Our eight-year-old has started to love reading and her teacher has set her a mission to read 40 books in the year. And not just any books, proper kids novels from a variety of of different genres. It’s a brilliant idea and she’s really excited about it :) Like most parents, we have plenty of awesome kids books by Dr Seuss, Roald Dahl and Jeff Kinney but I suddenly realised… we have zero science fiction books in the house ?
Time to fix that. We quickly went on a hunt for some really great sci-fi novels for elementary school kids. There’s some real gold out there so we thought we’d share the best ones here, so other parents can help their children be inspired by the genre.
Science Fiction Novels for Kids
A Wrinkle in Time
Time Travel Graphic Novel
Published way back in 1963 but way ahead of it’s time, in fact it was rejected by 26 publishers for being “too different”. The original novel itself might be a bit heavy for an eight year old, perhaps more suited to young teens, but this graphic novel version is accessible to a younger audience.
Almost Super
Superhero Family
When kids in the Bailey family turn 12 they get superpowers, but this year Rafter and Benny are let down by their dud powers. But soon everything Rafter thought he knew about superheroes is turned on it’s head. He may not have an awesome power, but with the help of Benny and an unexpected friend, he could just be almost super. Sample
The City of Ember
Futuristic Graphic Novel
The subterranean city of Ember was built as a utopia but quickly becomes the opposite. It’s up two children to follow clues left behind by the original builders and lead the city to the safety of the outside world. Available as both a graphic novel and a regular novel.
Zita the Spacegirl
Superhero Graphic Novel
This book has everything you’d expect from a classic superhero adventure: super powers, strange planets, humanoid chickens, neurotic robots, ancient prophecies, and even a not-so-trusty sidekick. It’s a fun comic series to introduce kids to the genre, as a father of two girls it’s always nice to have a young female protagonist :) Sample
How to Train Your Dragon
Fantasy Adventure
This book follows Hiccup and his friend Fishlegs as they embark on an epic adventure to catch and train their own dragons. Based in the Viking legend this is a fun fantasy adventure. If your kids like this book there are 11 sequels and a couple of movie adaptations for them to explore too.
Whales on Stilts
Futuristic Science Silly
A trio of school girls must use their smarts to stop a madman from unleashing an army of stilt-walking, laser-beaming, thoroughly angry whales upon the world… seems to have all the ingredients of a classic kids sci-fi adventure :)
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
Futuristic Space Silly
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory had a bit of fantasy but this sequel is all science fiction. Charlie and the gang travel through space and time to bring down the dreaded Vermicious Knids. It’s classic Roald Dahl silliness mixed with an intergalactic space adventure.
Hilo
Superhero School Setting
This is a very modern superhero series, the first book only came out last year (New York Times bestseller by the way), with the third due in 2017. Hilo is a superhero trying to make it through school while trying to uncover how he got to this planet in the first place.
Jedi Academy
Futuristic Funny School Setting
It’s Star Wars characters, in a middle-school far far away. That probably tells you all you need to know! If your kids are in close to junior-high and you’ve already introduced them to the Star Wars universe, this could be a fantastic and fun way to get them into some light-hearted sci-fi reading.
Honorable Mentions
- Strange Case of Origami Yoda School Silly
- Bird and Squirrel Graphic Novel Funny
- Unicorn on a Roll Fantasy Funny
- Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja Superhero School-setting
Not sure if all those strictly fall into the science fiction category but they were all recommended to us and look like a lot of fun :) If your kids are older than ours, let’s say middle-school and higher, then you might find more suitable books in this great list by Dan Livingston.
What Did We Miss?
Everyone has their favourites so please let me know any good books that I’ve missed :) We’ll also be updating our book list with our daughter’s personal ratings as she works through them. If you’d like to be notified when we update the list, you can subscribe to this article below.
Banner image by DrMeh
Great list; of course A Wrinkle in Time is properly at the top! (Although I’ve never been able to get the name Vermicious Knids out of mind from The Great Glass Elevator. Vermicious Knids! SCRAM!)
I’d love to mention that the first book in my the new middle-grade science fiction adventure series, Recess Heroes Face the Moon Spooks, launches today, August 13, 2018, from Brighten Press. It’s an easy chapter book, specially designed for reluctant reader boys, and is jammed with exciting and funny moments as our heroes zoom to the Moon to stop angry aliens from invading Earth.
I hope you and your readers will check it out.
Thanks for the fantastic list.
XO
J. E.