Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources Seabiscuit for nine year-old? Other recs?

I'd like to give my nine year-old (who is in a very unchallenging school environment) a gentle nudge towards more more challenging reading.

He loves history, so I though maybe some adult books that provide color about a particular period might be enjoyed. I recently saw a positive review of Laura Hillenbrand's new book and it made me think of Seabiscuit. I read it and enjoyed it, but can't remember if it had any sex. Anybody happen to know? It's not typically something you find in the Amazon reviews!

And a related question - I used the AR bookfinder to try and find some books on a more challenging level, and it seems like in the fiction category to get beyond 5-7 grade (which is Harry Potter) you are mostly limited to older books and archaic language becomes an issue. Are they higher level *because* of the archaic language? But then what level is modern adult fiction? The young adult fiction I checked (Hunger Games series, Ender's Game) is 5th or 6th grade level. He's been reading at this level for over two years, so I'd like him to occasionally push himself a little. Any recs?

He tried White Fang and didn't like it. He also tried Lord of the Flies and put it down. If he keeps putting down the more challenging books I will eventually require him to read them (maybe every fourth book or so) but I'd like to give him some more choices. Keep in mind, this is a child who is doing NOTHING at school and loves to read. He needs a little brain stretch and won't consider it a big deal.

ETA - I just thought to look up Seabiscuit in the AR bookreader and they have it at 7.5. So I guess that answers one of my question - the reading levels top out at around 7, unless there is some complexity. Makes sense I guess.