Well, the Penderwicks, Benedict Society and Indian in the Cupboard are all 4th-5th grade level, so I'll make some suggestions there. Have you tried EB White? Trumpet of the Swan and Charlotte's Web? Also, Five Children and It. The House on Pooh Corner is around 4-5th grade level. My 1st grader reads at 5th grade level and has read these books since September. They're good for her emotionally and at her reading level, so probably somewhat similar to your dd.

Lord of the Flies seems much too grim for a 2nd grader to read. My 10yo DYS son who reads at college level, put it down last summer because of the content. Seems like Jane Eyre would be too sophisticated for an 8yo, too.

Have you gone to scholastic book wizard for book-alike titles? You can choose content and age/reading level.

My 2E son with dyslexia also was given a tape player to listen to books. It wasn't successful. He had access to the library for the blind (can't remember what it's called), but in this age of easy technology, it seemed too old fashioned to use. We got him a Kindle and he used to do his nightly reading with text-to-speech, but he just reads now. On the kindle, we buy all his titles, but we think that's a great way to get him to read, so we're OK with it-- just be aware that not all titles are text-to-speech approved.

ETA: My dd loved Wonderstruck and Hugo Cabret, but I don't recommend those as books on tape, since they're so visual. But they might be fantastic on a kindle fire text-to-speech. We have a cd of Black Stallion we used to listen to in the car-- it is definitely a good one. At our local kids' bookstore, there are some classics that come with CDs and they're only about $10 for the book and CD. (This would be for books already in the public domain.)

My dd has also just enjoyed "Fire Within," about dragons. It's a series, and she's only read the first one, but has already downloaded the 2nd one.

And another author I just remembered-- Kate DiCamillo. Her books are wonderful. We've loved Eduard Tulane, The Magician's Elephant and Tale of Despereaux. She has others, too, we haven't read.


Last edited by syoblrig; 01/06/13 12:35 PM.