BikeBookBread Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Got DD8 a Kindle for her birthday on Thursday. Trying to load it with a few things. She loves series books. Right now she is screaming through the Thea and Geronimo Stilton books. I don't have a huge problem with twaddle (not a steady diet, of course) but I'm not dead set against it. What I DON'T want her reading, though, are books with a ton of potty humor (which is in girls books now too! UGH), books that focus on "the cute boy" and books that make the parents the enemy. Any suggestions? Series or otherwise? Thanks!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 So, any kind of series? There's a lot of options in there for an 8 yo. Has she read Ivy and Bean? Judy Moody (okay, yeah, Judy does have that weird already chewed gum collection, but that's about as gross as it gets)? Ramona? The Boxcar Children? Franny K Stein? Magic Treehouse? A to Z Mysteries? Secrets of Droon? I could keep going, but... mysteries? animals? contemporary? adventure? fantasy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikeBookBread Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 So, any kind of series? There's a lot of options in there for an 8 yo. Has she read Ivy and Bean? Judy Moody (okay, yeah, Judy does have that weird already chewed gum collection, but that's about as gross as it gets)? Ramona? The Boxcar Children? Franny K Stein? Magic Treehouse? A to Z Mysteries? Secrets of Droon? I could keep going, but... mysteries? animals? contemporary? adventure? fantasy? She is actually VERY picky about what she reads for fun. She likes mysteries, but refuses to read Magic Treehouse, though she loves listening to MTH. :confused: Boxcar children, same thing. Ramona... now that's an idea. She read Ivy and Bean, but maybe I'll look into those some more. She loves animals. Doesn't love fairies (says they are "babyish"). I think she would like fantasy if she gave it a try, but she doesn't want to even give it a go. PPG can be a little bit... difficult sometimes. :/ Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigitte Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Roald Dahl stories? Walter Farley's Black Stallion series. Marguerite Henry's books (some of her lesser known works are not horsey). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 (edited) The Cobble Street Cousins series by Cynthia Rylant is very nice for that age. Rylant is a good and prolific author, very much worth checking out. The Spiderwick Chronicles does have faires, but not in a babyish way. It's not the greatest lit, but it's not bad at all! One of mine was stuck on this series for quite a bit. :) It's tame and fun, and the children take care of each other. All of my children adored Dahl's Matilda at this age as well. The parents are terrible....but it is Matilda, after all. A classic. Others: Nurse Matilda The Wind in the Willows Charlotte's Web The BFG Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Babe, The Gallant Pig The Water Horse Children of Noisy Village Milly Molly Mandy Edited February 8, 2012 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber in AUS Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Chronicals of Narnia Harry Potter Flossy has enjoyed most of those already mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Dragonrider Igraine the Brave Hugo Cabret Wonderstruck Little House on the Prairie Series Understood Betsy All of the Marguerite Henry books (Horses!) The Penderwicks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 (edited) Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. There are 2 sequels. Edited February 8, 2012 by kijipt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skirch Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 My 8 year old is loving the American Girl Mysteries right now. I've only been able to find a couple for the Kindle though. She used birthday and Christmas money to buy a big stack of them though last month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikeBookBread Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 Thanks for everyone's wonderful responses. Sometimes I wonder what is up with my girl... I have tried to get her to read MOST of the titles and series that you have suggested and she won't even try them. :( I finally got her to check out a Little House in the Big Woods today, BECAUSE her best friend is reading it. HA! I will just keep trying... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I was working on a list for a friend the other day. These are some of the books dd has read in the last year or so and enjoyed -- in no particular order. The Finn Family Moomintroll, by Tove Janssen (series) The Saturdays, by Elizabeth Enright (series) Castaways in Lilliput, by Henry Winterfeld (also his Roman myseries books... hm, also whats-her-name's Roman Mysteries series -- I think it starts with "Thieves of Ostia") Anne of Green Gables, by L. M. Montgomery (series -- F didn't love these, but so many girls do...) The Cat Who Went to Heaven, by Coatsworth The Dragon of Lonely Island, by Rebecca Rupp The Plant that Ate Dirty Socks Amos Fortune, Free Man Akimbo and the Lions (series -- a little easy for them at this stage) Her Majesty Grace Jones The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet Li Lun: Lad of Courage A Wrinkle in Time (series) Little Pear At the Sign of the Sugared Plum The Tarantula in My Purse Cecile: Gates of Gold (One of the Girls of Many Lands series from American Girl -- I think she read all of them) Homer Price Calico Captive The Courage of Sarah Noble The Skippack School The Jungle Book Because of Winn-Dixie (and a number of other Kate diCamillo titles -- I won't bother to list them all... very thoughtful, challenging books in terms of facing human behavior, but so very good) In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson Peter Pan Mr. Revere and I (also Ben and Me) Johnny Tremaine Toliver's Secret Stowaway (Karen Hesse) Red Sand, Blue Sky The Twenty-One Balloons Swallows and Amazons (series -- this is one that Caleb and I *fought* over as children, but my kids have never been as obsessive about it as we were. I don't remember getting into physical fights over any books other than this series *except* for the family's Complete Sherlock Holmes, lol) The Phantom Tollbooth Tales of a Chinese Grandmother (there are others as well, Korean Grandmother... maybe others) The Cabin Faced West The Penderwicks (three in this series so far -- huge favorites) The Island of the Aunts The Secret School Half Magic (series) - hm, Half Magic draws a lot on the tradition of E. Nesbit stories, and hers are wonderful. Start with Five Children and It (first of a series) American Girl History Mysteries (about 20-30 in the series, but each stands alone) All-of-a-Kind-Family Misty of Chincoteague (and others by the same author) Harriet the Spy A Picture of Freedom: Diary of Clotee, a slave girl (this is one in a series of independent titles written as diaries during important historical periods) Pollyanna Heidi Little Women Tuck Everlasting Children of Green Knowe (series) Caddie Woodlawn Thimble Summer My Side of the Mountain The Indian in the Cupboard (series) The Hundred Dresses The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate The Mostly-True Adventures of Homer P Figg The Little Book Room Dragonwings Shiloh Island of the Blue Dolphins The House of Sixty Fathers The Good Master (Seredy) The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (a favorite, first of a series) The Sisters Grimm (series), both of mine loved it... Ds loved Gregor, The Overlander, but dd got grossed out after a while. The Giants and the Joneses (dd reads this one over and over) The Great Gilly Hopkins Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth (E. L. Konigsburg -- apparently nothing can live up to From the Mixe-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler though) The Mysterious Benedict Society (series) Ruby Holler Books in her "to read" pile right now: Episode of a Sparrow Blue Willow Brady (Jean Fritz) When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit The House of Sixty Fathers (I love most Meindert deJong) Behind Rebel Lines Prairie-Town Boy A Mango-Shaped Space (about a girl with synesthesia -- which we only realized recently Flannery has as well) A Dog on Barkham Street From Anna Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry The Great Turkey Walk Strawberry Girl Betsy-Tacy The House of Dies Drear Elidor The Great Brain Snow Treasure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skirch Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 oh! Island of the Blue Dolphins - she loved that! Beacause of Winn Dixie. The Poppy books by Avi. Those are ones I can think of off the top of my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 The Bears on Hemlock Mountain This was the first chapter book my youngest ever read and she has loved it ever since. She was younger than your dd at her first reading, so not 'advanced', but it's a lovely little story an 8 year old might enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. There are 2 sequels. Sequels, really? What are those titles? Are the sequels by the original author? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in TX Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 What I loved at that age: Heidi Little Women The Secret Garden Stuart Little Bobbsey Twins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpidarkomama Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 What about the Legends of Ga'Hoole series?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skirch Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 The Bears on Hemlock Mountain This was the first chapter book my youngest ever read and she has loved it ever since. She was younger than your dd at her first reading, so not 'advanced', but it's a lovely little story an 8 year old might enjoy. Oh yeah, DD loved that one! Oh, and Coyote Autumn! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 My 7yo is currently enjoying the Misty of Chincoteague books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caayenne Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin Pippi Longstocking (series) Betsy-Tacy (series) All-of-a-Kind Family (series) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 You've gotten some great suggestions. If she likes animals, what about the Thornton Burgess books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 If she's well-versed in fairy tales, she might really love the Sisters Grimm series--it's funny and well-written, and not as hard to get into as some of the other classics listed. (Some of them start slowww...) What are some of her favorite read alouds that you've done? My dd read some of ours herself, when her reading level caught up with her listening level, iykwim. She enjoyed the rereads a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Sequels, really? What are those titles? Are the sequels by the original author? I have Rasco & The Rats of NIMH; it's by the daughter of the author of Mrs Frisby. According to Wikipedia, "a review from the University of Chicago's Center for Children's books states that, 'Conly has completely mastered the bucolic tone of the first book.'" R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH is also by the daughter. I haven't read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I had one daughter who was also really, really picky at that age, but loved to read. She finally found that she loved "real life" books. She loved, for example, WWII stories of her girls her age. One reply you got included this book: When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit ...which my daughter loved. Other books along those lines are: Number the Stars Snow Treasure Twenty and Ten There are many, many others in that category! I can't quite remember the reading level of the ones I mentioned, but I think they'd be okay. Then there's my all-time favorite series (which others have also recommended): The Betsy-Tacy series. It's set during the early 1920's in the Midwest, and is loosely about the life of the author. Reading gets more difficult as the characters grow older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Mostly just commiserating about picky readers. I find things for my 7yo that are perfect... and he refuses to even look at them! Arg! Good suggestions so far. I'll add Anna Hibiscus, which we all enjoyed recently. Also I'll second the Sisters Grimm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I have Rasco & The Rats of NIMH; it's by the daughter of the author of Mrs Frisby. According to Wikipedia, "a review from the University of Chicago's Center for Children's books states that, 'Conly has completely mastered the bucolic tone of the first book.'" R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH is also by the daughter. I haven't read it. Fascinating! I never knew that. We loved the original, so we'll check those others out also! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 My 7yo is enjoying the Sisters Grimm, Lemony Snicket, and the Mysterious Benedict Society series. Also Trumpet of the Swan was a hit. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 (edited) My dd is an avid reader and has read many of the suggestions already made. I'm constantly getting books from the library to keep her well fed :) - I didn't see Mandy, by Julie Andrews mentioned. That's one we loved. - The Mysterious Benedict Society is fantastic - we all enjoyed those. - Penderwicks, of course. - Frindle, by Andrew Clements (introduced to us via The Arrow lessons we do). - Anything by Beverly Cleary ETA: Harry Potter has been my daughter's favorite. She has read every single American Girl book, including all the mysteries (there are many!) Edited February 8, 2012 by tammyw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Fascinating! I never knew that. We loved the original, so we'll check those others out also! :iagree: Thank you, stripe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayne J Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I'll add The Happy Hollisters series The Bobbsey Twins series Nancy Drew series Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Thanks for everyone's wonderful responses. Sometimes I wonder what is up with my girl... I have tried to get her to read MOST of the titles and series that you have suggested and she won't even try them. :( I finally got her to check out a Little House in the Big Woods today, BECAUSE her best friend is reading it. HA! I will just keep trying... At that age, my daughter was really into A Series of Unfortunate Events. (We called her Morticia.) So, if you have the type of girl who couldn't stomach Pollyanna past the Glad Game, this may be a series she'll enjoy. If it's any consolation, my daughter is 15 and reads a STACK of books each week. She even reads Shakespeare for kicks, and begged for tickets to a book signing for her birthday. If that series is more to your daughter's taste, I can ask my Dd what else she would recommend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piraterose Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I might have missed it, but I don't think I saw the books by Noel Streatfeild mentioned; the shoes series, and not a "Shoe" book but my favorite by her, Thursday's Child and the sequel, Far to Go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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