So, I'm an honorary aunt to my friend's three kids, and I'm going to go visit them all in a couple months. I asked her today what I can bring the kids when I come, and she said that her oldest (girl, just barely 11) would love some help picking out some appropriate books. She's already read all 7 Harry Potter books, multiple times. Anyone have any suggestions of awesome?

The Hobbit, and maybe The Lord of the Rings. The Belgariad (5? Books, it's been awhile) followed by the Mallorion (about the same size) by David Eddings. Pretty much anything by Tamora Pierce. Maybe try Edgar Rice Burroghs and/or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jules Vern, H. G. Wells, ect. The Eragon series by Christopher Paolini is worth a spin.

I just woke up from a nap, so I might think of more later, but seriously look into Tamora Pierce, especialy for a girl her age.

I picked up Pendragon when I was her age. If she likes Harry Potter she might also like that. Might be too... mature, I guess? Lot of death and murder.

Heinlein is always good.

I'm not sure if they're totally age appropriate but John Ringo's Black Tide series, "Under a Graveyard Sky", "To Sail a Darkling Sea", "Islands of Rage and Hope", and "Strands of Sorrow", is very good. The daughters in the book are fifteen and thirteen when the series starts and they are based on John's own daughters, Jenny and Lindy.

Cedar Sanderson has some good stuff as well. And Peter Grant has some awesome stuff. Mackey Chandler's April series is definitely good. Stephanie Osborn, M. B. Weston, Sarah Hoyt, Larry Correia and many others.

Most of these authors have Facebook accounts and are very approachable, Peter doesn't have it, but there are ways. Also, Ringo will be extremely active on FB and then go dark for weeks/months at a time, but that's OK, that's when his muse starts putting stuff together and suddenly he's writing and posting snippets and suddenly he's written three to four books in a month or two (really, I'm not kidding). Also, Sarah has a Facebook Group called Sarah's Diner (ported over to FB when Baen's Bar underwent some software updates that didn't agree with most people). A bunch of these people are in there and can give you recommendations.

The "Drangon and ..." series by Timothy Zahn is nice.

Can I suggest some of my favorite female fantasy authors?

Joan Aiken - The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (darkly gothic, like a less cartoonish Lemony Snicket)
Robin McKinley - The Hero and the Crown (feminist dragonslaying fantasy)
E. Nesbit - The Phoenix and the Carpet (a classic by the originator of the children's fantasy genre)
Dianna Wynne Jones - Witch Week (no one is more magical than DWJ --she also wrote the book "Howl's Moving Castle")
Anne McCaffery - Dragonsong (a more kid-friendly trilogy set among McCaffery's famed Dragonriders of Pern)
Susan Cooper - The Dark is Rising (a spooky pagan adventure set in modern[ish] England)
Ellen Raskin - The Westing Game (not exactly fantasy but so much fun)
Patricia Wrede - Caught in Crystal (an ex-warrior single mom makes a unique heroine)
Ursula LeGuin - A Wizard of Earthsea (a legendary piece of mythmaking)
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making– Catherynne M. Valente (the most recent book on the list, a playful romp in full Neil Gaiman mode)

These are all age appropriate and abundantly magical, plus absolutely wonderful books, plus they bring a different perspective to fantasy than the usual *cough cough* male dominated one.

I recommend all of these for adults of all genders as well.

Terry Pratchett probably goes without saying yeah?

I was probably hard and fast into Eddings when I was her age.

Peter Morwood also.

Mercedes Lackey has a lot of good ones, Charles de Lint---and of course Ann McCaffrey with the Dragons of Pern series.

Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar saga. Good stuff that.

Maybe Vampirates?

It was the last series of kids books I really got into. Honestly, theyre a bit silly, and with pacing problems, but still an interesting read I thought.

Pydrian Chronicles, Bartimaeus Trilogy, and Redwall are some classic solid series.

Feels like all the great titles I know of have already been spoken for.

OK, just made me think of the Young Jedi Knights series by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta.

The Chronicles of Narnia are pretty good. The Dragon and the George by Gordon Dickson, A Christmas Carole by Dickens (by far the lightest and shortest of his novels), The Witches of Karres by James Schmitz, Around the World in 80 Days or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Verne, Captain's Courageous by Kipling, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming, Charley and the Chocolate Factory or James and The Giant Peach by Roald Dahl, House on Pooh Corner by AE Milne, Our Crowd by Chaz Adams (yes it's cartoons, so what), The Cartoon History of the Universe series by Larry Gonick...

...this should be enough for a few minutes, right?

Totally second Kitoba's suggestions of The Dark is Rising and The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland (the whole series of both).
Adding a Wrinkle in Time because DUH!.

Here are some other ones that my 10 year old likes/loves:

The Search for Wondla (and sequels) - awesome futuristic series with a great female protagonist
The City of Ember
Greenglass House (cool mystery/spooky)
The Graveyard Book (Gaiman rocks)
The Amulet Series (graphic novels)

Other good interesting options that she may not have read:

The Alera Codex (Furies of Calderon) by Jim Butcher - epic fantasy
Icefall (Nordic tale)
When You Reach Me (Girl in NYC in the 70s with fantasy elements)
Where the Mountain meets the Moon (fantasy chinese)
Mr Lemoncello's Library (or something like that)
The Uglies series (YA, Scott Westerfeld - If she likes Hunger Games)
The Princess Bride
Leviathan Trilogy (YA Steampunk, by Westerfeld)
The Boneshaker by Kate Milford (steampunky fantasy)
Artemis Fowl
The Golden Compass ...I really only like the first book ;)
Howl's Moving Castle
Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier (magic, our world)

Most of these are also great for adults (esp those of us who love YA)

Wow, Mini-dot is 10?

I'm really eager for when my kids are old enough to enjoy my favorites. We've been reading some great classic chapter books in the evenings, but neither is a good enough reader yet to branch out on his/her own.

------

I definitely second Dot's suggestion on "Wrinkle in Time" --surprised I missed that one. I'd suggest caution with "Golden Compass" --I thought it was entirely inappropriate for children. However, I really personally hated the entire series, so maybe that colored my impressions.

When you actually take the trip you'll have to let us know which ones you ended up choosing...

-------

Hey, while we're on the subject, what's good in whimsical SF and Fantasy for adults? Here are a few of the ones I've read in the past several years that stuck with me:

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern (a spooky Victorian about dueling magicians and their unwilling proxies)
The Raw Shark Texts - Steven Hall (a playfully postmodern adventure about the sharks of the mind)
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore - Robin Sloan (not exactly fantasy, see my comments on "The Westing Game" above)
Anathem - Neal Stephenson (this heavily philosophical tome was on its way to being one of my most favorite books ever when it went off the rails in the third act. Still highly worth the read).
The Magicians - Lev Grossman (you can read my review here: https://www.partiallyexaminedlife.com/2 ... st-narnia/ )

I'm currently reading an old Theodore Sturgeon collection, based on him being Samuel Delany's favorite author and the inspiration for Vonnegut's Kilgore Trout. The stories are dated but definitely very interesting --much more psychologically rich than the typical SF story.

I recently read Augie and the Green Knight. It was pretty good. Parts were forced.

I agree about Anathem. More than the third act, I didn't like the totally tacked on romance-ish bit. I don't see this as whimsical sci-fi, though.

For adults? Hmm. There's the in-progress Mother of Learning. It's not exactly the Infinite Loops, even if it uses some of the same terms.