aready Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Does anyone know where you can get a reading list for gifted kids? My 9 yr old has tested at a reading level of 11.4 grade. Obviously, the content of a book this age might not be appropriate. She is quite sensitive too! Anyone know where I could find book lists for her reading level? Or books that would be appropriate? Thanks so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gratia271 Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 There are several lists available on the web from which you can choose books for your daughter. Ambleside online has book lists for their free curriculum, many of which are public domain texts. A list of "1000 good books" is also available. They are not, of course, geared toward the gifted population. Like your daughter, my children read significantly beyond grade level, and I have purchased books with reading lists, scanned online resources etc.. and have discovered that this is largely trial-and-error (lots of pre-reading for Mom) due to the asynchronous nature of pg children. Two of mine are highly sensitive, so I have to be quite judicious in book selections for them. If there are any particular topics of interest to your daughter, maybe all of us on the boards could begin compiling a list of what has worked for ours since there doesn't seem to be one out there.... or maybe there is, and we have overlooked it? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aready Posted June 1, 2010 Author Share Posted June 1, 2010 Thanks! I will check out those sites! She enjoys: books about horses, Little House books, Heidi was a favorite, Pollyana, Little Women Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaMa2005 Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Oh, my ears are open for information about this. I feel like I am butting my head against a wall :banghead: with this issue, especially over the past couple of weeks. I have tried to talk to the librarian which was a total waste of time. (Response from two different libraries "We don't have this request for material on a 5th-6th grade reading level for a 5 year old. Are you sure you don't mean you need books for a beginning reader?" :ack2:) Even our local bookstores have been a bust. DS is very sensitive, also. As I told DH, I'm not quite sure what we will be reading when school starts in August. DH's comment, "He loves reading the back of the cereal boxes!" :D Thanks, honey, for your support! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gratia271 Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Oh, my ears are open for information about this. I feel like I am butting my head against a wall :banghead: with this issue, especially over the past couple of weeks. I have tried to talk to the librarian which was a total waste of time. (Response from two different libraries "We don't have this request for material on a 5th-6th grade reading level for a 5 year old. Are you sure you don't mean you need books for a beginning reader?" :ack2:) Even our local bookstores have been a bust. DS is very sensitive, also. As I told DH, I'm not quite sure what we will be reading when school starts in August. DH's comment, "He loves reading the back of the cereal boxes!" :D Thanks, honey, for your support! BTDT.... librarians are not helpful in the least... it quickly devolves into "Why don't you let them stay little for a while.. what's the rush?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 You could use this Lexile search for books at her reading level, then filter for content. http://www.lexile.com/findabook/ Besides Ambleside and 1000 Good Books, I had good luck with older books, although I still needed to pre-read. The content level didn't go up as fast a century ago. I don't think you'll find much fiction at the 11-12th grade reading level at all, let alone appropriate for a 9 year old. Is she at all interested in nonfiction? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aready Posted June 1, 2010 Author Share Posted June 1, 2010 It hasn't ever held her interest much, but I'm beginning to wonder if it just was the wrong level, which is why. She does enjoy astronomy and science. I hadn't really thought about that much. Thanks for reminding me!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gratia271 Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Thanks! I will check out those sites! She enjoys: books about horses, Little House books, Heidi was a favorite, Pollyana, Little Women My daughter loved the Frances Hodgson Burnett books (Little Princess, Secret Garden). Other ideas are Wind in the Willows, other titles by Louisa May Alcott and Anne of Green Gables. My children also loved Silas Marner and titles by Charles Dickens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gratia271 Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 You could use this Lexile search for books at her reading level, then filter for content. http://www.lexile.com/findabook/ Besides Ambleside and 1000 Good Books, I had good luck with older books, although I still needed to pre-read. The content level didn't go up as fast a century ago. Excellent point... I am finding myself purchasing more OOP books and locating texts in public domain for this reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 BTDT.... librarians are not helpful in the least... it quickly devolves into "Why don't you let them stay little for a while.. what's the rush?"We must be lucky; I've dealt with a number of excellent and helpful children's librarians in our system. Hoagies has Reading Lists and links to More Reading Lists. Some threads from this forum: I'm running out of ideas... What books for a well read 7yo... Books again... Books for younger advanced readers Reading List Hint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gratia271 Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 We must be lucky; I've dealt with a number of excellent and helpful children's librarians in our system. Hoagies has Reading Lists and links to More Reading Lists. Some threads from this forum: I'm running out of ideas... What books for a well read 7yo... Books again... Books for younger advanced readers Reading List Hint I envy you! Particularly in the early years I would have really benefited from some help. I forgot about Hoagie. Thanks for the reminder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 We must be lucky; I've dealt with a number of excellent and helpful children's librarians in our system. Same for us. My kids adore several of the librarians we get to deal with on a regular basis. They will set a new book aside for us if they know it's something DD would really love. One useful source of booklists for us is a binder our library keeps of the suggested reading at various local schools. Some of it is pure fluff, but several of the private schools have nice lists and require reading classics and quality new lit over the summer. It might be worth traveling to a library where you don't have borrowing privileges just to speak with more helpful librarians and gather ideas. HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 One thing that works for my DD is to keep non-fiction that is at her level and fits our current study or her current interests around, but let her pick out other books based on interests and that are just plain fun. It doesn't really matter WHAT level a book on dragonflies is written on-it's not going to be emotionally overwhelming to a young child, but I well remember reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and then moving on to "Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret" at about DD's current age-and I really didn't need the education that book provided yet! So I'm perfectly fine with letting her stick with Oz books and Fairy tales for a while longer ;). I do wish librarians would be required to take at least one class on gifted young readers, though-I'm tired of getting looks like my daughter is some sort of alien from outer space, or that they're convinced that I lock her in a closet all day and force feed her vocabulary lists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizabeth Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 I adore our librarians and in fact the head of the youth dept was instrumental in helping us choose hs. We are really fortunate as we have a great library all around. Try Jim Trealease his book lists are amazing link here http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizabeth Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 I do wish librarians would be required to take at least one class on gifted young readers, though-I'm tired of getting looks like my daughter is some sort of alien from outer space, or that they're convinced that I lock her in a closet all day and force feed her vocabulary lists. Aw come on we know you keep her under the stairs like Harry Potters' wicked inlaws....Seriously there is an employee at B and N who always says things akin to ," Oh you poor girl when will you get a break and just be a kid??? " This is a ps teacher who teaches 1st grade . Yes, that is who should be making decisions and giving advice to pg teens. It really is just their own security or lack thereof on display with these comments. Our youth librarian is a Rhodes scholar and could not move quickly enough to be sure dd had books that were challenging. This is true IRL also for adults who are gifted . Sometimes you have to be bite.your.tongue. Regardless of age, it ain't easy being green as Kermit would sing. In my experience, thank God for librarians without them most gifted students and their parents would not have a prayer in the world. All my life they have been my friends, reading buddies and occasionally partners in" medicinal imbibing" of spirits for throat infections and the like. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZooRho Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 I would also suggest the books Honey for a CHild's heart and Honey for a Teen's heart. by Gladys Hunt. I also had Best books by Bob Jones-They did not just list Christian books but books that are good for students. They give a good description of the books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Some of My Best Friends Are Books: Guiding Gifted Readers from Pre-School to High School by Judith Wynn Halsted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momteaches2 Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 I can't wait to explore all of these lists and links! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staceyshoe Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 Some of My Best Friends Are Books: Guiding Gifted Readers from Pre-School to High School by Judith Wynn Halsted I highly recommend this also. It gives suggestions for content-appropriate books even for kids who are extremely advanced readers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dslittle Posted June 5, 2010 Share Posted June 5, 2010 Wow! Awesome links and suggestions - I am cutting and pasting like crazy - I too have become completely exhausted this year trying to come up with "good" books for my advanced 8 yr old dd and can't find enough time to read ahead of her to keep her satiated. I am so excited now with new possibilities - and just in time for the summer!:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizabeth Posted June 5, 2010 Share Posted June 5, 2010 anything by Cornelia Funke link http://www.scholastic.com/corneliafunke/ The Baum novels both preceding and following The Wizard of Oz link here http://search.store.yahoo.net/cgi-bin/nsearch?catalog=doverpublications&query=baum The sentence structure, punctuation and vocabulary are simply amazing and of course the content is fine. I think the Half Magic series by Edward Eager is sublime link to powells bookshop here http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780152020682-2 These are all books that my advanced reader loved and certtainly there is nothing here to sadden a sensitive child. It is a challege to find that happy medium. The best series for this age is Madeleine L'Engle A wonderful lady who passed in the last few years. Link here to her wonderful series http://www.madeleinelengle.com/books/biblio_murry.htm These are IMHO the best of the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 One rule of thumb I learned somewhere (here, probably, lol), is to choose books with copyright dates before 1950. It doesn't avoid every conceivable problem (racism and sexism being the main problems I find in old books), but does avoid many problems. Frankly, I have found it easier to gloss over/explain racist language in old books ("Racism used to be so common that even good people thought that foreigners were thieves! How sad!" or "It used to be so rare for a woman to go to college, but nowadays, more women than men earn college degrees!") than to deal with the ugliness in many modern books. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisaj Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 My 5 year old is also a very proficient reader (975 lexile score, 10th grade in standards-based npr), so I've been trying to figure this out, too. I love seeing the reading lists! With my son, I spent a lot of this past year trying to find books for his reading level/age level. It got tricky very quickly, and we've agreed to some decisions that may not have been best, like letting him read all of Harry Potter. He has been going through some "age vs academics" worries about being "an 11 year old stuck in a 5 year old's body." Another friend with highly gifted children passed on the advice of a school psychiatrist, suggesting that these books where children face heavy burdens/challenges can be too much for younger ones. We've taken the summer off from HP/Percy Jackson and I'm trying to have him focus more on "light" reading even though most of it's significantly lower than his reading level. (He's currently loving the "Fudge" Judy Blume books!) When school starts again, we're going to try focusing on the classics and medal winners, because I hate to have him miss out on great childrens' literature just because he can read higher-level material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dslittle Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 I've always had similar problems with my younger daughter, especially since she has an older sister - while the younger daughter could always read at a higher level than her sister, she could not always handle the content. It was easier for me since I have girls (not sure what I would have done with a boy) but I dealt with it by giving her books that I used to read (at an older age :-) as a girl - books more from those on the "1000 Good Books List" like the Louisa May Alcott, The Little Princess, The Secret Garden and other classics. I think it's harder coming up with books for boys - but maybe it's just because I was a girl... Anyway, I am loving these lists since it's giving me other options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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