Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Book Recommendations for 8 Year Old...

My son (8 years old, 4th grade) is getting ready to start The Odyssey (Fagles translation) and then read The Iliad.

He read the Harry Potter series, the Percy Jackson series, the Heroes of Olympus series, and most recently the Fablehaven series...being interested in 'gods' type books he wants to read the Odyssey.

Are there any other series you would recommend (not necessarily about gods), that would be age AND level appropriate?

Also, are there any 'classics' that would be content appropriate for him?

Thanks!

TripleB

DS8 hasn't read this series yet, but he has similar interests and I thought it looked good.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/006207041X...&colid=3KXX4Q1ZYSJAJ&coliid=IPABIIRPA5JG

Other than that I don't know what to say because he is obsessed with history. He did read "The Unicorn Chronicles" last year and enjoyed that series. (it sounds girly but it's really not).

DS7 recently really enjoyed the Series of Unfortunate Events books, by Lemony Snicket. There are 13, so they take a while. Your child will need a bit of a black sense of humor, but what's nice about them is the high vocabulary level in books meant for relatively young children.

Other high-level books DS has really liked that kept him busy for a long time: the Redwall series.

Oh! How about The Sea of Trolls? Nice and long, deals with gods and legends.

Adding a link to the sticky thread Book recommendations: age 6-8, near the top of the Recommended Resources forum.

While children vary, these are crowd-sourced lists of recommended books, suggested by parents on the forum over time, as having been appropriate in content and reading level for their gifted/advanced children.

There are also lists of recommended books for children of other ages, including a thread of Book recommendations: age 9-12.

My DS7 is a big fan of the Mister Max series by Cynthia Voigt. It's about a boy detective (he calls himself a "solutioneer") who solves small mysteries for others and a larger mystery about what has happened to his parents.

The pacing is slow but the imagery is rich.

My son has read many of what your son has. Great little minds think alike!

There is a new Rick Riordan book out -- Magnus Chase. Norse gods for that new series. Also try the Red Pyramid series by him if you haven't already.

Little dude has read many Brandon Mull series, including ones you listed. He also liked the Beyonders.

Our school librarian suggested the Ranger's Apprentice series, which he comes home with books from pretty often. Also a fave are the Spirit Animal books, the Dragonet serieses (there are two, he told me), Septimus Heap (7 of Septimus, 2 now of TodHunter Moon), and also relatively new is Iron Trial/Copper Gauntlet from Cassandra Clare and another author about a magic school, so kind of like HP, but not.

He's also read James Dashner. He's read 2 of the Morality Doctrine books thus far. The next comes out mid-November. He's already told me, LOL!

He also loved the Seven Wonders series,

Hope this helps! It can be a challenge to keep up with them!

YOU AREN'T KIDDING THERE!!!

The weekend before last I had to put together a third bookcase for his room! Learned my lesson this time though, got him a 6 foot bookcase instead of one of the smaller ones!

You think when you get them interested in a series of books that you have some time to relax and not have to be thinking about..."what would he like to read next?" Then you turn around less that a month later and he's ready for a new series!

I'm not complaining...it's a GREAT problem to have...especially when I look at some of the 7th grade students I teach who would do anything not to read.

Right now he's quickly reading through the last Fablehaven book so he can read the Odyssey and the Iliad...hopefully it will take him a good while to read through those. Tried to steer him toward the Hobbit next but he chose the Odyssey.

Thanks for everyone's help and advice. I'll definitely look into all the books you mentioned.

TripleB

Oh yeah, I forgot to say DS read all or several of the Narnia Chronicles books by CS Lewis last winter and enjoyed them, if you are looking for classics. I think they are late elementary/ early middle school reading level.

Good suggestions here guys thanks very much. I've heard the Percy Jackson series is good as well.