Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources What is your 10/11 year old reading?

Saw another thread on 1st graders and since we still struggle to find enough books for our ds10, soon to be 11, I was hoping this thread would thin out the 'best book thread ever' discussion to just those that make sense for a 10 year old reading at 4+ years above his age level, lol...

Right now he is finishing Ender's Game, which I wondered about giving to him due to the violence, but he has not been freaked out by it, and very much enjoying it, so that is great. The Percy Jackson/Olympian books are always a hit, but for some reason, not the other series by the same author.
Loved George's secret key books a couple years back, and most books on astronomy, haven't found anything new in that vein in a while. Oh, and ALL the dragon-ball/dragon-ball z manga books he can get his hands on, wants to learn Japanese now, and is making his own short animations (yay!)
Also recently started on baseball team, so any great baseball books -- kids' stories or possibly bios would be great to know about.
Any suggestions greatly appreciated. thanks!!

DD10 just finished A Series of Unfortunate Events. She's currently reading the Fire Thief trilogy, thanks to a recommendation from the ultimate books thread.

Would your DS like the Ranger's Apprentice series? That's one of my next group of books for DD. I don't know that they're particularly challenging, but I thought my DD would enjoy the story.

DD prefers books written for the middle school interest level, which makes it hard to find books at her reading level.

Great idea for a thread! Ds11 was and is a big fan of Ender; has your ds read 'Ender's Shadow'? It's the same story, told from Bean's point of view. There are lots of sequels too, some of which ds has read and enjoyed.

Two other series that were and are still favorites:

Mortal Engines and its sequels and prequels, by Philip Reeve (postapocalyptic, big and sprawling and imaginative, with male and female teen protagonists)

His Majesty's Dragon and its sequels, by Naomi Novik (think Anne McCaffrey meets Patrick O'Brian; written for adults, but ok IMO for kids; not as violent as Ender, and only a few vague allusions to sex)

More suggestions from ds:
Asimov's I, Robot
the Asterix series of comic books
Bone, by Jeff Smith
a younger series by Philip Reeve that starts with 'Larklight'
Eragon
Redwall
several of Michael Crichton's books (Jurassic Park et al.)
Susan Cooper's Dark Is Rising series
Anthony Horowitz's Alex Ryder series
James Patterson's Maximum Ride series
Terry Pratchett's Discworld books (there are almost 40, so here's a reading-order guide: http://www.lspace.org/books/reading-order-guides/the-discworld-reading-order-guide-20.jpg)
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams (excellent audiobook by Stephen Fry)

ETA: any of the Dilbert books by Scott Adams
Berke Breathed's Bloom County comics
Erin Hunter's Warriors series

Hope this helps --

DD10 recently finished Summerland and is now on Huckleberry Finn.

Other big favorites were the Redwall series and any biography of Civil, WWI or WWII soldiers.

Also The Giver and the Hunger Game series.

Artemis Fowl
Eragon
Hunger Games
Guardians of Gahoole
Silverwing, Sunwing, Darkwing, and other series by Kenneth Oppel
Agatha Christie
Smile by Raina Telgemeier (a really good comic with lots of text, esp. good for kids getting braces!)
Tintin, Asterix
Wrinkle in Time
Hardy Boys
Children of the Magic Lamp (PB Kerr)
Cherub series by Robert Muchamore (somewhat violent, so check it out first)
Narnia
Animal Farm
Lord of the Flies
Ellen and Edgar
Lemony Snickett series
books by Gordon Korman (reading level is pretty basic, but some good stories that appeal to boys - there is a series about hockey)
Jack London
Young Samurai series by Chris Bradford (maybe a bit violent?)
Tales of the Otori series by Lian Hearn
(these last two would appeal to kids who likes manga and things Japanese)

oops have to go. I could add more later!

eta:
The Last Apprentice series, Joseph Delaney
Young Nicholas series, by Goscinny and Sempe (English trans. of Petit Nicolas. Kind of like a funnier, more intellectual diary of a wimpy kid).
Sherlock Holmes
Tom Sawyer
To Kill a Mockingbird (couldn't get DS11 to read this one, but I bet other 10/11 yo might like it).

GREAT series!!! I really liked this, read the first one to check out for ds, but so far he has only read a bit --I really thought he'd love it. I ended up reading most of the rest of the series for my own enjoyment.

thanks all, I am going out in a bit so no time to sift through all the suggestions, but at first glance, looks awesome.

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin.
Any of Robert Heinlein's "juveniles"
The Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury
H.G. Wells
We second the Isaac Asimov and Jack London recommendations.
J.R.R. Tolkein
If he liked Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead in the same series might be another one he would enjoy.

There are about 8 books in the Ender's series - some more disturbing, but mostly not - I would recommend them all for a fairly thick-skinned 10 year old. Maybe read them yourself as he goes.

Smiles,
Grinity

i, myself, read the hunger games as did many other adults I know and we all LOVED it... however, it's a little disturbing and not sure all 10 year olds would be okay with reading it. AWESOME series though, just disturbing.

DC is 9, but read several of the books others have mentioned here last year. Right now, she is waiting for the 4th book in the secret series, by Pseudonymous Bosch. Read the 1 and a half last year, then decided to pick up the second book again this year and read both 2 and three and is waiting on 4 (on hold at library and local bookstore doesn't have it in stock right now.)
She reads anything she can get her hands on.

Our DD(10) is working through all the books in Brian Jacque's Redwall series for the 2nd time this year. Also, she just finished Series of Unfortunate Events.

Love the reading list ideas!

2SM.

this year dd has enjoyed:

Jeremy Fink and the meaning of Life -Wendy Mass
A Mango shaped Space - ""
11 birthdays - '''

Also Tuck Everlasting

she still loves to re-read

My Side of the Mountain
Jennifer, Hecate, MacBeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth

and anything else by Konigsburg (like A View from Saturday)

This weeks pile... I just took this stack of books off his nightstand and DS10 said he loved them all... Moby Dick, Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, Shooting the Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg, Tom Sawyer, Treasure Island, The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt, and Huckleberry Finn... Thank you for the great suggestions, everyone! I'm always looking!

My DD read The mixed up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler when she was 8 and LOVED it too!

Harpo (10) is reading this week Roger Lancelyn Green's Adventures of Robin Hood, E. Nesbit's House of Arden, Nancy Bond's String in the Harp, Arika Okrent's In the Land of Invented Languages, and David Crystal's Little Book of Language (which Mama22Gs here recommended a few months ago; I finally got around to getting it for him for his birthday--it was a huge hit, so thank you, Mama, for the recommendation!).

Hope nobody minds me bringing this thread back up--I've been away, and couldn't resist a book thread on my first visit back...

peace
minnie

It's always your recommendations that I look forward to most. Thanks for sharing.

Minniemarx has inspired me to share. In the last few months, DS read Chua's Tiger Mom, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Disappearing Spoon and the Elements, and this week became fascinated by Electronics for Dummies. This last one is unfortunate because it initiated a list of parts he wants me to buy him.

For fiction, he's started to enjoy Steinbeck and really loved Moby Dick. He recently reread some of the Orson Scott Card (Invasive Procedures and the Ender's Game series).

In the last year, he really enjoyed a couple of the cartoon guides -- like the cartoon guide to economics. And he rereads the Horrible Histories and Murderous Maths obsessively. We have virtually all these books and I think he's read each one cover to cover 10 times. If he finds one randomly in the car, he goes back to reading it as if he's never seen it before.

Thanks for starting this thread, Chris, and thanks to all of the replies. My DS10 has enjoyed reading the suggestions posted here. So many books, so little time.

DS10 has likewise just finished the Ender's Game series. He also loved reading The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, I Robot, and the Percy Jackson/Olympian books and the new books The Lost Hero and Red Pyramid. So they seem to have common interests.

Here is a very quick list of books that he recommends as his favorites:
Ranger's Apprentice
The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
Pendragon Series
Artemis Fowl
House of the Scorpion
Here There Be Dragons (several books in this series)
Magyk Series (Septimus Heap) by Sage
Simon Bloom- Gravity Keeper
Simon Bloom -The Octopus Effect
Fablehaven Series by Mull
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Stroud

Note: I have not read all of these, but many of them I have enjoyed. Here There Be Dragons creates an imaginary world where famous literary creations all come to life in one book (Capt. Nemo, Sherlock Homes references, Peter Pan, many Lord of the Ring references, etc). So it is fun to read if you know your fictional literature. I have also read and enjoyed Magyk, Fablehaven, and Simon Bloom.

Awesome, keep the suggestions coming! We seem to only hit on 1 out of ever 20 suggested books, so the more suggestions the merrier.
He did just recently get his first issue of 'Odyssey' magazine, which he is carrying around reading, so that was a good find.
http://www.odysseymagazine.com/
thanks!!

Muse magazine is a bit expensive, but both my kids loved it at 10/11.

Great book ideas!

I got the first two Ranger's Apprentice books out of the library yesterday, and DS11 is half way through the second one already.

DS like to read Textbooks. Lately he has been reading "What If" it's a book on alternative history.

He does like the Horrible Science series and he liked
the Pseudonymous Bosch series. His school makes him read AR books and Bosch filled that requirement. Nothing else he has read or currently reading is an AR Book.
I'm going to check into that Odyssey mag it sound like he would love that.

'Science Fair' is a HUGE hit!! thank you so much for the suggestion.
I can't believe it has taken so long for me to 'get' that ds10 is drawn to humorous books over and above any other sort -- calvin, captain underpants, wimpy kid, dragon ball, etc. (oh and of course lots of pictures really helps too).
There are exceptions, but they are few and far between (Percy Jackson).

Still we have many more in this list to keep trying after science fair. thanks again!

If he likes "funny with pictures", I'd second the poster who recommended "Bone". It is a series of at least 10 high quality comics that are really inventive, well written and have great images. My DS11 loved them (and so did DH).

Hmm, funny, I like funny, too!

Well, we haven't read these yet (just ordered some of them for Groucho's birthday), but maybe these might work? The reviews SAY they're funny, so we'll see:

Tim Wynne-Jones, Rex Zero series
Alan Cumyn, Owen Skye series

A couple I've already mentioned on other threads are Polly Horvath's The Pepins and their Problems (Horvath's The Trolls and Everything on a Waffle are also funny in many spots, but are books of more serious intent than the Pepins) and Helen Cresswell's Bagthorpe books--good and funny.

Also, does your guy know the MT Anderson books? (Whales on Stilts, Case of the Linoleum Lederhosen, etc.--rather bizarre, kind of spoofs of Tom Swift-type adventures--maybe fun for him?)

I'll give it some more thought...(actually, I'll just pick the kids' brains!)

Hands down favorite so far this year is Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, followed by the Call of the Wild.

My 11 year old DD has recently been flying through the Fablehaven series, which was recommended by a male friend. Ranger's Apprentice books are very popular with some fifth graders I know. Also "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements, which my kids didn't pick up, but which has been a huge hit with some other readers I know (the main character wakes up to find that he's invisible).

I also highly recommend Jonathan Stroud's Baritmaeous trilogy (beginning with the Amulet of Samarkand). It takes a little bit of time to get into, but it's a great read, and the chapters narrated by Bartimaeous are filled with wry humor in the form of footnotes.

Age 10 is when I discovered Robin McKinley. We read The Blue Sword in class and I was totally head over heels hooked. (Note: Deerskin is not suitable for a sensitive 10 year old because it is about incest and rape.)

I also discovered Diana Wynne Jones on my own, with a book report on Dogsbody. I'm so sad that she's gone, but she left a wonderful legacy.

Also enjoyed the Hidden Treasure of Glaston... and I think age 11 is when I attacked the first Three Musketeers book. (In terms of classics that my mom was always pushing.) Also a bunch of Jules Verne, especially Around the World in 80 days. Oddly I was not crazy about Treasure Island.

I love all the new YA fantasy out there. It's like a renaissance.

this is one of my favorites (guilty pleasure, but I still really enjoyed it!)

This is reminding me of a set of authors that I read and reread starting somewhere about this age-Robin McKinley, Ursula Le Guin (first 3 earthsea, Susan Cooper (dark is rising), Diana Wynn Jones.
I don't feel too guilty! I was enchanted by them.

Not a guilty pleasure, a real pleasure. (Guilty pleasures are like the harem anime I watch...) I'm still saving Enchanted Glass for sometime special, since its almost the last DWJ and after the last one comes out there won't be any new ones.

The Blue Sword was like nothing I'd ever read before. Absolutely mind-blowing to me... that a magic book could be set in another world that was so like but unlike the one we're living in. Narnia, Wonderland, etc. were very different from that experience because they were so like fables and things of our world. I wish everybody could have my fourth grade teacher-- I doubt Robin McKinley is on the reading lists most places. It's all Bridge to Teribithia and other horrid stuff (of course, we read that too). I didn't realize until rereading Hero and the Crown many years later that there was a reason we didn't read that one in class too-- the sex totally went over my head at age 10. The Blue Sword made me realize I could go upstairs to the adult fantasy section to get things to read-- a whole new world!

Just turned 11 DS recently read and really enjoyed Leviathan. He's now reading the sequel, Behemoth. They are of a genre referred to as "steampunk".

Hi, Thought I'd chime in...
DS8 really likes these-

Two Miserable Presidents- by Steve Sheinkin
The Narnia Series
The Harry Potter Series
Simon Bloom, The Gravity Keeper
Russell Stannard's "Uncle Albert" series
The two "Cosmic George" books
Theodore Gray's "The Elements"
The Phantom Tollbooth
Johnny Tremain
The Percy Jackson series
Robert Heinlein's "Juvenile" series
"Her Magesty's Wizard"- Christopher Stascheff
anything by Roald Dahl
Inkheart
Why Pi?
any of the "Worst Case Scenario" books
any of the "Basher" books
any "Calvin and Hobbes"
Pullman's "His Dark Material's" series
and is as we speak devouring Larry Gonick's "Cartoon Guide to..." series. (Haven't done the History of the Universe yet because I'm afraid the reasons for all of the wars might be a little much for him)
*and since he's a boy at "that age" there is virtually no kissing in these books ("M-o-O-O-O-o-M!" he says as he hides his face in his hands!)

Love this thread! There's a lot of new stuff (to us) posted here, Thanks! We're always on the hunt for something new...

I just looked at CTY reading class for some new books for DS10 to try. I thought they looked good.

The potato chip puzzles / Eric Berlin.
Puzzling world of Winston Breen
The Thief Lord / Cornelia Funke

DD10 recently discovered my childhood stash of Encyclopedia Brown books, which are fun, easy reads. Because of her summer schedule, she doesn't have much down time to read, so these are perfect. She can read a case or two before bed or in the car on the way to practice.

Since the last movie is coming out, Ds-now-11 has decided to pick back up the Harry Potter books, he only got through the 5th one in 3rd grade, I think they got a bit more daunting on several levels at that point. He started back at the beginning and is having a hoot re-reading.

Also, we just got him a puppy, and his name is ...Harry.

So glad to have found this thread! My DS10 is a reluctant reader, though good at reading. He's not into the science fiction/fantasy stuff that his older brother was. Too sensitive for a lot of the stuff, although that seems to be resolving as he matures. But no interest in the Harry Potter series, Wrinkle In Time, Ender series and so on that so many of the kids here enjoy.

His favorites are humor books and he often returns to the Wimpy Kid series! He's enjoying the Aldo Zelnick comic series (Artsy-Fartsy, Bogus, Cahoots) and Bone graphic novels right now. He recently read the first in the Pseudonymous Bosch series and this list was a good reminder. One he really liked was The True Meaning of Smekday - he often laughed out loud while reading that one.

Anyone have other suggestions for humorous books?

May I recommend _The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian_ (warning: discussion of masturbation, bullying, social ostracism, and death) by Sherman Alexie

and _The Diamond in the Window_ by Jane Langton

Hi, Debbie,

I'm slow getting back to this thread, but had a couple of ideas for books your son might enjoy:

-Noel Langley, "The Land of Green Ginger." (strictly farce, very funny, a little dated, but that's the way we like 'em!)

-John Fardell, "The Seven Professors of the Far North," "The Flight of the Silver Turtle," and "Secret of the Black Moon Moth." (gee-whiz adventure stories, gifted kid protagonists with eccentric professor sidekicks battle against a series of crazy maniacs who want to take over the world [sort of James Bond for little kids], some serious issues considered [ecology, cloning, etc.] but not in the deep way evidenced in the books you say he's not interested in yet)

-John D. Fitzgerald, Great Brain series (now, I remember loving these when I was a kid, but have to admit that I was a bit startled by a few things on rereading them as an adult, not least the disciplinary measures used by the father of the family--I still think they're funny, but maybe best to preread?)

-for some reason, none of my boys can get enough of "Tubby and Little Lulu" (I know that sounds weird...but they're all back in print, so somebody besides me must be buying them!)--they tell me that sometimes they just want to read something "dumb and funny," so there we go.

-Norman Hunter, Professor Branestawm series (mad inventor invents really crazy stuff, gets in various scrapes; there are lots of volumes of these, mostly out of print, but we have found picking up several of them not too hard--they're short stories, so maybe good for a somewhat reluctant reader, since there is fairly quick payoff?).

-he might be too old for these, but I wonder if he'd like Christianna Brand's "Collected Tales of Nurse Matilda?" All of my three thought these were hilarious (though I'm thinking they're an acquired taste for adults!).

-kcab put us onto Cressida Cowell's "How to Train a Dragon" books--those are nice, light and fun reads--perfect for summer. In that same vein are Kjartan Poskitt's Urgum the Axeman books (not really calculated to instill a love of great literature, but good for lying in the hammock with a glass of lemonade and a gingersnap).

Hope some of those might appeal!

peace
minnie

My sons have really enjoyed the Warriors series by Erin Hunter and they weren't always interested in reading. It was exciting to see them going back for the next books in the series and following the saga.