Sci-Fi in Juvenile Lit? - Science Fiction Fantasy Chronicles: forums

Jen526 · 24th April 2006, 09:41 PM

I recently revisited a sci-fi favorite from my childhood (H.M. Hoover's "This Time of Darkness") and it got me thinking.

Fantasy is obviously the fashion in children's lit. right now, but is there any market at all for sci-fi these days? And actually, anyone have general recommendations...either recent or older? I remember devouring all of H.M. Hoover's books, and John Christopher (The Tripods), of course. But other than those, I don't think I really read much sci-fi until I graduated to the adult shelves.

(I mostly enjoyed dystopian or post-apocalyptic stories like Hoover and Christopher, so any recs in that vein would be most welcome!)

Alia · 24th April 2006, 10:03 PM

Jen, there really isn't a lot of scifi for Y A out there. Most of the classics are great Y A books now... not during their day though.

One author right off hand is Madeline L'Engle with The Wrinkle In Time series. Also, there is The Giver by Lois Lowry and those books that are related to it, Messenger and Gathering Blue.

There are also the Star Wars Series...

Brown Rat · 24th April 2006, 10:17 PM

There are the Jupiter novels by Charles Sheffield / Jerry Pournelle (some cowritten, some single-authored): Higher Education, Starswarm, The Billion Dollar Boy, and The Cyborg from Earth, all reminiscent of Heinlein's juveniles.

And Steven Gould has several entertaining novels: Jumper, Wildside, and Blind Waves.

None of these are dystopian. If you're looking for YA dystopia, then you'll love M.T. Anderson's Feed. The world can't get much worse than in Feed!

Chris T Allen · 8th May 2006, 01:03 AM

My daughter recommends Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, and The Door into Summer by Robert Heinlein.

PoeticExplosion · 20th June 2006, 04:18 PM

I read Red Planet by Heinlein recently. Extremely good YA sci-fi. And I second the Lois Lowry books, still some of my favorites.

Teresa Edgerton · 20th June 2006, 08:03 PM

Dystopian appears to be the fashion in juvenile SF as well as Fantasy.

Off the top of my head: The City of Ember (and its sequels) by Jeanne Duprau. Mortal Engines (and sequels) by Philip Reeve. And Carmody's Obernewtyn is really SF rather than Fantasy (some characters have psychic powers, but those are mutations brought on by radiation after a nuclear war). Spaceship and alien type SF for younger readers doesn't seem to be popular now, but post apocalypse SF isn't that hard to find.

Teresa Edgerton · 20th June 2006, 08:24 PM

Here are some other recommendations I found online:

http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/l...ience_fic.html

24th April 2006, 09:41 PM	#1 (permalink)
Jen526 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 68	Sci-Fi in Juvenile Lit? I recently revisited a sci-fi favorite from my childhood (H.M. Hoover's "This Time of Darkness") and it got me thinking. Fantasy is obviously the fashion in children's lit. right now, but is there any market at all for sci-fi these days? And actually, anyone have general recommendations...either recent or older? I remember devouring all of H.M. Hoover's books, and John Christopher (The Tripods), of course. But other than those, I don't think I really read much sci-fi until I graduated to the adult shelves. (I mostly enjoyed dystopian or post-apocalyptic stories like Hoover and Christopher, so any recs in that vein would be most welcome!)

24th April 2006, 10:03 PM	#2 (permalink)
Alia Young at Heart Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 3,136	Re: Sci-Fi in Juvenile Lit? Jen, there really isn't a lot of scifi for Y A out there. Most of the classics are great Y A books now... not during their day though. One author right off hand is Madeline L'Engle with The Wrinkle In Time series. Also, there is The Giver by Lois Lowry and those books that are related to it, Messenger and Gathering Blue. There are also the Star Wars Series...

24th April 2006, 10:17 PM	#3 (permalink)
Brown Rat wandering & wondering Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 945	Re: Sci-Fi in Juvenile Lit? There are the Jupiter novels by Charles Sheffield / Jerry Pournelle (some cowritten, some single-authored): Higher Education, Starswarm, The Billion Dollar Boy, and The Cyborg from Earth, all reminiscent of Heinlein's juveniles. And Steven Gould has several entertaining novels: Jumper, Wildside, and Blind Waves. None of these are dystopian. If you're looking for YA dystopia, then you'll love M.T. Anderson's Feed. The world can't get much worse than in Feed!

8th May 2006, 01:03 AM	#4 (permalink)
Chris T Allen Registered User Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 6	Re: Sci-Fi in Juvenile Lit? My daughter recommends Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, and The Door into Summer by Robert Heinlein.

20th June 2006, 04:18 PM	#5 (permalink)
PoeticExplosion Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 11	Re: Sci-Fi in Juvenile Lit? I read Red Planet by Heinlein recently. Extremely good YA sci-fi. And I second the Lois Lowry books, still some of my favorites.

20th June 2006, 08:03 PM	#6 (permalink)
Teresa Edgerton Goblin Princess Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 5,082 Blog Entries: 2	Re: Sci-Fi in Juvenile Lit? Dystopian appears to be the fashion in juvenile SF as well as Fantasy. Off the top of my head: The City of Ember (and its sequels) by Jeanne Duprau. Mortal Engines (and sequels) by Philip Reeve. And Carmody's Obernewtyn is really SF rather than Fantasy (some characters have psychic powers, but those are mutations brought on by radiation after a nuclear war). Spaceship and alien type SF for younger readers doesn't seem to be popular now, but post apocalypse SF isn't that hard to find.

20th June 2006, 08:24 PM	#7 (permalink)
Teresa Edgerton Goblin Princess Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 5,082 Blog Entries: 2	Re: Sci-Fi in Juvenile Lit? Here are some other recommendations I found online: http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/l...ience_fic.html

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