Best books/authors for advanced 8-9 year olds?

[left210]

I am going to the Scholastic warehouse sale next week and was going to pick up a set of books for my sons teacher. It is for 8-9 year old boys and girls who are in an advanced reading group. Any suggestions on a book or author to look for? My son has lots of books at home but I am trying to get something that would be good for both boys and girls. I will be buying 5 of the same books for their reading group. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Crystal0608]

My dd is 9 and in AIG and can read 2 grade levels ahead, but these are the books/authors she mentions most below. I'm not sure if they are scholastic or not:


ANYTHING by Kate DiCamillo!!!!!
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (my 7 year old ds LOVES these)
Magic Tree House series
The classics-Little Women, Heidi, Black Beauty

Some others from back in my day that I think boys would also enjoy:
Boxcar series
Hardy Boys
Nancy Drew
anything by CS Lewis

 

[disneyfan2kids]

My DS8 is a super fast reader. He LOVES Wimpy Kid. He used to love Capt. Underpants...but they're too easy for him now.

 

[left210]

Yes they all love the Wimpy kid books but all have read them. I will check out some of the other suggestions. Keep them coming!

 

[merekc]

The Percy Jackson series has pretty good reviews. A movie is coming out in the spring. I have not read them but have the first three on order from Amazon. Several of the customer reviews said that their 4th grade boys liked them and they also have strong female characters.

 

[mnrose]

My kids are both advanced readers, and they absolutely LOVED the entire Wizard of Oz series by L. Frank Baum. Most people do not realize that the movie, The Wizard of Oz, was based on only the first book of the series, and that there are actually 13 additional books in the series. They are full of wonderful, magical, imaginative things. The stories are great. The writing is stunning. Very well written stuff, and not at all "dumb-downed" as many children's books are today. It was the Harry Potter series of it's day, and for very good reason.

Be sure to get only the Baum books. After his death, other authors took up the series, but those books are not nearly as good.

Oh, and they are perfect for boys and girls, which is a huge benefit.

 

[cats mom]

How about Margaret Peterson Haddix?
The "Missing" books would likely be too new to find at the warehouse, but the "Shadow Children" series might be a good choice. ie: Among the Hidden, etc. I believe they're recommended for ages 9-12. I wouldn't suggest them for 8 & 9 year olds unless they're very strong readers though.

 

[bear_mom]

39 clues is a great new series out there. Dd loves reading them, there are only 6 of the 12 or (13) written yet. Each book of the series takes place in a different country and utilizes some piece of history from that country and is written by a different author.

Emily

 

[Rogue26]

My daughter is nine and loves the "Warriors" series about wild cats by Erin Hunter, I think it would appeal to boys and girls.

 

[onescgirl]

Diary of Wimpy Kid series, Little House on Prairie series, Chronicles of Narnia series, & Fudge series by Judy Blume

 

[madcat]

my 9 y/o son has read the kingdom keepers books and liked them a lot.

 

[lovesmurfs]

At that age, my DS (advanced reader) loved the Redwall series of books by Brian Jacques. He also enjoyed the Magic Tree House books, but they might be a little on the easy side for advanced readers.

The Little House books are great for girls -- DD10 is starting Anne of Green Gables and Nancy Drew.

To search for books by grade level or lexile score range, you can go to http://www.lexile.com/fab/ and get a listing of books by subject.

 

[dizneechic]

Another vote for the Percy Jackson books, my 8y/o advanced reader is LOVING them. As one of the pp's mentioned, The Lightning Thief will be coming to theaters on 02/12/10 so it would be wonderful to read ahead of time and then on school break see the movie and have a group discussion comparing the 2 afterward. We did the comparison between the Magic Tree House books and the MTH Musical (based on book 29 - Christmas in Camelot) and it was really cool the slight variations he noticed and what he picked up on.

I would also recommend The Secrets of Droon, we've done the whole series here and really enjoyed them!

 

[minnie1928]

My son just started the Lightening Thief (Percy Jackson) and he loves it. He's also read the Narnia Books, the Harry Potter series, the Alex Rider series (kid who's a spy), and a series about dragons (Brsinger, Eldest, etc.).

 

[Dizneydaz]

My DD10 too is an advanced reader. She's reading at level 13 (first year of college!) Already over 200% of AR goal.

When she was 8/9 she was totally into Little House. Enough so that she was Laura Ingalls for Halloween last year. Then she got into Percy Jackson just recently. She can't wait for the movie. Also at that age she got into the Animorph books (currently out of print) enough so that I bought some on craigslist and from paperbackswap.com. She also loved/loves the Inheritance books from Christopher Paolini.

Last year she was also totally into the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver. First book is Wolf Brother. She went right from LH to this series. I think boys and girls will love these books.

For her, Nancy Drew, Bobbey Twins, Hardy Boys, etc. are too boring. How can they compare to books like HP and Eragon?

She's just started on the Warrior Series. Loves it.

BYW, she started reading HP when she was in 1st grade. Picked up one of my copies and she was good to go. HP was her first reading love, and she still re-reads them and watches the movies.

 

[Minnie M6]

Great thread- I'm also going to the sale next week and I'm always looking for book suggestions for DS10 and DD9. DS is reading the Lightning Thief right now and really enjoying it. He tends to gravitate toward non-fiction books, so I am thrilled when he gets excited about fiction. He read some books about historical figures with a "Back in TIme" theme, and seemed to enjoy those. DD is reading Nancy Drew at school and loves the AG mystery books. We read and then watched Little Women together, that was fun for both of us!

We have a 12 year old girl to buy for for our Angel Tree at church, and one of the things she wants is books, so I am looking to pick up lots at the sale for her as well.

Keep the great suggestions coming!

 

[NVDisMom]

Another vote for the Percy Jackson books, my girls and I all enjoyed them immensely! My eldest loved A Series of Unfortunate Events at that age too. Going through her bookcase, I found The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander. If its on the shelf, she liked it! My youngest liked The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau.

 

[tinkermom23]

DS just turned 10 and has read Peter and the Starcatchers series at least twice. I just got the Kingdom Keepers for him.

He loves the classics too, like 20,000 Leagues, Moby Dick, Treasure Island, anything by Mark Twain.
The new Hardy Boys are like little cartoons almost, he isn't too impressed.
He likes thicker, hardcover books, he feels they are "worthy of his time." ???

 

[Scrappin'Maniac]

My DS10 enjoys Percy Jackson, 39 Clues, Pendragon series (10 books), Artemis Fowl, Warrior series, Dragonspell series, Lord of the Rings. They had alot of these books at our school book fair this year.

Have fun!

 

[BabyTigger99]

DS10 has been a huge fan of the Warrior books since last year.