Book Recommendations for 8 year old boy gifted in reading

[Zingzilla]

Hello

Just wondered if any of you out there with children gifted in reading had any recommendations for books suitable for 8 year old boy with reading age of 13.

I am looking for a present for my nephew, who's parents are not big readers and don't tend to buy him many books in spite of his interest and ability in reading.

He loves the Harry Potter books and has read all these. Is there anything similar you could recommend?

Thanks in advance!

The Percy Jackson series - adventure stories based on the idea that the Greek gods still exist and have children with mortals.

The Alex Rider books - stick with the first six: the last two are noticeably darker.

I would recommend Skullduggery Pleasant. There are 6 books currently in the series about a skeleton detective in a world of good and bad magic. My DS(9) has read them and adores them. They have a more sophisticated sense of humour and a challenging vocabulary. So good I read them too

www.amazon.co.uk/Invention-Hugo-Cabret-Brian-Selznick/dp/1407103482/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321969235&sr=8-1 My daughter loves this book.

Thanks for those recommendations - I shall look into these!

The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins.

www.amazon.co.uk/Magic-Reality-know-whats-really/dp/059306612X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321969289&sr=8-1

Zingzilla - have a look on the children's books forum - there are loads of threads with brilliant suggestions for that age group. Personally, I would recommend the Lemony Snicket series and the How to Train your Dragon books.

My ds (also 8 & with adult reading age,) enjoyed the Narnia books (cs Lewis) and also recently the Uncle Alberts series (where they introduce Einsteins ideas, in a fictional way). Depends on what his other interests are really. Horrible histories usually goes down well too & his teacher recommended spring healed jack & the Castle/pirate diaries (which is a flip over book with both stories & historical facts in the middle).

Michael Morpurgo (but check content, some are quite dark).

Antony Horowitz? Some are really fun, a play on teh old 50's private eye novels (e.g. The Falcon's Malteser). Others more historical.

Super folks - thanks for all these tips!

Mysterious Benedict Society...DD recommends these! Writtewith a few children who are very talented in their areas.

There's an excellent set of reading lists for KS2 and 3 published i think by the school librarian's association, which have books listed roughly by age appropriate /gender theme, on the basis of if you like this then you might like...

another excellent book is Siobahn Dowd's The London Eye Mystery - had both dh and ds gripped.

Hi Zingzilla. May seem sad but my dd was same and school books were rubbish so she always took her own. Year 2 teacher gave dd some Shakespeare books and she found those really good (they are aimed at children) as something different if he is quite academic. I think it may be harder to find books for boys. What about Lord of the Rings books? My dd has got a boxed set of these and they are for boys and girls and they are quite thick books. Does he read a newspaper now and again? Dd's teachers always said to read newspapers and they were hot at reading at her primary school.

Thanks so much again. Ibizagirl - he doesn't read newspapers - his parents aren't big readers and I don't think they do either... I think as he is getting older they are struggling to know what to get for him to read, so all these ideas are great.

My 8yo DD is reading the Book of Lies trilogy by James Moloney - it was lent to her by her fabulous Yr4 teacher because the school had nothing to suit. Her reading age is broadly similar to your DN's.

I'f also very much recommend the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage.

Both these series work for both boys as well as girls, which I think is a huge plus.

My only observation would be that just because a child has a high reading age and good understanding doesn't mean that emotionally they are ready to enjoy the plots of some books meant for older children - that doesn't mean they won't, either, so this is just my experience. But there are so many good books out there that are suitable for 8 year olds that I'd hesitate to suggest some of those meant for older children. If they choose them themselves from the library, great; let them get on with it.

For a young good reader I'd recommend the Skulduggery Pleasant, the Septimus Heap, Lemony Snicket and Narnia. I wouldn't recommend, from my experience, The London Eye Mystery for an 8 year old, as it's about a teenager with Aspergers, as well as divorce/step parents etc; I also have reservations about Anthony Horowitz, as the Alex Rider series are again about a 14 year old and pretty violent and the 50s detective ones are based on a genre that an 8 year old just won't get. My DS read the Alex Rider at 9 going on 10.

How about the Roman Mysteries by Caroline Lawrence? Percy Jackson is also about a teenager but is more accessible because of its Greek myth basis.

In our family we joke about Michael Morpurgo and try to guess at the start of each chapter how he will pile on the misery. I must be a lone voice who thinks MM is overrated. I think one cheerful kind of book would raise him in my estimation.

The Hobbit?

My son has just turned 8 and is also relatively advanced in reading. He has enjoyed:

• Percy Jackson series
• Hugo Cabret (linked above)
• The Edge Chronicle series
• Muddle Earth and Muddle Earth 2
• Lemony Snickets series
• Penderwick books (I think there are just 2)
• Mysterious Benedict Society (though he liked the first one best)

How about a subscription to "First News".

It's a fortnightly (I think) newspaper for kids.

DS1 is 7 and also very advanced in reading. It is really difficult to find books that stimulate the mind AND are suitable for his age. Singersgirl is absolutely right that you should not go for books aimed at older children.

The books listed by others above are great. I also found that the reading lists suggested by colet court for 7+ and 8+ are a great starting place. There is a lot of variety and the books are suitable for the age group.