The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials Series #1)

Grades 7 - 12. The action follows 11-year-old protagonist Lyra Belacqua, accompanied by her daemon, from her home at Oxford University to the frozen wastes of the North, on a quest to save kidnapped children from the evil 'Gobblers,' who are using them as part of a sinister experiment. Lyra also must rescue her father from the Panserbjorne, a race of talking, armored, mercenary polar bears holding him captive. Joining Lyra are a vagabond troop of gyptians (gypsies), witches, an outcast bear, and a Texan in a hot air balloon.

Billboard - Trudi Miller Rosenblum

Pullman's fantasy masterpeice and the first of a trilogy...has become a classic of the genre.

Best known for the multi-award-winning fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials, British author Philip Pullman is one of our most distinguished writers of children's literature.