Oh, Pullman was definitely great. May I also suggest Tui T. Sutherland? My girls are big fans of the Wings of Fire series, they devoured those books! 🙂 I would not recommend them before 7 years old though, you need to be a good reader for it. Or do like we did; I read the first 2 books to my youngest, and she picked up the third one on her own 🙂

Lighter, easier to read, and with a bit of a Potter feel to it (3 kids becoming friends, thrown into a magical new environment), David O’Connell’s Dundoodle mysteries (3 books so far) was also really appreciated in our family. Perfect for 7 year-olds and older!

But really, the possibilities are endless; there are so many great options out there, from old and new authors!