Book Recommendations for Gifted Readers 4-6
I noticed the book recommendation discussion posted by Carolyn Foote so I thought I'd throw out another challenge---I need novels for gifted readers (grades 4-6; reading levels 7-12+) There are several issues:
1. The books have to be recently released or the kids will have already read them
2. The content needs to be appropriate but the themes can be mature
3. They love read aloud books that contain clues, intrigue or historical connections
We've read some wonderful novels in our book studies in the last three years--- this is from my blog:
We started with Eragon by Christopher Paolini. The book isn't great but was written by a 15 year old ( my point was that if a 15 year old could write a best seller, you could too) --kids loved it and the sequel Eldest. It's become a cult favorite and we are awaiting the 3rd installment, Brisngr in September. We went as a group to see the movie when it came out.
We then read Chasing Vermeer and The Wright 3 by Blue Balliett. I love the "daVinci Code" type books for kids---books with clues, intrigue and historical connection. I wrote curriculum for both these books. Kids love Airborn by Kenneth Oppel. It's in the Steampunk genre, according to one of my sons. They also loved the sequel Skybreaker. We did an online book discussion of Airborn, you can find the questions here. Look under the Moodle icon and use baguest as username and password.
Last spring we read The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick which has the historical connection to invention of movies. It is a brilliant book, half of the 580 pages are illustrations but not in a typical format. The illustrations tell the story---like a graphic novel. The problem with this book is that everybody has to have a book---not a good read a loud. I did not write a curriculum for it but easily could have.
I have several others I haven't used yet. Endymoin Spring by Matthew Skelton has the history of books as its back plot. The end is a little weak, but I'm going to use it eventually. I haven't read Valley of Secrets by Charmain Hussey yet--but plan to. It is wrapped up in the rain forest fauna and flora.
My 4th graders read Peter and the Starcatchers last fall. (I thought it was OK, kids loved it) Currently my 4th graders are reading The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Stewart and they love it, too.
Anybody else have any fabulous suggestions? Thanks in advance, N.
1. The books have to be recently released or the kids will have already read them
2. The content needs to be appropriate but the themes can be mature
3. They love read aloud books that contain clues, intrigue or historical connections
We've read some wonderful novels in our book studies in the last three years--- this is from my blog:
We started with Eragon by Christopher Paolini. The book isn't great but was written by a 15 year old ( my point was that if a 15 year old could write a best seller, you could too) --kids loved it and the sequel Eldest. It's become a cult favorite and we are awaiting the 3rd installment, Brisngr in September. We went as a group to see the movie when it came out.
We then read Chasing Vermeer and The Wright 3 by Blue Balliett. I love the "daVinci Code" type books for kids---books with clues, intrigue and historical connection. I wrote curriculum for both these books. Kids love Airborn by Kenneth Oppel. It's in the Steampunk genre, according to one of my sons. They also loved the sequel Skybreaker. We did an online book discussion of Airborn, you can find the questions here. Look under the Moodle icon and use baguest as username and password.
Last spring we read The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick which has the historical connection to invention of movies. It is a brilliant book, half of the 580 pages are illustrations but not in a typical format. The illustrations tell the story---like a graphic novel. The problem with this book is that everybody has to have a book---not a good read a loud. I did not write a curriculum for it but easily could have.
I have several others I haven't used yet. Endymoin Spring by Matthew Skelton has the history of books as its back plot. The end is a little weak, but I'm going to use it eventually. I haven't read Valley of Secrets by Charmain Hussey yet--but plan to. It is wrapped up in the rain forest fauna and flora.
My 4th graders read Peter and the Starcatchers last fall. (I thought it was OK, kids loved it) Currently my 4th graders are reading The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Stewart and they love it, too.
Anybody else have any fabulous suggestions? Thanks in advance, N.
Tags: books, elementary, gifted
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by ddeubel on
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I'll mention Sophie's World, though they might have gobbled that up. Lots to talk about in that one....
I'd highly recommend this one -- "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" Mark Haddon
(This review is taken from Amazon.com)
Christopher Boone, the autistic 15-year-old narrator of this revelatory novel, relaxes by groaning and doing math problems in his head, eats red-but not yellow or brown-foods and screams when he is touched. Strange as he may seem, other people are far more of a conundrum to him, for he lacks the intuitive "theory of mind" by which most of us sense what's going on in other people's heads. When his neighbor's poodle is killed and Christopher is falsely accused of the crime, he decides that he will take a page from Sherlock Holmes (one of his favorite characters) and track down the killer. As the mystery leads him to the secrets of his parents' broken marriage and then into an odyssey to find his place in the world, he must fall back on deductive logic to navigate the emotional complexities of a social world that remains a closed book to him. In the hands of first-time novelist Haddon, Christopher is a fascinating case study and, above all, a sympathetic boy: not closed off, as the stereotype would have it, but too open-overwhelmed by sensations, bereft of the filters through which normal people screen their surroundings. Christopher can only make sense of the chaos of stimuli by imposing arbitrary patterns ("4 yellow cars in a row made it a Black Day, which is a day when I don't speak to anyone and sit on my own reading books and don't eat my lunch and Take No Risks"). His literal-minded observations make for a kind of poetic sensibility and a poignant evocation of character. Though Christopher insists, "This will not be a funny book. I cannot tell jokes because I do not understand them," the novel brims with touching, ironic humor. The result is an eye-opening work in a unique and compelling literary voice.
With gifted students, I wouldn't focus on reading level per se but rather processing level. That's my own take ......
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Permalink Reply by Leigh Newton on
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The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley. Outstanding writer and story. I was sad to finish that book. Published in 2000 I think.
Check out this review: http://people.lis.uiuc.edu/~ehearne//folkkeeper.html
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Permalink Reply by Kate on
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The Wave by Todd Strasser is an older title, but has some good lessons in it about thinking for your self and not just following the group. It is about high school students though. My 8th graders like it.
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Permalink Reply by Amanda on
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I couldn't put "The Mysterious Benedict Society" down and have just started the second one. Some of my personal favorites to read with my 4th graders: The Sisters Grimm series, The Shadow Theives, The Alchemyst, Once Upon a Marigold and The Looking Glass Wars. All of these do require some discussion, as they can have interesting themes and some advanced vocabulary. But they are good reads and interesting.
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Permalink Reply by Nancy Bosch on
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My fourth graders have loved the Mysterious Benedict Society. Some reviews have not been kind saying it is too long, too wordy but my kids are loving it. I just found out last week that there was a second one and they are begging to read it next year---I told them I couldn't trust them not to read it over the summer! We'll see. N
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Has anyone used "the mighty freak" before? I used it and the film with 4th graders and it was awesome. It is a book that truly has "voice" and I think should become a classic in adolescent/children's literature.
David
http://eflclassroom.ning.com
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Permalink Reply by jbroad on
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Nancy, I teach students with similar reading levels and have the same problem with finding novels to teach. The book Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper is certainly not a new title but is one that most students (even ones who read everything) have not yet discovered. More likely they have read The Dark Is Rising, the second book in the series. Good luck and thanks for the other suggestions!
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Permalink Reply by Tobye on
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I can think of a couple of advanced books.
For fourth or fifth graders, The Lightning Thief is a great mythology based series. The boys especially are enjoying it, but I have equal interest between boys and girls.
Sixth graders should look at the Alex Rider Series. Set in Britain, Alex Rider is a child that is extremely talented and a member of MI-6.
I agree that the Westing Game is an excellent choice. Great mystery choice.
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I may have mentioned this is my original post, but I'm always on the hunt for books my kids haven't already read. Many have enjoyed Lightning Thief and many of the boys have read all the Horowitz books. Let me know if you think of anything else.
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Thanks for the recommendations--she obviously has the same taste as alot of my students who have read many of the ooks you mentioned. Let me know if she comes up with any other suggestions!
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They've read it, read it, read it...haha. I'll check out the ones I haven't seen them lugging around.
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Permalink Reply by Nicole Cox on
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The Giver by Lois Lowry. I have used this with advanced readers in 5th grade. While the text may seem simple to read, the themes could make for some intense discussion/projects. Would a carefully selected and trained society really be perfect? What is a perfect society? Why should differences be valued? I had a couple of classes that really got into it and could delve into such matters, then a couple that were less mature and kept things pretty superficial. The story also has a pretty open ending, so having them take a stance on the ending and extend it made for some great lessons. Can you tell this is probably one of my favorite books ever? :)
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