Best science fiction books for children according to redditors
We found 303 Reddit comments discussing the best science fiction books for children. We ranked the 72 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 303 Reddit comments discussing the best science fiction books for children. We ranked the 72 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
The HMS Leviathan is the titular craft from the series of books that that begins with Leviathan. It's a bio/dieselpunk alt history WWI series where the Central Powers (Clankers) have created diesel powered giant robots, and the Entente Powers (Darwinists) have responded by using genetic engineering to create living war machines. The Leviathan itself is a living zeppelin, and swims through the sky using internal bladders filled with self-generated hydrogen.
Edit because I'm a dumb-butt.
The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. And more.
There's two more - Journey to Chandara and First Flight.
1. A Land Apart From Time
2. The World Beneath
3. Journey to Chandara
4. First Flight
The first two are incredible, the stories are engaging, too. The second two, the stories are OK but Gurney is still an amazing artist.
In my history class as an American Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders received nearly half the amount of time we spent on WWI. I literally learned more about World War I reading young adult steampunk novels than I did in history class.
You might even get a kick out of The Hunger Games or Divergent... And of course 1984 :)
Starters by Lissa Price
From Goodreads: Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.
He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . . .
I think there are a couple of approaches to steampunk with varying levels of real-world believability. On one side you've got the "What if technology advanced as rapidly as computers, but the internal combustion engine and transistors were never invented?" and on the other you have spirit-infused clockworks that are effectively magic taking the place of more standard fantasy fare like talking animals or outright spirits. And plenty of stuff in between. I'd say it's more of a visual aesthetic than a pseudo-philosophy within the books like grimdark or cozy mystery or anything.
So far, the vaguely steampunk books I've read are rather limited. And often for kids. Some examples:
first, I have to mention Stork Tower which features a girl who kicks ass in both game and the real world with the help of her AI (ok, and a lot of luck)
There is one other litrpg that comes to mind, Ruins of Majesta about a girl genius trapped in a litrpg ("M.I.T. calls her a genius, her mother calls her Cupcake, her buddies call her Princess Cuddle Fluff and she’s here to kick butt and blow stuff up."), but it is very intentionally written to be kid friendly if that bothers you
since most of the litrpg side (Siphon, Metaworld Chronicles, etc) has already been covered, I'll give a few non-litrpg recommendations that I think might scratch that itch.
available on KU
not on KU but should be available through your library (and if they don't have it, they should be able to get it through InterLibrary Loan if you request it)
other
Looks like those belong to this book here
http://www.amazon.com/LEGO-Star-Wars-Brickmaster-Publishing/dp/0756663113
I was published in the first issue of Taco Bell Quarterly, so I'm celebrating by giving ALL my books away FREE!
https://www.tacobellquarterly.org
Don't Stop the Geekin' https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E0FL2ES/
Periphery https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06VW4MWFJ
The Thing from the Drive-in https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07812TJ4J/
Hmm, the steampunk I've read has been set in the past or closer to the present.
The Leviathan series by Scott Westerfeld is a YA re-imagining of WWI where the Germans have advanced steam-powered technology and the British have discovered genetic engineering early and gone crazy with it (think giant inflatable whale in place of a zeppelin). Girl disguised as a boy, prince on the run, etc, etc. An enjoyable trilogy.
The Golden Compass, the first book in the His Dark Materials trilogy, also has some steampunk elements to it. It's set in an alternate version of Oxford where the church never lost power and electricity never got "big." Definitely some magical elements in there (kind of).
It's steampunk, but I'm really not a fan of Boneshaker. It's a steampunk version of the west coast in the 1800s... With zombies. Very flat, unlikeable characters in my opinion.
Teen Superheros:
Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain by Richard Roberts (Three children of superheros develop powers and accidently become supervillains. Good writing, very clever worldbuilding and characterization. Interesting love triangle You've probably seen it advertised as "What if Harry Potter were steampunk?" but underneath the obvious cashgrab advertising is a great book)
Sidekicks by Jack Ferraiolo (Two sidekicks-One of a superhero, another of a supervillian, learn that they go to the same school, and develop a romance. Excellent Writing, especially for a children's book. Cute romance, and realistic characterization of the main characters at the age they're at without being either condescending or simplistic, interesting twist on superhero/supervillian dynamics. Be careful, since the title's genericness means its possible to get the wrong book)
The Vindico by Wesley King. (5 children are kidnapped by a team of supervillains in an attempt to train apprentices. Generally sold as "The Breakfast Club meets X-Men", which it somewhat lives up to. Good plot, nice twist both on traditional super villain roles and "school for supers" idea)
Realistic Fiction:
The Theif Lord by Cornelia Funke. (Two Orphans run away to Venice and join a group of runaways taken care of by "The Thief Lord", a child master thief. Clever Plot, and the writing really takes you in)
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (Written by 16 year old who really lived in similar conditions. Plot revolves around "Ponyboy", a member of a Greaser gang in the 60s, and his life after a gang fight goes wrong. You really care about people who would otherwise serve as hoodlums in another novel)
Sci-fi:
A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix. (A Prince, one of a few million of the rulers of a galactic empire, becomes tangled in a web of plots and conspiracies. Good sci-fi with excellent world building. Watching the main character learn how dangerous his life has become and slowly adapt to it)
Red Rising by Pierce Brown (After the death of his wife, a member of the lowest Red caste is disguised and made into a member of the ruling Gold caste in order to infiltrate the ruling society. "Ender, Katniss, and now Darrow" was the quote that got me into this. Lives up to it. Reads like a more violent Hunger Games, and goes places the HG didn't. Excellent read, and the main character's intelligence make him more than just an angry revenger. Some slightly guessable "plot twists", but does a good job exploring the theme of unfairness and winning against a stacked deck.)
Levithan by Scott Westerfield. (Alternate World War One, where the allies use genetic manipulation to create huge beasts of burden and war, while the Central powers use huge steampunk machines. Plot follows a girl who dresses as a boy to join in the ranks of an air force, who meets an Austrian Prince on the run from the German Empire)
Fantasy/Horror:
The Spook's Apprentice by Joseph Delany (Seventh son gets appreticed to the local spook, a man who fights magical threats around the County. Does a unique job of showing its monsters and boogeymen, with a plot that builds over the course of the books.)
Cirque Du Freak (Boy becomes a half-vampire, traveling with a circus of freaks. Most action takes place away from the circus and towards the other vampires in the world. 12 books that are really 4 trilogies, which ought to be 4 books. Nice job of presenting unique vampires. Actual horror varies, although I've heard good things about the Demonata series by the same author, which I haven't read.)
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. (First line: "There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife." Plot is series of vignettes about boy being raised by a group of ghosts in a graveyard. Gaiman gets pretty good reviews overall, and for good reason.)
The Midnighters Series by Scott Westerfield (Girl moves to new town and discovers she is one of a very few who can access the "Secret Hour"- An extra hour when time is frozen at midnight, along with gaining new powers. Her and a few select others fight ancient beasts who were the last predators of ancient man.)
The following each only have one book sadly as not many books in the genre have a lot yet, some have second books coming soon.
The Game of Gods by Joshua Kern
The Great Filter by Russell Wilbinski
Advent (Red Mage) by Xander Boyce
Core Punk by Paul Bellow
First Song (Anthem of Infinity) by Blaise Corvin
This next one has three books but it also has a lot of sex, the story is good if you can get past that or enjoy that sort of thing.
Apocalypse Gates by Daniel Schinhofen
This next one is post-apocalyptic but the world ended a long time ago, it has 2 books. I should note that the "system" aspect is new in the book, it didn't happen when the world fell.
Radioactive Evolution by Richard Hummel
Lastly an honorable mention because while you wouldn't think it's post apocalyptic from the description it absolutely is which may be a spoiler but not big one. Again those the world ended a long time ago. It has three books.
Threadbare by Andrew Seiple
Given time i could probably think of a few others but these were just the ones that came to me the quickest and ones I can say having read them are all good. I also avoided the ones you mentioned or other people have already recommended. Hope this helps!
Hello everyone!
My name is Jordan J. Scavone and I am actually new to this subreddit (and reddit in general really!) I am excited to announce that I have left my small publisher to go the full independent route and republish on Amazon's KDP program.
My debut book is about a four-year-old girl with social anxiety starting school, and in order to overcome her fear of going, becomes a superhero!
If you are interested in checking out Might-E more information at the links below!
Paperback - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1973234416
eBook - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077JN84W6
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MightEBook
My Website - https://www.jordanjscavone.com
I look forward to hanging out with this community!
-Jordan J. Scavone
Hello. In general I'm not good at guessing things, but I'm going to guess that your favorite animal is the best animal, which is of course the sea lion.
You should have cutting boards. I should have the ability cook Star Wars things.
At least give some info on it ;)
artist - Keith Thompson
from the book - Leviathan
Thompson does some great illustrations for the book. As for the book itself, wasn't too bad for an alternative history/steampunk story. Not in the ilk of Glen Cook or Michael Moorcock, IMO, but a fun read.
No problem! Those robbers were tough though, there are so many that look nearly identical! Anyway, I found some more for you!
http://brickset.com/sets/containing-minifig-sw201 (Although its not listed on brickset, he also appeared in the Star Wars Brickmaster
http://brickset.com/minifigs/sw267/R4-P44
http://brickset.com/minifigs/cty169/Dark-Bluish-Gray-Jacket-with-Magenta-Scarf-Light-Bluish-Gray-Legs-Reddish-Brown-Female-Hair-over-Shoulder-Peach-Lips
http://brickset.com/minifigs/hol032/Overalls-Sand-Blue-Sand-Blue-Legs-Light-Bluish-Gray-Male-Hair-White-Beard
http://rebrickable.com/parts/37/minifig-knife/72 (This piece is in so many sets it doesn't even really matter, but I included it anyway.)
http://brickset.com/sets/tag-Tauntaun (Brick set lists all of these Tauntauns as different ones, but they all look the same to me.)
http://brickset.com/sets/containing-minifig-sw029
I'm pretty sure that the prisoner with the beard is not in any sets, it looks like someone put the beard on him.
Right now, I have an exclusivity thing to get some promotion through Amazon, and it's only available in Kindle format at the moment. After that is over, I plan on looking into the print copies.
Here is the direct link.
If you are looking for snack ideas, there are several Star Wars cookbooks with themed recipes and fun names that you could use:
There's also a party book with more recipes, games and decoration ideas:
As far as giveaways go, there are plenty of directions to take that. I went to a screening of The Force Awakens and they sold raffle tickets for a chance to win one of several gift bags. The good thing is, there's a ton of Star Wars merchandise so chances are that you will be able to find just about any item to fit your price range and employee demographics. Here are a few ideas.
Expensive:
Moderately Priced:
Reasonably Priced:
Edit: If you really want to impress your hardcore fan employees, have the limited editions of A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi as a giveaway. Those specific releases of the film contain a bonus disc that has the last time that the original theatrical cuts of the films were released. Most releases of the films since '97 have had various changes made to them that some really hardcore fans dislike, so copies of the theatrical cut are highly sought after by certain fans.
About a year ago, I found a dusty 2mb Compact Flash card that I used for school work, 25 years ago! Believe it or not, there was a story template still on there I started to write for my final year of English full of characters, places, chapter synopsis etc. I never started or finished it and it was forever lost. I have since picked up this old flame where it has now been self published to Amazon, so here is a shameless plug!
The Alpha Emblem
Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:
amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
amazon.ca
amazon.com.au
amazon.in
amazon.com.mx
amazon.de
amazon.it
amazon.es
amazon.com.br
amazon.nl
amazon.co.jp
amazon.fr
Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.
For those wondering about source.
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld is a great book and the series is a wonderful read.
Part 1 First Contact
http://www.amazon.com/Aoleon-Martian-Girl-Science-Fiction-ebook/dp/B00QVB9Q7K/
Part 2 Luminess of Mars
http://www.amazon.com/Aoleon-Martian-Girl-Science-Luminess-ebook/dp/B00S70U8NE/
Ruins of Majesta and sequel (more to come). Depends on if he's good with snark between the main characters.
Thanks for the reply (and the gold!)
I am looking forward to buying your book. Do you have plans on releasing a print version? I saw the kindle version on Amazon.
This was actually a main plot point for the third of a series of steampunk books by Scott Westerfeld (I thought they were pretty good). The various theories centered around a meteorite hitting and also Tesla (who is a character in the books) test-firing his "death-ray."
Link to the book series for the curious
Both look like continuations of the story.
Random book! :) Thanks for the contest!
I must have this Star Wars cook book so I can make Wookie pies, landonuts, and Obi-wan tons.
I was trying to figure out a screen name for something, couldn't figure it out so I decided to wait for inspiration. one day I was in the middle of a trash talking match with my boyfriend over a board game when I said a real zinger, he told me "man that was a good one, I dunno how to respond" and I replied "Yea sorry I have a dark side" to which he replied "yea but you're also slightly sweet so it's okay." I thought that was a good way to describe me so I rolled with it. Haha!
Along with some of the comments, this is starting to sound like Leviathan.
It's fictionalized to include mutant creatures and steampunk klanks, but I recommend Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld. It gives a decent feel for the period, and some of the background goings-on are based on WWI.
Ruins of Majesta .99 cents before book 2.1 release.
Hello all,
Ruins of majesta Vol 2.1 will be out on the 27th of September. it's up for preorder now. https://www.amazon.com/Ruins-Majesta-Vol-Creatures-Cupcakes-ebook/dp/B07Y28S36X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=majesta&qid=1569209274&s=digital-text&sr=1-1
if you haven't read Book one, it will be on sale for .99 cents until then. https://www.amazon.com/Ruins-Majesta-Vol-Blood-Cupcakes-ebook/dp/B07CRPGGCX/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
Vera Nazarian's book, Qualify has a similar plot to Hunger Games. So far, there are three books, and a fourth in the pipeline...
Qualify on Amazon
Here all the books with Mini-figs that I have. I think I'm only missing the Yoda Chronicles.
Character Encyclopedia
Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded.
The Visual Dictionary: Updated and Expanded
The Dark Side
Chronicles of the Force
The Official Stormtrooper Training Manual
R2-D2 and C-3P0's Guide to the Galaxy
Epic Space Adventures
Use the Force!
Quest for the Kyber Saber
Then I have books that have sets
:
LEGO Star Wars: Build Your Own Adventure
LEGO Star Wars Brickmaster
LEGO Star Wars: Battle for the Stolen Crystals Brickmaster
The Wanderer's Curse Check out the first 4 chapters Free
Check out what 8 people in my family and 12 random people on the internet gave 5 stars to.
The blurb Also know as the hardest thing to write from most Authors
Jennifer Lacewing is a lonely teenager whose father is too important to be around. Surviving in Helix, a last bastion to the small human existence on a decaying Earth, she longs to be a peaceful farmer. But things never go as planned. When Jennifer and Collins, her best friend, are forced to join the Wanderers, a small group that can mysteriously survive outside the safety of Helix’s fences, she is devastated.
And something else is amiss. Was it a coincidence that she became a Wanderer at the same time her father has been falsely accused of murder?” In a rush against time, Jennifer must complete her Wanderer training and clear her father’s name...or lose him forever.
You can buy it everywhere books are sold. Like Here
Also here if you like Kobo
I think you'd really enjoy Another Heaven, Another Earth by HM Hoover: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0752VP7TJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_4mW2Cb6BVD7FY
It's short and thought-provoking. Originally written in the 80s, I believe, and recently republished as an eBook.
Unfortunately, Lego used this name for both the awesome subscription service and some books.
Hi Everyone,
I stumbled across this subreddit a few days ago. It seems like a great site with a lot of relevant information. Loving it so far :)
So, my name is Sarah Dalton. The username is because there's another sarahdalton somewhere and because I had a thing for JD Salinger. I'm a self-published author and writer of the YA dystopian series 'Blemished', a story about a girl labelled genetically inferior in a world of clones. It's quite a bit more complicated than that, but I'll leave it at that for now!
Links:
Books
I've also had short stories published in Apex Magazine, PANK magazine, Strange Horizons and the Wyvern Anthology Fangtales.
Work in progress YA Fantasy set in a medieval style world. It's about a girl, a Prince, revenge, and magic.
Starters.
I have a couple that fall under this category:
Level Up - the world breaks and becomes a video game. This is more satirical and riffs on a lot of gaming tropes. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079JFM67F
Grow Up - this one is closer to GameLit. A teenager finds himself kidnapped by aliens to fight in intergalactic legal battles using giant mechs. An alien is left on earth in his place and does his best to blend in...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VWLQL6N
A couple of other people have already mentioned Blood and Cupcakes (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CRPGGCX), which also has a sequel (Creatures and cupcakes) which is great for YA.
Crystal Shards is also pretty YA friendly and there are four book in the series. The first book is Dodge Tank (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078LFBVB3/)
GENERAL REMARKS
I liked this story; I thought is was intriguing and I want to know more about The Seeker Society. I was disappointed it was so short--looking forward to the next installment.
MECHANICS
Title
The title fits the story and I thought the title worked well. It doesn't reveal anything about the genre, but that isn't always necessary. I thought the title was the right length.
Hook
Seemed like this was meant to be the hook. I think it should be placed earlier in the story, but I get what you were doing with the scene setting in the beginning. I think the story flows well.
Sentence structure
The sentences were easy to read. I disagree with some of the other critiques; I thought you did a good job introducing the characters and showing Paige's boredom with her life.
"Maybe they couldn’t fly to Paris, but surely they could take a road trip. She’d decided to research on her own."
SETTING
I'm curious to see what the Seeker Society is going to be about. Will it be similar to the movies The Game or Nerve?
https://www.amazon.com/Nerve-Jeanne-Ryan-ebook/dp/B007FEPPB8
There was some description of the setting but I thought there could have been more:
"Jason’s muddy work boots on the carpet and the crumpled papers he’d scattered on the kitchen table."
"There was a tumbler on the coffee table and Paige knew it would be half-full of cheap vodka."
"The mess of opened containers and sauce packets were visible around the corner"
Maybe you could include some details about Paige's workplace; that is part of the setting.
STAGING
There were a few sentences that I thought revealed a bit about Paige's character by the way she interacts with her environment:
"The clutter frustrated her, but she’d been meaning to clean tonight anyway."
This tells me she likes neatness and order around her. She might be a bit of a controlling person, but not overly.
CHARACTERS
Jason and Paige seem to be opposites: he is a bit of a slob and a homebody, while Paige is a neat and organized person who wants to travel and have adventures. Jason could easily be the antagonist throughout the story.
The antagonist needs to have goals though; and Jason doesn't seem to have any.
PLOT
The story ended before it really delved into the plot or the goals of the characters.
PACING
The story dragged a bit during the scene where she is researching on her computer. Also, I think it would make more sense for her to do that research on her home computer. Since Paige's job doesn't seem to be a big part of the story you might want to cut out that part altogether and just have her do the research at home. Jason seems to do his own thing, so it would seem Paige would have a lot of free time when she is not at work.
DESCRIPTION
The descriptions were fine; except for Paige's workplace, which I already mentioned.
POV
Since Paige is the MC and the story is told from her POV the story might work better told in first person. I could be wrong, but I thought the third person narrative you chose resulted in too much exposition.
Stories in first person narrative can be very popular. Here is a good example
https://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Games-Trilogy-Catching-Mockingjay/dp/0545670314/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?keywords=hunger+games&qid=1574215656&s=books&sprefix=hunger+&sr=1-5
Also an adventure story!!!
DIALOGUE
I thought the dialogue was fine; I didn't notice any problems there.
Closing remarks
Your story definitely needs to be longer. I haven't checked yet to see if posted an update; I hope you did. This is a strong beginning; keep writing!!
626
Maybe Leviathan, by Scott Westerfield would be a good one? It's a YA steampunk set in an alternative WWI scenario. Very cool illustrations, too. The only problem is, it's part of a series and only the first book has come out.
Hope you get well soon.
CHOCOLATE and Star Wars Cookbook, duh.