Q to Moms of Gifted kids: What do your kids read?

[moonsky]

We decided to keep DC(2nd Grade, 7yrs) in the same school than putting her in the self-contained one in a school 20-30mins away. She really loves reading. I still screen what she read. She has read all the chapter books that I know have no inappropriate language/behavior issue. So far, she is done with the whole collections of Magic Tree House, Beverly Cleary, American Girl, Little House, The Box Car Children, Biographies for children 9-12 yrs. She also read a lot of nonfictions youth books available in our local library.

Any suggestions on other Chapter books/normal books you recommend? How do you test your kids on the reading level? Where can I find list of good books for each grade? Last year when she got tested, she was at 4th grade level on reading. I am just not sure whether the books I gave her are too easy. Any thought or advice?

[SnuggleBuggles]

This is a good way for all kids to choose appropriate books:
http://www.portlandlibraryct.org/PDF...2010BISsrl.pdf

[KrisM]

There are a lot of threads on books in the Kid Fun section. Some series that come to mind are:

A to Z Mysteries
Encyclopedia Brown
Percy Jackson
Ivy and Bean

DS1 read all those in 2nd or 3rd grade. He's not gifted, but is a very good reader.

[BunnyBee]

Is this reading for pleasure or are you trying to supplement her school? For entertainment reading, I don't worry about level or quality as long as it's appropriate for their maturity level. The "grade level" evaluations of books are fairly useless IMO. For example, the Rainbow Fairy books are leveled 4th grade per Scholastic, and they're completely inane! But the girls in 2nd grade were reading them and talking about them at recess, so they had a social value. Anyway, don't get hung up on reading level. Each scale has a different result. If this is fun reading for your DD, I'd let her choose what looks interesting in the chapter book area.

If you're trying to supplement her school, I'd google for third grade book lists. Then fourth grade. But keep in mind that being "gifted" and reading at a "fourth grade level" doesn't mean she's emotionally mature enough to read fourth grade books. They start dealing with death and more mature themes which can scare younger kids or go right over their heads. A second grader may be able to read the words of a difficult book, but understanding and appreciating the literature is different.

Books that have won or are nominated for a Newberry Award are usually good bets, but the themes may be more mature.

Roald Dahl
Beverly Cleary
Mary Pope Osborne's Odyssey books
D'Aulaires Greek Myths
Harry Potter (my 2nd grader read the first two, then I made him wait to read more)
Because of Winn Dixie
A Wind in the Willows
All of a Kind Family series
Ballet Shoes series
my brain is blank and I'm typing on my phone...

Pinterest has bunches of book lists. Find a book she liked on amazon, then look at the also recommended/bought books. You can go to the Scholastic site and search a book she liked, then pull up similar leveled books. Homeschool forums are good sources for book recs, especially if you're trying to "afterschool" her.

Don't overlook nonfiction books. Their minds are little sponges! Let her loose in the nonfiction section and see what grabs her interest. The DK Eyewitness books are great.

Are you still reading to her? Lots of value in that, even if she's an advanced reader. (Read Aloud Handbook is a great resource.)

Make friends with the school librarian!

[ang79]

Cam Jansen maybe? I've been reading those to my girls (4.5 and soon to be 7) and they love them. They are short and easy mysteries and the girls are very interested in finding out who did it. I also just started the Never Girls books with them. They love fairies, so this series is right up their alley, and I kinda enjoy reading them too. The same author has written other Disney Fairy books as well that are a harder level, though we haven't read those yet. My almost 7 yr. old has just started getting into reading Magic Treehouse on her own. Has your DD read the Magic Treehouse non-fiction books? I saw some of them at our library, they are fact filled about topics that some of the books cover.

If her level is at 4th grade, she might be ready for Charlotte's Web and other EB White books (I think they are supposed to be 4-5th grade level). I've read Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web to both my girls and they both were very attentive to them and enjoyed them (and then became very interested in spiders and wanted to get fact books from the library on spiders!). There is a younger Nancy Drew series as well I think, though I've not read them (I loved the old Nancy Drew books in 6th grade as well as books my mom had read as a kid like Trixie Belden and Bobbsy Twins).

[justlearning]

. So far, she is done with the whole collections of Magic Tree House, Beverly Cleary, American Girl, Little House, The Box Car Children, Biographies for children 9-12 yrs. I am just not sure whether the books I gave her are too easy. Any thought or advice?

In my opinion, if these are books that she's recently been reading, I do think that these are too easy for her if she's been tested as gifted and tested at the 4th grade reading level last year. Because DS is into fantasy books with themes that you'd likely feel uncomfortable with, I won't give specific book suggestions (other than Chronicles of Narnia--great series). I'm constantly having to work to keep DS stocked with books, so I have developed good relationships with the school librarian, the kids' librarians at our two closest public libraries, and his teacher. I have DS talk with them about the most recent books that he's enjoyed and they then recommend other books for him based upon that. (In your case, you could ask them to suggest books of a similar genre but at a higher reading level.) It's great if you can find series or authors that they like (e.g., DS read all of Rick Riordan's books last year and over the summer, the complete Harry Potter series, and the Redwall books). I also have looked at our school's recommended summer reading lists (that emphasize the classics). So far DS has read all the books on those lists for every grade through 6th grade. I have also tried to have DS read Newbery Medal Winner books, but he hasn't always enjoyed those.

If your DD likes reading nonfiction books, I'd keep encouraging that habit. A reading specialist here highly recommends that kids read as much nonfiction as possible. My older DS read lots of nonfiction, but my younger DS hasn't really been into it.

ETA that you probably already know about it but here's a great resource for finding out the grade levels of books: http://www.scholastic.com/bookwizard/

[Reader]

My 7 year old son enjoyed Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Geronimo Stilton (easy & silly), Famous Young American biographies. I like to use commonsense media.org to scope out books I am unsure about (level of violence, language, etc).

[justlearning]

My 7 year old son enjoyed Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Geronimo Stilton (easy & silly), Famous Young American biographies. I like to use commonsense media.org to scope out books I am unsure about (level of violence, language, etc).

Great suggestions. Geronimo Stilton was one of my sons' favorite series and the books are very innocent, I think. Their female friends also enjoyed reading them.

[smiles33]

DD1 is also 7 and is bright, but I don't know if she's officially gifted and talented. She is a total bookworm and will check out 20 books from the library every other week (if I go that often!). DH also has probably bought her 50-60 books or more (her room is overwhelmed by books).

She's really enjoyed book series the most. We read Little House series to her when she was 4 but maybe she'll re-read them herself now. Last year she enjoyed many Magic Treehouse and Box Car Children books but decided this past summer she's "done" with them. She's read almost all of Beverly Cleary's books (the Ramona, Henry, and Ralph S. Mouse series), all the Ivy and Bean books, a bunch of Pony Pal books (I think she's up to book 19?), the Nancy Drew Clue Crew series (geared toward younger readers), a bunch of the Disney Fairy books (Tinkerbell and Pixie Hollow friends), and the Rainbow Magic Fairy series.

She's also read all the chapter books by Grace Lin (Pacy is a Taiwanese-American girl who is featured in a few of her books and then there are 2 more Chinese myth-based books). I think OP is also Asian so it might be nice to introduce your DD to an Asian American protagonist. I just checked and the Scholastic website says that Dumpling Days, Year of the Dog, When the Mountain Meets the Moon, and Starry River and the Sky, are all grade level 5. Wow, I didn't realize they were that advanced! DD read those books after reading the Ruby Lu series by Lenore Look, which is definitely more for younger graders (grade 3 per Scholastic).

Right now she's reading a fantasy series SIL gave her, Enchanted Forest Chronicles, which has far more sophisticated vocabulary and seems a bit above her in terms of subject matter but I haven't had a chance to read much of it. I read her a chapter every night before bed but she's also devouring them in the interim so I've read 4 chapters so far and she's almost done with the second book.

Hope these suggestions help!

[crayonblue]

Chronicles of Narnia
Anne of Green Gables
Nancy Drew

ETA: I don't know how you feel about Christian books but The Sugar Creek Gang series is fun! http://www.amazon.com/Robber-Campers.../dp/0802469949
Also, the Trailblazer biographies: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Trail.../398F0HE5D4S77