# Book recommendations for a 6-year old reading at a teenager level...



## Emily King (Jun 9, 2009)

I have a friend who has a 6-year old son who is reading at a very advanced level - she's having a hard time finding books for him.  He's read the Harry Potter books himself, to give an example of the level of reading.  The problem she has is that most YA books involve a lot of the teenage angst situations that she doesn't really want him to read.  Scary stuff really isn't that big of a deal - he loves movies like Jaws, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, etc.  

One I'm going to suggest to them is Elfhunter, since I've read it and think he can handle it...

Any other ideas??


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

I feel for your friend Emily. I was in that same situation when my oldest son was that age. Harry Potter hadn't even arrived on the scene so we were really stuck.
Try Christopher Stasheff, Christopher Rowley, Christopher Paolini... omg sounds like i'm on a Christopher kick doesn't it? L.E. Modesitt Jr., Naomi Novik, Jeff Inlo's Delver Magic series is another good one if he likes the Elfhunter Series by C.S. Marks, The Artemis Fowl books by Colfer? Bryan S. Pratt, Eliszabeth Boyer, Mercedes Lackey, Anne McCaffery, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Asimov, Poul Anderson, E.E. Night, R.A. Salvatore,


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## Richard Raley (May 23, 2011)

The Hobbit and LOTR for sure.  David Eddings?  Terry Pratchett?  The Forgotten Realms books (Salvatore) and Dragonlance are heavy on fighting.  Um...some of the Star Wars books would be okay.  Mostly the stuff published by Bantam, not the Del Rey ones, those are darker.  There's also the junior/teen Star Wars books there as well.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

Any of Terry Pratchett's books.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Lemony Snicket and Artemis Fowl. . . .neither would be challenging, particularly to a HS reader, but they're both fun books and way beyond the normal 1st/2nd grade level fare. . . . . .

There's also the Narnia series. . . . .

And any Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie. . . .or, indeed, any of the 'old time' mysteries.  Though there are murders, they're not gruesome at all.  They focus on the mystery and not the death. . . . .

At that age, of course, I'd strongly suggest the parent(s) read the same books so they know exactly what he's being exposed to. . . especially in the case of a precocious reader as you describe.


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## Emily King (Jun 9, 2009)

Great suggestions!!  I'm going to put together a list of them and give to her...


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## PinkKindle (Sep 10, 2009)

My son really likes the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan and anything by Brandon Mull (Fablehaven series and others).  He also likes the Septimus Heap books.  Oh and anything by Rick Riordan too (Percy Jackson and others).  Also Donita K. Paul and Wayne Thomas Batson (these are Christian authors).


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## Emily King (Jun 9, 2009)

I believe he read the first Percy Jackson book and then complained to his mom that it's just like Harry Potter.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

How about the BeastQuest books? I haven't tried them but they look like fun and there's a whole series of them for kids aged 9-12.


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## SSantore (Jun 28, 2011)

What is his INTEREST level?  He may be able to read on a high school level, but unless he is interested in the story, he might get bogged down.  Also, is the book suitable for his maturity level?  Lord of the Rings is a fabulous series, but I question it for a six-year old.  There are a lot of parts which could be very scary.

Unless he is complaining about the books being "baby" books, I'd give him lots of books for upper middle grades, not high school level.  (I'm speaking as a mom, grandmom, former teacher and librarian.)


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## Emily King (Jun 9, 2009)

Scary doesn't bother him at all - he has a very mature level of thought processing, if that makes sense.  If somebody suggested Magic Treehouse, he would be offended (I did that before I knew what level he's reading at, whoops!).  I think there have been some problems with him thinking something is a baby book.  I think she was looking for YA type books without the fluffy romance stuff in it.  Also, I'm really not certain she would want him reading religious books or anything preachy.

I sent her an email with some suggestions, when she replies I'll post back.  I have paper copies of some of the books that I can send her way - they aren't a kindle family (yet).


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## Doug DePew (Mar 26, 2011)

I was in that same situation as a child. I read at a high school level when I started school. 

I recommend the classics. My parents bought me a collection of a bunch of classic children's/teen books that I loved. I read several of them repeatedly. I still have them on my bookshelf. They were by a place called "Companion Library". It has Jungle Book, all four Tom Sawyer books, Arabian Nights, Robinson Crusoe, Little Men, Little Women, The Swiss Family Robinson, The Tales of King Authur, and other books like that. 

There's a reason they're classics, and I loved them as a child. A lot of those books are available relatively cheap or free on Kindle, I believe. Contrary to a previous poster, I would recommend Tolkein. I'd read most of his books several times before I was in fourth or fifth grade. 

A lot of people don't understand what it's like. The key is just exposing him to a lot of different material and letting him find out what he likes. 

I also read a lot of non-fiction as a child. My dad had a huge library of history books that I read all the time.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

I love this little boy!  I was a precocious reader but I think he's ahead of where I was .... I like some of the previous suggestions: Boys classics are good as is Pratchett's Discworld.  I read all the Science Fiction and Fantasy Greats: Heinlein, Clarke, Asimov, Le Guin, Kurtz, Piers Anthony, Tolkien, Card, ... If he likes speculative fiction in general, that's a pretty safe couple genres to set him loose in as there's very little inappropriate sex or gore but lots of action .... (but then I've been reading them for 41 years now and may be biased.  )


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

He might like

ShadowMagic by John Lenahan (two in the series so far--teenage protag, not as dark as Harry Potter, but fun adventures.)

Goblin Quest and series by Jim C. Hines.  An adventure told by the goblins, instead of the humans!  Lot of fun and some nose-picking and fart type jokes that, if I recall, 6 year olds and twenty year olds often tend to find hilarious.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Not to mention a lot of the pulp science fiction books of the 50s and 60s. Plus, add in some Jules Verne and Asimov and you can have some fun there.

I was reading well beyond my age level and I can honestly say that I just skipped the book parts that didn't make sense to me/grossed me out/didn't appeal to me. In fact, I've gone back and read some of the things I was reading at 12 and was shocked that I don't remember any of those scenes. Then, I recall hitting some of those sex/violent/graphic scenes and thinking they were dumb and skipping them. At 10, I didn't get sex and graphic violence was scary. At 12, sex was icky and graphic violence was lame.  At 16, sex scenes were awesome and graphic violence was totally rad.


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## NS (Jul 8, 2011)

I have six years old twins, so I will watch this thread doe ideas.


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## SSantore (Jun 28, 2011)

I think the idea about the classics is a good one.  Tom Sawyer, Treasure Island, etc.

Also, he might like the books for boys by G.A. Henty.  His books are free for the Kindle or you can also buy them in a large paperback.  He wrote historical fiction set in many different time periods.  Each has for a main character a teen age boy--no teen angst here.  Only adventures within a historical setting.  Some titles are: Captain Bayley's Heir (about the California gold fields);Beric The Briton (a story of the Roman invasion); True to the Old Flag (American war of Independence).

His titles aren't catchy, but the books are solid adventure stories meant to appeal to boys.


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## ak rain (Nov 15, 2008)

michael scott, "The Alchemist" book 1


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## ak rain (Nov 15, 2008)

not sure if this is a series or not


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## Budo von Stahl (Aug 31, 2010)

I had read The Hobbit and LotR before I was 6, highly recommend. Brian Jaques' Redwall series and Beverly Cleary's Mouse on a Motorcycle should do.  Dennis MacKiernan's Iron Tower series might be a good choice if his matruity level is decent (no porn or even innuendo, but well presented concern/love tween the hero and his sweetie at the end, a wee bit scary at times, but well done).  Narnia is probably a bit over his head, but well within his skill level; those might be better for later so he can 'get the jist' of the philosophy.  Same with NIMH and Warership Down.  The Boxcar Children and Anne of Green Gables are good.  Nuff on my part; after he devours the choicest tidbits in this thread please ask again with a hint at his preferences.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

This book has talking dolphins in it. I just reviewed it and thought it would appeal more to those who enjoy YA books. Might be right up his alley - http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,76243.0.html


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

The Horrible History books are good too. . .they've got all the important history, with the disgusting bits kids like.


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## J.G. McKenney (Apr 16, 2011)

How about Philip Pullman's _His Dark Materials_ trilogy?


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## Lyndl (Apr 2, 2010)

Doug DePew said:


> I was in that same situation as a child. I read at a high school level when I started school.
> 
> I recommend the classics. My parents bought me a collection of a bunch of classic children's/teen books that I loved. I read several of them repeatedly. I still have them on my bookshelf. They were by a place called "Companion Library". It has Jungle Book, all four Tom Sawyer books, Arabian Nights, Robinson Crusoe, Little Men, Little Women, The Swiss Family Robinson, The Tales of King Authur, and other books like that.
> 
> ...


 Wow, This could be describing me! I remember being told off by a Teacher in 1st Grade because I read the whole term's reading in one week. She made me sit in a corner and do nothing while the other kids did "reading" . At home, I would just pull a book off the bookshelf and start reading. The classics are a wonderful way to feed a reading habit. The books I owned were Dean's Classics and I still have some of these: Robinson Crusoe, Little Men, Little Women, The Swiss Family Robinson, Kidnapped, Coral Island, Black Arrow, Black Beauty, Gulliver's Travels, Lorna Doone and more.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Lyndl said:


> Wow, This could be describing me! I remember being told off by a Teacher in 1st Grade because I read the whole term's reading in one week. She made me sit in a corner and do nothing while the other kids did "reading" .


I wonder if she knew my teacher. She would constantly forbid me to check out books from the school library I wanted to read because they were too hard for me to understand. In front of me, she told my mother I learned to read wrong. My mother was glorious, though. She got back in her face and read her the riot act. It was one of those defining moments of my childhood.


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## KMA (Mar 11, 2009)

Geoffrey said:


> I wonder if she knew my teacher. She would constantly forbid me to check out books from the school library I wanted to read because they were too hard for me to understand. In front of me, she told my mother I learned to read wrong. My mother was glorious, though. She got back in her face and read her the riot act. It was one of those defining moments of my childhood.


My mother stormed the principal's office to liberate the copy of Lord of the Rings that my kindergarten teacher confiscated. It was indeed a defining childhood moment.


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## KMA (Mar 11, 2009)

Geoffrey said:


> I love this little boy! I was a precocious reader but I think he's ahead of where I was .... I like some of the previous suggestions: Boys classics are good as is Pratchett's Discworld. I read all the Science Fiction and Fantasy Greats: Heinlein, Clarke, Asimov, Le Guin, Kurtz, Piers Anthony, Tolkien, Card, ... If he likes speculative fiction in general, that's a pretty safe couple genres to set him loose in as there's very little inappropriate sex or gore but lots of action .... (but then I've been reading them for 41 years now and may be biased. )


Most have these have been hugely popular with my precocious reader.


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## Russell Brooks (Dec 23, 2010)

I second THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Geoffrey--

I just had to threadjack for a minute to say I love your "Spock monkey" avatar.  


Betsy


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## Maygirl09 (Nov 13, 2010)

I would say http://www.amazon.com/Hunters-natural-successor-Potter-ebook/dp/B0045OUPZC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1311163762&sr=8-2 would be a great place to start


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Not on Kindle, but these are GREAT books, a boy's epic quest..5 books in 2 volumes, you can get each book seperately

And this one is a companion book to those


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## Nancy Fulda (Apr 24, 2011)

Ditto the praise for David Eddings.  I'm not sure his books would hold my attention today, but I LOVED them as a teenager.

You might also try Isaac Asimov's Norby books and Encyclopedia Brown.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Geoffrey--
> 
> I just had to threadjack for a minute to say I love your "Spock monkey" avatar.
> 
> Betsy












It's part of a collection of about 40 Spock avatars I'm working through ... 

G


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## Emily King (Jun 9, 2009)

ZOMG!!  I want the zombie Spock one!!  I was going to comment on the sock monkey spock, but the newest one wins my vote of "most awesome"!!!


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## mscottwriter (Nov 5, 2010)

> My mother stormed the principal's office to liberate the copy of Lord of the Rings that my kindergarten teacher confiscated. It was indeed a defining childhood moment.


Lol. That must have been an action-packed scene!

How about "Eragon" by Christopher Paolini?

I'd also recommend "Hatchet", "Holes", and "Bridge to Terebithia". All of these are realistic fiction, but my son was very enthralled by them. Or, if the boy in question is okay with female lead characters, "Elle Enchated" and "The Two Princesses of Bamarre" by Gail Carson Levine are good as well.


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## Emily King (Jun 9, 2009)

You guys are so great!!  I'm accumulating suggestions (for him and for my boy when he gets old enough).


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## Guest (Jul 21, 2011)

I was in a similar situation and spent most of my time reading science fiction or fantasy. A few favourites were Asimov, Heinlein, Van Vogt, McCaffrey, Ursula le Guin and Andre Norton. The Sherlock Holmes stories were another set he might like, although there's also Terry Pratchett.

Depending on how much excitement he likes, there are also James Herriot's vet books. Biographies and non-fiction might also interest him - for example, the Seven Wonders of the Industrial World.


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## jason10mm (Apr 7, 2009)

I was in a similar situation as a kid and the classics DEFINITELY fit the bill. For some reason I was much more tolerant of the antiquated language than I am today. The more straightforward actiony titles were the best. Golden age sci-fi is also perfect, those stories were pretty well sanitized. I LOVED "choose your own adventure" books at that age, they can take longer to work through as well. Tom Swift in the various iterations are good choices as well.

I don't really track much modern YA stuff, but would agree any teenage angst/emo heavy stories would not hold his interest. "Leviathan" by Scott somebody or another would be a good choice, as it has young protagonists and a pretty interesting steampunky world. Not really my cup of tea as an adult, but would have been right up my alley as a kid.


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## amandamay83 (Apr 11, 2011)

Geoffrey said:


> I wonder if she knew my teacher. *She would constantly forbid me to check out books from the school library I wanted to read because they were too hard for me to understand*. In front of me, she told my mother I learned to read wrong. My mother was glorious, though. She got back in her face and read her the riot act. It was one of those defining moments of my childhood.


That's nearly the exact opposite of my experience! I wouldn't call myself gifted in any way, but I have always been a voracious reader. In fourth grade, I was in the school library trying to find something to read, just kinda wandering around. The librarian came over to me and snapped (well, at the time it seemed like she snapped ), "Oh, come on, Amanda. You can read bigger books than that. Go pick something else." She pissed me off so I went over to a shelf and grabbed the most boring looking book I could find, purely out of spite. It was just a plain, black cover. As it turned out, the joke was on me: I loved the book. (It turned out to be "A Ring of Endless Light," by Madeline by L'Engle.)

For the OP, the first book I thought of was "The Golden Acorn":
http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Acorn-Adventures-Jack-Brenin/dp/1906821658/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311270033&sr=8-1
I just started the second book in the series. (On Kindle, the first is free, the second is a whopping $1.30 ) I'm really, really loving it, much to my surprise. I'm not normally into fantasy, but this was free, so I gave it a whirl. It's incredibly well-written (a couple plot-twists surprised even me!) and witty.


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## Larry Marshall (Jan 2, 2011)

Lots of great recommendations already given but I'll throw a few more on the pile.

Mysteries: Robert Parker wrote 3 traditional mysteries for YA and they are magnificent.

Urban fantasy: I suspect he'd love Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden books

Sci-fi: Asimov wrote a whole series of short novels with young protagonists (eg - Have Spacesuit, Will Travel).  There's at least a dozen of them and they were written specifically for young boys.
And...he's just GOT to like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  

I don't know what genre it would be considered to be but The Thief Lord is a superb young adult fantasy/thriller?? without a lot of distressing plot points.

Cheers --- Larry


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## Lyndl (Apr 2, 2010)

Geoffrey said:


> I wonder if she knew my teacher. She would constantly forbid me to check out books from the school library I wanted to read because they were too hard for me to understand. In front of me, she told my mother I learned to read wrong. My mother was glorious, though. She got back in her face and read her the riot act. It was one of those defining moments of my childhood.


 lol, Mine was the same teacher who tried to make me write with my right hand. My Mother read her the riot act over that. Her excuse? _She bumps the girl sitting on her left._ Funny how there was no more bumping once we swapped seats.


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## KMA (Mar 11, 2009)

Ooh, my daughter just reminded me of another good one: The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. There are sequels, but the first one stands alone very well. She also recommends Suzanne Collins' Overlander books; the first is Gregor the Overlander.

A few more: 
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Inkheart (and sequels) by Cornelia Funke
Packing for Mars by Mary Roach (This does have a chapter on sex, but it didn't disturb my kid.)


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## 31842 (Jan 11, 2011)

This kid is so lucky to have someone out there looking for things to feed his brain! Fantastic! It is a tough balance to keep him challenged while keeping themes age appropriate...

So, my little brother loved Jack London's The Call of the Wild and White Fang. My big brother loved The Phantom Tollbooth, ANYTHING Hardy Boys, The Black Cauldron (The Chronicles of Prydain), and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The Indian in the Cupboard was always one of my favorite books. You might also try The Complete Works of O. Henry (author of The Gift of the Magi, Ransom of Red Chief, and others). O. Henry was so amazing at twisting stories - challenging, yet so accessible. I'll keep wracking my brain for you! Good luck!


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## WriterCTaylor (Jul 11, 2011)

How about 'The Animals Of Farthing Wood'. The original, not the many short versions around. It was first published in 1979 (ish). A shorter version was released to accompany a TV series, but that first novel was the first book I checked out of the library by myself and I loved it!!


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## samanthawarren (May 1, 2011)

I remember reading the Bobbsey Twins series around that age. They might be a little younger than what you're looking for, though. 

Edit: I saw someone mentioned the Dresden Files. While they're wonderful books, I don't think I'd let a 6-year-old read them. There may be no overt sexuality in them, but there are some romantic scenes that may not be appropriate for him just yet.


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## gregoryblackman (Jul 11, 2011)

If they like fantasy, my favorite books as a child were Dragon Lance novels (of which there are many).


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## journeymama (May 30, 2011)

I think the Narnia books would be great for a six-year-old... I first read them when I was not much older. 

And I LOVED this writer Gordon Korman. I think he might be Canadian- he's hilarious and I remember cracking up, reading his books as a kid.


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## 31842 (Jan 11, 2011)

journeymama said:


> I think the Narnia books would be great for a six-year-old... I first read them when I was not much older.
> 
> And I LOVED this writer Gordon Korman. I think he might be Canadian- he's hilarious and I remember cracking up, reading his books as a kid.


OOO! I second the Narnia suggestion! I would also recommend Madame L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time series and Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising.


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## dalya (Jul 26, 2011)

As a kid, I loved the horse books: Black Beauty and the Black Stallion.  I see on Amazon there's a free kindle edition of Black Beauty Young Folks' Edition.  I also LOVED re-reading Call of the Wild.  *Warning -- may result in sniffles!

I also enjoyed A Wrinkle in Time and The Hobbit (though I never could finish The Hobbit).  I recently read "When You Reach Me", which was really wonderful, kind of an homage to Wrinkle in Time.


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## Doug DePew (Mar 26, 2011)

dalyamoon said:


> ...The Hobbit (though I never could finish The Hobbit).


My fourth grade teacher read us The Hobbit in class. Each day, we'd sit around in a circle and listen to her read a chapter. She was the greatest teacher EVER!


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## Douglas Dorow (Jun 21, 2011)

We struggle with than with both of our kids who were early, advanced readers.  They were often not ready for the themes of the middle grade books.  

We found that biographies of interesting people were good for them.  They learned history, etc while they read.


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## UnicornEmily (Jul 2, 2011)

Okay!  Tell him to try Fablehaven, by Brandon Mull, which is entirely appropriate and just plain awesome, as well as being a thoroughly engaging adventure fantasy story.

Also: the Leven Thumps series by Obert Skye is good, and he might like the humorous Alcatraz series, by Brandon Sanderson.  I agree with the Narnia and Dark is Rising and Wrinkle in Time recommendations -- I loved all of these at that age.  The Prydain chronicles might also be a good idea.

Try Diana Wynne Jones, as well, especially the Chrestomanci series.  I bet he'd really enjoy these.

I hope you find a great many fun books to recommend for him to read!


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## Emily King (Jun 9, 2009)

You guys are all so awesome!!  I think I'm going to just send his mom a link to this thread, so many recommendations here!


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

Joan Aiken -- 'The Whispering Mountain,' 'The Wolves of Willoughby Chase' -- is a marvellous writer who can be enjoyed by readers of any age.


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## caseyf6 (Mar 28, 2010)

You are all making me SO thankful for my elementary librarian (Mrs. Nelson) who found books for me to read, and for Mrs. Workman (4th grade) who said "yes" when I asked if I could check out the book she was reading to the class and read it to myself.  I could read a lot faster and it was making me crazy sitting there and just listening.


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