posted on August 16, 2000 08:10:24 PM new
I have got to get a birthday present for my friends daughter.She wants books.
She is 8 years old and reading the American Girl series right now.
Anyone with children or without know of some good titles I can check on.
I kind of gravitate to picture books when I get to the childrens department (illustrations are incredible sometimes)and I think she is beyond that now.
She read the Harry Potter books and seems to like books in series.
I got suuch great tips on the last thread I'd thought I'd try again.
posted on August 16, 2000 08:30:41 PM new
Try her on the Little House Books by Wilder if she likes the American Girls series. Also the Addie book by Lawlor (similar to Little House) and Sarah Plain & Tall by MacLachlan.
If she likes the Harry Potter books, she might also like Wizard Hall by Jane Yolen and a series by Edward Eager about children who find & use magic amulets (Magic or Not, 7-Day Magic, etc.). There's also a series by Diana Wynne Jones that features magic, schools, etc. (first one is called Witch Week).
If she likes animals, you might try her on books by Dick King-Smith (English author best known here for Babe the Gallant Pig, but all his stuff is great!). If she's into horses, introduce her to Marguerite Henry's marvelous books.
I would also try her on Francis Hodgson Burnett (best known for Secret Garden, Little Princess [my fav!] and Little Lord Fauntleroy).
As a children's librarian, I can tell you all of the above are hits!
posted on August 16, 2000 08:33:18 PM new
True confession: I spent many childhood nights reading my sisters' Little House books with a flashlight while the folks thought I was sleeping.
posted on August 17, 2000 07:39:58 AM new
Word of warning:
When I was a kid (grade school), I read Mad Magazine & absolutely loved it--it was *great*. I gradually lost interest some time in high school & didn't look at the magazine anymore. When I took the job as children's librarian at this library, I was thrilled to see that the Children's department had a subscription to Mad for the kids. Filled with nostalgia, I grabbed a few issues & settled back to enjoy. Let me tell you, I got a big shock! It's definitely no longer suited to the grade school crowd--if it was a movie it would have an "R" rating (bordering on "X" in some places) for the nudity, language, and violence. We moved it out of the Children's Department & up to YA. It was sad to see how the magazine had changed, it used to be so much fun...
posted on August 17, 2000 07:48:34 AM new
In my collection at your friend's age:
Any of the Nancy Drew series
The "Anne of Green Gables" series
(Both are notable for having female protagonists who actually DO something)
"Treasure Island" - RL Stevenson (I read this 3 times in succession! Still love it)
Collected fairy tales of HC Andersen
Nonfiction: Any Eric Sloane books on early American life. The illustrations are stunning. I fantasized for YEARS about building a log cabin after I got his first book!
posted on August 17, 2000 07:54:03 AM new
Oh, I know the perfect thing that I would want if I was reading American Girl books. There are picture books of history that go with them. They are large hardbacks in the vein of Usborne books. They cover the historical eras of the books with timelines and many large colorful photos of things from the books and how they work. For instance, if one of the books has a weaving loom, it tells all about the loom and how it works, had nice color photos, etc. All set throughout are references and illustraions of the characters she is already interested in. They are WONDERFUL to make the American Girl books come alive and really make them an educational tool. If you see these books in person, I think you will be impressed! I wish you could see a sample page. Ask her mom which character she likes best.
Look what was said about the Addy one:
"Pleasant Company Publications is proud to announce that the Independent Publisher Book Awards committee recently selected "Welcome to Addy's World" as one of the ten outstanding books of the year, naming it Most Inspirational to Youth. The committee also selected "Addy's World" as a finalist in the Juvenile/Young Adult Nonfiction category. More than 550 publishers submitted books to the awards contest, which recognizes the best independently published titles in America."
[ edited by jt on Aug 17, 2000 08:05 AM ]
posted on August 17, 2000 04:48:04 PM new
My favorite mysteries as a kid was the Trixie Belden mysteries. Spent many a day reading about the adventures of Trixe and her best friend Honey.
posted on August 20, 2000 10:45:26 AM new
My daughter, who is 10 now, read over 150 books this last year ( a school program rewards points for every test taken and passed per book).
She enjoyed Goosebumps (she's read every one), Boxcar Kids (ditto), Baby Sitters Club, Henry Potter, Animorphs, Nancy Drew, Wishbone (same as the TV series), James Howe (Bunniculas the vampire rabbit), the Black Stallion/Island Stallion series. She thinks the series by Shel Silverstein, (Where The Sidewalk Ends, Light in the Attic etc.) are very funny.
She really likes scary/mystery stories, and stories which have a lot of humorous elements. I buy almost every one I see at yard sales (.50 or so) no matter who the author is.
She never really liked American Girl, although she read 10 or so, (they were on the approved list). Didn't care for Hardy Boys. She did not like Little Women or the Judy Blume books. She doesn't like stories which are true to life, with tragic or life altering events. She want to be entertained, not worried. Goosebumps et al, are so otherworldly(sp?), that she doesn't find them frightening.
She doesn't seem to mind that some of the books she reads now are 30 - 40 years old (I buy her books I read, and they weren't new then).
posted on August 20, 2000 11:33:33 PM new
Victoria, I am just curious. Are Goosebumps, Baby Sitters Club, Potter, and Animorphs on the approved school list? I ask only because I don't know these things.
She might like The Hobbit and the Nardia Series if she hasn't read those.
There is also a youth fantasy (I think) author Cynthia Voigt. I haven't read her work and they are not little whimpy books though they are written for young readers.
A writer she might also like is Eleanore Farjeon. She wrote many books but I suggest "Italian Peepshow" (my favorite) or "The Old Nurse's Stocking Basket" for short stories, or the "Silver Curlew" for a longer one. Here you can read some of her shorter works:
http://kirov.seanet.com/~eldrbarry/rabb/farj/farj2.htm
She is very entertaining and often considered a "story-teller". 3 of her books are fantasy-like and based on fairy tales, including Silver Curlew.
posted on August 21, 2000 06:12:29 AM new
My daughter read her way through James Howe as well (those books were responsible for more darn overdue fees at the library! LOL!)
She's 9 now and reads voraciously. Her favourites include the Dear America series (each are a diary style book based on a semi-historical character -- for instance the diary of a freed slave based on writing about an actual freed slave), She was nice to mice by Ally Sheedy (I love this one as a girl), and several different history magazines aimed at children -- like Cobblestone and Calliope.
(We do have to do a bit of "why this story isn't a real reflection of history" talking during and after reading. LOL! I hate history that's dumbed down for kids -- but do enjoy the talks and research my daughter and I do to learn more.)
Oh! And she collects the Goosebump books -- though I was amused to find that she read a few and says, "These are collecting books - they don't really mean for you to read 'em." Too funny.
(I read everything she does -- so I was quite pleased when she quit reading the Goosebumps books. Wow -- talk about badly written. LOL!)
EDITED to add: One of my daughter's favourite gifts ever was a subscription to a magazine. She just LOVED knowing that she'd get her very own magazine each month in the mail. Some good ones include: Girl, New Moon, Calliope, Cobblestones, and Cricket.
posted on August 21, 2000 09:40:47 PM new
Hi jt,
Everything I cited, and many cited by the others, are on the list. The list is actually book sized, must be over a thousand titles on it. The list makes no judgement on "quality". The purpose is to get them reading and comprehending.
At the start of the year, they take a test to determine their reading level. After the level has been set, they can't get points for any book below their level. Every book on the list is assigned a grade level and a max point value. Long books or challenging books have higher point values. Every book on the list has its own test, which they take via computer. For every question missed, the points go down. Less than 70% = 0 points. Each grade has a minimum number of points they must achieve per semester. This is only a part of their reading grade. Anything over the minimum, in 25 point steps, is rewarded with prizes, like a soda with lunch, all the way up to your photo on the lunchroom wall.
She's seen the Dear America books, one of her friends was working through the series, but my daughter just doesn't care for it. (not enough ghosts or funny situations, I suspect).
I've heard of the Nardia series, her very small library doesn't carry it, and I've not seen it at a yard sale (yet). I read the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, I don't think she's there yet. I'm not familiar with Eleanore Farjeon, I'll have to look her up.
posted on August 21, 2000 10:42:38 PM new
Thank you Victoria. I am glad that you daughter likes to read so much! Mine is a little more hesitant to begin but she enjoys them mostly when she gets into them. One thing that I have found, better than ghost and stuff are books from far away lands. That is sometimes enough to keep my daughter interested. It is the ADVENTURE that she needs to keep her hooked. Your daughter may be the same in some ways. The Big Wave by Pearl Buck (reader, 6th grade or so) and Master Puppeter (read-aloud, 7th grade level) are books that we just finished. Both are set in Japan duing the time that they were cut off from the world for 200 years. Master Puppeteer is especially packed with the culture, adventure, Shoguns, secrets of the night, etc. That kind of being "different" than everyday seems to be her draw to liking a book. The Big Wave is easy reading.
I am trying to go lightly when I say this because I believe in parent's right to know best for their child very very strongly, and I don't want to sound judgmental of you in any way. But what I am trying to say is that from an educational stand point, I think schools are allowing some rather poor writing to pass for "literature". There is just SO much better quality stuff out there.
If you are interested in the possibilities (or not that's FINE) you might get a catalog from Sonlight to view. I say this because they have detailed descriptions and generally only pick the award winning books...there are hundreds of them in there. They can be found so there is generally no need to order them there but the list is wonderful to have. Let your daughter chose what sounds interesting to her.
My daughter has read some Boxcar Children but I even limit the number of those in our house. (We don't have Goosebumps, etc. at all.) Boxcar are good but I guess that I feel that they DO have appeal...just enough to keep her on the "same track" for too long. I feel that there is growth in wide variety and new challenges. Since my daughter is not an avid reader (she is just more activity/sports oriented), I guess I feel it's important to make her limited reading time as valuable as possible. (It doesn't sound like you have the same situation.) At the same time I don't want her to be bored with the materials that "I" select. To avoid that I go to extreme lengths to own every great children's book ever written with a massive degree of diversity...LOL. (Trust me, it's out of hand! I have just over 300 for sale and 3000+ keepers. Ok, I admit kid books are MY fetish.)
What is right for us may not be right for others. Just a slightly different view.
T
[ edited by jt on Aug 21, 2000 10:47 PM ]
posted on August 22, 2000 07:39:26 AM new
jt, I know what you mean. She's read Newberry Award winners, like Shiloh. It's Like This, Cat. Sounder. And other "children's classics". Her bookcase overfloweth.
But, for example, this summer she was in a library program, where the goal was to read 35 books (had to be their books, not mine)over the summer. We were going out of state on vacation, and she pretty much had to nail a book a day to make the max number of prizes before the time limit ran out. That's when she finished reading the Box Car Children series.
I'm a natural speed reader and I think my daughter is too. When I was her age, my mom didn't try to overtly channel my reading. I'm going to do as my mom did, covertly leave mountains of classics in her room, let her read them when she's ready. Heck, I read all the works of Dickens, Steinbeck, and Twain, concurrently with Asimov, Bradbury, and Heinlein (The brain candy of their day). On my own, for fun.
I think she will too, for fun. Because she thinks it will be her idea.
posted on August 22, 2000 04:21:39 PM new
I found a slew of books for Katelyns birthday.
I am so happy, thanks everyone for the tips.
I also found a few for her brother who is just learning to read and loves to be read to.
My husband picked them out. The series is "Captain Underpants" . (I know thats what I thought too)
I was reading them out loud on the 40 minute ride home from the book store and we were just cracking up. Very cute story about to not so nice little boys who write thier own comic books. If you have a little boy or girl that needs incouragement to read pick up one of these. They will love it.
posted on August 22, 2000 11:27:18 PM new
Great Victoria. I am glad you understood my comments rather than misunderstood them. So nice talking to you.
T
Ok, I admit kid books are MY fetish.)
