Jff--best Science Fiction Books/authors for a 5Th Grade Boy?

Rick Riordan is beloved here as well!!!

My son's 10, and I've been doing the hhhhhmmmmmm....ahhhhmmmmm thing about my scifi/fantasy list (McCaffrey, Eddings, Heinlein, Asimov, etc.)

I'd just decided to go ahead and introduce him to Piers Anthony's Gap & David Eddings (to bypass the sex in Dragonriders for another year ;) Belgariad. 10 books, and he's a slower reader, so that buys me some time before McCaffrey & Heinlein! :D

What he's already read (aside from Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, etc.)

- George's Secret Key to the Universe
- 39 Clues
- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Read aloud = BEST! My bestie read the entire first book over the phone to me when we were in highschool. Much more fun to read aloud than silently. So I carried that on)
- Sherlock Holmes (we're reading one, and watching 2... both old & new versions. New being Sherlock BBC, not Elementary)
- Nero Wolf (mysteries)

What I'm Hemming & Hawing over:

- Stainless Steel Rat series
- A. McCaffrey (RIP)
- Heinlein

I enjoyed both Alfred Bester and Ray Bradbury, at that age. If you haven't already, you might read them first. Oh, and I LOVED (and love still) "A Wrinkle in Time" and the books that follow. For fantasy, "The Chronicles of Narnia" would sort of fit into that category. There is a newer series called "The Wheel of Time" that is supposed to be good.

What you listed is perfect.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes is the quintessential mystery book series. Try to find a version from England, because they are uncensored, and complete.

Daneel Olivaw Quartet by Asimov

Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series is brilliant.

Read through Baen Free Library's catalogue(unless it's changed recently, it's full of interesting reads) they have many authours putting up first in a series books to give you a taste of what they are like.

C.S.Lewis and Tolkien are rather hand in hand for classics. Ditto McCaffrey.

Read first, but some folks like the Honor Harrington series.

Mercedes Lackey and her husband Larry Dixon have good books.

Andre Norton, Piers Anthony, Roger Zelazny, Jules Verne, Orson Wells, Mark Twain(He's got a few good ones).

Glad to see another Mom reading and giving her son a healthy appetite for literature.

**Adding This:
I can't believe I forgot to mention this book:
"Watership Down" by Richard Adams.
A GOOD fantasy book. This was my absolute FAVORITE book growing up. LOVED LOVED LOVED this book!
For teens and up and adults.
It is a classic! World famous book.
----------------------

This isn't a Sci Fi book, but "Redwall" by Brian Jacques is a GOOD series.
Its a series, so there are many to read, and for me, I just kept wanting to read all of them.
It is not "teenager" type books with boyfriend/girlfriend stuff.
But a good fantasy adventure series, with animals and battles etc.
Love, this series.
You can see and read the reviews anywhere online, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, etc.

Also what about Jules Verne books?
And yes, Ray Bradbury books.

Also, this is a good series:
"The Books Of Elsewhere."
My daughter (and me), LOVED this series. Can't wait for the 4th book to come out.

This is also a GREAT series:
'The Mysterious Benedict Society."
REAL good book.
REAL good series.

All these books are appropriate for this age and older. Even me as an adult, I have read them all. LOVED it.

The fifth graders (both boys & girls) are obsessed with books by Margaret Peterson Haddix. She has a couple different series type books and a few stand-alone books. We can't keep them in the school library!

The James Patterson Maximum Ride series is also pretty good -- reminds me of a teenaged X-Men type series.

I assume he has read the Harry Potter series. My daughter is in 5th grade, and loves many of the same books your son does. She also enjoyed Madeline L'Engle's books, and the Hunger Games trilogy. She wants to read the Life of Pi next.

At that age, my daughter read Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Orson Scott Card, George R.R. Martin, Isaac Asimov, Tolkien, CS Lewis, HG Wells, Kurt Vonnegut, Jules Verne, Douglas Adams, Stephen R Donaldson off my bookshelf.

She also liked the Animorphs series, the Everworld series, the Redwall series, Harry Potter, Madeline L'Engle, Terry Pratchett.

My husband loved the "White Mountain" series at that age, and is looking forward to giving it to our son when he is old enough - which will be a while, since he's only four now.

Brandon Sanderson - Alcatraz series -- FUNNY zany superhero fantasy. Perfect for kids who love Percy.

Gerald Morris Knight's Tales -- funny stories about King Arthur - probably a quick read for him, but he'll laugh out loud. (he also has a series called "Squire's Tales" for slightly older kids - like middle school. Good, but not as funny. Still based on Arthurian legend.)

Pseudonymous Boscht - "The Name of this book is Secret" - first in the Series. Mystery, adventure, and peril. A little scary.

Lemony Snicket has just started a new series - mystery/private eye/film noir inspired. Like a spoof on Humphrey Bogart. He also wrote the wierd but humorous gothic mytery "A Series of Unfortunate Events"

Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" (not at all funny - but great adventure) Also "The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle" - if he can get over the main character being a girl, it's a great adventure.

Maybe the Spiderwick Chronicles? Those are fun.

Check out Jon Sciezka's website with book recommendations: guysread.com. Also, readkiddoread.com

By the way, The Hunger Games and Watership Down, while great books, I think they're way too emotionally intense for this age. Just check them out first and see if he can handle it.

Just a few books to add to the fantastic lists you've got below:

Stephen and Lucy Hawking's George's Secret Key to the Universe books
H.G. Wells's Time Machine (there's an abridged version for kids, but he might be ready for the real thing)

in addition to the ones listed , Robert Jordan.

Cornelia Funke - she has the Inkheart Series and a few other books
How about The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Harry Potter