunger games trilogy is a great trilogy for children of the right age group - but certainly around here there seems to be competitive parenting about whether little Johnny has read the Hunger Games before his 7th birthday. I'm sure half the parents haven't even read the books themselves to see what there is to be concerned about. I was quite disturbed and I read them when I was about 40!

Another vote here for Angie Sage's Septimus Heap series (especially the first book Magyk) which, like Hogwarts, has a great sense of place. Narnia series and Ruby Redfort were also very popular with mine at your Dd's age.

My DD is the same age as yours and I too was hoping to slow down her Potter-mania to make them last, but failed! She has read most of them twice though (and Chamber of Secrets several more times).

She's just started on the first Tiffany Aching book by Terry Pratchett - Wee Free Men. Definitely recommend that one, and there are four more after it too.

Noel Streatfeild is another old favourite..loved Ballet Shoes.

Oh yy to Eva Ibbotson books - forgot those. DD especially loved Journey to the River Sea.

I think the Northern Lights books are wasted on an 8yo. DD was an excellent reader and enjoyed reading them at that age, but she has re-read them recently (she is nearly 12) and got so much more out of them. There are some easier Philip Pullman books though.

DD really enjoyed Skellig (and My Name is Mina) when she was around 10. I think it might be a bit sophisticated for an 8yo though. I think the Eragon series might also be a bit too complex for an 8yo.

The divergent trilogy/hunger games are great books but quite dark for such a young child. Maybe wait a year or two?

The Lemony Snicket books were great for dd at that age. Also the Pseudonymous Bosch books, the Alex Rider series, Percy Jackson etc.

My dd was also a big fan of the old classics when she was 8ish. She loved Little Women, the Anne of Green Gables series, Little House on the Prairie, various Noel Stretfield books, The Secret Garden, A Little Princess etc. Heidi was a particular favourite. The language in some of these books is quite challenging but the themes are still age-appropriate.

As for Harry Potter, no need to feel bereft! If she is anything like my dd, she'll probably re-read the whole series several times over, so there will be plenty more enjoyment from them yet.

also not alas - quite happy for him to read (most) Dianna Wynne Jones!

PLease wait a few years before the Hunger Games - really not suitable for an 8yo.

My DD really enjoyed some of the Lauren St John books - the White Giraffe series and the Laura Marlin books. Million Dollar Horse series is a bit more adult in content so you might want to check those out first.
Also many of the Eva Ibbotson books are great (although again some are intended for older readers).
She also enjoyed reading some of the older classic tales:
Ballet Shoes
Traveller in Time
Little White Horse
Coraline
Some Agatha Christie 'Miss Marple'
Also
Dark is Rising series
Sally Lockhart mysteries (Pulman)

DS2 (nearly 10) has alas read and re-read Howl's Moving Castle. He adores it.

At 8, many many years ago! I was reading Chalet School, every single one of Enid Blyton books, Black Beauty, the pony books by the Pullein-Thompson sisters, the Jill series by Ruby Ferguson (more pony books), Heidi, the Little House series, the Bible!, ...
We were very lucky in that my parents were more than happy to buy us books (5 kids) so at least one book a week came into the house. I was a self taught reader by the age of 3 (listening to my 4 year old brother who had just started school fired my interest I think).
My own son was also a fluent reader by 4 and had read the first HP book by the end of his first year in school.
Reading is just fab!!

We did Northern lights as an audio book as a family. It's an amazing series but after the first book it gets a bit hard going. We read the subtle knife (I love the change of setting and was excited for the DSs to discover this) but the amber spyglass has been put aside until DS2 is a bit older (he was 8 at the time) since it was getting a bit tough going.

It should also be pointed out that if you're very religious you might find the series offensive.

In general I think a good thought to keep in your head is "just because it's about children does not mean it's suitable for children". The Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Gone etc are all about children but for Young Adults (teens). Fab at that age but potentially distressing at too young an age.

Ruby Redfort by Lauren Child is very much loved by my 8 year old.

Do NOT let your 8 YO read The Hunger Games. I'm sure she's capable of reading it. That doesn't mean she should read it.

In the same vein as HP are:

• Artemis Fowl series (fabulous and about to go into production with disney) - villains and fairy magic
• Percy Jackson series - greek gods and magic
• Kane Chronicles - egyptian gods and magic
• The secrets of the immortal Nicholas Flammel - mythology and magic (with a nice HP cross over reference to pique her interest from the start)
• Skulduggery pleasant - underworld and magic
• The wierdstone of brisingamen - can be quite tough going due to the fact that it was written many years ago now - we read this aloud as a family - fairy/folk legends and magic
• The neverending story - other worlds and magic
• small change for stuart/big change for stuart - magic in the normal world
• Charlie Bone - very Harry Potter like set in a school

Swallows and Amazons?

Wow, what a wide range of books being suggested here. The Name of the Wind is an adult fantasy novel and 722 pages long! It's one of my favorites but even the best reader at 8 would struggle :) I read everything I could get my hands on at that age but I'm not sure that I really benefited from reading adult fiction very young, most of it went over my head. I'd take her to the library and let her loose on the 8-12 and maybe the teen sections with a bit of guidance.

Other possibilities not yet mentioned might include the Earthsea series by Ursula le Guin, Angie Sage's Septimus Heap series, the Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas, anything by Tamora Peirce, Garth Nix's the Keys to the Kingdom, and Megan Whalen Turner the Queens Thief series.

What about Joan aitken's books - the wolves of willoughby chase, black hearts in battersea and many others. I remember absolutely loving those at her age?

Another vote for Barnes, but NOT the hunger games!

I read 1984 aged 11 (because I was determined to read it before 1984), and I don't think I really got it. I reread it a couple of years ago, and wondered if a certain manager was using it as a manual...

I loved Narnia when I discovered it she 8. Also the Dark is Rising and Diana Wynne Jones and Anne of Green Gables and Laura Ingalls Wilder. And Biggles.

KM Peyton - some are too old for 8, but there are some which are for a younger reader.

I read the Lord of the rings at 7 and was hooked. I must have read it over 30 times now.

E.g. I read the handmaids tale and 1984 aged 10 ( do not let her read 1984 it scarred me )

Or there's wool, a series of unfortunate events... I read a lot of dark shit at that age and it only increased my love of lit

The goose girl I loved and was v tame

The gender game, the red queen, the mistborn series ( amazing) or the way of kings, the Mage apprentice, the left hand of god, the name of the wind, the hunger games