An excellent trilogy-only children's books the way the Potter books or the C.S. Lewis books are "children's books" in that a child can read and understand the story-but as the child grows, they will perceive the layers underneath the story-and still enjoy them when not a child any more!

These have been in my TBR pile for years ... I definitely want to get to them this summer, especially as my DD is now old enough to read them and might like them, too. Thanks for jogging my memory!

I read them several years ago-I think Janalyn recommended them.

Pat

Count me as another fan. Be aware though, that 'dark' is a clue to the nature of the books. They are not sunny and cheerful as many children's books are.

Thank you, Cece for saying it. There's no 'but' about so-styled 'Children's books'. HIS DARK MATERIALS was, for me, one of the best reading-experiences of the last ten years.

At the moment, I am re-reading THE OWL SERVICE - also a so-styled 'Children's book' by Alan Garner. Anybody know it? I'll bet Philip Pullman does.

Dido.

Loved 'The Dark Materials', will need to re-read them though, as there is so very much in there.

I read the 'Owl Service' and one other Garner many years ago and hated it! I can't now explain properly why, but only vaguely recall finding the characters irritating and the plot consistently unengaging.

I read His Dark Materials when it was published - some wonderful imagery, and a fairly dense story that works hard at turning conventional assumptions upside down. I was a bit disappointed with the 3rd volume - I thought Pullman crammed too much into a single volume, and the trilogy should have been stretched to a quartet.

I've read both Garner's The Owl Service and The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, although it's been several years since I read them last. IIRC, The Owl Service used the Arthurian legend? If I'm remembering the right book, I enjoyed it but my limited knowledge of the Arthurian legends (gleaned at the time mostly from the musical Camelot *s*) was insufficient to appreciate the book fully. I always planned to do some research on the legends before reading it again.

Donnamira,

The legend on which The Owl Service is based isn't Arthurian. It's from the ancient book of Welsh legends called The Mabinogion - published in paperback; could be Penguin. You'll find the legend in the chapter called Math son of Mathonwy. It's the story of Lleu Llaw Gyffes who was cursed that he should never marry a human woman. So Gwydion the magician conjured him a wife made of flowers - the meadowsweet, the oak etc. But she felll in love with another man and was unfaithful to her husband. They plotted to kill him (he could only be killed in a very complicated way of course!) but he didn't die. Later, he took his revenge and killed the lover. The wife he had the magician turn into an owl, and she was called 'Blodeuwedd' - which means flower face.

As for the novel, I don't think Garner made it very clear for readers - most of whom would never have heard of the legend; nor did he give origins and references to help them. I don't altogether get what he was getting at myself, but I do like the book. The characters aren't what you might call loveable, I agree, but they are very real and the novel is full of wonderful atmosphere.

Dido

Dido - thanks much for clearing that up! No wonder I felt confused. :) And since I just (finally, after uncounted years on my TBR shelf) read Evangeline Walton's 4-volume retelling of the Mabinogion, I should be able to re-read the Garner book now!

Donnamira,

I don't know the Evangeline Walton at all. And it's a reworking, not a translation? 4-volume, presumably following the 'four branches' (Pedwar Ceinc y Mabinogi in the original Welsh.

So you'll know the Leu Llaw Gyffes legend then.

Dido

Both 'Northern Lights' and 'The Owl Service' were on my 20th Century Children's Literature course for University. I didn't like 'The Owl Service' much until we discussed it- strange how that happens, isn't it? My tutor said that 'Northern Lights' was the only book of the trilogy really worth reading!

Re: My tutor said that 'Northern Lights' was the only book of the trilogy really worth reading!

Hmmm... I think I disagree with that. After reading the trilogy it is really hard to separate the books. I regard all three as one work now, but while I was reading, The Subtle Knife was actually my favorite. I really liked Will, and I think that had something to do with it.

A film is about to be made of The Golden Compass (aka Northern Lights)....why am I not surprised? They are planning to film all three.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dark Materials film trilogy planned

yes... I knew about the film in the works. Has anyone seen the stage production? I read that Timothy Dalton played Lord Asriel in one of the productions, which I thought was an interesting casting choice. I'm sure the stage production was very different from the books, though (much like Wicked was different from Maguire's book).

Georgia, I agree - although all three volumes of the Dark Materials were excellent, I remember the Subtle Knife as the most gripping. Will is more engaging than Lyra, I think; the inclusion of 'our' universe also grounds the story more.

I found a link to an exhaustive site with everything from cover art to movie news, and information about a yet-unreleased-book, short stories and related material.

Rosefolly

Here is a link that might be useful: Dark Materials movie news

I'm almost finished reading this trilogy. I think The Subtle Knife is my favorite also. Did anyone else struggle through the journey through the land of the death in the third book? OMG! 7 chapters, I kept thinking, get on with it!

Thanks for the link, Rose. His Dark Materials is the most compelling piece of fiction I have read for some time. Yes, I too got a bit bogged down in the land of death. I was very glad when THAT was over. Still loved it, though.

The land of death gave me the creeps. If I think about it too long I think it will give me nightmares.

I thought His Dark Materials was one of the best written and powerfully imagined children's books I've ever read. But I found it deeply disturbing and bleak beyond anything I could have imagined. By the end, it seems to me that all joy is vanished--even those poor children who find love in one another are separated forever. I would give it to a child to read, but I would want to discuss it very carefully with that child.

So does anyone think that Mrs. Coulter actually had a change of heart or did she commit suicide (with Asriel)because she knew she had lost all the way around? I think Asriel went to his death nobly but I think because she couldn't think of anything else. Can you tell I don't like her?

I liked all the books in the trilogy, and it would be hard to name a favorite. I do not consider the books to be children's books since I think the religious/moral themes and occasional sexual references (including the entwining and caressing daemons) are oriented more towards young adults and up. Don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating not allowing children to read them. I do agree with laceyvail that a frank discussion with children after they read the books would be wise.

Deborah, I felt that Mrs. Coulter did have a change of heart, although she was certainly a character that I loved to hate.

I have been rolling HDM around in mind since I finished it a couple of days ago and I just realized, I don't remember how Mary Malone played the part of temptress? I know she was supposed to but I can't recall how she did it? Can someone clue me in?

Deborah, I don't know if this is correct, but it is my thought that Mary was the temptress in that her story of how she came to renounce The Church and turn away from her vows as a nun was what awakened Lyra to the feelings of love and physical desire that she felt for Will.

Remember how Mary told the story of the man she met and that she fell in love with him because of the gentle way he touched her lips with marzipan? It's my thought that until that point, Lyra was still in many ways innocent and childlike (like Adam and Eve in the garden, perhaps), but Mary's remembrances about the sensual feelings she had experienced opened Lyra's eyes to a knowledge that led her over the threshold to adulthood, much like the Biblical serpent opened Eve's eyes in knowledge when he enticed her into eating the forbidden fruit.

Those are just my thoughts, though. I could be way off base. Perhaps someone else could share their thoughts as well.

I think you're right, I think I was looking for a negative temptation that would have made them stray from their mission. But by tempting them to recognize their love it made them stronger instead of wanting to run away into another world together.