15 year old intellectually, definitely only 9 emotionally - book help?

[Kuriusoranj]

My older daughter is a prolific reader and is intellectually about 15 years old. However, she is just 9, and emotionally very much her real age - if that old, to be honest. She has very low tolerance for even mild peril, but her particular challenge is rule-breaking or naughtiness of any kind. To give an example - we had to turn off the DVD "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" after about 10 minutes when one character wouldn't let another pass on the pavement! She's slightly better with written descriptions than visuals, but not much, to be honest.

She's also not into anything about boys, makeup, giggly pre-teen stuff. I also find myself clutching my pearls a bit at those themes. I have to emphasise - she's a very young 9 year old in many ways.

So far we've had success with:

• older classics - I find the language is complex enough to engage her, but the concepts and themes are 'safe'. So - The Secret Garden, Little Women that kind of thing, but also Helen Cresswell when we can find them. She actually mentioned Oliver Twist yesterday, but if I remember correctly that's a bit harrowing.
• all the Enid Blyton school stuff, plus Secret 7 and Famous 5, all a couple of years ago. I think she's left that stuff behind now.
• Percy Jackson and all variations. These are probably her favourites and have sparked a real interest in mythology of all kinds. Rick Riordan cannot write fast enough to satisfy her.

So - I'm sure I'm not the only one in this predicament. What we seem to need is challenging vocabulary used in stories with very little tension, no love interest and no antagonists! Easy right?

We talked about Artemis Fowl last night and she's downloaded that onto her Kindle - think she'll like it? I've never read them. If anyone knows of any good myth-based stories, or non-fiction that might suit, that's be great too. Other than than, any suggestions?

I second Katherine Rundell (Rooftoppers and Wolf Wilder) and Eva Ibbotson.
How about Hilary McKay - Saffy's Angel, etc?

The House on Falling Star Hill by Michael Molloy. His Witch Trade series too - similar in peril levels to Rick Riordan I would say.

The Girls in the Velvet Frame - Adele Geras (that's a nice one, a family of sisters in Israel have their photograph published in an American newspaper to try to find their brother who moved to America).

If she likes school books, maybe try the Charlie Bone series (Jenny Nimmo).

You could also try The Fire Within, but I probably wouldn't let her read the later ones - they go a bit weird, but the first one's really nice as a standalone book.

Has she read the new Magnus Chase book by Rick Riordan?
DS is 8 and can also not get enough of his books!
I'd second Anne of Green Gables and also suggest Little Women then Good Wives, Jo's Boys and Little Men.
The Garth Nix Keys to the Kingdom series is excellent -starting with Mister Monday. He's written a number of series which are all pretty good.

Murder Most Unladylike are good fun too (I enjoyed those ones!).

Def Noel Streatfeild. The painted Garden is a sort of sequel to both Ballet Shoes and the secret Garden.

Avoid little house on the prairie. Pa is very nearly eaten by wolves and they are nearly massacred .

Avoid an enemy at green Knowe. V scary witch. Actually most of the green Knowe stories are a bit scary. Beautifully written and you can go to see where the house is.

Kipling. Get her to read the jungle book, puck of pooks hill, rewards and fairies, Kim, and the Indian stories. Stalky too. V little that is scary, masses of information, views into others minds, well written.

Antonia Forrest, the school ones. The non school all have scary bits in them.

Agree with EG spear, never met anyone before who know The a Bronze Bow!

Re telling if the great stories. Roger Lancelyn Green, tales of the Norsemen, tales of Greece and Rome.

Nathantial Hawthorne, Tanglewood Tales. More Greece and Rome.

Lamb, Tales from Shakespeare. One if the best introductions.
Lamb, essays if Elia. Witty, wise, readable at any point. Choose the essay yourself first.

Pollyanna and sequels
Anne of Green Gables plus sequels, plus Emily if New Moon plus sequels
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Rebecca of Sunny Brook Farm
What Katy did and interminable sequels all available free on Kindle.
A Girl if the limberlost, and others by the same author,ditto free.

Heidi and sequels.

I don't like them ( and he was a child molester) but William Mayne.

Andrew Lang's collection if fairy tales from round the world, eg the blue fairy book, the red fairy book etc.

Pippi Longstocking

Professor Branestawm.

Molesworth, how to be Topp. ( really searle)

The Pullein-Thompson pony books, masses of them.

The sword in the stone, but not the rest of the once and future king as scary and into masochism.

Def the Nesbits, Ransome. Durrell. Sutcliff

Elizabeth Goudge. The little white horse. City if Bells, henriettas house, smokey house.

Some too young, but generally funny if so.

Charlotte sometimes

Start her off dealing with fear by short stories. The canterville ghost Oscar Wilde, you reading it to her, is a good one. Some of the Agatha Christie and DL Sayers ones are good.

I started Hardy, the woodlanders, georgette Heyer, powder and patch, at about this age.

Try her on biography and travel too. Churchill's early years, with how useless he was at school, is quite good. Durrell is funny, Dervla Murphy perceptive.

DD 8 has a reading age of 12, she loves Roald Dahl, Terry Pratchett, Cressida Cowell, also anything related to Minecraft, a book called What's Where in the World and non-fiction about natural history. What are your DD's interests?

If you look on chat there's a thread on what stands out from your childhood books ( yes I posted on it).

Some excellent suggestions there. Can I recommend the Kate Seredys? Esp The Good Master. Only one slightly scary chapter. And The Phantom Tolbooth, amazing thinking in a surrealist fashion. Also anything by Eric Kastner.

I had this problem! Agree with all the suggestions plus also non-fiction books as well.

Joan Aiken - particularly the short story collections (though NOT a fit of shivers or one foot in the grave)

Personally I found The Dark is Rising terrifying as a child although I love it now.

Hilary McKay, particularly the Exiles series and the Casson Family series.

I'd second the suggestion of Dianna Wynne Jones Chrestomanci series and Lucy Boston's Green Knowe series. also A traveller in time by Alison Uttley.

AS a child I was very similar and worked my way through Margery Allingham and Dorothy L Sayers at 8 or 9 (although with hindsight quite a lot went over my head).

Antonia Forest?

I'm quite jealous now that she has so many wonderful books to discover!

A that age I really loved all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books (Little House on the prairie series). The first two may be a bit "young for her" but the older ones would be perfect IMO

Laura is a strong personality, It is very much about values, I loved her (still do )