Books for pre-teen girl???

[crimsonkelley]

My daugther is going to be 11 in a few months. She is having a terrible time finding books to read at the library.

 

She has been reading since she was 4 1/2. So, she has read ALOT of books. She is reading all the time - in the car, in the bathroom, at the table and of course any free moment she has. She has read and reread books over and over - ex. Phantom Tollbooth at least 6 times, Chronicles of Narnia and Little House on the Prairie - too many times to even count.

 

We are Christians and don't approve of some books that focus solely on witchcraft or that type of thing.

 

One of her friends, who just turned 11, suggested the Christy Miller series. While it is Christian, the content seems a little too old. Have any of your children read the books? The one I read focused solely on boyfriends. And one of the ones focused on the college years. I don't think my 10 yr old daughter needs to be reading about a girl a guy and the college years - even if it is from a Christian perspective.

 

Do you have a good resource that lists age/grade appropriate books?

 

Thanks!!

Edited May 22, 2010 by crimsonkelley

[micandme]

Ohhhhh, that's where we are going to be in a year or two. My DD is 9 and has read like crazy too.... some of these may be a bit too young for your daughter, but I'll list them anyway....

 

~Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew (probably already read those, huh?)

~All of a Kind Family series

~The Moffats series

~Lucy M. Montgomery books (Anne of Green Gables, Emily of New Moon, etc.)

~Mandie Mysteries

~anything by Patricia St. John

 

When I run out of ideas, I go here:

http://www.homeschoolmarketplace.com/booklists/VBendt.html

 

OR

 

I look at the Sonlight catalog for ideas. :)

 

I can't wait to hear what others have to say!

 

~Michelle

[LibraryLover]

My dd enjoyed The Mysterious Benedict Society. I don't know where that falls on the Christian scale of appropriate or not. :001_smile:

[OrganicAnn]

Has she read any of the british writer Enid Blyton? They are not specifically Christian, but very into values. Some are mysteries (the Fabulous Four, etc) and some are about a girls boarding school (Mallory Towers etc)

[crimsonkelley]

She has read the Moffats series, Nancy Drew, Ann of Green Gables, etc..

 

However, I've not heard of the Mysterious Benedict Society or Enid Blyton. I'll have to check in to those. I don't usually preread all her books, but did the last series b/c it seems focused on boyfriends. She has a homeschool friend that is OBSESSED with boys and that is the one who recommended the Christy Miller series. I'm looking for anything age appropriate that doesn't focus on witchcraft or boys!! (She has all her teen years to think about boys!)

 

Thanks!!

[OhM]

I remember reading James Herriot around that age. (All Creatures Great and Small, etc.) But it's been so long I barely remember them - I just remember liking them.

 

My girls and I enjoyed the Shakespeare Stealer series by Gary Blackwood.

 

My 12yo is hooked on the Westing Game - her 3rd time through.

[AndyJoy]

I enjoyed the "Adventures in the Northwoods" series by Lois Walfrid Johnson at that age. It is a 10-book Christian mystery series centered around a 13-year-old girl in the early 1900s. It is not challenging reading but it is wholesome and enjoyable. As I recall there are small parts where the main character has a mild crush, but this is not a common theme and there is no "romance" to speak of. The first book is The Disappearing Stranger and they are available on paperbackswap if you use it.

[i.love.lucy]

What about the Royal Diaries? There are a lot of them. If she likes historical fiction at all, she'd probably love them.

 

Have you seen the book series about a nurse named Cherry Ames? Those are delightful and a little old fashioned.

[Anne]

Swallows & Amazons series by Arthur Ransome - my dds loved these at that age.

 

You said she'd read the Anne of Green Gables series - how about the rest of L.M. Montgomery's books?

 

Specifically Christian, but not romance-based:

Trailblazer books by Dave & Neta Jackson

Robert Elmer wrote a couple of series that were pretty good

 

Anne

[bookfiend]

This recommendation is from another thread I'm reading about books set in geographic locations:

 

American Girl has a series of books called Girls of Many Lands about girls around the world that looks interesting. Written at a higher level than the AG books - like for 4th-8th grade? Here's a link to the one set in Ethiopia.

 

 

I would add; my 11yo boy is reading the Redwall Series by Brian Jacques. I have personally read all of them and think this is a delightful series. They would have enchanted me as a young girl.

Edited May 22, 2010 by bookfiend

[Ottakee]

Do you have a good resource that lists age/grade appropriate books?

 

Thanks!!

 

First, it is great that you are concerned about what your daughter is reading. Both a friend and I were very early and good readers and we now as adults lament the books that we read as pre-teens and teens. Neither of our mothers were readers and they really didn't have a clue what we were reading.

 

How about looking through various homeschool catalogs for ideas/authors? Check out the literature rich programs like Sonlight, Winter Promise, etc. She might come up with new books/authors that are great.

 

Christian Book http://www.cbd.com might have some more ideas for her as well.

 

Where I struggle, even as an adult, is finding GOOD books that aren't necessarily Christian fiction but rather just GOOD, well written books that aren't full of offensive material. I find something that sounds good and then get started only to find a lot of language or inappropriate scenes in the book.

 

You might also want to focus on books written 50-100 years ago which are generally "safer" than those written today.