reading level of Piers Anthony's Xanth?

[dragons in the flower bed]

An obscure question, I know . . . but does anyone happen to know the RL of the Xanth series, or any Piers Anthony books? Those and X-Men novels are what my partner's 10yo are reading for fun right now. I'm trying to figure out his comfort RL so I can make up a list of acceptable independent reads for next year.

[JenneinAZ]

I would guess they are somewhere in the 7th-9th grade level.

But if you are going to give him more literary books, I would aim for a level lower than that. Xanth and X-men are not hard to read. They are funny and silly and exciting. Most of the literary books can't say that. (I'll duck while the tomatoes fly.)

Good luck finding books for him

[dragons in the flower bed]

No tomatoes from me. I haven't read Xanth, but I don't remember the other Piers Anthony books I've read as being very well written.

So, do you think if I choose literary books around on a late 7th grade level, that would be about right to help him grow in skill this year?

[Jenny in Atl]

Dh read them in jr High and no they are not well written, but fun. Are you looking for ideas?

[Jann in TX]

Some of Piers Anthony's series are a bit 'adult'. I've seen way too many high school students and even Jr High students reading his Bio of a Space Tyrant series--this one is EXPLICIT!

[dragons in the flower bed]

Some of Piers Anthony's series are a bit 'adult'. I've seen way too many high school students and even Jr High students reading his Bio of a Space Tyrant series--this one is EXPLICIT!

Thanks for letting me know. :001_smile:

[dragons in the flower bed]

Dh read them in jr High and no they are not well written, but fun. Are you looking for ideas?

Yes, I'd love ideas. :bigear:

[CleoQc]

I loved the Xanth series! But I had a hard time getting through most of them, because I didn't get most of the puns. I must have been 18 when I read them, but my English was still shaky.

Definitely twaddle though.

I am thinking about giving my old copies to my son, as his ESL course ;)

[Jenny in Atl]

Yes, I'd love ideas. :bigear:

What kinds of bks does he like besides PA? More Sci-fi/fantasy, classic lit, more modern? You can often go to Amazon and type in a bk he likes, and it will give you suggestions to other bks in a similar vain.

[dragons in the flower bed]

What kinds of bks does he like besides PA? More Sci-fi/fantasy, classic lit, more modern? You can often go to Amazon and type in a bk he likes, and it will give you suggestions to other bks in a similar vain.

He's eating up the modern fantasy craze, but I haven't yet given him Lloyd Alexander or Susan Cooper. In fact, :blushing: he has yet to read Narnia. Don't throw books at me! These are on the list for next year.

He likes Shakespeare and Mark Twain a lot, too. The only reason they are not on the reading list is that he's read everything we have found by them. I'm thinking of putting Puck of Pook's Hill and Rewards and Fairies by Rudyard Kipling on the list for next year. He has no experience with Kipling.

[Cathy in TX]

My 14yo loves fantasy, too. I pre-read Xanth with her in mind and decided to hold off. Too many s*xual references for my comfort-level. Lloyd Alexander, on the other hand, was read and devoured by her two years ago.

[Jenny in Atl]

If he likes fantasy, here are a few to start... some are not purely scifi/fan.

Holes by Louis Sachar
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (some has issues with but we liked them)
Keys to the Kingdom & Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix
Inkheart, InkSpell, & Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud
Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by M.T. Anderson
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Midnighters by Scott Westerfeld
A Winkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Dark Reflections Trilogy by Kai Meyer
The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley (if he does not mind female protagonists)
Pendragon series by D. J. MacHale

I'm sure that I have forgotten a bunch, but this is a start. Hth's jb

[dragons in the flower bed]

If he likes fantasy, here are a few to start... some are not purely scifi/fan.


Wow, thanks! I'm sending you positive rep for typing up that list for me. Helpful, indeed!

[AngieW in Texas]

And more recommendations for scifi/fantasy:

Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Riordan
Children of the Lamp series by Kerr
City of Ember/People of Sparks/Prophet of Yonwood by DuPrau
Lionboy series by Corder
Artemis Fowl series by Colfer
Tripod series by Christopher (make sure to save for last - The Day the Tripods Came - it's a prequel)
Bartimaeus series by Stroud
Dark is Rising series by Cooper
Boggart series by Cooper
Charlie Bone series by Nimmo
The Genesis Machine by Hogan (this one has a lot of science, but is fine for teens - hold off on his other books)
Ender's Game by Card
Myth-o-Mania series by McMullan


Most of Anthony's Xanth books are okay, but many of his series get quite explicit. He also seems prone to having 13yo vixens seducing fully adult males - and getting them too. I read Bio of a Space Tyrant in high school. There's NO WAY my kids are going to read that until they're adults.