Children's Lit?

[6charlong]

I'm planning to get my granddaughter a pink pocket pro for her birthday. She's a very good reader although she is only going to be 8. I don't know anything about literature for young girls. I think Beatrix Potter is way too young and Harry Potter is unavailable.

I thought of getting her some classics, but don't want to insult her intelligence. I thought of The Hobbit, which my kids enjoyed at that age, but they were all boys. Maybe Nancy Drew? Or is that too old fashioned?

Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance for your help.

[kazbates]

If your grandaughter is a very good reader, the Nancy Drew series would be good. I know they are available from Fictionwise. There are some series out there that might be at a good reading level for her but the material might be too mature for her. Books by Madeline L'Engle are great, but the story lines might be a bit too advanced for her age. My daughter just completed 2nd grade and loves reading the Magic Tree House series of books. She can finish the whole book in about 45 minutes, but she comprehends what she is reading and understands the story lines. It's important (but sometimes very difficult) to get the reading level and comprehension level to match the child's age and ability.

I took a quick jump over to Fictionwise to see what books they have available and there are a few series listed in their New Ebooks section that might work for her. One is by Nancy Krulik (Katie Kazoo) the other is by Dan Greenburg (The Zack files). Hope this helps.

Oh, I just remembered, my older two children loved the Encyclopedia Brown and Boxcar Children series of books. I don't know if they are available as ebooks, yet.

[toomanybooks]

Try Louisa May Alcott and LM Montgomery. The Anne of Green Gables series is wonderful. I reread it every other year. It is in the ebooks at Mobileread. I also loved Wind in the Willows. Also try the Prydain Chronicles by LLoyd Alexander. I would give her the Hobbit. It is not just a book for boys.

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by toomanybooks

Try Louisa May Alcott and LM Montgomery. The Anne of Green Gables series is wonderful. I reread it every other year. It is in the ebooks at Mobileread. I also loved Wind in the Willows. Also try the Prydain Chronicles by LLoyd Alexander. I would give her the Hobbit. It is not just a book for boys.

Alcott and Montgomery are great suggestions. I think the Hobbit is way too mature for a 7/8 year old, though. The Lloyd Alexander books are good to, but also might be a little too mature. Of course, that's just my opinion.

[Renaldo]

I'd reccomend anything by Beverly Cleary. She's available at Fictionwise. The Henry and Ramona books are aimed precisely at children her age who are voracious readers.

[Elsi]

Originally Posted by 6charlong

I thought of getting her some classics, but don't want to insult her intelligence.

I'm afraid I don't understand this statement. Many of the classics written for children use a more complex vocabulary than contemporary books. Whether classics or contemporary books, a child who is reading above her age/grade level may run into situations that were written for an older child, so I would recommend making sure you know what she's reading, no matter who recommends the books.

Definitely the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder and the various books by L M Montgomery will be very good ones for her. Consider also Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, Heidi by Johanna Spyri, Pollyanna by Eleanor Porter, and just about anything from Louisa May Alcott.

[Sonist]

Originally Posted by Elsi

I'm afraid I don't understand this statement. Many of the classics written for children use a more complex vocabulary than contemporary books. Whether classics or contemporary books, a child who is reading above her age/grade level may run into situations that were written for an older child, so I would recommend making sure you know what she's reading, no matter who recommends the books.

Definitely the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder and the various books by L M Montgomery will be very good ones for her. Consider also Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, Heidi by Johanna Spyri, Pollyanna by Eleanor Porter, and just about anything from Louisa May Alcott.

I second the above.

It really depends how intellectually developed the child is. Plus, depending on how voracious of a reader she is, she may either plow through all the titles you load by the time she is nine, or by the time she is 40. :-)

With those qualifications, and give or take a year of age, I'd also suggest stuff like The Little Prince, Nobody's Boy (Sans Famille), or Heart (Cuore). All great "tear-jerkers."

[dreams]

Originally Posted by kazbates

the Magic Tree House series of books.

Nancy Krulik (Katie Kazoo)

Originally Posted by Renaldo

I'd reccomend anything by Beverly Cleary. She's available at Fictionwise. The Henry and Ramona books are aimed precisely at children her age who are voracious readers.

I teach children at this age and the books being spoken of are just those ones quoted above. My middle school and high school students will smile when they hear the younger ones talking about the above. The older kids will even share which books in the series were their favorites to read.

[HarryT]

I'd recommend the "Narnia" books, which are available as beautifully-formatted eBooks with all the original illustrations.

[pdurrant]

Perhaps the Chrestomanci books by Diana Wynne Jones, starting with "Charmed Life".

Originally Posted by 6charlong

Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance for your help.

[6charlong]

Originally Posted by Elsi

I'm afraid I don't understand this statement. Many of the classics written for children use a more complex vocabulary than contemporary books.

I worded it badly. What I had in mind and misspoke as ‘classics’ I was really thinking about the ‘children’s books’ I was given as a child. They were not literature. They were boring and put me off reading anything except comic books for many (lost?) years.

I’ve been surprised at B's reading skill and by the fact that her reading is way ahead of her understanding. She sat down next to me and started reading The Hobbit aloud, with very little help from grandpa, but she didn’t follow the story very well.

She is a bright child and curious about the world, and I hoped to use a book reader to help hold her interest long enough for her comprehension to catch up to her reading skill. We used to take her to a bookstore to choose any book she wanted, starting when she was three. Not surprisingly at first she went for the gimmick books (things with little toys attached, etc.). Her father takes her to the library regularly and her taste in books has improved a lot but it’s still the same problem, basically, as when she was three: she is confronted by too much selection, the books all jumbled together.

I thought it possible that a book reader might act as a kind of database for her so that in ten years she would have her best books from her childhood all under a single cover. Even if she goes through three batteries to get there, or has to load them on a replacement reader, it might give her a way to go back over old favorites.

Thanks to all of you for your suggestions.

[wayspooled]

The Narnia books, aye. And Terry Pratchett's The Wee Free Men might be just the thing. That was intended for younger readers.

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by 6charlong

I worded it badly. What I had in mind and misspoke as ‘classics’ I was really thinking about the ‘children’s books’ I was given as a child. They were not literature. They were boring and put me off reading anything except comic books for many (lost?) years.

I’ve been surprised at B's reading skill and by the fact that her reading is way ahead of her understanding. She sat down next to me and started reading The Hobbit aloud, with very little help from grandpa, but she didn’t follow the story very well.

She is a bright child and curious about the world, and I hoped to use a book reader to help hold her interest long enough for her comprehension to catch up to her reading skill. We used to take her to a bookstore to choose any book she wanted, starting when she was three. Not surprisingly at first she went for the gimmick books (things with little toys attached, etc.). Her father takes her to the library regularly and her taste in books has improved a lot but it’s still the same problem, basically, as when she was three: she is confronted by too much selection, the books all jumbled together.

I thought it possible that a book reader might act as a kind of database for her so that in ten years she would have her best books from her childhood all under a single cover. Even if she goes through three batteries to get there, or has to load them on a replacement reader, it might give her a way to go back over old favorites.

Thanks to all of you for your suggestions.

Your idea of a reader is an excellent one and the reasons for getting her one are very sound. I also taught elementary aged children (I'm on a break right now raising my "surprise" child ). It is better to get her books that hold her interest and are not too advanced or mature for her if you want to help increase her comprehension skills. Narnia is a fabulous series and my older two children devoured them when they were in 4th/5th grade. I tried to read it aloud to Ryleigh and she lost interest fairly quickly even though she loved the movies. The best thing you can do to help increase comprehension is to read the same story that she is reading and then talk about it. It helps her to think more deeply about the story and she feels like you value her enough to discuss it with her. Oh, and always ask her, "What comes next?" at the end of the story to get her thinking about possibilities!

[ficbot]

All of these are 'classics' she might enjoy and available, for free, in various places:

SERIES

- Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery
- Wizard of Oz series by L. Frank Baum
- Pollyanna series by Eleanor H. Porter
- Five Children series by E. Nesbit
- Alice in Wonderland series by Lewis Carroll
- Bobbsey Twins series by Laura Lee Hope
- Little Women series by Louisa May Alcott
- The Fairy Books by Andrew Lang

STAND-ALONE

- Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

And some I have not read personally but look (on Manybooks.net) interesting:

- Aunt Jane series by Edith van Dyne
- Betty Gordon series by Alice Emerson
- Bunny Brown series by Laura Lee Hope
- Campfire Girls series by Jane L. Stewart
- The Curly Tops series by Howard Garis
- Dotty Dimple series by Dorothy May
- The Twins series by Lucy Fitch Perkins
- Elsie Dinsmore series by Martha Finley
- Five Little Peppers series by Margaret Sidney
- Four Little Blossoms series by Mabel Hawley
- The Girl Aviators series by Margaret Burnham
- The Girl Scouts series by various authors

[MelC]

Some great suggestions and almost all of mine are covered here but there were a couple of favourites that I had around that age that haven't been mentioned. Not sure of their e-book availability though -

Roald Dahl (anything he wrote should be just about right); and
The All of a Kind Family series

Mel