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dr_alcott
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« on: September 09, 2011, 04:38:28 PM » |
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My third grader (my oldest) is testing at late sixth-grade reading levels, and I could use some suggestions for books that he can read on his own. His teacher is concerned that much of the stuff that will appropriately challenge him is "too mature" for him. I'm not too worried about that; I just want to find him some good books that will keep him interested. ( This three-year-old thread is a bit helpful, and there's also the one for first graders, which I'm also going to mine for ideas for my daughter.) Any ideas? He's reading Harry Potter now; I'd like him to start reading A Wrinkle in Time soon. What else? |
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cc_alan
is a wossname
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Caution! Nekkid zamboni driver ahead.
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« Reply #1 on: September 09, 2011, 04:49:14 PM » |
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A Series of Unfortunate Events (13 books) by Lemony Snicket.
The Artemis Fowl books.
The Hobbit.
Alan
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Excuse me... which aisle would I find the unicorns and rainbows? No, Alan is a man among men, striding the Earth like a Colossus with a really big bladder, wearing a tool belt.
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_touchedbyanoodle_
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« Reply #2 on: September 09, 2011, 04:58:05 PM » |
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Jerry Spinelli's books seem like they might offer the compromise of being written for middle grades, but not with themes that are too out of reach for a 3rd grader.
Also...
Holes
Hoot
Because of Winn-Dixie
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"Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist." -George Carlin
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spork
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« Reply #3 on: September 09, 2011, 05:02:31 PM » |
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The House With a Clock In Its Walls, by Lewis Barnavelt
In the Keep of Time, by Margaret Jean Anderson
There's the standards, like Charlotte's Web, Old Yeller, etc.
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« Last Edit: September 09, 2011, 05:02:52 PM by spork »
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"Please do not force people who are exhausted to take medication for hallucinations." -- Memo from the Chair, Department of White Privilege Studies, Fiork University
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offthemarket
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« Reply #4 on: September 09, 2011, 05:06:57 PM » |
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My kid in this age/reading level range is loving the Percy Jackson series, can't put them down, and chuckles out loud regularly, which he typically doesn't do when reading. Also, he's reading those Warriors cat books. I've read a few pages and they seem hideous, but he's very taken. Also, jhe ust read Holes and a couple Artemis Fowls. The Crispin books by Avi. How to Train your Dragon. And don't forget Tin Tin! (There is some cultural ignorance in the early ones, which he atones for in the later ones, but it's all okay if your kid is a reasonable person and you talk about it.)
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bibliothecula
Academic ronin
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like Bunnicula, only with books
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« Reply #5 on: September 09, 2011, 05:57:36 PM » |
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Anything by Diana Wynne Jones, Lloyd Alexander, Suzanne Collins, Garth Nix, Philip Pullman, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, John Bellairs.
Also, depending on his interests--
Sherlock Holmes.
Lord of the Rings.
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catherder
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« Reply #6 on: September 09, 2011, 08:48:34 PM » |
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If he likes animals, some of Paul Gallico's books, especially The Snow Goose, and Gallico's books about cats.
For an entirely different gendre, Enid Blyton's series The Island of Adventure, Sea of Adventure etc. It's the only one of her series my daughter at that reading level really liked.
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kohelet
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« Reply #7 on: September 10, 2011, 07:04:16 AM » |
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Happy to see this thread--I have exactly the same situation as the OP and have been wondering about this myself. My 3rd grade boy is also loving Percy Jackson right now (to the point of checking out all the books in his school library on Greek mythology). We let him read through the second Harry Potter book, but we're making him wait a couple of years to start again.
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mouseman
Oh dear, how did I become a
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The Validater/Validator-in-Chief
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« Reply #8 on: September 11, 2011, 01:58:57 PM » |
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I'll second TBN's recomendation for Hoot and two more of Hiaasen's books, Scat and Flush. The Mouselet also liked The Girl Who could Fly, Ginger Pye, Gitty Daneshvari's School of Fear, Trenton Lee Stewart's Mysterious Benedict Society books.
If I think of more, I'll add them.
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In the midst of the word he was trying to say,
In the midst of his laughter and glee,
He had softly and suddenly vanished away -- -
For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.
Lewis Carroll
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dr_alcott
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« Reply #9 on: September 11, 2011, 03:19:51 PM » |
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Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. Some we've read, and the others are getting added to the list. One of our recent favorites was Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret. I was excited to see this morning that the author has a new kids' novel out called Wunderstruck. In the spirit of sharing, here are some others my 3rd grader has liked recently: Kate DiCamillo's The Magician's ElephantElise Broach's MasterpieceKurtis Scaletta's Mamba PointRebecca Stead's When You Reach MeGoing's The Liberation of Gabriel KingO'Brien's Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh |
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I am an insanely elegant, super classy poor white, for the record.
I love everyone here!
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bibliothecula
Academic ronin
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like Bunnicula, only with books
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« Reply #10 on: September 12, 2011, 12:34:37 PM » |
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Are the Three Investigators books still in print? I seem to remember them being decent mysteries.
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arizona
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« Reply #11 on: September 12, 2011, 02:30:20 PM » |
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anything by Cornelia Funke
the Charlie Bone series
anything by Roald Dahl (he may have read these already)
the City of Ember series
the Septimus Heap series
the Fablehaven series
The True Meaning of Smekday (fabulous and funny)
Lois Lowry, The Giver, Gathering Blue, The Messenger
The Mysterious Benedict Society series
Suzanne Collins's Gregor the Overlander series (don't be scared off because she wrote The Hunger Games; this series is pitched at much younger readers and doesn't have the same kind of violence)
Gary Schmidt, The Wednesday Wars
The Westing Game
Tuck Everlasting
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
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« Last Edit: September 12, 2011, 02:32:58 PM by arizona »
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collegekidsmom
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« Reply #12 on: September 12, 2011, 10:11:30 PM » |
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My son was totally into Mossflower and Redwall, and all the rest by Brian Jacques. He started reading them in third grade and kept rereading them. Then he started writing his own stories with similar themes. Something really spoke to him in those books.
There seemed to be a lot of animal fighting, such as between otters.
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see_wolf
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« Reply #13 on: September 13, 2011, 12:18:35 AM » |
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<snip>
I'd like him to start reading A Wrinkle in Time soon. What else?
30 some years after the first time I read this book (over and over, til it fell apart)... it is still my favorite. It's one of the reasons I fell in love with science - and re-reading it as I became older, more and more layers unfolded. It was new to me for years. The rest of the series was good, but nothing better than A Wrinkle in Time. |
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bibliothecula
Academic ronin
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like Bunnicula, only with books
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« Reply #14 on: September 13, 2011, 10:19:04 AM » |
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More by E. L. Konigsberg:
Father's Arcane Daughter
Up from Jericho Tel
A Proud Taste for Scarlet & Miniver
....actually, all of her books are pretty good.
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