[Rocketsheep]

I can find heaps of titles aimed at teenagers but because 'children's fiction' has assumed it IS a genre (kids don't have tastes?) I have to rely on word of mouth to find good titles for the under 12's.

Do you know any?

[Vitriol]

Heilein's 'Star Beast' is excellent for for young readers (and older ones too, actually). Andre Norton's Beast Master book and its sequel are also good.
You might also think about Ender's Game; it's quite violent in places, but is certainly compelling, and is written in a fairly simple style.

[Slowhand]

Heinlein, Asimov and Norton all published a number of juveniles. I grew up on that stuff! I bet it's still good, but can you find it in print? Nowadays I suppose kids would read Star Wars and other novelizations of Science Fictions movies and TV shows. My kids read Fantasy, but no Science fiction yet.

[Llama]

Ray Bradbury. First read him around that age and it blew my mind, became my favorite writer until I went to college.

Also the famous Madeleine L'Engle books in the WRINKLE IN TIME series, although it's probably more fantasy than SF, really.

I used to read the Tom Swift books when I was very young (before Bradbury). I have no idea whether they still publish them. Very optimistic by-the-numbers sf, nothing too special.

[galaga99]

Hi. Clifford D. Simak's books rarely have violence or sexual content. They are some great books. I would recommend Highway of Eternity or Special Deliverance. Also, there is a writer named William Sleator. I read a book by him when I was an eighth grader called Singularity. It is awesome! I still own that book.

[Loque]

caves of steel-asimov and wasn't ender's game originally aimed at children?

[Lady Fox]

H.M Hoover had some scifi books published back in the mid to late 80's that were aimed toward younger readers. I'm not sure if they are still in print or not, but here are the titles. This isn't a series. Each is a stand alone novel, and all are fairly short.

Children of Morrow
The Delikon
The Lost Star
Return to Earth
This Time of Darkness
The Shepard Moon

[Rocketsheep]

Thank you everyone... excellent tips.

[lemming]

Children of Morrow is an excellent one.

Also, all the Danny Dunn books, Escape to Witch Mountain (and the rest of Alexander Key's stuff if you can find it), everything by William Sleator (especially The Boy who Reversed Himself, Strange Attractors, House of Stairs), and Children of the Dust by Lawrence if you can find it.

Also The Girl With the Silver Eyes, forgot who wrote it, but unlike most of my list it's STILL IN PRINT, whoa what a thought. Keeping good books in print. Amazon has it. http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Carmichael]

The Asimovs did a couple of sci-fi paperbacks about an unusually talented robot named Norby. They are about 10 years old or so. Kinda silly, but not a bad read.

Carmichael