Okay, I'm taking a shot at starting a new Ultimate thread here. This thread is about book recommendations --- I'm thinking, one or so at a time, with a nice review rather than a list of titles.

I thought this thread could be a resource for books for kids who read way beyond age level and for whom it's hard to find suitable books. For example, my DD4 hasn't been to school but reads quite well. Many books for ages 6/7+ include themes about school or camp, etc, and she can't relate to them. So I'm always looking for books that meet her reading level and also have themes that she can relate to.

If people like this idea, we could also make a few of these threads by age group (e.g., pre-school aged, elementary aged, middle school aged, high school aged). If people like this approach, I'll set up a bunch of threads labeled The Ultimate Book Thread: Pre-schoolers, and TUBT: Elementary, etc. etc.

I'm going to start with a recommendation for pre-schoolers.


I bought Fire Cat by Pippa Goodhart. It's a story about a boy living in London in 1666, during the great fire. He mistakenly believes that his chubby male cat has become lost and tries to find him when he goes out with family friend Samuel Pepys. Turns out that his male kitty was a female who was, ahem, with kitten. She was hiding at home giving birth the entire time.

The AR Bookfinder rates it as a grade level 3.5, yet the boy has a very pre-schooler kind of face. I really liked that. DD4 learned vocabulary words and a little bit of history and geography from it.


DS9 grabbed it as soon as saw it and was fascinated by it, too.

The story might be a bit scary for very sensitive kids; DD4 didn't seem bothered by it, though.

Fire Cat at amazon.com


Again, it you like this idea, let me know and I'll set up some Ultimate Book Threads by age group.

Val

Great Idea Val. We just started reading a fantastic book and I wasn't sure how to share. It's the Penderwicks series by Jeanne Birdsall. About 4 kids who seem to be really smart. We are only on chapter 4 of the first book. But already I like that it. It seems made to appeal to kids who LIKE to read. A refreshing change from some recent books of "high interest" "low reading level" aimed at the reluctant readers.
There are 4 sisters (the Penderwicks) ranging in age from 4 to teenage, and a dad. The dad is a botanist who is passionate about his work, but also attentive to his family. The girls are academic oriented- one writes, one does algebra for fun, one is creative and shy, and the other is a sensible mother figure (mom died).
It seems an easy read. I'm reading it to the kids because they are always a little nervous about a new book (will it be scary?), but I expect they will grow tired of waiting for me and take it over soon. DD is 7 and could easily have read it last year. So, about a 3rd or 4th grade level, I'd estimate.

Thank you, Val, what a wonderful idea!

I thought I'd start by mentioning one of my all-time favourites: "Wolf Story" by William McCleery (illustrations by Warren Chappell) c. 1947. It's a great read-aloud for ages probably 2 to 7 or 8 or so, and Harpo enjoyed reading it on his own when he was about 4 and 5.

It's funny and sweet. In a series of installments that starts one night at bedtime, a father tells his smart and rather crafty five-year-old son Michael a story about a hen named Rainbow, Waldo the wolf, and a bright and brave young farm lad named Jimmy Tractorwheel. Michael and his six-year-old best friend Stefan suggest various plot twists as the story unfolds; each installment is accompanied by a certain amount of negotiation with Michael's inventive father.

It's 82 pages, with charming black and white drawings; it has a nice amount of white space on the page, and a generous size of type and amount of leading for a young reader. I'd say it's a good early venture into chapter books.

peace
minnie

Wonderful idea Val! I'll talk about what we were reading tonight: Bunnicula, by Deborah and James Howe. I remember liking it when I was little too. This story, about a possible vampire bunny, is told by Harold the dog. My DS5 has been grinning ear to ear at the antics of Harold and his friend Chester, the cat. (He was laughing hysterically when the animals tried to pound a raw steak into the bunny's heart). The age range says 9-12, but definitely good for the younger gifted set (although it might be scary for the very sensitive ones). 98 pages, very quick read.

Oh Wow Val--This may be my dream thread

We loved Fire Cat by the way...Let's see if I remember this correctly...

"You aren't a good cat and you're not a bad cat. You're a mixed up cat" (or something like that...).

I don't know where to start with a recommendation, we have so many favorites, but the age of your child made me remember (quite fondly) reading aloud the Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace.

The series starts with Betsy-Tacy, which is actually my least favorite of the series. It has a slightly different style and Tacy's baby sister dies, which some children might find disturbing (although my usually very sensitive DD didn't seem bothered). In that book, Betsy and Tacy are 4-5 years old, so many young readers might enjoy that connection. The girls age a bit in each successive book, and in the 2nd or 3rd book, they are joined by the character of Tib. If you have concerns about the first book, it's very easy to start with the second book. You do need to read the books in order, however, where ever you decide to start.

Here's why I love this series.

1) It's set around the turn of the century (not our most recent turn )and has a small-town innocence throughout. The girls' adventures are rooted in a time when young children could wander their neighborhoods without constant supervision by adults.

2) It's a wonderful model for girls. Having read them as a young girl myself, I was a bit worried about how I'd feel about them as an adult. I was pleasantly surprised by how progressive they were both for the time they were set and for the time in which they were written.

3) Betsy, Tacy and Tib are wonderful characters. It's a treat to get to know them and to watch them grow up. There are wonderful life lessons in their experiences, great decisions (good and bad) to be talked about.

4) Because of the age range covered by the series, it's a series that could be read slowly over a few years. Maybe every birthday or start of school year (many of the books begin with the start of school) could be the occasion to start a new book.

I recommend this series as a read aloud for younger children and as an independent read or read aloud for older children. In retrospect, I wish that I had bought each book as we read them rather than checking them out of the library. I think that they would have been read and re-read if they'd been around the house.

Hi, great thread idea!


I think the Fire Cat book Taminy lists is different than the one Val mentions. I know the one you mention Taminy, and it's great too - but no boy is in it. Here is a link.
http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Cat-Can-Read-Book/dp/0064440389

I am probably the only mom here who remembers a child who didn't read to themselves at 2,3 or 4...but who was interested in 2nd grade books when they were age 4 and 4th grade books at age 6...
Ds9 was this way, and dd3, though a bit more of a reader than ds, is leaning this way too. Basically the inverse of Val's original idea.
They love to be read to, even now at age 9 ds will still ask to have a few pages read to him from whatever tome he is reading.

So, my recommendations are, even if it seems odd, if you child is interested in having things like books 1-5 of Harry Potter read to them at age 6, go for it (time permitting!)

Oops. Chris is right! Different Fire Cat. Well, at least that clears up my confusion about the scariness of Fire Cat .

I realized I didn't put a link in for the Betsy-Tacy books, so for anyone who's interested, here are two links (the second is background about the book/author):

http://www.amazon.com/Betsy-Tacy-Betsy-Tacy-Books-Lovelace/dp/0064400964

http://www.betsy-tacysociety.org/

Chris,
You aren't the only parent here who didn't have an avid, independent reader in pre-school. My DS7 wasn't into reading to himself much in pre-school either, although he would pore over picture-rich non-fiction of all levels. In fact, at 3 and 4, he preferred non-fiction read aloud (and boy was I glad when THAT passed....) At 5 he really enjoyed those abridged illustrated classics as first "long" read alouds. He and my husband read White Fang; 20,000 leagues under the sea; Treasure Island... I hope some day he'll go back and read the complete versions as well.

LOVE THIS THREAD!! Thanks!!

My DS4 has been really enjoying the Magic Tree House series (sort-of historical fiction). I've had trouble finding "chapter" books for him that are boy-ish and not filled with potty humor that isn't appropriate or is over his head.

He loves non-fiction books and reads those most often. The books sold through Usborne are a particular favorite. They tend to be crammed with both tons of information and pictures. Perfect for his brain which is always on overdrive.

I'd love any suggestions for a biography or non-fiction history series that is still fairly easy to read (i.e. 2nd-3rd grade level).

Hi, sittin pretty!

I'm with you about nice "boy" books not filled with potty humour and so on--hard-ish to find.

These are not the nonfiction books for which you asked (I'll give that a think), but some fiction books at more or less the reading level I think you're seeking and which I've found very appealing to my boys (4, 6, & 8) are:

1) Esther Averill's Cat Club series (the most boylike ones are The Hotel Cat, Captains of the City Streets, and Jenny Goes to Sea, I'd say, but they're all good): this is a lovely series of short-ish chapter books (about 120 pages, picturesquely illustrated, with nice big print) from the 1950s. Several cats have a club, with lots of meetings (all conducted in a very orderly fashion!) and subsequent adventures. There are some humans, but they are mostly around the fringes of the stories; the heroine cat is Jenny, but she has brothers and male friends, who generally get large chunks of the action, too. What Frenchie (my husband) and I love about these books, apart from the general air of fun, is the tone: the cats are all terribly polite to one another, and are greatly concerned both with decorum and with the effect of their actions on others. It seems strange to say this about talking animal books, but if I had to pick one adjective to describe the series, I'd say they were genteel. (published by the New York Review of Books)

2) Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf by Catherine Storr has been a big hit here; a wolf wants to eat a little girl, who outsmarts him repeatedly. He has many fantastical schemes for getting her in his clutches (think Wile E. Coyote), but she is far too clever to let herself be caught. Despite the female protagonist, this is a particular favourite with my lads. (published by Jane Nissen Books)

3) The Great Piratical Rumbustification and The Librarian and the Robbers, by Margaret Mahy, with pictures by Quentin Blake. Very short (I'd say more short story length than chapter book, although they are divided up into chapters), and very witty. In the first one, three children are left with a babysitter who turns out to be a pirate, who promptly throws a big party for other pirates at the children's house. Mayhem ensues, but all turns out for the best. Funny and a bit zany. In the second, a librarian is kidnapped by villains, who are converted to good guys by literature and a good woman--gotta love that! (published by David Godine)

For a couple of excellent boy read-alouds for that age (I'd say they're about grade 5 or 6 reading level? I'm not good at estimating that sort of thing), try Philippa Pearce, especially Minnow on the Say (perfection!) and Tom's Midnight Garden. They're Puffins from the '50s, but are still in print. In Minnow on the Say, two boys (who seem to be elevenish or so) spend their summer in a canoe, seeking clues to an old family mystery involving hidden treasure, the finding of which will enable the older boy's family to stay in their ancestral home. Really wonderful--the zenith of boys' books! In Tom's Midnight Garden, the hero is sent away to stay with an aunt while the rest of his family is in quarantine (measles or some such); the aunt's house turns out to be magic, and he has time-travel adventures of a gentle and touching sort. Very good indeed.

Hope some of those will appeal--

peace
minnie

What a great idea for a thread - I'll definitely look up some of these.

Our favourite series here is Enid Blyton's Famous Five - and if your children enjoy them there's plenty to keep them busy - I think there are over 20 in the series. And since they're 1940s-ish vintage definitely not a trace of toilet humour (told the boys only tonight that the police don't consider it murder if you strangle your children for continuous toilet jokes). Lots of villains, hidden dungeons, secret passages etc.

Nonfiction book, easy read, big ideas, great for boys??
(and girls!)

My DS loved loved loved this one:

'Now and Ben
The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin'

A colorful picture book of the various inventions which Benjamin Franklin came up with or improved on. Brief but insightful discussion of why his inventions have been so long-staying in usefulness. This was perfect for our ds, as he is a bit of a global thinker/inventor type himself. It shows the side of Benjamin Franklin you don't often see in the history books: a playful boy, a lover of books and of course, wicked smart!
Illustrations are detailed, with lots of little 'oh, look!' moments.

http://www.amazon.com/Now-Ben-Inventions-Benjamin-Franklin/dp/0805079173

History books? Second grade? Blast to the past

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b_0_17?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=blast+to+the+past+series&sprefix=blast+to+the+past

There's a whole series. Similar to magic tree house, but more on a specific person.

Oh I am so excited to find this thread! What a great idea! We are all book fiends at our house, and finding quality books of an appropriate reading and interest level can be so challenging. I especially appreciate people including notes on scary topics for sensitive kids.

I second the Magic Tree House Series suggestion. Those are the books that really got my DD5 excited about reading on her own. She just couldn't wait for me to be available to read to her. We have found that a few of them have topics too scary for her such as ghosts and mummies, but they are easy to avoid.

For science enthusiasts, I recommend the Magic School Bus chapter books. (Not the MSB picture books, though those are good too for a lower reading level.) They are at a slightly higher reading level (~grade 3.5) than the Magic Tree House books and are packed full of science facts. They are about a class of students who often take magical field trips in their school bus with their eccentric teacher. Each book concentrates on one topic such as space, bones, or bats. My DD5 is very sensitive to scary topics and has not been bothered by any of these books.

Let me say again, I love this thread!

My DH, on the other hand, may not be so thrilled when he sees the latest Amazon charge.

Thanks, everyone!!

Also, for parents of boys: I find this website interesting (http://www.guysread.com/) but I wish the suggestions were better organized by reading ability level.

Don't forget the Little House on the Prairie set. I believe there are 9 of them. Then there are the Caroline years, the Charlotte years, and the Martha years, and finally the Rose years.
I had thought they were a difficult read, but I was wrong. We waited longer than necessary to do them (7). They are long but about 3rd grade I think when it comes to vocabulary and sentence structure.
Of course, they are about life a long time ago with Laura Ingalls Wilder. The cool thing is that they have a lot of history in them. But some books are hard to get.

STORY/PICTURE BOOKS:
1) Burt Dow, Deep Water Man by Robert McClosky (IMO the smartest childrens book ever written-)
2) Henry Builds a Cabin and others in the series (cute simpel storeis based on H.D.Thoreau.)
3) Miss Rumphius
4) Amos and Boris by william Steig (also Brave Irene)
5) The little red lighthouse and the great gray Bridge

CHAPTER BOOKS
Most Roald Dahl (all about 4th grade level, very funny books):
-George's marvelous Medicine
-The Twits
-The BFG
-James and the Giant Peach

-Catwings - about 2-3 grade level, very sweet, great for boys or girls and animal lovers

-Gooseberry Park- Cynthia Rylant

-Dinotopia- James Gurian - original beautiful picture books (with very challenging and interesting text)..

-Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh

happy reading

irene

We are using the "easy" version of the classics - though depends on what age and whether the parent finds the material appropriate. Good ones for boys so far have been: Robin Hood, Oliver Twist, Moby Dick, Dracula;

I've heard Diary of a Wimpy Kid is good for around 8-9 yrs old that like humor?

I would also look for easy versions of Count of MonteCristo and anything by Victor Hugo. No need to shy away from the classics!

The Green Book is also a neat story on Amazon - about a family that have to leave earth for a new planet.

The easy versions of the classics have interested me too. I'm split between giving them those, or having them listen to audio books of the "real thing".. The original Peter Pan (not sure of author, i think his name is JM Barrie) book is a tough tough read- full of British-isms, etc. I just purchased the audio book of it and am curious if my DD7 will have interest in it and be able to absorb some of the vocabulary this way. He loved listening to the unabridged versions of: The BFG, Trumpet of the Swan, James and Giant Peach (after reading book), and Matilda. We have many other audio books but those are the favorites so far. But Peter Pan would be a much bigger deal since i think it runs about 8 hours.

irene

Another one for boys. I see that Roald Dahl has been mentioned quite a bit, but no Charlie. My DS5 asked the other day if we could buy Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (the sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), because he loved it so much. We didn't like the Chocolate Factory quite as much, but that's good too.

The main reason DS loves the Glass Elevator is that it involves space wars against the Vermicious Knids, shape-shifting blobs that can destroy pretty much anything (but the glass elevator is Vermicious Knid-proof, and they burn up if they enter the Earth's atmosphere). The Vermicious Knids have come up in many of DS's own stories.

iagree with st pauli girl, "charlie" gets the most attention but i feel other dahl books are even better, not so spoiled by hollywood giving us images of what it should look like!

We loved "The Twits" and "The BFG" by Roald Dahl but I have to say to use caution with "James and the Giant Peach" for the sensitive kids out there. My son didn't make it thru the first chapter. Diary of a Wimpy kid was EXCELLENT for any one who has dealt with being the underdog! I just called hubby to pick up the "Glass Factory" book. I forgot about that one. Thanks StPauliGirl.

We also love the "Captain Underpants" and "Flat Stanley" and "Roscoe Riley Rules" series about boys who seem to find themselves in trouble a lot.

yes i should have mentioned James and giant peach starts out with the shock of the boys parents being eaten by a rhino loose from the zoo. My son read it AFTER "The enormous crocodile" and other Dahl books so he was accustomed to the comedy/tragedy elements. He still can not watch most Disney movies so he is also sensistive. This should be discussed prior to reading any Dahl.
irene

My kids are both huge fans of Roald Dahl--I think the BFG has been the hands down favorite.

For a read aloud, the Narnia series was good for our DS. It's not my style, so DH read it to DS7 (who was 6 at the time). I got a good deal on the entire set on CD (yay for clearance sales!) and we have been listening in the car (generally when we have longer drives to make). So far we've made it through the first 3 books. It's been a good way for me and my DD to get on board with the series so that we can have it in common with DS.

Speaking of DD....My voracious reader, who was always reading (and finishing) seveal books as once, is suddenly having a hard time connecting to books. She has read a couple of short books this summer and has been working her way through Grimm's Fairy Tales, but has mostly been picking books up, reading a chapter or two, and then abandoning them with a sigh. I'm not sure if it's just that nothing is measuring up to the last book we read, or what's up. Has anyone else had a similar experience? DD is just shy of 10.

My DD (7 years old in Sept) just started reading HP Book #3. She just loves them. In fact she called down, very excited, (when I thought she was asleep at 10:30 last night) to let us know that "Guess what??? Hagrid is now an instructor at Hogwarts!"

I haven't read any of them, but I am enjoying the movies with her! It is my understanding that the series gets darker as the books progress. This was all fine and good when the 1st book came out 10 years ago aimed at 10 year olds, which meant, of course, these same kids finished the series as young adults. However, my DD has access to all of the books now at age 6.

My question is at what point should she slow-down the pace of the HP series due to its content? As a reference point to her readiness: she hid under the blanket during the last 20 minutes of the 2nd movie. But it wasn't because she didn't want to see what happened - she just didn't want to see the snake.

It might happen naturally.

My DS7 just kept reading until they got a bit dark for him (somewhere around the middle of book 5).

My DS has read a lot of Roahld Dahl's books; especially loved BFG, Matilda (about a gifted little girl) and Witches. He is just about to read one of his collections of short stories.

I have mentioned before somewhere about the Emily Rodda books; Deltora Quest, Rowan of Rin, The Wizard of Rondo - my DS loved them.

He also loved the Narnia series.

He's currently giggling his way through the 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' series and has just finished giggling his way through 'Just Macbeth' by Andy Griffiths.

I'm writing this fresh from the theater--just saw HP 6 with DD and a couple of friends

When DD began reading the books she was about a year older then your DS. She picked up the first book over spring break and finished book 6 by the end of the school year (so I guess maybe 8-9 weeks?). I had already read the series, and I began rapidly re-reading them trying to stay one step ahead of her so that I could decide when she should "take a break". Silly me. I think her head would have exploded if I had interrupted the series!

What I realized as she went through the series was that some of the disturbing/dark aspects of the later books are disturbing because of the parallels we can make to the "real world". For her, with her limited understanding of the social-political world, there were parts that were sad and parts that were scary, but only in the same way that the Wizard of Oz is scary, if you know what I mean. Events were less "disturbing" to her than they were to me, because it was a completely fictionalized world in her reading of it. She has now re-read every book about a million times, and I can tell that there are parts that resonate differently with her now that she is older and has had more experiences.

That said, I recommend that you read them too (or listen on audio). The books were DD's favorite topic of conversation, to the exclusion of almost everything else. She was fascinated by the characters, by the direction of the story, by the choices characters made, etc.

Since few kids her age were reading them, and since many of the kids that were reading them were reading with a relatively superficial comprehension, she needed me to be her conversational partner. If your DS falls for them as hard as my DD, he'll be looking for someone to talk to, and may also find few good conversational partners in his peer group.

Really, some of my favorite memories with my DD will probably always be around her love of HP. When book seven came out later that summer, we dressed up, went to the midnight party, and came home with two copies so that we wouldn't have to fight over the book. We lucked out with her discovery of HP coming when the fervor was so high--it was great fun for her to swap predictions and opinions with her camp counselors at the ripe old age of 7 !

The Faraway tree series by Enid Blyton has wonderful characters (some laugh-out-loud ones! and beautuiful little stories for kids from, I would say 4 through 8:
http://www.amazon.com/Folk-Faraway-Tree-...4311&sr=8-1

Another Enid Blyton series is "the Find Outers". ANy of these 'detective stories' are really good, funny, and captivating with good characterisation, for boys (and girls -why not) from age 6 through 10 and older (heck, I love them myself. just beware - the main character, the brains of the outfit, is called Frederick Algernon Trottville - "Fatty" - which some may find offensive ?

http://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Banshee-To...4607&sr=1-1

Our ds fell off interest in having them read to him at the same point, I thought it was more about the fact that Harry wasn't a kid anymore, and was getting interested in kissing girls, but maybe it was too scary as well. Now that he's reading them himself I wonder if the same will occur. He had a friend who finished book 7 this year, age 8, and gave a report on it. One of the questions someone asked him was 'Did this book give you joy?' to which he responded, 'No', at least that's the story.
I could definitely see a kid that age loving the first several books but having the last few be set aside for later.

(Diary of a Wimpy Kid was a huge hit for ds,too.)

George's Secret Key to the Universe
George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt
both by Stephen Hawking and Lucy Hawking.

http://www.amazon.com/Georges-Secret-Uni...5812&sr=8-2

My DS8 who loves math and science really enjoyed them. They are full of science concepts with interesting stories.

Hank the Cowdog series by John R. Erickson
Very funny series.

Hank Zippzer series by Henry Winkler andLin Oliver.

http://www.amazon.com/Niagara-Falls-Does...7142&sr=1-1

My 2E son loves Hank, who has learning disabilities.

Pick Me Up
http://www.amazon.com/Pick-Me-Up-Jeremy-Leslie/dp/0756621593/ref=ed_oe_h

Very interesting non-fiction with full of information about many subjects.

We have a few favorite series for DD6. She plows through these books like there is no tomorrow, only to reread them again and again and again...


The Pony Crazed Princess: Princess Ellie Adventures about a princess who would rather be with her horses than be a princess by Diana Kimpton

The Disney Fairy Stories, about Tinkerbell and all of the other fairies that live in Pixie Hollow.

Ivy and Bean Series by Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall about 2 7 yr olds (I think they're about that age) who are neighbors and get into all sorts of mischief together.

And she recently started the series by E.D. Baker With the books Frog Princess and Dragons Breath in it. These are about a princess who kisses a frog to turn him into a human and she ends up turning into a frog instead. DD was laughing out loud when she read these two books, so I'm sure we'll be getting the rest from the library soon.

When she needs a break from these she reads the Berenstain Bears chapter books, which are fun to read.

And of course there's "Stig Of The Dump" by Clive King
marvellous!
http://www.amazon.com/Stig-Dump-Puffin-M...8274&sr=1-1

Can I add a couple of recent reads?

"David and the Phoenix" by Edward Ormondroyd (Purple House Press, reprint of 1957 original): 175 pages, fantasy, about David, a boy of about 7 or 8, I'd say, and his adventures with the Phoenix, who lives up the mountain behind his house. The Phoenix is being stalked by an evil Scientist, who wants it for a specimen. David and the Phoenix conjure up various plots, some of which involve travel to the abodes of mythical creatures (Gryffins, Sea Monster, Banshee, Leprechaun, etc.), for foiling the Scientist's scheme. Sadness warning for the sensitive: the Phoenix dies on a pyre, but of course, a new Phoenix (who seems to retain some glimmerings of the memories of the original bird) arises from the ashes.

Reading level is hard to pin down on this one, though my older two haven't had any trouble with it, and the youngest is enjoying it as a read-aloud; the narrative itself is quite easy reading, but the Phoenix has amusingly elevated speech, so the dialogue is a good deal more difficult than the rest. Try it around 6, maybe?

Tove Jansson's "Finn Family Moomintroll" (originally published 1948, in print in Puffin, 150 pages) is the first of a series about funny little critters (the Moomintrolls, the Hemulen, the Snork Maiden, the Muskrat, Snufkin, Thingumy and Bob, usw) who live in the Valley of the Moomins, eat lots of pancakes, and have various adventures together; in this volume, the action is mostly motivated by the discovery of a magic hat, the results of the use of which are sometimes funny, sometimes useful, and sometimes unexpected and rather unpleasant. These books are pretty odd, but we like them--quirky drawings, funny little footnotes on several pages, stories that turn out all right in the end, characters who are (mostly) kind to one another....About a grade 3 or 4 reading level, maybe? (I'm sorry, I just don't know how to gauge these things very well.)

An adult book I recently reread which I think kids from about 12 would enjoy is "English Creek" by the wonderful Ivan Doig. It's the first-person narrative of an almost 15-year-old boy growing up along the eastern front of the Rockies in Montana in 1939. The summer of that year changed his life and the lives of his family, and it's a skilfully done, sensitive, and funny evocation of that betwixt-and-between age of no longer a child, not yet a man. It's also a wonderful snapshot of a particular place and time (Doig has a PhD in history, and it shows in most of his books, though he wears it lightly). The author is a brilliant stylist, and I think teens would really enjoy his use of language. (There is some not-very-serious profanity and the occasional mildly rude joke, if those sorts of things worry you any.)

Anyway, I hear some books calling...off to read!

peace
minnie

Oh golly- I really enjoyed reading this thread!
Already mentioned, I have to second:
the Moomintrolls series of books- whimsical, delightful!
And the Jenny Linsky cat club books- very fun.

I wanted to suggest:
The Cay by Theodore Taylor- preteen book. About a boy who is shipwrecked and blinded- stranded with a sailor- book about survival and love. Good ending but some tragedy involved. I remember loving this book.

Mr7 is reading (I should say ploughing through) The Hobbit (when he can wrestle it off me). It is fantastic. I read it a long time ago but forgot what a treat it is.

Our book of the day today was Thomas Keneally's "Ned Kelly and the City of Bees" (1978, repr. by David Godine, ca. 125 pages, approx. grade 5? reading level). Set in Australia (in maybe the late 1940s?), it's the story of 10-year-old Ned, who is confined to hospital with acute appendicitis. His loneliness is assuaged by the visit of a friendly worker bee, who shrinks him down to her size and takes him back to her hive, where he spends his summer. A curious and enjoyable book (with lots of information to be gleaned about bees and their habits), with a surprise ending...

peace
minnie

My DS7 loves mysteries, so I'm constantly on the look out for good ones. His favorites so far:

Encyclopedia Brown- good, short mysteries that let the reader try to solve it before they reveal the answer and how Encyclopedia solved it. Grade level: mid elementary for difficulty, but DS was devouring them at 6.

Series of Unfortunate Events- he started this series recently and I worried that it was too dark, especially because it's a mystery without a happy ending. It actually ended up being a good bridge between the lighter, fluffier mysteries written for 3rd or 4th graders and the somewhat darker books written for Middle Schoolers. Grade Level: mid-late Elementary, but not for really sensitive kids.

Great Illustrated Classics- there are 3 Sherlock Holmes Mysteries available from them. They are very, very abridged versions of the originals, with illustrations that take up whole pages and huge typeface. But my DS loved them! The books inspired him to look for the original Sherlock Holmes books and while he wasn't able to read them yet, I am all for a book that motivates kids to find out more, even if it isn't the truest rendering of the original stories. Grade Level: difficulty is probably mid elementary, but the text size and copious illustrations make it accessible to much younger taglets.

Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys, the original series- DS found these a few weeks ago and is absolutely in love. I like that they're written at a higher level, but because they're from the 50s, other than some mild sexism, there aren't hugely inappropriate themes or situations. It's also nice that both series have a huge number of books, which can be found for dirt cheap at garage sales and Goodwill when we exhaust our library's offerings. Grade Level: Middle School for difficulty, but the text size and occasional illustrations make the books friendly to 6 or 7yo taglets.

Can't believe the "Magic Far Away Tree" just got a mention! Thanks for the link. I literally just started in on this book with DS6 this week and was wondering if anyone, anywhere else still reads Enid and her British books! They are so British in tone - they make me giggle now that we live in the US! I was wondering if they were still available and up on Amazon. I'm reading him the book I've owned since I was a child. I'm a big "Famous Five" and "Island of Adventure" series fan of Enid's. They were always the "Nancy Drew" counterpart weren't they? Although I read many of these books as late as 10 yrs of age and older - because I wasn't exposed to them earlier - I think many a younger child can enjoy them. We recently also read her "Bedtime Stories" - many of which were silly and old fashioned - but she does clever things for children, like use rhyming words or riddles in her stories, poetry mixed in, old fashioned morals - always a consequence to your actions type tone - and sometimes prayers - depending on the book - and she never ceases to fire up the imagination. I think there is something about her writing that just totally resonates with how children think. DS6 is alreayd in love with Moon Face, the slippery slip slide down the center of the Tree and the thought of magical lands appearing int he cloud. We are only on Chatper 3 and he is begging eveyr night to read the next chapter before th next day comes around! It's innocent 5-6 yr old fun that you don't really find easily these days in popular culture anymore. "Pop Biscuit" anyone?

Oh my goodness........flood of forgotten childhood memory ..wasn't that a BBC TV Series at one point ....I'm having flashbacks to totally loving that story and show and had totally forgotten about it ........Raddy freaks IronMOM out this week!!

Yup - seem to remember "Tom's Midnight Garden" was a tv series too - and that's still on Amazon as a paperback - unlike Enid Blyton - it's still in print . Great story about finding a window in time - which I think appeals to kids - especially gifted kids that can understand the concepts.

JAW HITS FLOOR - Enid's collection of "Far Away Tree" stories worth over $1000.00 if anyone has copies lurking at home !!!!!!!!! Who knew? Typical for such great and innocent stories to be completely OUT OF PRINT today!! But Sponge Bob - he's still alive and kicking. (Excuse me whilst I barf).

LOL about Sponge Bob reference...

I remember a book I loved called "the Egypt Game", and another one, "A Summer to Die" sad, but great for kids that feel misunderstood or in someone else's shadow-

Aaahh, IronMom, you're a woman after me own heart....

BOO SpongeBob, Hiss, Moan....

Our benighted public library keeps DISCARDING lovely children's novels (by Dick King-Smith, for instance, or William Mayne) and replacing them with cartoon tie-ins; it makes me very cross (even though we personally benefit because I scoop up lots of nice books for a quarter apiece!)--there are so many wonderful books that kids visiting the library might never see. My rants in the suggestion box have so far gone unheeded, however!

peace
minnie

PS I think Frenchie has read every Enid Blyton in existence! Too bad so many are out of print, as it would be fun to reload his shelves with the Five and the Seven, at least.

PS again--A friend gave Harpo a SpongeBob "book" (I use the term loosely, you understand) for his second birthday, and I just couldn't read the thing--Bob was supposed to be having a garage sale, and that pink thing, whatever it's called, was helping him move stuff out of his cave to sell; Bob, greedy thing, decided he couldn't part with any of his possessions because he was all about the stuff! Nice message. We changed it to Bob and the pink thing gathering up all their stuff to give to the St Vincent de Paul, and then we just threw the silly volume away.

Minnie, if Frenchie has read every Enid Blyton - what did he think of the Wishing Chair books? I'm wondering if were typical or different from her usual. We have the two-in-one volume, afraid I don't like it much at all, though this is possibly due to the circumstances in which it was read.

"Egypt Game" was Zilpha Keatley Synder - she has written many very good books, which fortunately our library has not yet thrown off the shelves in spite of their aged covers.

Looking up the spelling of Snyder's name, I was reminded by Amazon of "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin. This is a mystery that DD12 enjoyed quite a lot perhaps two years ago. We've been looking for something similar off and on since then - haven't quite hit it yet. As I recall, plot, point of view, and language were all somewhat more complex than is typical in mysteries written for pre-teens. I enjoyed it a lot myself, not sure how I missed reading it as a child.

(There are so *many* good books....)

DD2 is too young,just what I read as a child:

Astrid Lindgren (author of Pippi Longstocking) has written several cute children's books that would be appropriate even for really early readers. I loved The Children of Noisy Village the most. I liked anything from Enid Blyton, I'm sure you can find all of them used from Amazon or ebay. Some of the others that are maybe more suitable for a school age child: Daniel Defoy Robinson Crusoe, Jonathan Swift Gulliver, Mark Twain Huckleberry Finn & Tom Sayer, Jules Verne, Narnia and The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Erich Kästner books like Emil and the detectives (kind of like Famous Five) and Lottie and Lisa (the book behind the Parent trap movies).

For girls: LM Montgomery books like Anne of Green Gables, Louisa M Alcott little women etc, Mary Poppins for younger kids, Pollyanna is adorable too, Susan Coolidge Katy books, Johanna Spyri's Heidi, Jean Webster also has some.

Then if you search famous inventors like Edison from Amazon Children's book sections you can find nice biographies for elementary school aged kids. We used to read ton's of those too as a kid some of them were actually my fathers when he was a little boy.

Has anyone read the books about the Melendy family? I read them over and over as a child and DD9 and I read them when she was around 7. They were a huge hit. When DS7 and I finish the On The Banks of Plum Creek, I'm thinking about grabbing that next.

First book: The Saturdays
Second book: The Four Story Mistake
Third book: Then There Were Five


My DS7 (then 6) loves the Edward Eager books (like Half Magic).

For mystery buffs, some kids might like Chasing Vermeer (which has a pentomino thing running through it). It has two sequel books. My observation is that kids either connect to this...or they don't.

Great Thread....don't have tons to mention that hasn't been mentioned yet.
Recent books DS5 has read include: Three Tales of my Father's dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett. It's actually three separate books as well..but there is one with them all together. It's a neat book about a boy who sets out to save a baby dragon who is being held captive by animals to transport wild animals back and forth between islands. He goes to rescue the dragon with items in his bag and has to go through many obstacles and interactions with other animals. I can't remember which things happen in which books since we read them all together, but they were all pretty good. Not sure reading level...maybe 3rd grade.

Currently reading the invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. It is quite interesting. DS got it as a gift for his recent birthday. I would guess reading level is 5th grade....but he can read it fine and introduces lots of new vocabulary. Also tons of great pictures. It's an interesting book because it goes back and forth between pictures and text. Here is the synopsis (I cut and paste since we are only 2/3 through the book.

ORPHAN, CLOCK KEEPER, AND THIEF, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

kcab, Frenchie says he doesn't remember those ones very well at all, I'm afraid--the ones he liked best were the Famous Five and the _______of Adventure ones (this was 50 years ago, mind you! We are old parents....and his parents long since donated all his childhood books to the church jumble sale). The only Blyton I've ever read were one or two of the Noddy books, which I disliked, as I recall...but different strokes for different folks, I guess.

oli, interesting about Emil and the Detectives--another of my husband's childhood favourites. Jean Webster wrote Daddy Long Legs, didn't she? I loved that one as a girl (and our copy was one my grandfather gave to my grandmother when they were a-courtin', with a sweet inscription--it always added a particular flavour to a re-read of that book).

Taminy, I like the looks of the Melendy books--thanks for the tip!

Another of our summer's books is Penelope Lively's "The Voyage of QV66" (1978, repr. Jane Nissen 2005, ~175 pp, illustrations by Harold Jones, grade 6ish? reading level). All five of us loved this one. This book, I would say, is unique--it's a post-apocalyptic comedy, talking-animals road story. England is covered with flood waters, all the humans are gone, and a few animals are left. One small group of them (Pal the dog, Ned the horse, Freda the cow, Pansy the kitten, Offa the pigeon, and Stanley the nobody-knows-what [he's a monkey]; they are later joined by the Major, a parrot) set off by boat on a journey of discovery, to learn what they can about what Stanley is, and if there are any other creatures like him in the world. They have lots of adventures and get into plenty of scrapes, which they work through in various inventive ways, always looking out for one another even when they are profoundly exasperated with each other. Although hilariously funny, it's in many ways a very serious book, inviting the reader to consider large questions, most notably how one might find a place to belong in the world.

peace
minnie

We read a gorgeous book today: "The Old Man Mad About Drawing," by Francois Place, translated by William Rodarmor (David Godine, 2004; you should look at Godine's list in general, as he prints very beautiful books: www.godine.com ). It's a profusely illustrated biography of the famous Japanese artist Hokusai; in the story (which takes place in 1850), he is 90 years old, and takes a young boy named Tojiro under his wing. Tojiro is an orphan who has been ill-treated by his guardian; his time with Hokusai changes the entire direction of his life.

It's essentially a picture book, but an unusually long one (106 pp), and it might be just the ticket for a young advanced reader who still enjoys having lots of illustrations along with the story. There's plenty to like here: the reader not only learns about Hokusai's life and art, but also about Japanese culture (for example, Shintoism and Buddhism, Kabuki theatre, Sumo wrestling, the samurai, etc.) and the craft of engraving and the business of publishing. Hokusai is a brilliantly inspirational example of someone who never stopped learning; he looks forward to being 100 or 110, by which time he will have advanced still further in his art.

Most of the (very lovely) art is by the author, but there are also several reproductions of Hokusai's work, which my children loved. Everyone scuttled off for drawing pens and paper after we read this story today, which I always view as a good sign.

Hope this will suit someone!

peace
minnie

OMG Minnie!!! Thanks so much for posting this. DS9 loves Hokusai, since seeing an incredible show of his work in D.C. at the Freer. We brought home the catalog, and he has a great poster in his room; we enjoy spotting prints of his Great Wave /aka one of the views of Mt. Fuji...the book sounds totally inspirational.

After reading in the catalog that Hokusai sometimes signed his name as 'Man gone Mad with Pictures', it just made me laugh and think about my son who draws everything/anything he's excited about.
Hokusai, a man who created 1000's of works of amazing art, many of them iconic even in the West, died wishing he had a few more years to become a 'real painter'. He is an extremely interesting character, and ds is very much into books with more pictures than words so I'm hoping this will be a winner. thanks again!

I have to say, well....we've had a Spongebob book or two which has been actually *good*.
Ds wanted to join a book club, and picked the nickelodeon one from the scholastic catalog. I figured we'd get a few of the books and I'd cancel, which did happen, but the few we received contained several Spongbob books. The best one incorporated story lines from several fairy tales, and even refernces to Shakespeare.

I am a goof, and really go for the Spongebob-esque humor on the show, and the books were ok by me. Especially the one I describe (If I lay my hands on it, I will post the exact title). Anyway, while all the other books (Jimmy Neutron and some other show I can't remember) were very uninteresting/badly written, the Spongebob ones stood out as B's in a field of C's (or much worse).

The materialistic message you describe seems a bit unusual for Spongebob, typically the guy is just ridiculously ethical to the point of being a huge pain in the rear
....and then even more unrealistically, everything works out for him because he 'did the right thing'.
It's likely with a franchise that big, their 'message' might be straying a bit..

The show can be repulsive (ick-humor) and I would never have watched it but for ds introducing it, but it does have it's moments.

Ooops, sorry Chris--I didn't mean to offend! I've never seen the show (we don't really do TV), and the only book I've seen is the one we had--so I guess the moral of the story is not to comment on what I don't know much about!

I guess it's sort of a bugbear for me personally, partly because of the dumbing-down of our public library, and partly because the only thing adults who don't know the kids well (ie barber, dentist, etc.) ever use as conversational gambits are things like SpongeBob and Bob the Builder and other stuff to which my guys have had no real exposure, and they are left hanging there with this deer-caught-in-the-headlights look (and I'm afraid I'm not willing to change our parenting decisions around pop culture and the relentless commercialisation of childhood just to make chatting with the barber easier). Why does no one ever ask them if they've heard any good jokes lately, or what kind of games they like to play?

Anyway, sorry...But glad the Hokusai book looks good to you!

peace
minnie

Not at all offended, just wanted to defend my poor Spongebob

I know I definitely check the freebie/discard bin outside our library and have been simultaneously appalled/delighted with my finds! (I mean, do we have to chuck 'Persuasion'????)

I agree completely with how kids can feel like they're in a foreign country in their own classroom/community if they don't have all the latest tv knowledge...for better/worse we've started down the slippery slope and here we are. For our ds it has helped to have more things in common -- but he doesn't have 2 bro's with great senses of humor!!
I love the sense of freedom your boys seem to have in your posts,
something we've tried to cultivate in our ds...showing him how cool it is to really be yourself and I think he gets it, definitely, but it's hard out there in elementary school, so we've accepted his push-back on a lot of the popular stuff.

Many thanks for all the great references in the past and for the one on the H. book!

Well...now you've done it, I've gone off researching the intellectual underpinnings of Spongebob and found:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/how-sponge-bob-works.htm

Interesting to note, I think, the creator is previously an educator in the field of Marine Biology, and then also an animator. Voila, Monsieur Spongebob.
"Hillenburg wanted his lead character to possess similar qualities to famous funny men like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin- both of whom played innocent characters"

My apologies to this thread for going Sooooo far afield from the area of amazing book recommendations. But I figured no way was I gonna start a new thread just for S.B.

Can someone on the board recommend some high quality picture books for younger kids who read at advanced grade level. My DS7 just finished first grade, reading level is about R-S for guided reading or about 5-6th grade. He will read chapter books if they are intensely interesting, but continually requests picture books. He even asked if i could get chapter books tha have illustrations on every page!! (tall order).. My local librarian told us there were lots of picture books designed for older readers but we've only found a few at this point. Patricia Polacco seems like a good fit but the story i picked quickly for him is too mature (deals with Holocaust)..

irene

Irene, here are some that my boys liked:

"It Was a Dark and Stormy Night," Janet & Allan Ahlberg (Puffin, 1994); very witty, story-within-a-story structure. Young Italian boy captured by brigands, spins tall tales to keep the bad guys happy. Pictures every page!

Also by Allan Ahlberg (can't lay my hands on it right now, sorry for the incomplete info) and longer, is "The Better Brown Stories," with an even more sophisticated structure. A storybook family discovers the writer who is telling their story, and asks for revisions, with unpredictable results. Lots of pictures.

We love the illustrator Beth Krommes. "The Lamp, the Ice, and the Boat Called Fish," by Jacqueline Martin (Houghton Mifflin, 2001, 48 pp), is a beautiful and interesting book. It's based on a historical incident; an Inuit family is on a Canadian Arctic Expedition ship in 1913 that gets stuck in the ice for several months. The story of their survival and rescue is well-researched and inspiring. Pictures (gorgeous ones!) on every page.

Another Krommes book, this one with Lise Lunge-Larsen, is "The Hidden Folk: Stories of Fairies, Dwarves, Selkies, and Other Secret Beings" (Houghton Mifflin, 2004, 72 pp). Well-told and beautifully illustrated traditional tales, with a picture on at least every two-page spread.

(Speaking of folklore, you might also try the d'Aulaire Norse and Greek mythology collections--lots of pictures there).

Another classic story you might look for is Kenneth Grahame's "The Reluctant Dragon." Sadly, this is most often seen abridged, but I believe the old edition with the Ernest Shepard illustrations is not abridged. Grahame's prose is challenging.

Do you like poetry? There are some lovely poetry picture books out there, with more fun in the language than you see sometimes in prose for this age. My kids liked, for instance, Charles Causley's "The Tail of the Trinosaur" (Jane Nissen, 2006, about 80 pp, and pictures on every one!), Dennis Webster's and Kim Webster Cunningham's "Absolutely Wild" (David Godine, 2009, about 40 pages, with the most fabulous woodcuts), and David Frampton's "Mr. Ferlinghetti's Poem" (Eerdmans, 2006, more wonderful woodcuts, for which I'm a big sucker!).

Anything there? You might also investigate the Hokusai biography I mentioned on the previous page; also my lads really like Tintin on days when they want stories with lots of pictures.

Hope that helps!

peace
minnie

DS6 loves the Rosco Riley series and has now found Captain Underpants and he loves it...how can you not love attacking toilets with teeth :-) He also loves any of the Roald Dahl books...his favorite movie when he was 4 was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I am thinking about starting him on some of my favorite series (Lion, Witch, Wardrobe...Prince Caspian) and these are way out of his league but was one of my favorite series of books...Madeleine L'Engle's books - A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time....I LOVED her books.

My ds-now-7 read a *lot* of great picture books when he was learning to read -- he taught himself to sight read with picture books. We never did early readers, but he pored over picture books every night!

Some of our favorites:

"Miss Rumphius" by Barbara Cooney:
http://www.amazon.com/Miss-Rumphius-Barb...1685&sr=1-1

"The Three Questions" and "Stone Soup" by Jon J. Muth -- these are fabulous picture books and I can't recommend them highly enough:
http://www.amazon.com/Jon-J-Muth/e/B001H6UCHW/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

"Imagine a Night" by Rob Gonsalves:
http://www.amazon.com/Imagine-Night-Rob-...1706&sr=1-1

Shel Siverstein writes wonderful poetry for kids that makes my ds laugh out loud:
http://www.amazon.com/Shel-Silverstein/e/B000AQ15KI/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

"The True Story of the Three Little Pigs" by Jon Scieszka:
http://www.amazon.com/True-Story-Three-L...1992&sr=8-1

"Dear Mrs. LaRue" by Mark Teague:
http://www.amazon.com/Dear-Mrs-Larue-Let...2038&sr=1-5

"Scaredy Squirrel" by Melanie Watt (one of ds7's all-time favorites):
http://www.amazon.com/Scaredy-Squirrel-M...2100&sr=1-1

A combo of Captain Underpants and Beverly Cleary's Henry Huggins books finally pushed my little guy over the edge, from picture books to chapter books. He also really enjoys (and has re-read many times) the American Girl books -- they're at all not "girly," they just happen to be about girls!

He will read chapter books now (very quickly!), but prefers non-fiction almost any day of the week. Have you tried much non-fiction for your ds?

We've just discovered the Zac Power books - not sure if these are available in stores in the States though (am in Australia). My boys (5 and nearly 7) are desperate for them. Zac is a 12 year old spy who races through 24 hour missions in between schoolwork and chores. His older brother Leon invents the gadgets for GIB (Government Investigation Bureau). The books have a reasonable number of diagrams of the gadgets (lava skis, robot octopus/submarine, personal hologram projector etc) and take about 45 minutes to read out loud. I find them rather too much like read-aloud cartoons, but this seems to be a positive thing in the minds of small boys.

Ooh, or what about Graeme Base? I loved "The Sign of the Seahorse" as a 5th grader -- I have to get that one for ds7!

http://www.amazon.com/Sign-Seahorse-Adve...4181&sr=1-9

A few that DS liked that haven't been mentioned -
Frank Asch's Cardboard Genius series comprised of the following 3 titles:
Star Jumper, Gravity Buster, Time Twister

One he could not put down recently:
Science Fair by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
This book deals with a conspiracy at a gifted school regarding science fair projects and the lengths crazy parents go to ensure that their children succeed.

We've had a big reading week here, as it has been so HOT (well, y'all in Texas or somewhere would laugh at what I call hot, but it has been very very hot for here, anyway, so we've cut back on some of our normal outdoor stuff and read more inside):

Pierre Berton, "The Secret World of Og" (1961; repr. 2002 Doubleday Canada, 160 pp., profusely illustrated in a nice childlike fashion by the author's daughter). Silly, but fun, this is a book written for the author's children, using their names and the names of their pets (Yukon King and Earless Osdick, too funny). Four older children follow their cat and baby brother down a trapdoor into a tunnel under their playhouse, and discover a world of little green men, whose only native word is "Og"; some of the creatures have learned English, though, from picking up comic books and so on left on the lawn or in the playhouse, so they have a limited and comic understanding of humanity. Grade 4ish-5ish reading level, I think.

Beverley Nichols, "The Tree that Sat Down" (first of a trilogy that also includes "The Stream that Stood Still" and "The Mountain of Magic," 1945, currently out of print, but lots of paperbacks from the '70s still available out there, I think). Fairy Tale in the classic mode, with the good people very very good, and the bad 'uns extremely wicked. Miss Judy and her Grannie run a lovely little shop and clinic for animals in the wood on Magic Mountain; bad Sam and bad Old Sam start up a rival shop in an old Ford, where they cheat the animals and try to destroy the competition by recruiting an evil witch named Miss Smith and her three poisonous toads. All turns out well in the end (though even when I was a child, I thought the ending was a bit over the top in a hackneyed sort of a way). The well-drawn characters are probably the strongest feature of the book. For an audience of maybe 6 to 9, say?

Allan Ahlberg, "The Boyhood of Burglar Bill," (Puffin 2008, 180 pp.), the second volume of Ahlberg's memoirs. This is a terrific read, very vividly written--the story of one year (1953) in Ahlberg's childhood, and the scratch team he and his classmates got together to enter in the Coronation Cup football tournament. It's wonderfully funny, with also many poignant moments, and such great writing. (There's a sort of afterword "Part Two" in the last twenty pages or so, that I skipped when reading it aloud to them--a rather cruel prank winds up having tragic consequences for one of Ahlberg's friends, and I didn't think my lads were quite up to that yet.)

David Almond, "My Dad's a Birdman," illustrated by Polly Dunbar (Candlewick, 2008, 120 pages, lots and lots of pictures). For younger readers than Almond's other books (the jacket says 4 to 8, but I think you could go either side of that a year or two). A father, grieving the loss of his wife, decides to enter the Great Human Bird Competition (organised by Mr Poop); he collects feathers, sews wings, makes a nest, eats bugs, and practises "flying". His daughter Lizzie tries to snap him out of it, but in the end, decides that entering the competition together would be kindest. Lizzie's Aunt Doreen and her headmaster, Mr Mortimer Mint, are the other characters, who also undergo changes as the story goes along. Like all of Almond's books, this one is about finding joy in darkness, the power of love, and the importance of imagination. Lovely.

And the best for last, David Almond, "Skellig," (Hodder Children's Books, 1998, Delacorte 1999, 182 pp, jacket says ages 8-12). Michael moves into a new house, but his baby sister is very ill, his parents are upset, and he feels powerless to help. He finds someone living in their ramshackle garage; the only person in whom he can confide about the stranger is his neighbour Mina. I don't want to say too much about this one--it is magical, and you should discover it for yourself--but we found this book to be a treasure. Mina shares her love of William Blake with Michael, and the story reminds one of Blake, I must say, with its hovering air of the spiritual and the very great beauty present throughout. Special.

peace
minnie

We read a fun one yesterday: "The Seventh Expert: An Interactive Medieval Adventure," by Mark Oakley and John Mantha (2008, Annick Press, 96 pp.). We've not read this kind of a book before, but it was quite entertaining.

It's 1368, and your village has been swept away in a storm; with six other community leaders, you relocate the survivors to a new village site, and for seven years, you try to ensure the survival of the community. You expend "effort" points on supplies and infrastructure (there's a catalogue at the end of the book), and respond to various random events, determined by rolling a die. Lots of bad things can happen: weather, bandits, plague, taxes (!), battle...The kids found it a challenge to accumulate enough food and so on to get through a winter in the face of all these trials and tribulations!

The book is well-researched; beside the main story, there are informative sidebars about various aspects of 14th-century life, as well as a brief but useful bibliography. Quite a fun way to learn some history!

The authors field-tested the book on grade 7 and 8 students, but it's eminently usable with younger ones, too.

peace
minnie

PS The game sheets are available at the publisher's website: www.annickpress.com . The Seventh Expert has its own microsite there, where the scoresheet can be found.

minnimarx - you find the best books! We'll have to check out the medieval adventure one.

We've been reading "The Wonder Clock, OR four and twenty marvellous Tales, being one for each hour of the day" by Howard Pyle (written in 1887!). Our library has a great copy. The narrator finds the wonder clock in Father Time's garret. It tells a story for each hour of the day (and in the book each hour is a chapter), and the tales are mixed-up fairy tales and myths. There are fun little poems to start off each hour of the day, by Katherine Pyle. I am surprised by the publication date just because the book is so wonderfully readable. Not the best for sensitive children, as their are some times when a hero gets his eyes put out (so far everyone's gotten his sight back!) Fun little morality tales, but true to many fairy tales, the female characters aren't the strongest.

And when I was double-checking on the date, I found the whole thing here: http://historyofideas.org/toc/modeng/public/PylWond.html (Still more fun for me to have a real book in my hands, though.)

This is nowhere near as high-quality as many of the books listed, but right now DS7 is greatly enjoying Cressida Cowell's series that starts with "How to Train Your Dragon by Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III". The series is about a young Viking hero (Viking and hero used very loosely), Hiccup, and his various adventures/misadventures. It's got a good dose of body humor, though not overwhelming to the same extent as Captain Underpants (which DS refuses to read for reasons unknown to me). Hiccup, his dragon, and his best friend are far from the accepted norms for his tribe, but they do manage to succeed at things, eventually, in their own way.

Anyway, DS is enjoying it and I like that - it's a little longer and more complex than the books he's been subsisting on for fiction. I like that it's published in hardcover and the typeface is easily read - that keeps it from setting off the "It's too hard for me to read" alarms in his head. Not sure of the reading level - maybe 3rd/4th grade? DD12 likes the series too and sneaks the books off to read as well.

thanks to everyone who gave me help with advanced picture books! So far I've found some great Graehme Base that my DD7 seems to really love (though they were out of Sign of the Seahorse). I am trying to find a way to print the thread so i have it as a reference , is there a way that anyone knows of?
thanks
irene

Looks like if you go to 'email post' on the first post, you can send that one and all replies. Don't know if it will really work, but worth a look.

Edit - I tried it, and now see a radio button 'entire thread' at the bottom. Worked for me. Good idea, too!

-Chris

Sounds fantastic!!

I've recommended this one before, but must again, as it surely belongs in this thread - the illustrations are jaw dropping, imo.
The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher.
Here is my original post, which also includes several other no-words books that are truly gorgeous.
Grey Lady thread

Ooh, Pauli, I like the look of that Howard Pyle book! The lads do really like older books, I must say. We'll look that one out.

kcab, I'd seen Cressida Cowell recommended on Amanda Craig's blog (she reviews children's literature for British newspapers, as well as writing novels herself); it's good to have a recommendation from someone I "know", too! They sound like fun books! (You're back home again now? If so, I hope you're feeling settled back in!)

Irene, we went through a Graeme Base phase here, too--aren't the pictures great? Also, he is very nice about answering fan mail!

I missed the Grey Lady thread the first time, Chris--that sounds lovely! As do several others on that thread--and isn't David Wiesner fun?

peace
minnie

Well, the lads and I had some beach time today, and it brought this one to mind: "Green Smoke," by Rosemary Manning (1957, repr. Jane Nissen 2008, ~150 pp), a perfect beach story! (Enjoy summer while you can...)

A little girl named Susan is on a beach holiday in Cornwall; in a secret cove, she discovers a lovely creature, R. Dragon by name, who is 1500 years old. (In fact, he lived for a time at the court of King Arthur, a fact which interests Susan very much.) R. Dragon was tamed by St Petroc; he has no teeth, and has very nice manners, so he is not in the least frightening. He is vain, though, and rather greedy (he's very fond of Susan's biscuits and almond buns), but mainly he is full of interesting stories. He also takes Susan on some very exciting adventures, including tea with a mermaid. There are charming drawings by Constance Marshall. It's a book full of jokes and fun--just right for summer!

peace
minnie

We have just started reading this un-put-downable book
The weirdstone Og Bisinganmen by Alan garner
http://www.amazon.com/Weirdstone-Brising...9348&sr=8-1

may be a little scary 'for the wee ones' - for them best stick to Enid Blyton's Faraway tree - magical
http://www.amazon.com/Faraway-Tree-Stories-Three-Books/dp/1405201711/ref=pd_sim_b_4

Or if you just like looking at pictures
Flotsam by david Weisner
http://www.amazon.com/Flotsam-Caldecott-...9548&sr=1-1

Flotsam is fantastic. This arrived in the school library when my daughter was in fourth and we both went crazy about it and the possibilities. For a picture only book, this is very deep and mind expanding.

Ooh! A new book thread! We're always in desperate need of new suggestions, so I'll be following this with interest.

DS6 has just (today!) finished the HP series. I noticed that he slowed down a lot after book 3, and I think he dealt with some of the darker, scarier themes by reading more shallowly in the later books. He rereads a lot, so I'm sure he'll get new things from them in subsequent readings.

The Mad Scientists' Club series by Bertrand Brinley was a big hit with DS. Mad Scientists' Club books It features a group of boys who use science as they get in (and out of) mischief. My library doesn't carry them, but Amazon has them, and they've been worth every penny. DS has reread them several times.

The Alvin Fernald series by Clifford Hicks is another favorite here.
Alvin's Secret Code and The Marvelous Inventions of Alvin Fernald are two of DS6's often-reread favorites in this series.

Dragon Rider and Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke are two others that DS has really loved. I think Dragon Rider is his all-time favorite book. Dragon Rider features a young boy going off with a dragon as it tries to find a safe place for dragons to live. Lots of magical creatures, very sweet story.

The Sisters Grimm - All of these books have been hits with DS.

The Thirteen Clocks by James Thurber was another recent favorite. It's on my shelf to read now that DS enjoyed it so much. I've heard many people say it's one of their all-time favorite children's books, so I think I'd better read it!

Simon Bloom, Gravity Keeper and its sequel by Michael Reisman - As I understand it, the book combines magic with science (especially the laws of physics). That's always a winning combination for DS.

I'd go into more detail, except I haven't read all of them yet. I've given up on previewing books as there's no way I can keep up and still have time to read any of my own books (or do much of anything else).

Hi, Nan! Welcome! Another book lover--hooray! This board has the most tremendous bunch of people--I'm sure you will like it here a lot (and hey, anybody who loves The Thirteen Clocks is clearly a person of discriminating taste!! Your son might enjoy Thurber's other children's books, too! Many Moons, The White Deer, The Wonderful O...)

The Mad Scientists' Club books are on my wishlist at Chapters--I'm glad to hear they were a hit with your son! I've never heard of the Alvin books, we'll have to check those out.

My oldest adored Dragon Rider, too!

Glad you're here!

peace
minnie

yay - Mad Scientists Club - laugh out loud funny and loved by all of us here (even if they don't publish them in the Uk and the shipping costs are OTT)

The Mad Scientists Club is a hoot.

A couple more ideas:

--"Fattypuffs and Thinifers" by Andre Maurois (originally Patapoufs et Filifers, pub. 1941, repr. Jane Nissen in 2001, w/illustrations by Fritz Wegner; 96 pp.). Two brothers, Edmund and Terry, find themselves in the Country Under the Earth, where the two nations of inhabitants, the Fattypuffs and the Thinifers, are at war, over differing philosophies of, shall we say, personal avoirdupois. The boys are forced to take sides in this silly conflict, which escalates into something rather serious, but they help the principals find a way towards mutual understanding and peace. Pointed satire, very funny.

--"My Friend Mr. Leakey," by JBS Haldane, pictures by Quentin Blake (first publ. 1937, repr. by Jane Nissen 2004; 150 pp.). More a collection of short stories (though several of them are linked) than a novel, this book is highly inventive, and just the thing for precocious science-lovers (many of the characters are botanists or physicists or chemists, etc.--my favourite is the physicist Dobbs, who made thousands of pounds yearly from the British railways for carrying underweight luggage--he hooked up hydrogen jets inside his suitcases, which made his suitcases float; an attached electromagnet pulled up the metal plate on the scales, so great piles of weights had to be added to his baggage to get it up to zero. He successfully sued to be compensated for the weight he was not bringing on in his luggage, at the same rate people with overweight bags were charged.)

Several of the stories feature the magician Mr. Leakey, and the utterly logical treatment of the many fantastical happenings gives the book a unique tone. Mr. Leakey has a magic carpet, a pet dragon who breathes fire to grill fish for his dinner, an octopus who waits at the table, and other interesting characters as servants or friends. At one point, he has a costume party at which he magically changes everyone into their costumes: people become an atom of caesium, a comet, a fire engine, an icosahedron, a yak, a tortoise, Shakespeare, etc. Original and fun!

peace
minnie

I read a great book this week (prereading to see if it were suitable for the lads, but not yet unfortunately.) Susan Cooper's "King of Shadows" (Margaret McElderry Books, 1999, 186 pp, no illustrations) is the story of a gifted child actor named Nat Field, who has been selected for a prestigious summer theatre programme, in which he'll be playing Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream. He and the rest of the company have gone to London to put on the play at the New Globe; Nat becomes ill, and finds himself transported back to 1599, where he is suddenly playing Puck in the original Globe, costarring with Richard Burbage and Shakespeare himself.

My kids are keen Shakespeareans, and one of them is very enthusiastic about acting, so I had high hopes for this one, and indeed, in a couple years, this is definitely a book I'll look to again. It's too dark for my particular kids right now (Nat has had a difficult childhood, which encompasses the early death of his mother and the suicide of his father, compounded by his having been the person to discover his father's body); the level of detail about Elizabethan England is fascinating, but some of that would be a bit much for my guys too (the bear-baiting for instance). The story is very well-told, though, and there's lots of lovely Shakespeare throughout (especially Dream, of course, but quite a lot of Henry V, too, and some sonnets); another nice feature from our perspective is the extent to which the young people in the story are treated as professionals, always taken seriously and never patronized.

The book says 10 and up, which seems about right to me.

peace
minnie

I have not been following this thread that closely, but I did want to mention that our DS6 (who is completely fascinated with chess at the moment) is in love with "Through the Looking Glass". DW suggested it to DS because the chess game plays a major part of the book. I have not read it myself, but it's part of the Alice in Wonderland books. At any rate, DS is really enjoying it to the point of laughing out loud.

Just thought I'd mention it.

JB

Oh, isn't it great? This has been one of Harpo's most beloved books for the last three years--he's read it over and over. I'm so glad your son is loving it! Isn't it fun when they find something that just speaks to them?

A very good chess-related book for adults is "The Flanders Panel" by Arturo Perez-Reverte.

peace
minnie

PS--JBDad, has your son read Norton Juster's "Phantom Tollbooth" or "The Dot and the Line"? Both fun books for math-loving little ones...

"Warrior Scarlet" by Rosemary Sutcliff (1957; repr. Farrar Straus Giroux 1994; 207 pp., black and white illustrations) was a terrific read. It's the coming-of-age story of Drem, a boy in Bronze Age Britain; he has only one usable arm, which obviously has profound implications in a hunting culture. He has both failures and successes, very movingly told, as he grows to manhood; the author skilfully weaves much historical detail into the story.

Harpo (8) enjoyed it on his own; it also made an exciting read-aloud for Groucho (6) and Chico (4). I gather from various sources that some of Sutcliff's other books are more suitable for teens (this is the first one we've read; we're a few chapters into Eagle of the Ninth now), but this one was just fine for elementary-aged children.

At the risk of sounding sexist, I think it might grab boys more than girls (though I suppose you never know); gender roles are very starkly delineated, as you might expect, and there is only one female character of much importance to the story.

peace
minnie

somehow I missed this post! I'll check out those books for DS.

JB

I would include "The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure by Hans Magnus Enzensberger" and also "Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School" by Louis Sachar for those with interest in Math.

Something fun for Halloween, or anytime - Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich

Great book of poems that are really funny and clever; most can be sung or are reminiscent of familiar tunes. Written for 6-8yr olds, these had the entire family really laughing! And the illustrations are excellent, too.

I am working on updating my at home library for my gifted DS9. We get most of the everday reading stories from the libary. I'm looking to build more on reference books like math dictionary, enclopedia of animals, ect. I was thinking some of you homeschoolers could give some of your top essentials. I thinking of putting together a box for Xmas. My son has lots of interests-science, math, nature, space, sports, inventions, legos, art, animals, parks, how it is made, how it works, ect.

He may be too old for these, possibly, but we like having a selection of the DK Eyewitness books on the shelves; they're nice for an initial survey of a topic, and the pictures are terrific--but the books aren't great for kids craving real depth in a subject.

The Kingfisher Encyclopedias (of Geography, History, Science, etc.) are also nice to have around.

You can't go wrong with a really good atlas or two, I'd say.

David Macaulay books are always good (The Way Things Work, The Way We Work, Cathedral, City, Pyramid, Mill, etc. etc.). In a similar vein is Bill Slavin's "Transformations: How Ordinary Things are Made."

There are lots of nice art history series for kids: Colleen Carroll's "How Artists See" (animals, heroes, families, etc.--there are twelve of them, I think); the old Metropolitan Museum series of "What Makes a ____ a _____" (Degas, Renoir, etc.--ten all told, I believe); the "Art Fraud Scandal" and "Art Auction Detective" books (there's one more, whose name slips my mind right this minute); Two Can Press has a history through art series that is only three books so far: Knights and Castles, Transportation, and Trails West.

Maybe a couple of fun magazine subscriptions, too? My kids like the science mags "Yes" and "Know", and I am tempted by "Dig" and "Kayak," too.

Anyway, just a couple of ideas for now...

peace
minnie

PS Another thing we've found really invaluable is a series of field guides for our region: trees, rocks, plants, insects, seashore life, pond life, birds, etc. These are heavily used--they were a good investment!

Just wanted to post that the next Wimpy Kid book is coming out Oct. 12th, for kids who like this series (my ds9 has loved it from the beginning, lots of silly pictures, and apparently really speaks to the 2nd-5th grade crowd).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0810983...5HCJZ1880JPDJN8


Don't want to get the thread off the topic of good reference books, that is a great question, onthegomom. I am curious to see more recommendations.

So far, we enjoy a set of encyclopedias and the monthly National Geographic. (Ds was gifted with a life subscription by an uncle, a great gift!)

Ds is more of a fiction guy, however, so dramatic-facty books are more appealing at the moment, such as any of the 'Guiness World Record' books, and well-illustrated books like Minnie mentions on how stuff works, such as castles. Books with cut-aways and cross sections, too. I think there are many good books if you google on 'cross-sections', the ones from DK are very cool.
Various Cross Section books

Lastly, we have just ordered this reference on race car engineering:
Race Car Engineering & Mechanics

My DS9 is just crazy for the whimpy kid books. write more write more!!!!!!!

Here's some great ones:
http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/Kids/SeriesDetail.aspx?PSId=224
Here is some great books on space for preschool to early elementary.

Let's read and find out science books, The Planets in Our Solar System
(This is a large series, I've found these used and at the library & on ebay , we can't get enough of these)

Little Rocket's special Star by Julie Sykes

If you decide to go to the moon by mcnulty

On the moon by milbourne

I may have missed them, but a few from my childhood that *stick* are the Henry and Ribsy books by Beverly Cleary. I'm not a *huge* Cleary fan, but I always thought Ribsy was worth my time.

And don't forget Harriet The Spy (Fitzhugh). I used to hide under the living room sofa, "spying" on my parents, and wishing we had a dumb waiter....!

A newer one - the Dragon of Lonely Island by Rebecca Rupp. Fun story about three children who unwillingly (initially) spend a summer on a remote island at the home of their aunt. They discover an attic room that hints at the presence of something mysterious on the island - a dragon. They find him and he relates several moral tales, historically based, that help the children resolve some problems. One tale is about their aunt as well.

Very appropriate for the younger set - the stories are not harrowing, just adventures. The dragon is friendly. The follow-up book is equally appropriate, but not quite as strong a story.

Chris1234 thank you for the cartoon strip book reccomendation - Calvin and Hobbs

They are great! very funny. Some of the stuff remind me of the drama in my own son's life. I want to point that out to him at the right moment. Calvin's imagination is so inline with my DS9.
EVERYBODY SHOULD GET THIS.

Onthegomom - Gosh, you are so welcome!! I can't imagine going through life without having read at least a bit of Calvin. Don't be surprised if almost everyone on this board DOES have these books!! And don't be surprised if your kiddo ends up sleeping with the darn things....my ds9 has several, and some are so worn out we'll be getting him a couple new ones.
(Dh and I love them, too, lol!)

My DS6 has no interest in chapter books, he prefers pictures, his reading level is ahead but his interest level is age appropriate and hes intimidated by too much text. We're doing a lot of graphic novels and he loves them. He's reading Babymouse now, it's very cute. The librarian recommended Bone. I'm not sures if my DS is ready for them but yours probably us. We started one called Joey Fly: Private Eye, my DS didn't care for it but I think it's better for a kid a bit older.

Try getting some of the EASY chapter books with pictures. They will be below his level, but perhaps if you can get him interested, he will progress to ones without pics. My daughter enjoyed the Ready Freddy series of books. When their were pics, on each one was a hidden word "Fin" (*because the main character loves sharks). She enjoyed having to look for the hidden word in the pic. We could easily finish the book in 30 min. maybe an hour, but it was better than a picture book even though it was an easy read. Just a thought. My daughter is 7 also. Again, it is way below what she can read, but she finds the series comical.

My DS (1st grade) reads at a late 4th grade level but also prefers graphic novels and picture books. He loves Wimpy Kid, Magic Pickle, Herbert's Wormhole, The Curse of the Bologna Sandwich and a whole bunch of that type. I haven't had too much trouble finding books with more advance reading that still has pictures.

When it comes to picture books, just browse the library and you should come away with handfuls of great books. It seems to me that most picture books are designed for read aloud by adults, so the language is not oversimplified in the longer ones, and the reading levels are in fact relatively high. A couple of great picture book authors (other than Patricia Polacco):

Eve Bunting (although some have mature topics). I personally love the book Dandelions.

Allen Say

Tomie DePaola

David Mclimans (these are newer books--one is alphabet, one numbers. Each features endangered animals. Gorgeous artwork, brief but informative text on each page about the animal)

http://www.amazon.com/Gone-Wild-Caldecott-Honor-Book/dp/0802795633

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs

Hip Cat
http://www.amazon.com/Hip-Cat-Jonathan-London/dp/0811814890

Oh--and we love this author too: Jonathan London. In addition to the popular "Froggy" books, he also has some beautiful books that feature animals in the wild. Here's a link to one of his books:

http://www.amazon.com/Eyes-Gray-Wolf-Jon...803&sr=1-14

We also love Kevin Henkes, David McPhail, Robert Munsch....

So many books...so little time [sigh]

Just wanted to say 'Thanks!' to everyone who mentioned/recommended 'George's Secret Key to the Universe'.

I got this for DS9 a couple weeks ago, and he sort of sniffed at it, but about a week ago I finally got him to crack it, and he just LOVED it. He thought it was hilarious. I thought he'd enjoy the science aspect of it, but had no idea it was so enjoyably funny!!! That really seems to be the kicker for ds, a really great laugh-out loud book, plus SCIENCE. He was in hog heaven. Yay!! Thanks ALL

When he saw it was a series, he was soooo excited - I have to go out today and get the next one, hope I can find it easily.

Oh, and it was just so gratifying to have him ask me what neutron star was yesterday, and I actually had an ok answer for him, as I've been doing some reading on the subject as well! Fun stuff.

Our two most recent fav's are The Outlandish Adventures of Liberty Aimes and The Inventions of Hugo Cabret. My DD7 read both of these in 2 days (would have sat down and read the entire books at once if we didn't have other things that needed to be done ...) I listened to Liberty Aimes (it was VERY GOOD and I'd be surprised if it doesn't become a movie.) I didn't listen to Hugo Cabret but my DD read it so fast and took it everywhere that it must have been good. VERY LARGE BOOK (over 500 pages, but over 200 illustrations as well. So.. about 250-300 pages of text.) She loved it she said. Liberty Aimes is ages 8-12 and Hugo Cabret grade level equivalent is 5.2.

http://www.georgessecretkey.com/

you may want to check out the website too. My DS9 loved those books

Wow! Cool site! Thanks, onthegomom!

A suggestion for girls-

DD 9 and I have enjoyed the Mother-Daughter Book Club series by Heather Vogel Frederick. These books are light, yet fun, and each involves a core group of four girls who are in grades 6-8 as the books progress. One of the girls is academically very advanced, and takes high school math while in middle school, another is a gifted writer, the third girl is a gifted athlete, and finally, there is a fashion diva who designs her own clothes. Each novel involves a different book club selection. The first book has the girls reading Little Women, the second Anne of Green Gables, the third Daddy Long Legs.

I haven't heard anyone talk about these, and I think there are many young readers who might like to read them!

A couple more suggestions.

My daughter loves Dick King Smith - "The School Mouse", "Babe the Gallant Pig", "Aristotle" etc etc...Many of them have lots of pictures some are more traditional chapter books.

We also love Kate Dicamillio. "Mercy Watson" is a newer series of picture books. She also has longer chapter books. "Because of Winn Dixie", "The Mysterious Journey of Edward Tulane" etc.

I know I've mentioned these before, but if you have an advanced reader who is not interested in juvenile fiction, I highly recommend Agatha Christie. She was a very prolific writer (over 80 titles) and kept DS-then-9 in books for most of that year. There is no sex, very little violence, and the murders or crimes are blood and gore free. The antiquated vocabulary also adds a level of challenge. There is some bigotry, however, as reflective of the times the books were written. Plus Hercule Poirot is the ultimate gifted detective (well, Sherlock Holmes might have given him a run for his money! I recommend those books also, but Holmes was addicted to opium in the books and there is talk of drug usage if that bothers you)

You're absolutely right, CFK--great suggestion.

Another excellent series for kids in the same boat is Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries (74 in total, I believe); I do think Archie Goodwin is one of the great comic voices in American literature!

peace
minnie

My DD just read The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane as well. She really liked it. We just started the Mysterious Benedict Society. So far, it's very interesting! She's 7 and I thought I'd read a little with her to see how it is for her since the RL is 6.3 (though I don't put much stock into those since they seem to be way off in my eyes, Or else my view is scewed... one of the two .)

A little while back, we read Rosemary Sutcliff's "The Eagle of the Ninth" (1954, repr 2004 OUP, ~300 pp.); it's a terrific story of Marcus, a young Roman soldier who puts himself at grave risk to save his men during an attack on the fort which is his first command posting. He is discharged from the Roman army afterward with a career-ending injury, but finds new purpose in life when he decides to try to retrieve the missing eagle that had been lost when his dead father's legion disappeared in the north of Britain. He travels north of Roman territory on a dangerous quest in search of the eagle, with his friend (and manumitted slave), Esca. Marcus grows in maturity over the course of the story; his friendship with Esca, his relationship with his uncle Aquila, and his courtship of a British girl, Cottia, are very tenderly handled. It's very well-written and enjoyable--all of my kids liked it a lot.

Hopping ahead a few hundred years, another good one (for 8 or 9 and up, I'd say) is Eloise McGraw's "The Striped Ships," the story of a Saxon girl, Juliana, immediately before and during the year following the Norman Conquest of 1066 (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 1991, ~225 pp). As it is essentially a book about war and its effect on children, this one is rather darker than our norm around here (Juliana's family loses everything, her father dies, she sees one of her friends killed, and there is an implied attempted [but thwarted] r@pe). It sounds in summary darker than it really is, though, because the dark bits are very carefully written, and because Juliana is consistently brave and resourceful throughout, as well as very adaptable; she gets her young brother to the monastery in Canterbury which he longs to join, and she finds her own way to a new and independent life, as she is taken on at the workroom where a team is embroidering the Bayeux Tapestry.

We're rereading an old favourite right now: Farley Mowat's "Owls in the Family" (1961, repr. McClelland & Stewart, ~100 pp). This one's a Canadian classic--everyone here of a certain age whom I know has read this at some point or another. It's the true story of a small-town Saskatchewan boy who rescues two orphaned baby great horned owls, and the adventures he has with them. Lots of funny incidents, a snapshot of a way of life that has disappeared (the story takes place in the early 1930s), and engagingly written, like all of Mowat's many books, for both children and adults. Lovely for any age.

peace
minnie

http://cty.jhu.edu/ctyonline/languagearts/yrml.html

In the books Matilda by Roald Dahl, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling, and Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, a young person learns the joys and pitfalls of acquiring unexpected powers


I just discovered a new source to find reading for my DS9. Look at what gifted online classes are teaching. I gave one example above. We have not used these yet.

Other sources are school summer reading lists,I find these on school websites and library websites and find books in catalogues/websites like http://www.montessoriservices.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=91_196

Finding books has been a big challenge for me. Hope this is helpful to someone.

iWoz by Steve Wozniak, I picked it up for GS10 to use for a source for a report. He's loving it!

Thirty days has september by Chris Stevens, cool ways to remember stuff.

I found this to be a very unitimidating source for history, geography, spelling, and math. It's only 1/2" think.

I think this would be a great book to give my DS9 before he starts his online writing class this summer. He does not have much experience with puctuation yet. This would be a great intro. and reference.

My DS7 used to love the Droon series, but now has moved on to Guardians of Ga'Hoole and the Dragon Slayers Academy books. The Guardian books are intense, and the DSA books are hysterically funny. He alternates between the two. -- FYI: I just heard that they are making a Guardians of Ga'Hoole movie that will be out next fall. I think it's great when the kids can read the books first and then compare them to the movies.

My son has been into the secrets of Droon. He will probally finish the series.

A quick thankyou to Minniemarx (I think it was your recommendation?) - we're a few chapters into Ned Kelly and the City of Bees and DS7 has pronounced it The Best Book We've Ever Read. Wow - take that J.K & Enid.