The Golden Compass

As an educator, I've always been ashamed to have missed this one. Finally catching up with it, now I can't imagine it being lumped in with “children's books.” It is for very mature, thoughtful children if you must keep it in that category. Other than having a child protagonist, I found this a very adult read. Of course it has all the intriguing theological themes I'd heard about, but it's also an extremely well paced fantastical adventure. A book I'd definitely want my children to read, though not one I could see reading aloud to my class.