Book recommendations wanted for advanced reader

[bonym]

Went to dd's parents evening last night and was a little taken aback to be told that she had a reading age of almost 11 (she is 6 1/2). We knew that she was a good reader but weren't really aware of how far ahead she is. Problem we have is that whilst we don't want to buy her books which are too easy, we are concerned that books for her "reading' age may not always be entirely appropriate/suitable for a rising 7 yr old. We have already 'done' Roald Dahl and some of the classics such as Alice in Wonderland and The Secret Garden. Does anyone have any other recommendations please?

How about The Lemony Snicket books- a series of unfortunate events

Well done your dd! I completely understand your predicament. There are actually loads of fantastic authors out there writing suitable material for children.

Ds1 has particularly enjoyed the following in the past year or so:
Jenny Nimmo: Children of the Red King series. First one is called midnight for Charlie Bone
Harry Potter of course
Caroline Lawrence: The Roman Mysteries series . The first one is called The Thieves of Ostia
Zizou Corder: Lionboy

Pretty much anything by Michael Morpurgo.

In terms of unsuitable material at this age I would certainly steer away from Garth Nix, Jacqueline Wilson (some of them anyway), Philip Pullman, and Marcus Sedgwick (some of them).

HTH

Oops - should have added by ds1 is 7 (and a bit), but also a fluent reader, so that's where we're coming from.

Both Red House and The Book People do some great offers on children's books, but also grade material according to age. I find nearly all of the books are acceptable in content as long as they are not in the teenage sections.

HTH

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Finally (!) ... sorry I am passionate about children's literature - once I get started I don't shut up ...

I enjoy reading children's literature (the good stuff), in order to censor it for ds1 - it's a great excuse anyway

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I'd second the classics- I loved things like What Katy Did at that age. Also Noel Streatfeild, as I believe I've mentioned once or twice on here before

Phew! Just browsed on the Book People site, and came away with my wallet still intact! Now that doesn't happen very often

No, YG - I presume your Q was aimed at me?! - I haven't read it, though I have ogled it in Ottakars: very nice cover! I've spent far too much money on books this year, so I may try and get hold of it through the library. Having said that the reviews on Amazon are not exactly raving about it!

Thanks for recommendations ladies - bit concerned though as dh bought dd a Jaqueline Wilson yesterday and she has already devoured a lot of it! It is called Double Trouble - anyone know if this contains anything I should worry about - if not, I will have to wrench it from her hands and read it myself before giving it back! I won't be popular!

Do you mean double act?

Bonym, your dd sounds like mine. The J Wilson books are not too bad, but some of them can be rather grim reading, with lots of kids in care, bullying, homelessness. Now I fully agree that these are real issues that kids should read about. In the end though I don't think that my 7 year old is quite mature enough to cope with all of the plots, even if she is able to read them.

I haven't banned them, red rag to a bull IMHO, but I don't encourage them either IYSWIM

Dd likes Lemony snicket as well and also Midnight for Charlie bone

lou - I do mean Double Act! Do you know it?

With Jacqueline Wilson there is a wide range of issues dealt with. So, say, an 8 yr-old might enjoy some of her books, and then pick up Lola Rose which is definitely a teenage novel, (the setting is one of domestic abuse). So do keep a close eye on them.

JW is the most-borrowed author in English libraries, and I am quite pleased in this instance that ds1 is a boy. Whilst I appreciate that lots of marriages in the UK breakdown these days, and children are living in complicated family circumstances, and other children are in care for various reasons; I don't actually think at this point in his life ds1 needs to know a lot about that side of life. When he's older, sure, but right now I think it would make him worry, and make him feel insecure, and I don't feel the need for it.

Maybe that's wrong of me, coming from a comfortable, educated, middle-class background: but it is how I feel.

In the past year he has changed dramatically in his ability to cope with 'the scary stuff' - he's upstairs reading Lord of the Rings right now - but comments on contemporary life in the UK don't seem appropriate.

Alison Uttley, A Traveller in Time- my all-time favourite book!

How about the Anne of Green Gables series? (L.M.Montgomery)

Definitely Noel Streatfield

Agree 100% Roshin. I feel the same about dd. The time will come when this info is right for her, but she isn't there yet. Sadly someone gave her a set as a gift (argh!) so I can't take them away. I just try to offer more appropriate choices that stimulate her reading but preserve her innocence.

How come I had forgotten about all of these great books? Must be pregnancy brain . Roisin, I agree with what you say, and based on your earlier comments I have put dd to bed tonight and told her that I was going to check that Double Act was suitable for her before letting her have it back. She is so sensible bless her, she just said "ok, mum - I don't really know what older girls read so I don't know if it's suitable for me'! Will definitely get her some Noel Streatfield as I now remember that I used to love these - I've also got the full "Katy" set somewhere so will dig it out.

Oh, definitely Anne of Green Gables, another fab series (that goes on and on, too!). Just a word of caution about Noel- it is actually spelt Streatfeild bizarrely enough, so if you want to look on Amazon or somewhere you need to know!

Roisin, has your ds tried these books by Paul Stewart? I have never seen ds so gripped. There are sad bits (very sad) but the books have been very well reviewed.

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My DD likes Lucy Daniels (Animal Ark - I think) but I'm not sure if it's advanced enough.

Anne McCaffery - dragonsong/dragonsinger
something called 'the Dark is rising' (that's not right but someone will correct me)

Tamum - he's got the first one on his shelf and has done for ages, but he's kept declining to read it. He says he doesn't like the cover ...?!

Yorkiegirl - I've just ordered Wolf Brother from the library online tonight. I've ordered it for ds1, (which means it's free!) so I'll have to let him have first refusal. But he's still got a couple of hundred pages of LoTR to go, so if it comes quick I might get in there first.

PS All the usual suspects on this thread tonight?!

KatieMac - I like the Anne McCaffery Dragon books, but I think they have got too much sex in them for children? Haven't they? Or is that me mis-remembering? I haven't read them for ages.

There have been several previous threads on this topic, which I have tried and failed to find.

We had the same problem (and it is a problem!) and can recommend the following:

For newly-fluent readers:
Mr. Majeika books by Humphrey Carpenter
Sophie books and anything else by Dick King-Smith

For properly fluent readers:
Narnia books by CS Lewis
Harriet the Spy (can't remember the author)
Journey to the River Sea and other books by Eva Ibbotson
The Thief Lord and other books by Cornelia Funke
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Noel Streatfeild: Ballet Shoes etc.
Harry Potter (not for sensitive kids, maybe)
E Nesbit books such as The Phoenix and the Carpet
Roman Mysteries by Caroline Lawrence
Enid Blyton (people can be v. snobby about this, but they make great bread-and-butter reading)
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein
The Penguin Classics series, which includes lots of boy-friendly reading like Treasure Island and Beowulf.

Classics such as the Greek Myths etc. are also great and make good present requests. Actually I have let my dd read Jacqueline Wilson, as I think the stories, although challenging, are ultimately very positive. Wouldn't let her near Melvin Burgess etc, though.

Can I also plug (again) my favourite kids' mag, Aquila ? This is not only good reading in itself, but contains book reviews to give you new ideas.

Roisin, has your ds tried Moonfleet, by J Meade Faulkner?

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KatieMac,

Susan Cooper is the author of a series of books called The Dark is Rising. The first in the series is called Over Sea and Under Stone -- dd's just finished them.

Possibly a bit dark for the younger end of the age group, though. In the same vein is the series of books called The Changes (does anyone remember the TV series?), which dd1 has also read recently.