Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion nonfiction books for middle schooler

He will read everything. Looking for new ideas. Can be aimed at adults. he is 12 and a very advanced reader. Wanted to get him a few for Christmas. He loved �What if� for example. He specifically asked for one on grammer so a recommendation for that would be helpful to.

If he's looking for books about grammar, I'd personally really recommend linguistics books. People who write about prescriptively "correct" usage don't tend to actually understand how language works.

This list looks decent for that purpose.

Have you checked the sticky threads at the top of the Recommended Resources forum?
There are sticky threads with crowd-sourced book recommendations for various age ranges, including:
- Book recommendations: ages 9 - 12
- Book recommendations: age 13+

These may provide a few ideas.


There is also a regular, non-sticky thread in Recommended Resources, with crowd-sourced books for adults which may be of interest.

For grammar, a go-to source for many years was The Elements of Style, by Strunk & White.
E.B. White was also the renowned author of children's books Stuart Little (1945) and Charlotte's Web (1952).

A couple of quick thoughts of books with a similar quirky appeal, based on my xkcd fanatic:

Randall Monroe has another book

If he likes math, Ben Orlin is amazing, and has two books now of a similar tone to his blog: https://mathwithbaddrawings.com

Things to make and Do in the Fourth Dimension, by Matt Parker (a Numberphile regular)

The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean (history of the discovery of the elements)

Thanks you guys! This is exactly what I am looking for!!!