I would like to read a book with my daughter and do a sort of "book club" with her. She is eight years old and reads at about a late third grade level. Any suggestions for a book that would be appropriate for an eight year old yet still hold the interest of an adult reader?
I wanted to say I started reading the Babysitter's Club books around that age. She might like those, and it might be nostalgic for you, heh.
Start with the Newbery Award winners and honor books. I've been working my way through a good number of them myself recently. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats on NIMH, From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil..., A Door in the Wall, the books by Avi, and Number the Stars (beware on this last one for sensitivities) are ones I've (re)read myself lately and greatly enjoyed.
There are such great books out there that adults like also. One we read was Poppy, where we had some interesting discussions. We had a group mother daughter club at that age.
We read "The Red Tent" together last summer and I plan for us to read "The Joy Luck Club" this year. They deal with older girl "women's" issues so not good for a third grader. But, we had a great time and cooked Mediterranean food and other things.
I read the books my DD picks for book reports. This quarter, she read Awakening the Sleeping Tiger (
http://www.amazon.com/Awakening-Sleeping-Tiger-Professional-Chinese/dp/0982826206/ ), which was a great adult read and generally kid-appropriate. (No sex, no profanity, no gratuitous or graphic violence, but the first part is set during the Cultural Revolution, so bad stuff does happen. Because the author was relatively naive, there weren't too many things that went over DD's head due to maturity / life experience issues.)
I have no clue what reading level it would be, though.
We read "The Green Glass Sea" when our kids were 10/11 yo. The main character is a young girl with a strong interest in science/engineering, living in Los Alamos at the time of the Manhattan project. We thought it was excellent - but it does, as you can imagine, take on some serious issues so I would take a look yourself to decide whether it is age-appropriate.
Amylou, that sounds interesting. Yeah, my daughter had trouble with those subjects until she was around 13. Now, she can handle anything.
So glad you are starting this. We have really enjoyed it.
Little House in the Big Woods, The Tale of Despereaux, Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Island of the Blue Dolphins has some interesting parts to it - to discuss. You can even visit the National Park related to it - or at least its website.
What a great idea! I think I may try this with my own dds
I don't have any suggestions for books, but one thing you might do is think back to what books *you* loved when you were the same age. I think when I was around 2nd-3rd grade I loved the Marguerite Henry books, The Black Stallion, Little House on the Prairie etc - it was more about the stories than having a challenging reading level for me at that point. None of those are all that interesting from an adult point of view, but I wouldn't mind re-reading them to relive my childhood fun!
polarbear
ps - I did think of another idea - my ds loved loved loved the Guardian of GaHoole and Warrior series... I never had time to read them when he was into them but they would be two series I'd consider reading with my dds just because I am interested in reading them - from my ds' descriptions they sound great! Lemony Snicket might be another, and easier, read.
eta - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was another one of my childhood favorites.
I loved the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle series when I was her age. It's 3rd grade level and has not so subtle sub text about the importance of bathing, eating your veggies and so forth.
http://www.amazon.com/Mrs-Piggle-Wiggle-Betty-MacDonald/dp/0064401480Here's another wonderful series my DD loved :http://www.amazon.com/Dealing-Dragons-Enchanted-Forest-Chronicles/dp/015204566X
It's very girl positive although it is 4th grade level.
Let us know what you pick and how it goes. Sounds like fun. This is making me look forward to our book this summer - Joy Luck Club and our Chinese cooking experiences.
The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper. I've read them all again at least twice as an adult. They might be a year or two too old for her right now in terms of literary complexity, I'm not a good judge of what a 3rd grade reading level is.
Others childhood books I've pondered checking out from the library again recently are the Princess and the Goblin (can't remember the author) and The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews. I also liked The Little Princess. I don't remember liking the Secret Garden as much.
There is a series of books marketed for ages 9 and up called The Mother-Daughter Book Club. Each book in the series has the mothers and daughters in the story reading one of the classics (like Pride and Prejudice, Anne of Green Gables, etc.) as part of a book club, and each story also mirrors the book they are reading. So, for instance, what is happening in the lives of the girls is similar to what is happening in the lives of the characters in the books they are reading (but on a preteen level). My DD10 read them last year and loved them, and they have served as a jumping-off point for her to start reading some of the classics.
I second the poster who mentioned "Island of the Blue Dolphins." My DD8 and I are reading it together now. We have also learned all about the geography of the west coast, the different tribes, all the wildlife. It has been a great starting point for her to explore lots of other topics. I found a study guide online that we have used as a discussion starter. Best of all, it has really brought us closer together as mother and daughter.
Some other favorites . . . Phantom Tollbooth, Where the Red Fern Grows (a great book but can be rough for sensitive kids), The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper (as suggested by another poster), The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander, Mr. Poppers Penguins, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, My Side of the Mountain.
My DD loved anything by Kate DiCamillo- The Tale of Despereaux, Because of Winn Dixie. She also loved one called "The Name of this Book is Secret." Have to admit I didn't read it, but she loved it. It's part of a series.
I am enjoying reading everyone's suggestions. This is giving me some great ideas for our next book to read together.
Absolutely second The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles -- one of my favorite books of all time, even now! Some other really excellent ideas above.
How about Beverly Cleary books? Ramona is very popular now with the advent of the new movie, and there are several books about her. Also Henry and Ribsy, and Ralph the Motorcycle Mouse.
The Shoes books are excellent and I always loved them, still do. Ballet Shoes, Theater Shoes, Skating Shoes, Circus Shoes, etc., by Noel Streatfeild.
Paddington books are good as well, and the Tee-Bo series about a talking dog, and the Moomintroll books.
I can't wait till DD5 is old enough for some of these -- they're all sitting on her shelf or in boxes, waiting for her interest to catch up! :-)
I'm doing this with my son right now. He's six and we just started Roald Dahl's The Witches! So far it is working well and I read a chapter or two ahead and plan a little activity we do together. He was so into it today that he forgot about wanting to play Wii!