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| Hello friends,
My daughter is a bibliophile. She absolutely reads constantly. That's the good news. The bad news is that she seems to be stuck in a rut of old favorites. She is re-reading and re-reading the same series of books that she's loved since 3rd grade. While I would never ask her to toss out her old favorites (banish the thought) I would like to introduce her to new authors that will help her imagination, vocabulary and reading acumen to expand rather than stagnate. I've told her this: "Honey, I am thrilled you still love the Babysitters Club books and I understand the attraction of visiting with favorites, but why not try something new? Explore new books, challenge yourself a bit." She says she doesn't know what to try. She's read all of the Harry Potter books seven or eight times each. She's read all of the Little House books, tried the Bobbsey Twins and she loves mysteries, fantasy and history. She's tired Nancy Drew and they've not reached out and grabbed her. She is 11 years old, going into the 6th grade. I've had her proof-read this note before I hit the button to post it. She agrees with what I've written and is excited to see the list you may be able to help us create. I know you, my RP friends, will be able to help us out. Thank you.
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Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by carolyn_ky (My Page) on Fri, Jul 18, 08 at 15:36
| Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink |
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| A Wrinkle in Time, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and all the books that go with them. Also Lovelace's series about Betsy, Tacy and Tib. |
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| At her age I was Anne of Green Gables and loving it. There are quite a lot on the series. Also Disney did an excellent movie version of these IMHO. |
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| If she likes fantasy, maybe she'd like Christopher Paolini's trilogy, starting with Eragon. It's about a boy who finds a dragon egg, and has all sorts of adventures. The Golden Compass books? I'm reading the Spiderwick Chronicles out loud to my kids right now, and they LOVE them. However your daughter may think they're a bit too simplistic after reading Harry Potter. Kelly |
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| I can offer a few additional suggestions. In the realm of fantasy, try The Alchemyst and The Magician by Michael Scott and are highly recommended by my son and me; Chris D'Lacey's series which begins with The Fire Within; Cornelia Funke's books beginning with Dragon Rider and my favorite when I was in 6th grade, Robert O'Brien's The Silver Crown. Karen Cushman writes engaging historical fiction for this age group; I especially enjoyed her book Matilda Bone. The My America and Dear America series, written in the form of a diary, offer scads of historical fiction choices. Joseph Bruchac does historical fiction with an emphasis on the Native American experience and I thought his book on Jim Thorpe was terrific. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry deals with Denmark's resistance effort in WWII. Peg Kehret and Caroline Cooney write some slightly creepy suspense/mysteries for tweens and Mary Downing Hahn has some ghost stories. My own daughter was taken with Neil Gaimin's Coraline. Margaret Haddix writes sci/fi mysteries. The Sisters Grimm are tween novels using fairy tale characters in their mysteries. Avi is another writer with some books in the mystery/historical fiction category.
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| For fantasy, consider Lloyd Alexander's Prydain series (The Book of Three, etc), Joan Aiken's Wolves books, (The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Black Hearts in Battersea...) and almost anything from Diana Wynne Jones (Witch's Business, The Game, the Chrestomanci books). Or the Joseph Jacobs fairy tale collections. For mystery series, try the Trixie Belden or Judy Bolton series. I always preferred them to the perfect Nancy. History: Esther Forbes' Johnny Tremain (american revolution), Linda Sue Park's A Single Shard (medieval Korea), Eric Kelly's The Trumpeter of Krakow (medieval Poland). Then 2 of my favorites, Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess and The Secret Garden. Never hurts to check the Newbery list - both the winners and the honor books. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Newbery Winner List
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| For fantasy she might like Robin McKinley's "The Hero and the Crown" and "The Blue Sword". Other books she might enjoy would be Scott O'dell's "Island of the Blue Dolphins" and Elizabeth George Speare's "The Witch of Blackbird Pond". Some adult books that could be enjoyed at age 11: James Herriot's "All Creatures Great and Small" and the other three in that series. Agatha Christie's mysteries (usually not scary, but might be for some kids). |
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| Add to the list "Cheaper By the Dozen" (Gilbreth) |
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| Well, I used to read Enid Blyton's books when I was younger. However, I do understand that these books reflect some outdated attitudes and mores that may not be acceptable in today's society. Still, I throw it out there. Among others, there are the Secret Seven series, the Famous Five series, and the Malory Towers series. (The Malory Towers series might be interesting if she liked Harry Potter. While reading the HP books, I couldn't help but think of Malory Towers when life at Hogwarts was being discussed!) There's Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois, a Newbery Medal winner. Hey, how about starting her on some of Roald Dahl's stories/books for older people? I wouldn't suggest some of his short stories but what about The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More. I'd say that's DEFINITELY kid-friendly. In terms of mysteries, I know I was reading Ellery Queen mysteries at around that age. I don't know if it was appropriate for me but there you go. And yes, Agatha Christie should be ok. How about the Father Brown series? They're fairly innocuous? Oh, hey have you started her on the Sherlock Holmes books? They've got both mystery AND history! And they should be fairly safe for an 11 year old. And if she wants mystery, history, and maybe adventure, how about Treasure Island? Or Kidnapped? (Other Robert Louis Stevenson books might be suitable as well.) Jules Verne's books would also be good -- 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, From The Earth To the Moon, Around the World in 80 Days, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Mysterious Island..... How about starting her on some Mark Twain? Tom Sawyer's always a good bet. And of course, there's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. There's also Tom Sawyer Abroad and Tom Sawyer Detective. And how about The Once and Future King, T.H. White's take on the Arthurian myth. (Disney made parts of it into an animated feature entitled "The Sword in the Stone".) (Ok, ok -- they're mostly adventure stories for boys. But that's been my experience. I am, after all, a guy. ;-) ) |
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| hey Pam. I would second the suggestion to look at the Newbery list-the Honor books as well as the winners. They are all on the website. I would also second Blyton, Twain, Sherlock Holmes-your daughter is intelligent enough to understand the fact of changing mores if you discuss it with her before she reads-and spotting them as she reads actually gives her another insight into the times in which they were written....and helps her understand some history! It is a good discussion point for the two of you as well. I am tutoring a rising 6th grader this summer who missed a lot of 5th grade due to health issues-we're catching her up in math, but for fun, we are also reading and writing together-the usual summer activities are not available to her this summer and her mom doesn't want her to turn into a TV addict! Nory Ryan's Song and Maggie's Door Patricia Reilly Giff-historic fiction Catherine, Called Birdy and The Midwife's Apprentice historic fiction The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler other suggestions: My Name is Amelia and Ella Enchanted-fantasy other fantasy she might like: I have also attached another useful website-might help to narrow down the choices. |
Here is a link that might be useful: resource for teen's literature
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- Posted by twobigdogs (My Page) on Sat, Jul 19, 08 at 7:31
| Thank you, thank you! She is excited about this thread and checks for new posts. I sense a nice long trip to the library with her new book list! Every title helps us out, so many thanks. |
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| The history list above reminded me to recommend Park's Quest by Peterson ? Patterson...about the VietNam Wall in Washington. Which, when I see it in my mind, is right next to Julie of the Wolves on my book shelves. |
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- Posted by georgia_peach (My Page) on Sat, Jul 19, 08 at 10:36
| Jeanne Deprau's Ember series is good for this age. In fact, I think there is a film coming out later this year of the first book, City of Ember, so it may be a timely read. |
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- Posted by april_bloom (My Page) on Sat, Jul 19, 08 at 16:06
| I would suggest anything by Gene Stratton-Porter, starting with "Freckles". Wonderful stories and they are CLEAN!! Refreshing for Young Adult age group. |
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- Posted by chickenpea (My Page) on Sat, Jul 19, 08 at 16:49
| Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer is a must read after Harry Potter.Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix.the ranger apprentice series. What about the Black Stallion series altho I think the new printings are abbreviated. Louis L'amour and Zane Grey were favs of mine.My son recommends the Warrior series about a cat clan,and the Pendragon series. |
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| I would like to suggest the Freddy, the Pig series by Walter Brooks. My favorites are Freddy, the Detective, Freddy Goes to Florida, and Freddy Goes to the North Pole. They are charming and hilarious. I love this old series. |
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| I has already been mentioned, but the fictional Anne of Anne of Green Gables was just your daughter's age when the book begins. She might enjoy contrasting her own life with that of the red-haired orphan on Prince Edward Island one hundred years ago. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak might be enjoyable for both of you - terrific book for any age. |
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- Posted by animal_farm (My Page) on Mon, Jul 21, 08 at 22:57
| Definitely the Anne of Green Gables series. They are a wonderful read. |
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| My 11 year old granddaughter really enjoys reading the series: THE BEACON STREET GIRLS. |
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- Posted by christine_a (My Page) on Tue, Jul 22, 08 at 20:38
| A few books that my kids have loved are: Fablehaven by Brandon Mull- similiar to Harry potter, lots of mythological creatures! The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin - a wonderful mystery with a strong 12 year old female main character! The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick - Although half of the book has pictures, the pictures help move the story along The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo - a tear jerker but a great read! The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series - Rick Riordan The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor - A re-telling of Alice in Wonderland. 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson - A young boy finds a room full of cupboards and each cupboard takes him to another dimension. Good Luck! |
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| She might also like Gypsy Rizka by Lloyd Alexander. Rizka is another strong female character, (somewhere around your daughter's age, I think). Here's a portion of a review from Publisher's Weekly: "Skinny as a smoked herring; long-shanked, bright-eyed, with cheekbones sharp enough to whittle a stick," the half-Gypsy girl Rizka lives with her impudent cat, Petzel, in a dilapidated caravan just outside the town of Greater Dunitsa. On her own since her mother died, Rizka awaits the day when her Gypsy father will return to sweep her off with him to the traveling life. In the meantime, the sharp-witted urchin keeps busy deflating the pretensions of the town's most complacent burghers--and being a true friend to those few who appreciate her worth. Rich with comic exaggeration and the folksy cadences of a tall tale, Rizka's sassy escapades include outwitting the town's narrow-minded Chief Councillor Sharpnack, furthering two local romances, impersonating Greater Dunitsa's resident ghost and sharing the wonders of Ali Baba's cave with the dreamy, book-loving town clerk." Another book I'd recommend is Becoming Rosemary, by Frances M Wood. She is also near your daughter's age. It's a tale set in the late 1700's early 1800's. Rosemary's family has a history of "a gift" that pass down from mother to daughter, with the daughter either choosing to accept or reject her "gift" at puberty. |
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| My son at about that age loved the Redwall series by Brian Jacques. I saw in our shop yesterday The Four Storey Mistake which I loved as a child, and only then realised there are other books in the series (by Elizabeth Enright). Don't forget Black Beauty or Little Women and the sequels. |
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| the Enright series is charming- |
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- Posted by blossomgirl (My Page) on Thu, Jul 24, 08 at 13:21
| Here are some books my tweens loved-Hope this list helps your daugher! Diary of a Wimpy Kid-Jeff Kinney |
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| The Invention of Hugh Cabret won the Caldecott this year-that's the one for the illustrations...it has never been given to a 500+ page book before-with 300+ illustrations! Apparently, there was some dissention within the committee because it is so unlike the usual Caldecott winner-and when it did win, librarians had trouble getting it. I know our school waited a bit before we had more than one copy to circulate-it is amazing! So Pam-we all want to know what your daughter chose! |
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| PAM, probably by now you daughter is snowed under with titles but I'm sure she would enjoy Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce, a book that can be relished at any age. All about 'time travel' and set in/on the Cambridgeshire fens. If she likes history try I Coriander by Sally Gardner. A prize-winning tale about a girl who's family is suffering under the harsh Puritan regime of Cromwell . . . with an added dash of fantasy. |
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| Oh-I must have been too tired last night-it is The Invention of Hugo Cabret not Hugh. |
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- Posted by twobigdogs (My Page) on Sat, Jul 26, 08 at 8:08
| Good morning friends, Again, a HUGE thank you to ALL of you. My daughter has been reading these responses with a great big legal pad in front of her. She has been copying down every single title but at the end of page three, decided it would be easier to cut and paste them all into a Word doc. So far, thanks to all of you, she has four single-spaced pages of titles to check out! Four pages! Your generosity is overwhelming - you asked kids and grandkids, you checked shelves and classrooms and looked for websites. Thank you. I've been at RP for an age, and your helpfulness and kindness still amaze me. She is looking forward to a Mama/daughter trip to the library where we can spend a few hours looking at these books and checking out a lot of them. She has read a few, but she says that she wants to type a thank you note to all of you and tell you what she has chosen and what she has already read. And she's still asleep at the moment, so I guess she'll write to you all a bit later! Again, heartfelt thanks to all of you and we'll keep you posted! If you have any more, we'd be thrilled to add them to our pages! (She is making copies of this list for her friends, too.) |
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| A 4-page TBR list at age 11...she's our kind of girl! |
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- Posted by twobigdogs (My Page) on Thu, Jul 31, 08 at 17:05
| Hi! I wanted to write and say THANK YOU for all of the great books you told me about. I just got back from the beach and I read Peter and the Starcatchers while I was there. I took five books but I only got one read but I was only at the beach for four days. And I got six new books on sale at a book store while we were there! -Mom says you can never have too many books with you right??? Next, I am reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid and then maybe The Book Thief because my mom already read it and has it for me and I also read the Diary of Anne Frank. I did read a few of the books you all took the time to list for me but since you listed books that I already liked and read, well, that makes me want to really check out the other books that I haven't read because I am thinking that I will like many of them. ANyway - thanks again. My mom always talks about you and says that you all really know about books. |
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| Yay! I love making lists! She might enjoy The Underland Chronicles. The first book is Gregor the Overlander. Both Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City and its sequel, Kiki Strike: The Empress's Tomb were a lot of fun to read. I also suggest The Sisters Grimm series. Let's see...Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator is always fun to read. There are 3 books in that series so far - hopefully more! I also liked reading about May Bird and her adventures. Patrick Carman has 2 series, I enjoyed both of them. The Land of Elyon and Atherton. Then there's Angie Sage's series Septimus Heap series. I've only read the first one, Magyk. It was good, if a bit too much Harry Potterish. But people seem to enjoy the series. Another series that is what I call "Harry Potter Lite" are the Charlie Bone books. They're still a good read though. I thought Chasing Vermeer was fantastic! She has two more with the same characters, too. Then there's Inkheart, Inkspell, and the upcoming Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke. She also has one called The Thief Lord which I really liked. How about some that aren't series? Shakespeare's Secret I'll call it quits there for now, but I'll post another list later. |
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- Posted by blossomgirl (My Page) on Wed, Aug 6, 08 at 16:08
| Hi Sarah-I am glad you liked "Diary of a Wimpy Kid." You sound like you love reading! I have a 12 year old son and he likes all kinds of books. He suggested many of the books on my list for you and he says he is going to keep a eye out for good books for you to read too. He says to tell you to read the Children of the Lamp series by P.B. Kerr. He really liked it. Hope you ave fun. |
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- Posted by twobigdogs (My Page) on Thu, Aug 7, 08 at 8:35
| THank you bloosomgirl! Now I have 5 pages of books to look for! I am going on vacation to my GRandma's today and I have more books packed then clothes. Mom says thats okay. THanks everybody!!!!! Sarah |
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| I had to jump in here, my daughter (age 12)and her best friend, have been enjoying the Alex Rider Series this summer by Anthony Horowitz, there are at least seven I believe in the series, they are a adventure type. Check it out on Amazon for the information and reviews. |
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- Posted by christinmk (My Page) on Tue, Aug 12, 08 at 0:32
| I adored the Chronicles of Narnia series when I was kid, and still do actually. It took me a couple starts to get into them, but they were all wonderful. I also loved Tom Sawyer (even though Im a girl ;-) ) I would also suggest the Dear America and Royal Diaries series. The Royal Diaries are about real life princesses and queens during their adolecens I believe. And the Dear America are about girls growing up in America at diffrent times in our history, such as colonial, depression, etc. Have you tried checking out the American Girl books? Im sure theyed have a good assortment of tween books... |
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- Posted by blossomgirl (My Page) on Fri, Aug 15, 08 at 22:34
| Dear Sarah-More books for you- Molly Moons series-Georgia Byng |
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| Heard about a series that my DS has been reading, which he is recommending to an 11 yr nephew, called 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians'. Story is a comical, Harry Potter style adventure series with the young protagonists trying to discover whether or not their parents are among the gods of Mt Olympus, called "The Big Three". Lots of great introduction to the characters and stories of Greek mythology. This series was listed as the New York Times #1 best selling series, and a School library Journal Best Book of 2005 |
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| I'll second Island of the Blue Dolphins. One of my favorite books growing up. I read it several times, as did my daughter. |
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| I cut and pasted this into a workable WORD document, did some annotations where needed,printed it out, and took it to school for my "crazy reader" students-boy were they excited. But what was really fun was that the reluctant readers wanted in on it. They all went off to the library with lists in their hands...I apologized to the librarian for the chaos. She was cool with it! |
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- Posted by vtchewbecca (My Page) on Sat, Sep 20, 08 at 8:12
| From my school website (I teach 7th grade): Author Suggestions: ~Robin McKinely - author of some of my favorite books like Beauty ~Diana Wynne Jones - try out The Year of the Griffin ~Anne McCaffery - check out Dragonsong and Dragonsinger and No One Noticed the Cat ~Eion Colfer - author of the Artemis Fowl series + other books ~E.D. Baker - author of The Frog Princess series ~Eva Ibbotson - author of humorous books like Which Witch? ~Richard Peck - author of great books like The Teacher's Funeral and A Long Way from Chicago ~Patricia Wrede - author of Dealing with Dragons and other fun books ~Gail Carson Levine - author of Ella Enchanted, as well as many other great books! ~Stephanie Meyer - author of the popular Twilight....check out her other books Book Suggestions: ~Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George - what is the secret behind the blue slippers? ~Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy - He's a skeleton AND a detective - with a funny sense ~The Treasures of Weatherby by Zilda Keatley Snyder - 12 y/o Harleight must find a way to protect the treasures of his famous ancestors ~The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale - All the girls are training to impress the prince, until invaders come to their mountain ~The Dragon's Eye by Dugald A. Steer - first novel based on the Dragonology series ~The Death Collector by Justin Richards - Eddie steals a wallet with a secret, he must then work to save London from unimaginable terrors ~Midnight Magic by Avi - When a ghost starts haunting the princess, a magician must work to save her ~The Book of Dead Days by Marcus Sedgwick - Valerian the magician must find a way to save himself from a deal he made years before - or he will die ~The Name of this Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosh - Cassandra & Max-Ernest work to find out the fate of the disappeared magician - but it may cost them their lives ~The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison - Prince George is betrothed to Princess Beatrice of their rival neighbors. Both hide secrets that could bring them ruin or may change the course of their countries forever - which will it be? |
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| Rohland Smith is another excellent author. Some of his titles include: Zach's Lie and Jack's Run. An excellent historical fiction book of his is titled Elephant Run. |
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- Posted by twobigdogs (My Page) on Mon, Jul 20, 09 at 15:23
| It was great to find this thread back on top - and two days after my tween daughter's birthday, too. I will add to my daughter's list! Thank you! PAM |
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