King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, by Sir Roger Lancelyn Green. Green succeeds in adapting the Arthur stories because he understands that they’re defined by their mystery and weirdness. Outside of Malory, this is probably my favorite Arthur anthology.
I still have my copy from when I was a kid — I love it!
I had this book! I used to read it a lot.
My favorites at that age were The Squire’s Tale series by Gerald Morris - also a retelling of Arthurian tales, very humorous and also moving
Aru Shah and the End of Time, by Roshani Chokshi. Similar to the Percy Jackson books, but with Hindu mythology rather than Greek. After foolishly lighting a lamp on a dare at a museum, Aru Shah inadvertently releases a demon who seeks to awaken a god who could destroy time.
Tom’s Midnight Garden, by Philippa Pearce. The story of a boy whose garden transports him several decades into the past, where he befriends a young woman. Philip Pullman loves this book, and Steven Moffat has called it an inspiration for his work on Doctor Who.
The Giver, by Lois Lowry. The story of a world in which no one writes or paints or makes music because making art is too difficult and evokes too many complex emotions. One boy is chosen to experience the memories that the rest of the world has given up.
i am a whole-ass adult who’s read the entire giver series three times
Catherine, Called Birdy, by Karen Cushman. “If I had to be born a lady, why not a rich lady?” laments Catherine, the daughter of a medieval noble, to her diary. Her family seeks to marry her off to a number of unsuitable suitors, but the headstrong Catherine isn’t having it.
The Little House Books, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. One of my favorite series in the sixth grade, these books follow young Laura and her family as they traverse the plains, battle snowstorms & starvation, and carve out a home on the frontier. The Long Winter is the best of the lot.
The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros. A series of lyrical vignettes centering on Esperanza, a young woman coming of age in a Latina neighborhood, and her colorful neighbors, from Elenita the witch-lady to Cathy, who has “cats and cats and cats.”
Holes, by Louis Sachar. Wrongly convicted of stealing sneakers, Stanley Yelnats is sentenced to a camp in the Texas desert where he and other kids must dig holes for unexplained reasons, in a story that gets wackier and more labyrinthine with every turn of the plot.
I do love that book and film
On my blog I’ve compiled a list of 35 more books for children and teens (and perhaps even you, ambitious reader) to enjoy during the summer. Happy reading! bibliollcollege.substack.com/p/the-ultima...
Also 'The Perilous Gard' by Pope-a great retelling of the Tamlin legend set in Tudor England.
A few of my favorites... The Ordinary Princess by M.E. Kerr The Incorrigible Children series Fairyland books by Catherynne Valente The 'Small Spaces' series by Arden The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle Greenglass House Anything by Frances Hardinge
Came to say Alan Garner and Sisan Cooper but they're listed on the blog. Lloyd Alexander for reworking of Welsh myth is excellent as well. Those reading statistics are depressing :(
Speak, by (Laurie?) Anderson and Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse