The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet

by Eleanor Cameron
(1954, 195 pages)

The imaginations of two boys, David Topman and Chuck Masterson, are captured by the following ad in their local paper:

WANTED: A small spaceship about eight feet long, built by a boy, or by two boys, between the ages of eight and eleven. The ship should be sturdy and well made, and should be of materials found at hand. Nothing need be bought. No adult should be consulted as to its plan or method of construction. An adventure and a chance to do a good deed await the boys who build the best space ship. Please bring your ship as soon as possible to Mr. Tyco M. Bass, 5 Thallo Street, Pacific Grove, California.

This book appeals equally to both boys and girls, even to those who do not generally like science fiction. And no one who reads it will ever forget Mr. Bass.

Click here for more information, including links to the Amazon reviews (but watch out for spoilers).

Tripods

• The White Mountains
• City of Gold and Lead
• Pool of Fire
• When the Tripods Came (prequel)

John Christopher wrote The White Mountains (192 pages), the first book in this riveting series, in 1967. Elements include alien invasion, loss of free will, fighting against impossible odds. Lots of suspense and intensity. It is not necessary to be a sci-fi fan to be enthralled by this series.

For reviews, go to Amazon, but watch out for spoilers.

Heinlein

We have a number of Heinlein's science fiction "juveniles" on our list already.

I recently read (or re-read) some we haven't covered before to see whether they should be added: Between Planets, The Rolling Stones, and Starman Jones.

Between Planets: A boy in school on Earth gets caught up in interplanetary war and conspiracy. Allusions to torture, suicide, and violent combat.

Starman Jones: Boy runs away from bad (unsavory) step-parents, fraudulently get aboard spaceship (he confesses and is sorry later, though the consequences are minor), has adventures (creepy aliens) and rises to his destiny. (Classic fairy tale structure.) Probably the best story of the three.

The Rolling Stones: The extended Stone family leaves the comfort of the Moon for adventures aboard their own spaceship.

I wouldn't put any of these in the great category, though kids may find them more gripping.

The offensive stuff in these is mostly fairly subtle, brief, and allusional: a passing reference to "dancing girls" or descriptions of guerilla warfare with implied brutality. Tame by today's standards, but still may be not the tone you want.

There's some proto-feminism in The Rolling Stones, but the women still do the cooking.

I'm not inclined to recommend any of these at the moment. I should re-read the Heinleins we have listed now to see how they compare. (His Red Planet was one of my own favorites as a child.)