Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources What next after Magic Tree House?

I'm hoping to tap into the great sea of experience on this board. My DS6 consumes Magic Tree House books, sometimes in one sitting. I'm glad he enjoys them, but he's close to finishing the series and I think it's time for something slightly more difficult. What I really appreciate about Magic Tree House is that there are some great nonfiction facts thrown in and most importantly, it's not too mature or scary. I would prefer books whose characters are not in middle school and dealing with boy/girl issues. He read one of the "I survived" series on Hurricane Katrina, but now is anxious about a hurricane hitting our house :-/ Any suggestions?

My DS 7 loves the BoxCar series. Worth a look!

Secrets of Droon?
DK Biographies or the Who Was series (both are series of biographies. The Who Was is at a lower reading level).

If he likes little boy humor (farts and burps), I strongly recommend the George Brown Class Clown series. I loved hearing my child laugh while reading. At that age, even though he was more then capable of longer books, he still wanted pictures every few pages. He is now finishing up the last of Rick Riordan series of books (there are several series including Percy Jackson).

funtimes- I do think he might like those, I loved them as a kid, thank you! I may just skip the first book, I remember worrying about what would happen to me if both my parents died like in the book.

frannieandejsmom- Those are new to me, I'll check them out. Thank you!

flyingmouse- I've never heard of those, thank you! I'll make a list to take to the library this week :-)

My DS went straight into Harry Potter when he was done with Magic Tree House (he was almost 7). Another thing he loved was Encyclopedia Brown.

My DD enjoyed the Geronimo Stilton books which also have a lot of history woven into the tales.

Ramona series, Mouse and the Motorcycle, Henry series, etc (Beverly Cleary)
Sideways Stories from Wayside School series (Louis Sachar)
Jenny and the Cat Club series (oldie but goodie)
World According to Humphrey
Secrets of Droon
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Roald Dahl)
James and the Giant Peach (same)
Matilda (same) - dark, but can really speak to gifted kids

Check out the book recommendations thread in Resources.

DS picked the Droon series up immediately after MTH series.
The next was the "Flat Stanley" series.
I believe the next ones were the Ron Roy Mystery series : http://www.ronroy.com/books_atoz.html
and then the "Heroes in Training series" - http://www.simonandschuster.com/series/Heroes-in-Training

A-Z Mysteries by Ron Roy, in addition to other suggestions listed here.

Boxcar Children
Beverly Cleary
Roald Dahl

"Zeke Meeks"

There are a ton of them. Not sure if this would after magic treehouse, but they are fun and silly books for DS5.

Yes! Our (newly speedy reader) five-year-old just read all of them. He proclaimed "I am a big fan of Zeke Meeks!"

Not yet mentioned above: Geronimo Stilton (and Thea Stilton, etc, there are several series) tends to appeal to MTH readers. Calendar Mysteries (similar to A-Z Mysteries, but I believe younger audience). The 13 Story Treehouse series (3).

Hank Zipper by Henry Winkler !

I've been meaning to look at a list like this. My MTH kiddo has been tearing through Boxcar Children and has some anxiety every time he finishes a book about what will come next. There are plenty of books child! It will be okay!