Parents of gifted and talented children are faced with many unusual challenges. With many of our children very early readers, the question is often asked "What books are good for my 4 or 5 year old who's already reading chapter books?" or "My fourth grader would rather read adults books, but I'm not comfortable with the topics. Help?" These lists are a summary of the reading recommendations from members of our GT-Families mailing list - parents and children - to answer these tricky reading list questions for our gifted children.
We've avoided assigning age or grade levels to the various sections of the list. Some of our gifted kids are reading beginning chapter books labeled for 2nd or 3rd grade by the age of four. Other gifted kids start reading at 5 or 6, only to skip quickly to advanced chapter books labeled for 4th and 5th grade. Every child is different. Instead, we've created a continuum. If your child loves the Magic Treehouse series, he might also enjoy the poetry of Shel Silverstein or the Time Warp Trio series by Jon Scieszka. If he is outgrowing these books, perhaps he would enjoy E.B.White's or Roald Dahl's classics.
Included at the end of the childrens book lists are two more lists: a Must-Read List for Parents of gifted children, and a list of books for insight into Life as a Gifted Adult.
This is a living, growing list. Please submit your own reading list suggestions.
Let the reading begin!
| Title / Series | Author | Comments... |
|---|---|---|
| •Green Eggs and Ham •Horton Hatches an Egg •How the Grinch Stole Christmas •The Lorax •Yertle the Turtle | Dr. Suess | read, or read aloud together... |
| •Archibald Frisby, Who Was As Crazy for Science As Any Kid Could Be | Michael Chesworth | Reading Rainbow Book |
| •Puff the Magic Dragon Meets Mr. Nobody | ||
| •Harold and the Purple Crayon | Crockett Johnson | Great things happen when Harold takes his purple crayon for a walk... |
| •The Sky Is Not So Far Away: Night Poems for Children | Margaret Hillert | fantasy ond poetry books |
| •Ten in a Bed | Allan Ahlberg | Clever parodies of fairy tales and a take-charge heroine |
| •The Giving Tree | Shel Silverstein | a touching story |
| Title / Series | Author | Comments... |
|---|---|---|
| •Amelia Bedilia series | Peggy Parish | A wacky maid takes everything TOO literally! |
| •Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley series | Laura O'Neil | The twins from Full House find adventure and mystery |
| •Nate the Great series | Marjorie Weinman Sharmat | The intrepid detective returns... |
| •Knights of the Kitchen Table •Your Mother was a Neanderthal •The Good, The Bad, and the Goofy •The Not-So-Jolly Roger | Jon Scieszka | Time Warp Trio Series |
| •The Stinky Cheese Man •The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs | Jon Scieszka | by the author of The Time Warp Trio |
| •The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig | Eugene Trivizas | This fractured fairy tale has a subtle message... it's role-reversal time! |
| •Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series | Betty MacDonald | silly humor |
| •Wayside School series | Louis Sachar | also very silly |
| •The Enormous Egg •The Trouble with Jenny's Ear | Oliver Butterworth | Hilarious tale two boys' explosive initiation into the electronic age... |
| •Betsy and Tacy series | Maud Hart Lovelace | Adventures of 12-year-old Betsy, Tacy, and Tib as they explore... |
| •Fudge series | Judy Blume | Fudge Hatcher--the five-year-old human hurricane--and his antics... |
| •Cam Jansen Adventures series | David A. Adler | Cam Jansen has a photographic memory that helps her solve all sorts of crimes... |
| •Magic Treehouse series | Mary Pope Osborne | Two kids travel through time from a magic treehouse full of books |
| •Bunnicula •Howliday Inn •Nighty-Nightmare •The Celery Stalks at Midnight •Return to Howliday Inn | James and Deborah Howe | A vampire bunny who sucks the juices from vegetables... |
| •Pippi Longstocking | Astrid Lindgren | classic tale |
| •The Golden Name Day •The Silver House •The Crystal Tree | Jennie Lindquist | kind of sappy, but well liked |
| •Aldo series: •Aldo Applesauce •Aldo Ice Cream •Aldo Peanut Butter | Johanna Hurwitz | When their parents go away... |
| •Hank the Cowdog series | John R. Erickson | The adventures of the canine Head of Ranch Security... |
| •Black Beauty | Anna Sewell | classic horse story |
| •Einstein Anderson series | S. D. Schindler | A boy and girl outsmart the bullies with their brains, with a science tidbit in every story |
| •The Borrowers | Mary Norton | The adventures of the family of miniature people... |
| •Blue Moose •Return of the Blue Moose •Fat Men From Space •Borgel •The Magic Moscow •Attila the Pun | Daniel M. Pinkwater | Melvin recounts his extraordinary adventures in time and space... |
| •Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet •Return to the Mushroom Planet •Mr. Bass's Planetoid | Eleanor Cameron | 1950's series about 2 boys who build their own spaceship |
| •Christmas in the Big Woods | Laura Ingalls Wilder | My First Little House Books... |
| •My Father's Dragon | Ruth Stiles Gannett | Newbery honor book |
| •Jolly Postman series | Janet Ahlberg | fun for all who like reading letters, especially other peoples |
| •The Paper Bag Princess •Princess Smarty Pants | Michael Martchenk | Elizabeth finds the dragon, outsmarts him, and rescues Ronald... |
| •Finn Family Moomintroll | Tove Jansson | Funny (even for an adult reading aloud) and innocent fantasies about the adventures of trolls and various unlikely creatures |
| •And To Think It Happened On Mulberry Street | How a little imagination can get away from you | |
| •Where the Sidewalk Ends •A Light in the Attic | Shel Silverstein | poetry |
| Title / Series | Author | Comments... |
|---|---|---|
| •American Girl Series: Felicity (1760), Josephina (1824), Addy (1860), Kirsten (1904), Samantha (1904), Molly (1940) | published by The Pleasant Company | historical fiction |
| •Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective series | Donald J. Sobol | detective series |
| •From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler | E. L. Konigsburg | mystery |
| •Boxcar Children series | Gertrude Chandler Warner | mystery |
| •Dear America series | assorted authors | Written from the point of view of a young girl in that time... |
| •My Name Is America series | assorted authors | Written from the point of view of a young boy in that time... |
| •Math Curse | Jon Scieszka | Visit Mrs. Fibonacci's math class and become obsessed |
| •The Gifted Kids Survival Guide (For Ages 10 and Under) | Judy Galbraith | This is THE BOOK on such aspects of giftedness |
| Title / Series | Author | Comments... |
|---|---|---|
| •Star Wars Junior Jedi Knights series | Nancy Ann Richardson | science fiction |
| •Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets •Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone •Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | J.K. Rowling | wonderful, magical tales... |
| •Time Cat | Lloyd Alexander | Time travel... |
| •The Chronicles of Narnia (set) | C. S. Lewis | fantasy |
| •A Wrinkle in Time •A Wind in the Door •A Swiftly Tilting Planet | Madeleine L'Engle | Newberry winner |
| •Charlotte's Web •Stuart Little •The Trumpet of the Swan | E. B. White | classics |
| •Charlie and the Chocolate Factory •The Great Glass Elevator •James and the Giant Peach •The BFG •Matilda •Danny the Champion of the World | Raold Dahl | classics |
| •Harriet the Spy | Louise Fitzhugh | a story of a gifted girl |
| •The Gizmo •Unreal •Unbelievable •Uncanny •Undone | Paul Jennings | |
| •Anastasia Krupnik | Lois Lowry | The ups and downs of a precocious ten-year-old girl... |
| •Are You There, God? It's Me Margaret •Otherwise Known As Sheila the Great | Judy Blume | Summer is fun for ten-year-old Sheila, even though her friends make her face up to some self-truths she doesn't want to admit... |
| •Oz series | Frank L. Baum | The timeless adventure of the Wizard, Dorothy... |
| •The Voyages of Dr. Doolittle | N. H. Kleinbaum | Chronicles of the delightful voyages of Doctor Dolittle... |
| •Babe The Gallant Pig •Sophie's Tom | Dick King-Smith | Horn Book Honor Book |
| •The Indian in the Cupboard series | Lynne Reid Banks | A magic cupboard that turns small toys into living creatures... |
| •Portraits of Little Women series | Susan Beth Pfeffer | An introduction to the characters and lives of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women |
| •Henry and the Donut shop •Henry Rigsby •Henry and Beezus •The Mouse and the Motorcycle | Beverly Cleary | The gang on Klickitat Street is at it again... |
| •Magic By the Lake series | Edward Eager | Four children find themselves with an entire lake full of magic... |
| •Trailblazer Books | various authors published by Bethany House Publishers | Adventures introduce young readers to Christian heroes |
| •Little House on the Prairie books | Laura Ingalls Wilder | Homesteading in the 1880s... |
| •There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom | Louis Sacher | He may be the weirdest kid in school, but he's not completely hopeless! |
| •Nekomah Creek | Linda Crew | Some kids at school think it's weird that Robby's father stays home to take care of the twins while his mother works... |
| •Misty of Chincoteague | Marguerite Henry | classic horse story |
| •The Forgotten Door | Alexander Key | adventure |
| •My Side of the Mountain | Jean Craighead George | A boy lives in a hollow tree in the mountains and learns to live entirely by his wits |
| •Story of My Life | Helen Keller | Inspirational story of courage |
| •Karen •With Love From Karen | Marie Killilea | About her daughter with cerebral palsy... |
| •Wings | Bill Brittain | a story about growing up, accepting families, discovering oneself and true friendship |
| •Dragons in the Cliffs | Elizabeth Annenberg | fictionalized history science, women, and history |
| •The Hobbit | J. R. R. Tolkien | fantasy classic |
| •In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson | Bette Bao Lord | In 1947, a Chinese child comes to Brooklyn... |
| •The Phantom Tollbooth | Norton Juster | Milo, a bored ten-year-old, comes home to find a large toy tollbooth sitting in his room... |
| •Weather •Crystals and Gems, etc. | Eyewitness Books | lots of science topics |
| •The Island of the Blue Dolphins | Scott O'Dell | Newbery Medal winner |
| •Hardy Boys series | Franklin W. Dixon | detective series |
| •DragonSong •DragonSinger •DragonDrums | Anne McCaffrey | Pern series for younger readers |
| •Math Curse | Jon Scieszka | Visit Mrs. Fibonacci's math class and become obsessed |
| •Algebra the Easy Way | by Douglas Downing | Real algebra, real fun! |
| •Robot Zoo (A Mechanical Guide to the Way Animals Work) | John Kelly, Obin, and Dr Philip Whitfield | illustrations of unusual real animals drawn as if they were composed of mechanical parts |
| •The Terrible Tudors •The Awesome Egyptians •The Vile Victorians •The Rotten Romans | Terry Deary | Horrible Histories - Read-aloud books that appeal to younger children, teenagers, AND their parents! |
| •The Great Gilly Hopkins | Katherine Paterson | Newbery Honor Book |
| •Anne of Green Gables series | Lucy Maud Montgomery | Classic story of a girl with determination, guts and brains |
| •Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm | Kate Douglas Wiggen | strong female characters, set in another time and place |
| •The Gifted Kids Survival Guide (For Ages 10 and Under) | Judy Galbraith | This is THE BOOK on such aspects of giftedness |
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This page last updated on 7/17/99 by Carolyn K.
Please submit all questions and answers directly to Carolyn. Thank you.
Copyright © 1998-1999 by Carolyn K.
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