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My niece's b-day is coming up at the end of this month. She'll be 9. She's in 3rd grade currently but she can and should be encouraged to read at a higher reading level.
The girl loves fantasy things. Does anyone have some book recommendations for her? Any series? I'm open to any suggestions for that age range that a little girl may like.
Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book! I have no idea about those levels, but it's super cute and it has some really cool illustrations!
Harry Potter, of course!
Harry potter of course! I worry about the later books being too advanced for her but I plan on introducing them to her. She knows I love it and when she started school temporarily down here in Oklahoma (they're living with my parents while their new home closes in Texas) she expressed her dismay at not finding the books in the library. We had to deflect why they don't have those books here. (It's cause they have held actual protests in this area that Harry Potter promotes Black magic and shouldn't be in schools. Same for various books series) but told her that her aunt Kaycee has all of them and she'll be happy to loan them.
Looking into The Graveyard Book, that may be a bit too much for her, for now. It looks like it starts off kinda scary. This is the jumpiest little girl who cries at a lot of things so I think that may be one for when she's a little older and can handle them better. But I'll keep it in mind for future birthdays!
I think I read the first Harry Potter when I was 7 or 8, and if she works her way through the series slowly, I think they'd be fine. I think I was about 11 when I read Order of the Phoenix. That said, I don't think they're all that dark and advanced as the series gets later on - even the dark books have a lot of great happy things :)
Also that SUCKS that your state tried to ban them from libraries. Dude, America.
Yeah when I was 11, I made my mom stand in line for two hours before the first movie to see it. I learned from a coworker that they actually had protests at the theaters when it came out here. She said she read it to make sure it was okay before letting her son read it and she thought it was okay and didn't understand why people would get mad. She also said she dealt with a lot of flak from others for letting her son read it then. I can't imagine how I would have felt had I been down here waiting in line and a group of angry adults came around screaming and yelling at me and my mom for watching it. People.
I think if we build up and slowly read the HP books, it'll be okay. Maybe buffer in between with another series so she gets to be a better reader before tackling the later books. Merely for reading comprehension. I think combining them with the movie after ward may help too.
The Phantom Tollbooth! Also the Bunnicula books. If you can find it, Sam the Cat: Detective. Those were all my favorites back when I was that age.
Omg bunnicula! I forgot about that book!
I remember loving the wayside school books as a kid (Sideways Stories from Wayside School and Wayside School is Falling Down. I can't remember if there were others).
They are by Louis Sachar, the guy who wrote Holes. They are a ton of fun!
The Percy Jackson series! It's fantasy and has Greek mythology and is really funny and cute and clever! Also it has both strong male and female protagonists! And the series starts with the two main characters at the age of 12, but many younger characters, so it's right in her age range.
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Originally Posted by Scotty_ffgamer
Those are great suggestions! Thank you! I'll put them on my list as well. Series are great cause she can have multiples and they sell a lot in box sets.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jinx
Another point for Percy Jackson is that the Greek mythology is actually really accurate. It's toned down a bit for younger audiences, but it would probably help when Greek mythology stuff like the odyssey becomes more mandatory to learn in high school years.
I used to love the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer, and a few one off books of his as well. Also, I don't know how well it's aged cause I haven't read it since I was in Primary school, but I used to love the Deltora Quest series as well.
Deltora! I remember that from when I was a kid. That was a fun series too. I remember a lot of my "friends" gave me flak cause it was a"boy" book. Stupid Elementary kids.
Maybe just gift her the books at the same rate as they were originally published :p.Quote:
Originally Posted by Freya
After searching through my bookshelfs...
Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling)
His Dark Materials (Phillip Pullman)
Artemis Fowl (Eoin Colfer)
The Pit Dragon Chronicles (Jane Yolen)
Earthsea (Ursula leGuin)
A Wrinkle in Time (Madeline le'Engle
Magic Shop books (Bruce Coville)
The Unicorn Chronicles (Bruce Coville)
"The Magic Treehouse" series is great and there are a lot of books available. Not only is it about magic and fantasy, but each book incorporates historical figures and places into it, so it's a bit of a history lesson as well. Another plus, one of the main protagonists is a young girl (it's a brother and sister team), so she may relate to it. My son read most of them between 1'st and 3'rd grade, he's an advanced reader, in the middle of "The Invisible Man" now. TMT is great for young readers (it really boosted his interest in reading).
For a classic, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass are required reading.
Curious George is solid as well.
Bruce Coville was a guy I read aton of at that age.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Coville
I recommend Camp Haunted Hills, at the very least.
Might also want to try some Gary Paulsen. The Brian Saga, at least the first one, were books people just couldn't stop raving about back in the day. I liked The Transall Saga myself.
ooooooooo yesssss
I remember the Inkheart series being pretty enjoyable, but honestly I can't remember too much from my childhood. Mr. Carny could probably help you out more.
I ended up getting her a box set of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. It's about a Princess who didn't want to marry a prince and was bored with being a princess so she went to work for a Dragon.
I gave it to her yesterday. She read the back and I was all "I think you'll like this. She goes to look for a dragon instead of being a princess." "Yeah cause dragons are way cooler than smelly boys" "That's right :smug:"
I mean sorry smelly boys but.... dragons.
I distinctly remember being hooked on Madeleine L'Engle's booked when I was just slightly older than her. Wonderful stories in a massive universe, with a girl hero. :)
I loved the Animorphs books when I was that age. Don't really know how far that popularity went, but I loved them.
Something like the hitchiker's guide to the galaxy might be fun for her. The humour is nice and quirky, and she'll learn lots (words) from reading it.
Where in the world did you come across that? I was reading through this thread with the distinct intention of recommending those books. They were my favorite growing up. Good call. They're like Shrek or Discworld, but a tad more mature in some aspects, and not always so silly. But very similar. Very enjoyable. Also one of my favorite authors. The Lyra series is really good tooQuote:
Originally Posted by Freya
Lolita.
EDIT: In all seriousness, Deltora, Coraline, Harry Potter, The Hobbit, and Chronicles of Narnia are solid choices.
I was coming here to recommend the "My Teacher is an Alien" series by him. It's not a super hard read, it's aimed right at her age, and it touches on important subjects for her to start thinking about at that age. (Acceptance, tolerance, cultural differences, higher learning, etc.) all wrapped up in a sci-fi package.Quote:
Originally Posted by Forsaken Lover
I know others would disagree, but I also came here to say this. I grew up on these books. They were fantastic, and not too hard for me and I'm not a genius or anything, and also gave me plenty to think about from ages 7 or 8 up to around 13 when Mostly Harmless came outQuote:
Originally Posted by Aerith's Knight
I know it's all sci-fi instead of fantasy, but it's still probably a good idea.