Love these. Love 'em, love 'em, love 'em. My sister loved them, too. And her student, who lost my second book.
I just bought my niece *Alex and the Ironic Gentleman * by Adrienne Kress. I asked Adrienne what grade reader it’s for, and she said it’s middle grade (ages 8-12).
(By the way, to brag: my niece turns six in December. She can already read Harry Potter unassisted.)
Eragon isn’t particularly good, but I think the fact that it was a kid writing it makes other kids more excited to read it, which counts for a lot.
No it doesn’t! It’s a terrible example of fantasy specfically and writing in general. Also Paolini was 20 by the time he finished it so he could hardly be considered a kid by that stage. There are so many other great books out there to not need to expose anyone you care about to that drek.
It doesn’t what?
I’ve seen kids take an interest because of the age of the author. I’ve seen what happens when kids get excited about reading. It’s all well and good to think that the quality of a book is the only thing that matters, but it often isn’t. And, of course, different people have different ideas of what makes quality to start with.
[aside] My brother was named Justin, which doesn’t sound odd now, since it’s had a heyday within the past 20 years. But when he was a kid, NO ONE was named Justin. (No one was named Gwendolen either–we were quite a pair among the Michaels and Jennifers.) He liked that book because it actually featured his name.
Speaking of which, does anyone know of a book about a stray cat named Scat who gets adopted and at the end they name it Gwendolyn? My friend was telling me she loved the book and hence the name, but I hadn’t ever heard of it. [/aside]
Slightly “outside the box” suggestion, for a child around 10 years old (especially a precocious reader type): James Herriot’s All Creatures Great And Small and its sequels. They’re not really children’s books, but I remember reading them when I was around 10 y.o., and I really enjoyed them. Probably due to the books being very much about animals, always a popular kid topic. And they’re “gentle” reads; nothing particularly heinous that a parent would have to worry about.
I’d also recommend some of Phil Pullman’s children’s books, particularly The Scarecrow And His Servant, I Was A Rat!, and Clockwork. Good books from one of my favorite authors. (Clockwork is a bit spooky, but nothing a young boy can’t handle.)
Another good book for kids around that age is David And The Phoenix by Edward Ormondroyd. Simple fantasy, good storytelling.
And the Little House on the Prairie books are also very good, age appropriate works for kids in the 8-10 range, especially for a girl but even boys can get into them, too.
It seems the SDMB has fiction pretty well covered, so let me suggest something a little different.
When I was a kid I would have loved to have had The Dangerous Book For Boys
And my sisters would have been equally enthralled by The Daring Book For Girls
I bought (and read) both with the intention of giving them to my grandkids, but since they are only four and two years old, PapaBreign is going to hang on to them for a few more years. (Although I have made several copies of “the world’s best paper airplane” for them.)
I (and others) mentioned the Spiderwick books upthread. Last night in Target I saw a wonderful Spiderwick tie-in book that had flaps and pullouts and letters and popups:
This thing made my heart go pitterpat, and I’m 36!
I’ve been reading those out loud to my family, and everyone has loved them. I did find myself in the position of explaining to the kids what it means for a cow to have a prolapsed uterus.
Those sound great - I’m going to swing by B&N and take a look at them.
Now I have gifts for all the nieces and nephews - except the one nephew who has difficulty reading due to a learning disability. I really hate to give him a book for Christmas.
Hasn’t every parent had that conversation at one point in the child’s life? At this point it’s practically a rite of passage.
Smirk.
The Hidden Treasure of Glaston http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Treasure-Glaston-History-Library/dp/1883937485/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196469960&sr=8-1
An older book back in print which won a Newberry award. A small introduction to Glastonbury and the Grail.