Jump to content

Menu

Book Club for Gifted Tweens/Teens - Need Suggestions


Jilly
 Share

Recommended Posts

I have been recruited to start a book club for gifted tweens/teens, and I am starting to plan it out, but I need a few suggestions. First off I have to designate an age for the book club. We have several teens in the group (including my twins who are 13), so I want to include teens, but others have suggested we allow kids as young as 10 in the group. My concern is that the teens may feel that the group is too young for them if there are younger kids, and I also worry that some of the books may have subject matter that the younger kids aren't ready for. At the same time though it is a gifted group, so many of these kids are reading higher level books which perhaps deal with more mature subject matter. If you were me what ages would you have for this group?

 

Question 2 deals with the booklist. I was thinking of choosing the first book, and then getting feedback from the students on the other books we read? Do you think that would work? I wonder if it would be more of a headache for me trying to get everyone agreeing on a book each month? On the other hand I want the kids to feel that they have a say in what we do, so I might give it a try.

 

As far as the first book goes does anyone have any suggestions for a book? I want something that will grab the kid's attention, but I want it to be relatively unknown so it is not a repeat read for anyone.

 

Thanks for any feedback. :001_smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

THe only feedback I really have is a concern that you mention. Just because a 10 year old CAN read more complicated books doesn't mean that their brain/emotions are ready for the themes that come with it. I would be very careful about the choices so that they can feed the younger child's giftedness, but not traumatize them either. LOL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you read Deconstructing Penguins?

 

It's got some good ideas for book groups. My memory is it has ideas for how to pick books too.

 

 

I read this book years ago, and I enjoyed it. Thanks for mentioning it. I think it's time to find my copy and read it again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

THe only feedback I really have is a concern that you mention. Just because a 10 year old CAN read more complicated books doesn't mean that their brain/emotions are ready for the themes that come with it. I would be very careful about the choices so that they can feed the younger child's giftedness, but not traumatize them either. LOL

 

 

That's my concern too. I am thinking maybe it should be for kids 12 and up, but I am not sure yet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just read Some of My Best Friends are Books. It has an entire section devoted to book discussion/groups with gifted children, and it has an excellent anthology of books for various ages that are targeted for the gifted child. So far, ds has loved the 2 books I've given to him from the list.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just read Some of My Best Friends are Books. It has an entire section devoted to book discussion/groups with gifted children, and it has an excellent anthology of books for various ages that are targeted for the gifted child. So far, ds has loved the 2 books I've given to him from the list.

 

Thank you for the recommendation. I think this will help me. :001_smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My PG son really enjoyed the Eragon series when he was in that 12-14 yo range. I get your concern about mature content vs. reading ability. Here is a website I am volunteering with: It is called What's In It? http://www.wiilitguide.com/index.html It is a website devoted to teen book reviews. You may be able to find something on there that would be a good fit for the club. We are trying to review as many current books as we can, but it is all volunteer and obviously we are busy homeschooling too! That being said, there is a large variety on there. Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To rec an obscure book - Sir Gibbie by George MacDonald. The edited version done a few decades ago by Elizabeth Yates is fine (MacDonald and his bunny trails!) C.S. Lewis really liked it, the main character spans the ages of 6 to 26, and a lot of interesting things happen at regularly placed intervals that tweens could easily discuss. And there's nothing that would disturb 10yo's. Oh, and I see Amazon has a study guide for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We enjoyed Duke TIP's book club selection from last term,

 

The Apothecary - by Maile Meloy

 

This term's selection looks great, too.

 

City of Ember - by Jeanne DuPrau

 

Not sure if you'd consider these too well-known, but great for the gifted Tween/early Teen set:

 

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

Bridge to Terabithia- by Katherine Peterson

The Invention of Hugo Cabret- by Brian Selznick

 

Those are the ones that come to mind. It's a tricky age. My older daughter's there at 10, and she's not super gifted or anything, but she's a voracious reader and I think the 10-13 age is toughest for readers like that in terms of finding *good* literature. It's a fine like between quality children's literature for mature/creative/gifted tweens, and young adult which sometimes has content they may not be emotionally ready for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I agree about the content for younger kids. My dd was in a teen reading group when she was 11. One of the books was the Canterbury Tales. She learned about the rape of the Wife of Bath. Didn't want to have that discussion off the cuff at that age.

 

If you have enough teens, I'd limit it to teens only. I'd decide if you want contemporary, classic, etc first and go from there.

 

Laura

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...