Melissa B Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 I need some suggestions on what books to give my younger sister for Christmas. She is 11 years old, highly gifted, and reads all of the time. She sticks primarily to fantasy, magic, dragons, etc. although she does read some mysteries. She also loves horror books. She has only read older horror books along the line of Edgar Allen Poe (her favorite author.) She is not allowed to read modern horror. I have already given her the L'Engle series, the Conan Doyle books and gave her Phantom of the Opera for her birthday. I usually give her a full series for Christmas, but am running out of ideas. She has all of Poe and has read anything recent in the children/teen fiction - for example Harry Potter, Eragon, and anything else that has come out in the last three years. I would love some suggestions on some older books (preferably a series or author that has written several books.) Something written at a fairly high level, but still suitable for a pre-teen. I know that she has Tolkein, Dracula and Frankenstein as well, although I don't know that she has read them. My father pre-reads and makes decisions about books along those lines. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 The Redwall series by Brian Jacques (pronounced "Jakes"), and also his non-Redwall books, and Agatha Christie mysteries. There are dozens of each of these. My advanced reader read Redwall at 8 or 9, but 11-15 is probably the most common age. It's fantasy involving small woodland creatures and no humans. Hope that helps, or at least bumps this up enough so someone else can chime in. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 (edited) A few of these titles are not "advanced reader" level, but are such great "don't miss them" books that I consider them "musts" for any 5th/6th grader! : ) I'll keep thinking! Warmest regards, Lori D. GREAT BOOKS FOR 11-14 YEAR OLDS - Island of the Blue Dolphins (O'Dell) - Mara Daughter of the Nile (McGraw) - From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (Konigsburg) - Five on a Treasure Island (Blyton) - Anne of Green Gables (Montgomery) -- and others in the series - My Family and Other Animals (Durrell) - All Creatures Great and Small (Herriot) -- and others in the series MYSTERY/DETECTIVE gr. 5-8 reading/interest level - The Rescuers, Miss Bianca, Miss Bianca in the Orient (Sharpe) - Basil of Baker Street (Titus) - Case of the Baker Street Irregular (Newman) -- and others in this series gr. 7-10 reading/interest level - The Westing Game (Raskin) high school reading/interest level - Lord Peter (Dorothy Sayers) - Father Brown mysteries (Chesterton) - No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series (Smith) - Mrs. Pollifax series HORROR - Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Irving) - Picture of Dorian Gray (Wilde) - Something Wicked This Way Comes (Bradbury) SCI-FI - The Giver (Lowry) - The Time Machine (Wells) - The Invisible Man (Wells) - War of the Worlds (Wells) - Flatland (Abbott) FANTASY gr. 5-8 reading/interest level - The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (Aiken) - Percy Jackson and the Olympians series - The Reluctant Dragon (Grahame) - Chronicles of Narnia (Lewis) - The Hobbit (Tolkien) - The Father Christmas Letters (Tolkien) - The Phantom Tollbooth (Juster) - The Never Ending Story (Ende) - Half Magic; Magic by the Lake, Knight's Castle; Time Garden; Seven Day Magic (Eager) - The Secret of Platform 13 (Ibbotson) - The Treekeepers (Britton) - City of Ember; People of Sparks (Du Prau) - The Ordinary Princess (Kaye) - Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (O'Brien) gr. 7-10 reading/interest level - Ella Enchanted (Levine) - The Great and Terrible Quest (Lovett) - Five Children and It; The Phoenix and the Carpet; The Amulet; The Book of Dragons (Nesbit) - Watership Down (Adams) - The Princess & the Goblins; The Princess & Curdie (MacDonald) - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; Through the Looking Glass (Carroll) - Peter Pan (Barry) - The Lord of the Rings trilogy (Tolkien) high school reading/interest level - Aurelia's Colors; Cyndere's Midnight (Overstreet) - Through the Looking Glass (Carroll) - Momo (Ende) - The Lord of the Rings trilogy (Tolkien) - Smith of Wooten Major; Farmer Giles of Ham; Leaf by Niggle (Tolkien) -- short stories - Golden Key, Light Princess, Wise Woman (George MacDonald) -- short stories - Wizard of Earthsea; The Tombs of Atuan; The Farthest Shore (Le Guin) Edited December 11, 2008 by Lori D. added info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLJen Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 Has she read the Anne of Green Gables series yet? There are 7 or 8 books in the series, and while Anne takes a backseat as main character in the last two or three, they're still pretty good, especially for an avid reader. Montgomery's writing and descriptions are beautiful. And some of her other books, like the Emily of New Moon series (3 books I think), The Tangled Web, and Kilmeny of the Orchard, are also good, but not as good as Anne. :) All of the Anne books, in my opinion, "sustain a rereading," which was one of Lewis' ways of identifying a good story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa B Posted December 11, 2008 Author Share Posted December 11, 2008 Thanks for the suggestions so far. She will not read anything "girly." I've already tried. :) I love Anne of Green Gables, as do my girls, but she won't read them. She has read Redwall and some Agatha Christie. Here are the ones listed so far that she may not have read and would consider. I am looking them up now. I looked at the Earthsea trilogy last night and wrote it down as a possibility. Any reviews or thoughts on the books below? Any additional suggestions would also be appreciated. Thanks! - Picture of Dorian Gray (Wilde) - Something Wicked This Way Comes (Bradbury) - The Giver (Lowry) - The Time Machine (Wells) - The Invisible Man (Wells) - War of the Worlds (Wells) - Flatland (Abbott) - Aurelia's Colors; Cyndere's Midnight (Overstreet) - Momo (Ende) - Smith of Wooten Major; Farmer Giles of Ham; Leaf by Niggle (Tolkien) -- short stories - Wizard of Earthsea; The Tombs of Atuan; The Farthest Shore (Le Guin) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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