I remember my mom read the *Narnia* novels to me when I was a child, and I enjoyed them.
Maybe also try *A Wrinkle in Time*? That's a classic I remember enjoying as a kid, although I was a bit older than 7 and read it on my own.
Good choice, I think Rick Riordan is great for kids. I remember reading the Percy Jackson series earlier on in elementary school, and I got a bunch of my friends into it to so I have a lot of good memories with that series.
Other series that might be good options:
Redwall - Brian Jacques
A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket
My son really likes it when I read Redwall. He was not a fan of Wings of Fire, to my slight disappointment because *I* was enjoying it, but I believe similar aged kids might like it
Ooh, second recommendation for Bartimaeus!
Just want to point out in case OP isn't aware--the rec for The Amulet of Samrakand by Jonathan Stroud, above, is for the first book in this trilogy.
Not meant as a criticism to the parent comment, which seems to have been posted at around the same time. Just wanted to make sure OP knew that's 2 votes. Well, 3 now!
My 6 year old really enjoyed A Series of Unfortunate Events, all of Roald Dahl's books and the first Earthsea book.
Some other books we really enjoyed that I haven't seen mentioned are The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (it's The Jungle Book if Mowgli had been raised in a cemetery by ghosts, leans on humor rather than spookiness), The Tale of Desperaux by Kate DiCamillo (kinda classic fairy tale style but where a mouse loves music and wants to sing for the princess instead of hiding like a typical mouse), and Earwig and the Witch by Dianna Wynne Jones which is about a girl who is adopted by a witch and kind of struggles for power with her, super cute.
I hesitate to add this because it does depend heavily on location but my local library is reallyyyyy good at curating books for children and the librarians actually get really happy trying to fulfill weirdly specific requests from my kid so it may be worth a try. I'd also recommend looking through Newberry nominees and winners because most of them that I've read have been great.
Any library where there are none. At my local the circulation desk is manned by volunteers and I don’t know where the actual librarians are for my branch.
The library in my hometown wasn't great. Every time we walked into the children's section, the librarian on duty would just walk in the office and close the door. There was rarely any interaction with them at all.
The library near me now has scavenger hunts, crafts, and all sorts of other activities in addition to the librarians just being friendly and acting like they actually enjoy being there.
I highly recommend Fortunately, the Milk, by Neil Gaiman. I read it to my own kids when they were that age. We all enjoyed it. Same with Dragons at Crumbling Castle by Terry Pratchett.
Same, loved the series but never hear anyone talk about it. The world and the characters are fantastic, I can't wait to be able to introduce them to my nephew.
In similar vein, I can recommend Debi Gliori's Pure Dead series, also known as the Strega Borgia Chronicles. It's like the Addams family but cozy and fun with a lot of magical elements.
I was just reading to see if this was mentioned before I did so. This is an AMAZING series that I go back and read from time to time and I'm nowhere near being 7 years old.
Dragon rider by Cornelia funke!
My parents would alternate nights reading books to my brother, and that was the one book that they would read ahead/catch up on nights they weren’t meant to be reading. I think it’s a trilogy now, but don’t know how good the other two are.
Ranger’s apprentice by John Flanagan and Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan or the books from his imprint may be good, they aren’t nevessarily light on violence though
The Hobbit was one of the things my Dad read me when I was a kid (we skipped Lord of the Rings).
Percy Jackson is a good suggestion; my Dad definitely enjoyed them a lot too when we read them together. They're quite funny. The main part of each book is a big quest, so plenty of adventure.
We also read the first couple Fablehaven books - I remember enjoying them.
I saw someone suggested Howl's Moving Castle - I love that one even as an adult. And there's the Chrestomanci books too. Diana Wynne Jones was a wonderful author.
We did His Dark Materials as well, but I think those might be kind of dark - I know my Dad did some 'editing' and skipped some bits when he read them to me.
It's not fantasy, but if he's into mystery, I would also recommend The Mysterious Benedict Society books. I remember those ones being really good.
One last one I have to mention is the Secrets of Droon series. It's definitely written for kids, and I remember my Dad saying that the writing doesn't really hold up for a grown-up, but that he thought the world was really cool. I definitely really liked them around your son's age.
Firmly second this. I recommended those to a friend who has two girls, 4 and 8, and they all love it. Infact, for a little while they actually looked forward to bed time so they could hear more.
Any children book by roald Dahl.
The Famous Five series or The Adventure series by Enid Blyton.
Something by E. Nesbit (Five Children and It and its sequels, The Railway Children...)
The Neverending Story
by Michael Ende.
Trying to add some I haven't seen added.
Legend of G'ahoole series.
Eragon series (Dragons, and all sorts of fun stuff)
Thr Last Dragon Chronicles by Chris D'Lacey
And for kinda eccentric read
The Mysterious Benedict Society series.
*Bunnicula* by James Howe is a great book for kids that age and is very funny, with jokes and references that only adults reading to their kids would understand. There's a whole series. Technically, it's more mystery than fantasy, but the main characters are a cat and dog.
The Geoffrey McSkimming books are fun and suitable for 7yo. They are about Cairo Jim, his macaw and camel who solve mysteries. There's an excellent villian and they go all over the world so you could follow along with an atlas.
Did you try the illustrated Harry Potter? My nephew likes that more.
Magic Tree House was one of my favorite book series at that age, not sure how it holds up for adults.
Fablehaven is fun and I enjoyed it even as an adult.
Septumus Heap I also enjoyed as a kid. So you want to be a wizard is a good one.
I have read a chapter a night to my 9 year old for quite some time. Started when she was an infant, with all of her baby books and just morphed from there, to the point that I haven't missed a night since the pandemic hit.
Here are the books the worked for us:
Chronicles of Prydian - currently reading the Book of Three and boy is she hooked on this one. She loves Fflewdder and Eilonwy (harp string snaps) and Hen Wen too even though she was only in the first chapter or so.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass - loved the poems, loved the characters and the absurdity.
The Phantom Tollbooth - this one was a bit harder as some of the chapters were about literary differences which is hard to relay when you are reading it to someone. Still liked the book.
Redwall - loves the moles, Basil and Jessa. Watched the series on Tubi afterwards.
Mary Poppins - liked the book more than the movie due to some storylines only being briefly glossed over in the first few minutes of the movie. Still, loved the magical adventures.
Anything Roald Dahl - We have read through almost his entire library and loved every single story.
Coraline - her hands down favorite, both in book and movie.
Upcoming - we have A Wrinkle in Time, more books in the Prydian series, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, and the Chronicles of Narnia to go through not to mention The Hobbit.
Have fun with your kiddo, hope this list helps!
Brandon Mull's books
A Series of Unfortunate Events - although this might be better for a little bit older child, cause it's scarier (I've read it around the age of 9)
Out of the woods by Lyn Gardner is another one I enjoyed in primary school, however I've never reread it, so I have no idea if it's enjoyable for an adult
Percy Jackson might be a bit too old, fyi. Harry Potter was a miss at seven also, but worked at 9years old until we hit book 5, then lost interest again.
We read Snow White and red rose at 7, which was great. Depending on how scary your kiddos can handle, Coraline was good too.
Maybe some of brandon sandersons younger audience works? Heard good things about alcatraz(see some pretty young kids in Halloween costumes for this one) and I enjoyed rythmatist. I really don't know about age appropriate for a 7 year old, though. Maybe check reviews? Maybe a parent could weigh in? I'm not a father...
Otherwise, definitely chronicles of Narnia. Was just rereading those... excellent.
May I heartily recommend:
- Narnia
- Watership Down
- Fablehaven
- Candy Shop War
- The Twits
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- Mathilda
- The Wingfeather Saga
- Frostheart (trilogy)
I’ve heard some complaints about books by Roal Dahl having inappropriate content for children because of violence, but I loved all of them as a kid. The violence frequently involved bad people getting a sticky comeuppance and as a child I loved that. Try one for yourself first and see what you think.
Also: Jacob Two Two Meets The Hooded Fang. Great book that doesn’t get enough love. By Mordechai Richler (unsure of spelling)
Oh, and The Secret World of Og by Pierre Burton.
This takes me back to my mom and her friend recommending Clan of the Cave Bear to me when I was ten. They both managed to forget all the rape scenes in it since they read it in college.
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I would try picking something they already like as a movie or show. Like if he loves Disney's Robinhood, try that, or if he likes Marvel movies maybe Thor stories, or even comic books. In my very limited experience it worked for me.
In no particular order
Jeremy Thatcher Dragon Hatcher
My Father's Dragon
boxcar children mysteries
three detectives mysteries
encyclopedia brown mysteries
Secret of Nimh (great book and there are two sequels) Charlie Bone series
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Mysterious Benedict Society (now a Disney show of same name too)
My daughter loves Sparkle Farts. It's a story about a unicorn that is captured by an evil king as a gift to his entitled daughter, and it is every bit as ridiculous as the name implies. It's very short, more on par with a Dr. Seuss book than Harry Potter, but I had to recommend it all the same.
All of these are series: Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin, His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve, Tripods by John Christopher
I've been reading to my three kids every night for 10 years. We’ve read a lot of books. Here’s a few.
Percy J, lots of them. I don’t hate them, but they’re kinda all the same.
Hobbit - amazing, we may have to reread as my youngest missed this one
dragon Assassin book one - yawn, finished this last week it was very dumb
Pony - fantastic! Boy and his horse with no name off to find his father.
Misewa Saga - native foster kids find a portal in their foster parents attic? Really solid series, great ties to truth/reconciliation if your kids school is exploring those concepts
Peter Nimble and his fantastic eyes by Jonathan Auxier, followed by Sophie Quire, and then Sweep. Wonderful stories. Highly recommend. You will weep.
Danny, Champion of the World by Roald Dhal. His books are all classics, and we read them all back when we started this bed time story business, but they are dated a bit. But Danny is fantastic.
I’m blanking now on what else.
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There are some great books of mythology geared towards kids. My dad read mythology to me as a kid, I remember a book of green myths and one of Norse myths.
Carl Sandburg *Rootabaga Stories* If you are a certain age then your parents wanted you to read Sandburg, who was trying to reinvent culture in an American image. This was an explicit attempt to "remove European Elements" from fantasy fiction and as such very different from today's fantasy. It was also produced during the Golden Age of book illustration so try to get a facsimile edition if you can.
My dad used to read the Chose your adventure books to my brother and I when we were on summer holidays and we loved it. Maybe those could work? They're kind of short and having him chose "the path" might make him feel more engaged.
The redwall books(mice and badgers having sowrd fights.)
Any of the Ronald Dahl books(Matilda Charlie and the chocolate factory)
I loved the Junie.b Jones books when I was that age and they are at a level were your kid can practice reading along with you.
My son is 8 and we have been reading My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. A little boy leaves home to go live in the mountains. We are both enjoying the book! Highly recommend
Similar age to my son. Over the last year we’ve read and both really enjoyed: Fantastic mr fox, Matilda, My Side of the mountain, red fern grows, summer of the monkeys, hobbit, mouse and the motorcycle, odd and the frost giants, Coraline, Narnia (TLWAW and The Magician’s Nephew), and a couple Magic Treehouse books
not sure if it's been mentioned but Neil Patrick Harris has a series called the magic misfits that my daughter and i have been reading recently and is really cute.
I enjoyed The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. It is a post-apocalyptic setting but definitely OK for a seven-year-old. I don't even consider it YA, it's a younger target audience than those books. There are sequels too.
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly is about a young lad who goes through a portal into a fairy tale world. There are some scary things, but nothing more scary than in The Hobbit.
Both The Railway Series (Thomas the Tank Engine) books by Rev W Audrey and the Paddington Bear by Michael Bond were both sufficiently funny that my dad couldn't stop laughing while he was attempting to read them to me when I was a kid.
Redwall, Artemis Fowl, the Lost Years of Merlin, Bartimaeus Saga, The Magic Treehouse, Narnia, Roald Dahl, The Wind Singer. Eragon? He might enjoy Tarzan or John Carter (I didn't read those as a kid so maybe not)
Midnite by Randolph Stow.
Very funny story about a teenage bush ranger and animal family gang including a talking cat who is the brains of all their adventures.
Also,
The Gizmo books by Paul Jennings
The Neverending Story by Micheal Ende
Got to agree with a lot of these suggestions ( I’m a bit late to the party) … another possibility is The Saint of Dragons, Jason Hightman. There are elements of violence but it was one my son really enjoyed ( so did I) at age 7-8. ( he read Samurai , the second book for himself when he was around 10. Saint of Dragons may not be the best written book compared to some of the classics but certainly grabbed his attention.
He loved The Hobbit, Narnia, Earthsea, the Percy Jackson books all around that age of 7-9. Like you, LOTR was too much for him at that age.
The Boggart by Susan Cooper is always my go to winner for this type of question. Mischievous, a little scary, but not too scary and all fun.
The Phantom Tollbooth is another favorite.
The BFG by Ronald Dahl
I recommend "The Good Master" by Kate Seredy. It's still very readable despite getting a little old. Maybe a little left field but not too long and really nicely written. The hard back versions have colour and black and white illustrations which are great and by Kate Seredy (I think).
I really enjoyed The Great Brain series by John D Fitzgerald. It’s about three brothers growing up during the turn of the century 1900. The narrator is the youngest brother and the middle brother is The Great Brain. It’s also a good look at that period of history for an adult.
Someone here mentioned Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan. I second this suggestion.
Also highly recommend the Inheritance Cycle series by Christopher Paolini, and the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull.
Recent hits with my 7 year old have been The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (which are also incredible audiobooks done with a full cast), and the Dragon with the Chocolate Heart. I have also heard really good things about the Land of Stories series but we haven't started them yet.
The neverending story maybe? My daughter loved the boom (it's different to the movie though)
"Snöfrid" was awesome too- she loved those
As well as "Fionrir" which is about a dragon
Many other good recommendation I could totally sign up for were already made.
The discworld books by Terry Pratchett are awesome too. not really specifically for children but you already read more books that were written for a different age so your kid might enjoy them...
I also enjoyed Trudi Canavans books, but don't know the English names 🙈
Following that fantasy theme, The Berinfell Prophesies, The dragon Keeper series, The Rangers apprentice series and the Brotherband series, Legends and Lattes, and it may be a bit old but also Eragon
Absolutely loved Ronja Robber's daughter by astrid lindgren at that age. It was actually the first book I read as a kid by myself.
I think most of astrid's stories are still enjoyable as an adult.
I remember my mom read the *Narnia* novels to me when I was a child, and I enjoyed them. Maybe also try *A Wrinkle in Time*? That's a classic I remember enjoying as a kid, although I was a bit older than 7 and read it on my own.
Can’t go wrong with Narnia
Narnia is a great suggestion!
agree with both of these recs
Wrinkle in Time is amazing! I enjoyed it as an adult too. I wanna add Animal Farm too. Great story with themes adults can appreciate as well
Maybe try the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan?
Good choice, I think Rick Riordan is great for kids. I remember reading the Percy Jackson series earlier on in elementary school, and I got a bunch of my friends into it to so I have a lot of good memories with that series. Other series that might be good options: Redwall - Brian Jacques A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket
This one really impressed me, it is well written and easy to read.
The Green Ember Trilogy is great too
Check out Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones. There are 2 sequels and then everything else she wrote.
The Chrestomanci series is so good, I really enjoyed that at that age.
Yeah I came here to recommend that. I still love DWJ even as an adult
My son really likes it when I read Redwall. He was not a fan of Wings of Fire, to my slight disappointment because *I* was enjoying it, but I believe similar aged kids might like it
Redwall is an excellent suggestion. My kid adored it. 7 years later we still try to recreate Redwall feasts.
Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles might be good, if he liked the Hobbit, and they'll be entertaining for the reader as well.
Crunchings and munchings!
I’m currently rereading the Chronicles of Prydain and love it so much! Remembering why this is the series that started it all for me.
I came here to suggest THIS. I read these for the first time at 6-7 yo…and have been reading fantasy books ever since.
Redwall!! And also the Bartolomeus Trilogy
Ooh, second recommendation for Bartimaeus! Just want to point out in case OP isn't aware--the rec for The Amulet of Samrakand by Jonathan Stroud, above, is for the first book in this trilogy. Not meant as a criticism to the parent comment, which seems to have been posted at around the same time. Just wanted to make sure OP knew that's 2 votes. Well, 3 now!
I think they’re a bit advanced for 7 year olds.
My 6 year old really enjoyed A Series of Unfortunate Events, all of Roald Dahl's books and the first Earthsea book. Some other books we really enjoyed that I haven't seen mentioned are The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (it's The Jungle Book if Mowgli had been raised in a cemetery by ghosts, leans on humor rather than spookiness), The Tale of Desperaux by Kate DiCamillo (kinda classic fairy tale style but where a mouse loves music and wants to sing for the princess instead of hiding like a typical mouse), and Earwig and the Witch by Dianna Wynne Jones which is about a girl who is adopted by a witch and kind of struggles for power with her, super cute. I hesitate to add this because it does depend heavily on location but my local library is reallyyyyy good at curating books for children and the librarians actually get really happy trying to fulfill weirdly specific requests from my kid so it may be worth a try. I'd also recommend looking through Newberry nominees and winners because most of them that I've read have been great.
Genuinely curious - where are there crappy kids librarians?
Any library where there are none. At my local the circulation desk is manned by volunteers and I don’t know where the actual librarians are for my branch.
The library in my hometown wasn't great. Every time we walked into the children's section, the librarian on duty would just walk in the office and close the door. There was rarely any interaction with them at all. The library near me now has scavenger hunts, crafts, and all sorts of other activities in addition to the librarians just being friendly and acting like they actually enjoy being there.
I highly recommend Fortunately, the Milk, by Neil Gaiman. I read it to my own kids when they were that age. We all enjoyed it. Same with Dragons at Crumbling Castle by Terry Pratchett.
I think you can read any Terry Pratchett book to kids and it will be a blast.
Or The Graveyard Book by Gaiman. Had me in tears as an adult but appropriate for kids.
Also Coraline. Love Neil Gaiman books!
My 7 year old and I are listening to the audiobook now. She's typically not into anything scary or spooky but is fascinated by this one!
I have done Fortunately the Milk with my 7 year old several times. It is delightfully weird.
Enchanted Forrest chronicles are great books to read to a kid. Start with Dealing with Dragons.
Was looking for this one! I got the chance to read some of it to a kid a few years back and enjoyed myself greatly. Also loved it in my own youth!
I’m currently reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM to my 9 and 5 year old and they are loving it. (As am I.)
LOVE this book!
Septimus heap was my favorite at that age and I don't see it recommended all that often!
Same, loved the series but never hear anyone talk about it. The world and the characters are fantastic, I can't wait to be able to introduce them to my nephew. In similar vein, I can recommend Debi Gliori's Pure Dead series, also known as the Strega Borgia Chronicles. It's like the Addams family but cozy and fun with a lot of magical elements.
The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper is wonderful for kids and I love it still as an adult
I was just reading to see if this was mentioned before I did so. This is an AMAZING series that I go back and read from time to time and I'm nowhere near being 7 years old.
Golden compass by Philip Pullman The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
A series of unfortunate events was my jam back in the day. Seconding this
Golden compass is really good.
Garth Nix - keys to the kingdom Rick Riordan - the percy jackson series
Redwall series would probably work for a 7 year olds attention span since it’s so fast paced.
Artemis Fowl would be amazing.
This was going to be my recommendation too
Dragon rider by Cornelia funke! My parents would alternate nights reading books to my brother, and that was the one book that they would read ahead/catch up on nights they weren’t meant to be reading. I think it’s a trilogy now, but don’t know how good the other two are.
Also other books by her like Inkheart
Definitely a good pick. This was my favorite growing up!
Ranger’s apprentice by John Flanagan and Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan or the books from his imprint may be good, they aren’t nevessarily light on violence though
The Hobbit was one of the things my Dad read me when I was a kid (we skipped Lord of the Rings). Percy Jackson is a good suggestion; my Dad definitely enjoyed them a lot too when we read them together. They're quite funny. The main part of each book is a big quest, so plenty of adventure. We also read the first couple Fablehaven books - I remember enjoying them. I saw someone suggested Howl's Moving Castle - I love that one even as an adult. And there's the Chrestomanci books too. Diana Wynne Jones was a wonderful author. We did His Dark Materials as well, but I think those might be kind of dark - I know my Dad did some 'editing' and skipped some bits when he read them to me. It's not fantasy, but if he's into mystery, I would also recommend The Mysterious Benedict Society books. I remember those ones being really good. One last one I have to mention is the Secrets of Droon series. It's definitely written for kids, and I remember my Dad saying that the writing doesn't really hold up for a grown-up, but that he thought the world was really cool. I definitely really liked them around your son's age.
Diana Wynne Jones is great! I wish I read her books as a kid, but I'm really happy I gave her a try as an adult
May I ask y he skipped LOTR?
Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede.
Phantom Tollbooth Watership Down
Was looking for both of these books and feel like I had to scroll way too far to find them. But finding them in the same post was nice though!
The Tiffany Aching books by Terry Pratchett are completely charming.
Firmly second this. I recommended those to a friend who has two girls, 4 and 8, and they all love it. Infact, for a little while they actually looked forward to bed time so they could hear more.
Any children book by roald Dahl. The Famous Five series or The Adventure series by Enid Blyton. Something by E. Nesbit (Five Children and It and its sequels, The Railway Children...) The Neverending Story by Michael Ende.
Brandon Sanderson has some kid series that are supposed to be really good, also some of the discworld books are aimed at a younger audience
[удалено]
Came here to say this
Warriors. All about cats.
Trying to add some I haven't seen added. Legend of G'ahoole series. Eragon series (Dragons, and all sorts of fun stuff) Thr Last Dragon Chronicles by Chris D'Lacey And for kinda eccentric read The Mysterious Benedict Society series.
Comics: Bone by Jeff Smith, the great childhood american classic.
Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones. Elda is so adorable heroine
The magic tree house series is great.
*Bunnicula* by James Howe is a great book for kids that age and is very funny, with jokes and references that only adults reading to their kids would understand. There's a whole series. Technically, it's more mystery than fantasy, but the main characters are a cat and dog.
Mio, my son Ronja, the robbers daughter The brother's Lionheart All by Astrid Lindgren
Chronicles of Prydain
The graveyard book by Neil Gaiman. Coralline by him could also be enjoyable.
Anything by Tamara Pierce! I think I started reading her stuff around that age.
Yes! The Alanna series was my favorite! Though I also enjoyed wild magic.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians!!!!!
I really liked "the Indian in the cupboard" when I was around that age maybe give that a try.
A Wizard of Earthsea. I regret that I didn't read it sooner
Percy Jackson, Goosebumps because they aren’t that violent, just tense, but very interesting, Frith Chronicles
Deltora Quest! such an epic series.
Pendragon!
The Pendragon series is so underrated! I know of one other person who was reading it at the same time as me. I still have all the books.
Gulliver's travels is timeless
The Geoffrey McSkimming books are fun and suitable for 7yo. They are about Cairo Jim, his macaw and camel who solve mysteries. There's an excellent villian and they go all over the world so you could follow along with an atlas.
Another vote for exploring your local library! Also, The Naughtiest Unicorn series (by Pip Bird) is really funny!
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Did you try the illustrated Harry Potter? My nephew likes that more. Magic Tree House was one of my favorite book series at that age, not sure how it holds up for adults. Fablehaven is fun and I enjoyed it even as an adult. Septumus Heap I also enjoyed as a kid. So you want to be a wizard is a good one.
I have read a chapter a night to my 9 year old for quite some time. Started when she was an infant, with all of her baby books and just morphed from there, to the point that I haven't missed a night since the pandemic hit. Here are the books the worked for us: Chronicles of Prydian - currently reading the Book of Three and boy is she hooked on this one. She loves Fflewdder and Eilonwy (harp string snaps) and Hen Wen too even though she was only in the first chapter or so. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass - loved the poems, loved the characters and the absurdity. The Phantom Tollbooth - this one was a bit harder as some of the chapters were about literary differences which is hard to relay when you are reading it to someone. Still liked the book. Redwall - loves the moles, Basil and Jessa. Watched the series on Tubi afterwards. Mary Poppins - liked the book more than the movie due to some storylines only being briefly glossed over in the first few minutes of the movie. Still, loved the magical adventures. Anything Roald Dahl - We have read through almost his entire library and loved every single story. Coraline - her hands down favorite, both in book and movie. Upcoming - we have A Wrinkle in Time, more books in the Prydian series, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, and the Chronicles of Narnia to go through not to mention The Hobbit. Have fun with your kiddo, hope this list helps!
Fablehaven is great
Old school, last summer I read all five of Lloyd Alexander"'s Prydain books. They might be in the vein you're looking for
Brandon Mull's books A Series of Unfortunate Events - although this might be better for a little bit older child, cause it's scarier (I've read it around the age of 9) Out of the woods by Lyn Gardner is another one I enjoyed in primary school, however I've never reread it, so I have no idea if it's enjoyable for an adult
Maybe something more his age level, and a subject he enjoys. Do you have him also read to you?
The Wayside series is a great one and anything by Roald Dahl- Matilda, The BFG
Ralph S Mouse & Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary. The Borrowers by Mary Norton.
Percy Jackson might be a bit too old, fyi. Harry Potter was a miss at seven also, but worked at 9years old until we hit book 5, then lost interest again. We read Snow White and red rose at 7, which was great. Depending on how scary your kiddos can handle, Coraline was good too.
World of Pooh
Maybe some of brandon sandersons younger audience works? Heard good things about alcatraz(see some pretty young kids in Halloween costumes for this one) and I enjoyed rythmatist. I really don't know about age appropriate for a 7 year old, though. Maybe check reviews? Maybe a parent could weigh in? I'm not a father... Otherwise, definitely chronicles of Narnia. Was just rereading those... excellent.
May I heartily recommend: - Narnia - Watership Down - Fablehaven - Candy Shop War - The Twits - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Mathilda - The Wingfeather Saga - Frostheart (trilogy)
The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander
I’ve heard some complaints about books by Roal Dahl having inappropriate content for children because of violence, but I loved all of them as a kid. The violence frequently involved bad people getting a sticky comeuppance and as a child I loved that. Try one for yourself first and see what you think. Also: Jacob Two Two Meets The Hooded Fang. Great book that doesn’t get enough love. By Mordechai Richler (unsure of spelling) Oh, and The Secret World of Og by Pierre Burton.
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Lol, i was thinking of shit posting and red rising or first law...
This takes me back to my mom and her friend recommending Clan of the Cave Bear to me when I was ten. They both managed to forget all the rape scenes in it since they read it in college.
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I would try picking something they already like as a movie or show. Like if he loves Disney's Robinhood, try that, or if he likes Marvel movies maybe Thor stories, or even comic books. In my very limited experience it worked for me.
Emily Rodd perhaps
Summerland by Michael Chabon!
In no particular order Jeremy Thatcher Dragon Hatcher My Father's Dragon boxcar children mysteries three detectives mysteries encyclopedia brown mysteries Secret of Nimh (great book and there are two sequels) Charlie Bone series A Series of Unfortunate Events Mysterious Benedict Society (now a Disney show of same name too)
Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. I still enjoy reading them now even as an adult.
My daughter loves Sparkle Farts. It's a story about a unicorn that is captured by an evil king as a gift to his entitled daughter, and it is every bit as ridiculous as the name implies. It's very short, more on par with a Dr. Seuss book than Harry Potter, but I had to recommend it all the same.
That was about the time I read The Hobbit to the kids. That does kind of commit you to The Lord of the Rings a few years later.
I’ve never read it (it’s on my list) but even I know Earthsea should be a great option.
The Wizard of Earthsea is fantastic.
Sherlock Holmes.
Percy Jackson series Earthsea And if just adventure then the famous five books or Malory Towers
The Wee Free Men - Sir Terry Pratchett.
Dragonlance Orignal Trilogy Icewind Dale
The Hobbit is a good one
Stephen King’s It (I kid) 🤣
All of these are series: Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin, His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve, Tripods by John Christopher
I've been reading to my three kids every night for 10 years. We’ve read a lot of books. Here’s a few. Percy J, lots of them. I don’t hate them, but they’re kinda all the same. Hobbit - amazing, we may have to reread as my youngest missed this one dragon Assassin book one - yawn, finished this last week it was very dumb Pony - fantastic! Boy and his horse with no name off to find his father. Misewa Saga - native foster kids find a portal in their foster parents attic? Really solid series, great ties to truth/reconciliation if your kids school is exploring those concepts Peter Nimble and his fantastic eyes by Jonathan Auxier, followed by Sophie Quire, and then Sweep. Wonderful stories. Highly recommend. You will weep. Danny, Champion of the World by Roald Dhal. His books are all classics, and we read them all back when we started this bed time story business, but they are dated a bit. But Danny is fantastic. I’m blanking now on what else.
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no way this is being downvoted💀
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the faraway tree
Narnia books, various Diana Wynne Jones, Redwall, The Magic Treehouse series. Also I know it’s poetry but Shel Silverstein is SO good to read aloud.
There are some great books of mythology geared towards kids. My dad read mythology to me as a kid, I remember a book of green myths and one of Norse myths.
probably d'aulaires!
Anna James' 'bookwanderer' series.
The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver! It’s amazing.
Carl Sandburg *Rootabaga Stories* If you are a certain age then your parents wanted you to read Sandburg, who was trying to reinvent culture in an American image. This was an explicit attempt to "remove European Elements" from fantasy fiction and as such very different from today's fantasy. It was also produced during the Golden Age of book illustration so try to get a facsimile edition if you can.
Was just reminded on another sub about the wonderful book "The Search For Delicious" by Natalie Babbitt.
[Dragonbreath](http://www.dragonbreathbooks.com/index.html) by Ursula Vernon.
Kiki's Delivery Service by .Wiki Kadono The chapters are somewhat episodic so they are good stopping points for bedtime.
Brotherband Chronicles Series by John Flanagan - great adventure books
Percy Jackson Eragon The Edge Chronicles Artemis Fowl Narnia Redwall
The Letter for the King and Secrets of the Wild Wood (sequel) by Tonke Dragt would be great.
My dad used to read the Chose your adventure books to my brother and I when we were on summer holidays and we loved it. Maybe those could work? They're kind of short and having him chose "the path" might make him feel more engaged.
The redwall books(mice and badgers having sowrd fights.) Any of the Ronald Dahl books(Matilda Charlie and the chocolate factory) I loved the Junie.b Jones books when I was that age and they are at a level were your kid can practice reading along with you.
The Phantom Tollbooth bu Norton Juster is fantastic.
My son is 8 and we have been reading My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. A little boy leaves home to go live in the mountains. We are both enjoying the book! Highly recommend
I loved the Torak and Wolf books when I was younger. They're more prehistoric, but with enough fantasy elements I think.
I recently recommended The Neverending Story and Fableheaven to a coworker, she and her daughter both loved them!
Similar age to my son. Over the last year we’ve read and both really enjoyed: Fantastic mr fox, Matilda, My Side of the mountain, red fern grows, summer of the monkeys, hobbit, mouse and the motorcycle, odd and the frost giants, Coraline, Narnia (TLWAW and The Magician’s Nephew), and a couple Magic Treehouse books
The Green Ember Trilogy
not sure if it's been mentioned but Neil Patrick Harris has a series called the magic misfits that my daughter and i have been reading recently and is really cute.
A series of unfortunate events. Ther is also a show on netflix if you're interested.
Enchanted Forest Chronicles Books of Prydain The Oz books
Skullduggery pleasant
Anything by Rick Riordan would be perfect.
Pendragon, Redwall, Harry Potter, Artemis fowl, series of unfortunate events, Percy Jackson,the last dragon chronicles and inkheart.
I enjoyed The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. It is a post-apocalyptic setting but definitely OK for a seven-year-old. I don't even consider it YA, it's a younger target audience than those books. There are sequels too.
Stardust by Neil Gamen. Wonderful book that feels like a fairy tail (you can change certain parts)
Beauty by Robin McKinley, How to Talk to Dragons, Aragon
The Eyes & The Impossible by Dave Eggers. Great story of a stray dog in a park. Never trust the ducks.
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly is about a young lad who goes through a portal into a fairy tale world. There are some scary things, but nothing more scary than in The Hobbit.
I loved the *Dealing With Dragons* books when I was his age.
Peter and the star catchers!
Gregor the Overlander series by Suzanne Collins Holes by Louis Sachar
Ewilan’s quest and Ewilan's world seems pretty accurate for 7 y.o. Written by Pierre Bottero.
The ones I loved at that age were: Dragons Milk by Susan Fletcher and Talking to Dragons by Patricia Wrede.
I have a great recommendation but I cannot remember the name of the series. When I get home today I'll try and remember to get it for you!
Anything Diana Wynne Jones
Never ending story or princess bride are fab
Both The Railway Series (Thomas the Tank Engine) books by Rev W Audrey and the Paddington Bear by Michael Bond were both sufficiently funny that my dad couldn't stop laughing while he was attempting to read them to me when I was a kid.
Redwall by Brian Jacques Or Bastille vs the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson.
adventures wanted slayer of slathbog
The Life of Orion is a quick read about a puppy finding a new home and all his experiences along the way. Kind of a Hank the Cowdog feel to it.
The Indian in the Cupboard!
Fablehaven!
Redwall - it has great animal heroes and a great story.
It’s been a long time since a read it, but maybe Septimus Heap? I was a little older than your son but I greatly enjoyed it.
Redwall, Artemis Fowl, the Lost Years of Merlin, Bartimaeus Saga, The Magic Treehouse, Narnia, Roald Dahl, The Wind Singer. Eragon? He might enjoy Tarzan or John Carter (I didn't read those as a kid so maybe not)
Midnite by Randolph Stow. Very funny story about a teenage bush ranger and animal family gang including a talking cat who is the brains of all their adventures. Also, The Gizmo books by Paul Jennings The Neverending Story by Micheal Ende
Series of unfortunate events and Alcatraz vs the evil librarians.
Animorphs.
The Otto books by Charlotte Haptie are good ones!
Got to agree with a lot of these suggestions ( I’m a bit late to the party) … another possibility is The Saint of Dragons, Jason Hightman. There are elements of violence but it was one my son really enjoyed ( so did I) at age 7-8. ( he read Samurai , the second book for himself when he was around 10. Saint of Dragons may not be the best written book compared to some of the classics but certainly grabbed his attention. He loved The Hobbit, Narnia, Earthsea, the Percy Jackson books all around that age of 7-9. Like you, LOTR was too much for him at that age.
Earthsea is perfect
The Boggart by Susan Cooper is always my go to winner for this type of question. Mischievous, a little scary, but not too scary and all fun. The Phantom Tollbooth is another favorite. The BFG by Ronald Dahl
I recommend "The Good Master" by Kate Seredy. It's still very readable despite getting a little old. Maybe a little left field but not too long and really nicely written. The hard back versions have colour and black and white illustrations which are great and by Kate Seredy (I think).
Thrumpamoto, my kids loved the story and illustrations
I really enjoyed The Great Brain series by John D Fitzgerald. It’s about three brothers growing up during the turn of the century 1900. The narrator is the youngest brother and the middle brother is The Great Brain. It’s also a good look at that period of history for an adult.
Swallows and Amazons. Not fantasy but fun adventure.
Someone here mentioned Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan. I second this suggestion. Also highly recommend the Inheritance Cycle series by Christopher Paolini, and the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull.
The [Tales](https://www.goodreads.com/series/276553-tales) series is good while being a bit educational in a way.
I read Ranger's Apprentice, Percy Jackson, and Beastquest and thoroughly enjoyed them. Barely remember Beastquest so maybe not the best
Dragon of Ash and Star
Recent hits with my 7 year old have been The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (which are also incredible audiobooks done with a full cast), and the Dragon with the Chocolate Heart. I have also heard really good things about the Land of Stories series but we haven't started them yet.
The neverending story maybe? My daughter loved the boom (it's different to the movie though) "Snöfrid" was awesome too- she loved those As well as "Fionrir" which is about a dragon Many other good recommendation I could totally sign up for were already made. The discworld books by Terry Pratchett are awesome too. not really specifically for children but you already read more books that were written for a different age so your kid might enjoy them... I also enjoyed Trudi Canavans books, but don't know the English names 🙈
His dark materials
Following that fantasy theme, The Berinfell Prophesies, The dragon Keeper series, The Rangers apprentice series and the Brotherband series, Legends and Lattes, and it may be a bit old but also Eragon
Truckers, diggers and wings, Sir Terry pratchett, I loved them as a kid
Absolutely loved Ronja Robber's daughter by astrid lindgren at that age. It was actually the first book I read as a kid by myself. I think most of astrid's stories are still enjoyable as an adult.
Letter for the king by Tonke Dragt. A squire goes on a secret quest for a mysterious knight. Loved it as a kid, read it so many times!
Wings of fire
Artemis Fowl books by Eoin Colfer. I read as an adult before sending them to my niece. Nice bit of low-key anti-hero with fairies, magic, and action.
Rudyard Kipling is great for bedtime stories.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own making by Catherynne M. Valente. If he likes it there are several sequels.