I can't think of any adult books that would be appropriate for what you described as a young/sensitive 5.
I'm sure your DD will get to Harry Potter at some point. DS9 just said he would definitely not recommend it for anyone who was troubled by Roald Dahl's books. There's murder, violence and evil in every book. He asked me to say these are his FAVORITE books. (DS7 and I like them, too!)
When my kids were quite a bit younger, they both liked the historical biographies by David Adler (A Picture Book of...) but they'd probably be too young for someone reading at 6th grade level.
DS7 is sitting with me now, and recommends "United Tweets of America" which is about all the different state birds. They have fun pictures, and good info.
Has your DD read D'aulaire's Book of Greek Myths? Both my kids really enjoyed that. And Usborne has a lot of good non-fiction books. You might also consider the kid versions of many of the classics like White Fang, Call of the Wild, Robinson Crusoe and Journey to the Center of the Earth. My kids started with those, and DS9 has since enjoyed reading the unabridged versions.
DS7 just asked me to tell you that he likes the Eye Witness and Eye Wonder books. They have lots of pictures, and lots of facts about their subjects.
DS9 is also recommending The Mysterious Half Cat by Margaret Sutton.
Funny, both the boys are enjoying contributing to this post. They like to meet avid readers, even if only virtually. :-)
I'd better run so they can get their homework done. Have a great night!
