Books for mature 7 year old girl ?

[circular]

DD in YR2, been a free reader since early YR1. Exhausted her Rainbow Fairy books, then promptly turned her nose up at the Gwyneth Rees and Tiara club fairy books that she got at Xmas. She does not want to be so 'girly' anymore.

She has read most of Road Dahl (favourite was James and the Giant Peach), Enid Blyton's Enchanted Wood series and some Horrid Henry books. Just started on the first collection of the Famous 5, but not much feedback yet. She also enjoys poetry and joke books.

I was wondering whether some ot the classics like Heidi, Black Beauty, Alice in Wonderland or the Narnia Books would be a good idea?

[ChasingSquirrels]

Jeremy Strong books are good.

[Takver]

Don't see why not the classics, though I think my 7 y/o would find Black Beauty very sad.

DD's liked lots of my old books - Ballet Shoes, White Boots (too girly for your dd?), the Little House in the Big Woods/Prairie etc books, One End Street, the Moomins, the Wombles

There are also plenty of new but non-girly books around - dd likes Astrosaurs, Captain Underpants, How to Train your Dragon, Dick King Smith's books (mostly about animals) she's not so keen on Mr Gum or Michael Morpurgo's books but they're generally popular.

Do you have a good library? Its an easy way for her to have a browse & see what she likes . . .

[Takver]

There's also a couple of other threads running atm in the books topic with loads of suggestions [http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/childrens_books/911317-Book-Ideas-for-Bright-8-year-old-girl here]] and here

[Takver]

oops, first link should be here

[iheartdusty]

I think those classics could be daunting to a modern young reader. The language is difficult, and they sound like a considerable leap from Tiara club/Rainbow fairies etc. DD has some simplified versions of those classics which she enjoyed, and I hope they will lead her into the real thing in a few years.

To span the gap, as well as the ones mentioned above you might look at

Anything by Astrid Lindgren - Pippi Longstocking, Emil books

Rumer Godden - the Diddakoi, Miss Happiness & Miss Flower, Holly & Ivy

Paddington stories

Clever Polly & the Stupid Wolf

Professor Branestawm / the Dribblesome Teapots by Norman Hunter

[circular]

Well the 'Famous 5' was not really a hit - boring !

She has found one or two Road Dahl's she either never got around to first time or is re-reading.

I'll take all the other suggestions to the library next time we go.

[seeker]

Narnia-yes, if you like them.

I think that the "classics' are too much for modern children of this age, however good their reading is. Just have a look at the density of the text of something like Alice or Heidi and compare to Roald Dahl - too much of a jump. And Alise is full of jokes that you won't get if you haven't read tons of ither stuff and Heidi is actually really really dull! I think most of us are remembering the films and prijecting onto the book if you see what I mean.

How about Hilary MacKay? Or some of the older 'pony" books. My dd loved Monica Edwards - still re-reads them as comfort books at 14!

[TheFoosa]

my dd currently likes:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Daisy and the trouble with....series
Skating School (Linda Chapman)

she is like your dd, a free reader since yr1 but I tend to read the more wordy books to her

[madamehooch]

Hi there

Having had a bright reader myself I think that the danger is pushing them on with their reading too soon because you think they should be reading more advanced books. The trouble with some of the books you mention is that, although she may be able to read the words, whether she would be able to comprehend them and therefore get the most out of the story is another matter. In particular, the CS Lewis books are very challenging in that respect and (to be honest) a bit boring in places once you have read 'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.' 'Alice in Wonderland' is also one of those books you think you should read but often wonder why once you have read it! Now that you have done all the good work, you don't want to put her off by pushing your own choices of reading matter on her.

If you want to introduce her to the classics, then try the Usborne Young Reading range which simplify the classics for younger readers.

In the meantime, try 'My Naughty Little Sister', 'The Naughtiest Girl' series, and 'Judy Moody'.

You could always read books beyond her reading ability and comprehension to her aloud at bedtime. I have found this to be most successful as my daughter can ask me questions about anything she doesn't understand and she can listen to and enjoy the story without having the stress of having to read it herself.

[madamehooch]

Oh, I forgot - also try the 'Humphrey Hamster' books - these are really popular at the moment.

[campocaro]

Judy Moody books were a hit with my daughter at that age, also Mr Gum (Andy Staunton)also Bel Mooney's books.

[PCPlumIsMyHomeboy]

Noel Streatfeld's Ballet Shoes?

[scarletlilybug]

The Clarice Bean books, by Lauren Child?

[Takver]

I'm so unconvinced by the argument that 'children these days' won't like books like Alice - it was probably 100 years old when I read it, now its 130 - what's the difference?

I agree, its not the first step on from Rainbow Magic, but its probably not much harder to read than Famous Five (and a hell of a lot more entertaining, IMO).

[TheFirstLady]

My 7 year old who is also a Horrid Henryt and Roald Dahl fan is very keen on Mr Gum and also the Daisy and the trouble with books which are very funny and not girly at all.

[TheFirstLady]

Oh and her current favourite is another Francesca Simon book called Don't Cook Cinderella, which is very Roald Dahlesque.

[seeker]

Takver - I think the big difference is that, certainly when I was a child, there was not the huge range of children's books that are available now, so if you were a voracious reader you had no choice but to persevere with whatever was available. And also, there was much less child friendly radio and tv, so children had to get to grips with a wide vocabulary and complex sentences.

And I also think that a lot of us view our childhood reading through rose coloured spectacles - I was a precocious and omniverous reader, but I don't think I would have read Alice at 7.

[barbarianoftheuniverse]

I agree with Seeker, and I think the reason we all gobbled up Enid B so hungrily is that there really wasn't much else of that level about.

For a bright seven year old reader I would suggest looking through the library for:
Cressida Cowell, Anne Fine, Jill Murphy, Kaye Umansky(sp?) and I wouldn't hand over any of the classics OP suggests because if her dd finds Famous Five boring she is going to find Black Beauty and co really, really boring. And that might spoil them for later on.

[seeker]

It would be interesting to hypnotize people (particularly English teachers!) and take them back to their own childhoods and see whether they really enjoyed the 'classics' they are always recommending!

My mother read a lot of them aloud to us, which we loved, but even then, I realized later that she was abridging as she read.

[Takver]

I think we might have to agree to disagree, seeker. I think that in the 70s there really was a huge range of childrens' books. (Fortunately my parents kept lots of them tucked away in the loft )

There perhaps weren't the huge mass produced series like Rainbow Magic for very young children but I don't think there was any shortage of books - if anything, I would say that the variety of new childrens' books has dropped, probably because of the end of the NBA, with more of a focus on long series' by one well known author.

I think that some classics will appeal to some children, others to others, IYSWIM. I've read bits of Alice to my dd (mainly the poems, because I love them), and she read the rest of it herself. She has also, bizarrely IMO (because personally I think its tedious as hell) read the Wind in the Willows, which I only have on the shelf because its a favourite of my Dad's, so I can't bring myself to chuck it.

But then she didn't really take to Arabel's Raven, which I bought for her specially because my copy had gone astray - yet I would have said that that was far more entertaining and easy to read.

[seeker]

I wasn't a child in the 70's! I keep forgetting how geriatric I am!

[Takver]

Oops, sorry - I always assume I'm older than everyone on MN . . . .

[circular]

Well she absolutely loved Dont cook Cinderella. Must be popuular, our library had to order it from another.

We went to the library armed with the author list from this thread. She chose 10 books, but refused to read beyond the first couple of pages on all but one.

I went back without her to return them and picked up some more when I got home she looked at them in disgust saying 'those were all the ones I saw last time but didn't chose'

she keeps talking about Alice in wonderland, so I intend to buy that for her. Meanwhile she has reverted back to rereading all her Roald Dahl books.

[TheFirstLady]

I'm glad she loved Don't Cook Cinderella. Top choice, IMO.
Has she read any Mr Gum yet?

[dolphindotty]

You could try Silver Dolphins by Summer Waters, a great series about a girl who discovers she has magical powers and can talk to dolphins. The Animal Ark books by Lucy Daniels, about a girl whose parents are vets - they are a great length for good readers of that age, longer than something like Rainbow Magic but not as daunting as a classic like Black Beauty might seem. Or Jeremy Strong and Andy Stanton as other people have said, both very funny. Hope you find something she likes!