What to read aloud after the first three Harry Potters?

[LuckyMommaToo]

We are going to take a break from them because I feel like they get so much darker and more intense after this. But what now? We've done a lot of Dahl and Dragonrider. He definitely prefers fantasy. Is he too young for Percy Jackson (he's 7-1/2)? Any other recommendations?

Oh, we tried the Narnia series and neither of us was really into it.

thanks,

-e

[Daffodil]

My DD really enjoyed the Silverwing series by Kenneth Oppel.  (She was almost 8 when I read them to her.)  You might possibly think those are too dark and intense, though I don't think they're as bad as the later Harry Potter books.  The May Bird series by Jodi Lynne Anderson is also possibly too dark, but my DD and I really liked it.

Other possibilities:

The Mysterious Benedict Society series

Ronia the Robber's Daughter by Astrid Lindgren

Half Magic and other books by Edward Eager

Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke

[ollyoxenfree]

I'll second the recommendation for The Mysterious Benedict Society books, and the Edward Eager books. 

I often recommend the Silverwing series, but you might want to pre-read them to screen for anything upsetting.  There are many moments that a sensitive child might find frightening - including being lost in storm, animal experimentation, battle scenes, and death of a parent, all described in a fair amount of detail. Oppel writes about some very serious themes in these books that can lead to a lot of intense discussion. DS started reading them when he was 6 or 7 y.o. and loved them. 

You might want to try Oppel's other series too, starting with Airborn. 

Other suggestions 

- the Redwall books by Brian Jacques.

- The Magyk series (Septimus Heap) by Angie Sage

- Diana Wynne Jones

-The Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix

- Joan Aiken

- Rosemary Sutcliffe 

- Alice in Wonderland

[LuckyMommaToo]

Wow -- thanks for so many great ideas! I've made a list so I can check a bunch out of the library next week. I'm excited. I love reading aloud!

-e

[hakeber]

I started reading the Madeline L'engle books (Wrinkle In Time, etc) at that age and I loved them.

Also, The Knights of the Red Feather Labrinth it's excellent.  Sally Franz is the author's name.

http://www.alibris.com/search/books/qwork/8260994/used/The%20Knights%20of%20the%20Red%20Feather