: Short answer: definitely, absolutely, wholeheartedly 3. Long answer: Sir Terry Pratchett wrote somewhere that since he was reading a lot as a child, when he was little there were many words

Short answer: definitely, absolutely, wholeheartedly 3.

Long answer: Sir Terry Pratchett wrote somewhere that since he was reading a lot as a child, when he was little there were many words he knew only in writing, but had never heard spoken. For example, it was years before he learnt that "ogres" were not pronounced "ogreees". Having a large vocabulary that he couldn't pronounce correctly didn't harm him in any way, nor diminish his joy of reading, but instead excited his imagination. Pratchett then proceeded not writing down to children when he himself wrote for a younger audience. Exciting kids' imaginations is something you're trying to do, right? Then go for it.

Why does it matter that a child wouldn't pronounce a name correctly? So they'll pronounce it incorrectly - it would still sound foreign, look foreign on the page, and evoke the sense of "exoticism" that you're looking for. Furthermore, a child wouldn't know that they're not pronouncing the name correctly. So how could it impede their reading enjoyment? Being 8-12, I was reading Hector Malot (at 6), Jules Verne (at 8) Alexandre Dumas (at 10), and Victor Hugo (at 12). I did not learn until around age 12 that the stress in all the French names is supposed to go on the last syllable. It did not affect my reading pleasure in the slightest.

A pronunciation guide would be helpful. Not being a native English speaker myself, I do not know to this day how one is supposed to pronounce many Irish names. I resort to googling their pronunciation, when I'm not lazy. Tolkien is one example I can think of who gave a detailed pronunciation guide.

Edit:

Found another example of hard-to-pronounce names in children literature for you: In Diana Wynne Jones's Dalemark Quartet, there are names like "Cenblith", "Mayelbridwen" and "Ynynen".

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: Can I use the name Valerian in my sci-fi novel? I have an Ancient Roman theme with the names of my characters, however someone pointed out to me Valerian is already a scifi character's name.

: Short answer: definitely, absolutely, wholeheartedly 3. Long answer: Sir Terry Pratchett wrote somewhere that since he was reading a lot as a child, when he was little there were many words

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: How to evoke wonder in the reader, when there isn't an incredulous character? A "fish out of water" character can serve as a reader proxy: whether it is a wondrous view, an unusual custom,

: How to make documentation accessible to vision-impaired audiences? Nowadays, governments and corporations alike are putting an ever-increasing number of accessibility laws in place to ensure that

: What you're looking for is beta readers. Beta readers would read all your work, and look at exactly the things you are unsure about: general flow, plot holes, etc. Who can be beta readers?

: Can I use the name Valerian in my sci-fi novel? I have an Ancient Roman theme with the names of my characters, however someone pointed out to me Valerian is already a scifi character's name.

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