Many people look back on classic children’s books and lament that the quality of today’s literature has taken a huge nosedive. However, there are plenty of 21st Century children’s books that inspire their imagination and teach valuable life lessons.
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows
The final book in the smash-hit Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling was published in July 2007. In the culmination of the seven-book series, Harry and his friends finally face off against Voldemort in an attempt to stop him from regaining his immense power. This final chapter allows readers to watch Harry finally grow up from a boy into a man and become the wizard he was always meant to be.
Eragon
The first book in the Inheritance series, Eragon tells the story of Eragon, an ordinary boy who discovers he is, in fact, one of the last Dragon Riders in the entire world. He finds a dragon egg and when his dragon, Saphira, hatches, Eragon is hunted by an evil Rider bent on enslaving him so he can rule the world. Eragon flees, meets friends along the way and ends up becoming more important to his world than he ever could have imagined. Written by Christopher Paolini when he was 15 years old, Eragon was published in 2003 followed by two other books, Eldest and Brisingr. A fourth is slated for 2009-2010.
Merchant of Death
The first book in the now extensive Pendragon Adventure, Merchant of Death introduces Bobby Pendragon who is just learning that he is a Traveler, someone who can travel to other worlds in order to save them. Teaming up with other warriors, Bobby must stop a fellow Traveler from destroying the entire fabric of existence. Written by DJ MacHale, Merchant of Death was published in September 2004 and since then there have been nine more books.
Artemis Fowl
Written by Eoin Colfer and first published in 2003, Artemis Fowl follows Artemis, a 12-year-old genius who hatches a cunning plot to steal a large pot of gold from the fairies. He plans to do this by capturing a fairy and holding her hostage, but when this fairy turns out to be part of a fairy police force, things get complicated for the boy genius. Following the first book, four more have been released.
The Lightning Thief
First published in 2005, this first book in a series by Rick Riordan tells of a boy demigod, Percy Jackson, who is the son of the Greek god Poseidon and a mortal woman. Percy and his demigod friends end up going on a quest in an attempt to stop an apocalyptic war between Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon. Currently there are five books in the series.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
This book, published in 2007 by Jeff Kinney, tells the story of middle-school boy Greg Heffley, whose mother forces him to keep a diary. With illustrations to go along with the diary entries, Greg goes through all the aspects of typical junior-high life from dealing with popularity to the drama of wrestling class. Two more have since been published.
The Graveyard Book
This book, published in 2008 by Neil Gaiman, follows the story of a baby who survives his family’s murder and toddles into a nearby graveyard, where the graveyard’s resident ghosts adopt him. They name him Nobody and the story turns into a modern-day Jungle Book from there, where the baby grows from a child into a teenager.
The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
First in a series by Michael Scott, this book, published in 2008, follows the exploits of twins Sophie and Josh. Josh works at a bookstore that gets stormed by thieves who steal a rare book that holds the secrets to immortality. The twins and the immortal Nicholas Flamel who discovered the secret then have to get the book back before it’s used for all the wrong reasons. Two more have been published since.
Listen to the Wind
A very short children’s novel published in 2009, this book tells the story of a stranger wandering into a Pakistani town, through the eyes of the Pakistani children. The children help the man recover and he builds them a school. The story was written by Greg Mortensen and is based on a true story.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
This book, by Sherman Alexie, tells the story of Junior, a boy born with “water on the brain” who suffers physical pain everyday. Junior decides to leave his reservation and attend a white private school where he discovers that he’s not as different as he thought he was. This book was published in 2007.
This was written by Clickinks.com, your home for printer inks and laser toner.