Looking for Book Suggestions for Advanced 5Th Grader

My 12 yr. old son is an advanced reader. Some of his favorite series books are:
Harry Potter
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
The Bartameaus Trilogy
Eragon/Eldest/Brisingr series
The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings series'
The Graveyard Book adn Coraline, by Neil Gaiman
Many of the girls in his 6th grade class were reading the Twilight series.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

When I was that age (and a bit older) I LOVED "The Babysitter's Club" books. I also used to really like "Animorphs" - if she's into "sci-fi" kind of stuff. I don't know if they are still considered "cool" nowadays, but I think they are pretty much 'universal' ;)

In 5th grade my daughter loved the Lightning Thief series by Rick Riordan -- could not put them down!

Hi M.,
My daughter just finished 6th grade and enjoyed a small series of books called something like(can't remember exactly, and she is sleeping now so I can't check) The Mother Daughter Book Club. In the books, the Mothers/daughters read classic books, so it give the reader an introduction to them. She devoured them and is waiting for the next one to come out.
Good luck,
M.

I LOVED the Libba Bray Books and recommended them to many of my middle school students. :)

Go to www.amazon.com
its great because you can read the reviews there of the books. Just do a search on Amazon for 5th grade books... to get ideas. Or, go to your local library, and they usually have book lists per grade, on what is recommended. Or ask the Librarian.
You can also go to the Barnes & Noble website and look up books for her age group. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/ages-9-12-books/379001104...

Good luck,
Susan

In addition to all the other great suggestions you rec'd, you have to add The Giver by Lois Lowry

And, I agree strongly (also as a teacher) w/another mom's advice to be careful w/your choices. Just b/c she CAN read it doesn't mean she SHOULD. Excellent advice that I would like to second!

The Percy Jackson series (rick riordan) is awesome - the final book just came out.
You may also try 39 Clues - it's a series written by different authors (the first book is by Lightning Thief's Rick Riordan), it's interactive and comes with these clue cards, which in turn you can play with online.

Good luck.

I have homeschooled my kids in the past, and this website is a great resource for good books for the different grade levels. www.sonlight.com
It has been my experience that the books they list tend to be advanced. And they also list "read alouds" that are intended for the parents to read out loud as a family, that are even a bit more advanced, so you might find some good stuff there. Just be sure to check out the different grade levels.

I used to teach 6th grade and I actually love young adult preteen literature. Some of my favorite books are, Al Capone Does My Shirts (Laundry) not sure its been a while, anything by Blue Ballet. The Wright Three is one of the books and Chasing Veneer is another. those are mysteries based on art pieces, so cool. I may be wrong on the spelling. My daugher and I also read books together, and a really great one was Walk TWo Moons. That one will make you cry. She would pick out one month selection and then we would read them on our own and discuss and I would pick out the next. Great bonding activity and even an aunt could do this too. Also we got into the Holucaust stuff starting with Hana's suitcase and then we read more as she got older.
Good luck

When I was that age I read Sweet Valley High books.

you have so many suggestions, and im not sure if anyone said this, but how bout little women?? my daughter read that in 5th grade and loved it.

Harry Potter series. Inkheart series. Narnia series. Gardian of Ga'Hoole series, Series of Unfortunate Events and if she's into historical princess, they have fictional diaries of them...but i can't think of the exact name of the series.

The "Time Trilogy" by Madeline L'Engle:
A Wrinkle in Time,
A Wind In the Door, and
A Swiftly Tilting Planet.

The space trilogy by CS Lewis:
Out of the Silent Planet
Perelandria
That Hideous Strength

of course; the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkein
and prequel, the Hobbit
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King

Anyting by Kipling

Maria, my daughter is also an advanced reader. In 4th grade she was reading classics like 3 Musketeers, Moby Dick, Huck Finn and Heidi. She also enjoyed the Narnia series. The Twilight series is good if she likes those kinds of stories. Good luck and keep her reading.

I am a teacher and the kids love the Harry Potter and Eragon series. Someone suggested the Twilight series and I just think middle school is too young for that series. You need to be careful with advanced readers... just because they CAN read it DOESN'T mean they should.

Oh... I just thought of the author Pam Munoz Ryan. She writes picture books and fantastic chapter books. Esperanza Rising is one of my all time favorite books.

Before summer vacation started I asked my school librarian to pull some books for me that the older girls are reading. This is what she grabbed for me...
The Wanderer and Ruby Holler both by Sharon Creech
The Name of This Book is Secret

Good luck!

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. It will be an easy read for her, but I believe she would love it!

I LOVED the Narnia series at her age...The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe, etc. Fantastic books!

I would definitely second the suggestions below of the Eragon series and the Inkheart series!! My daughter loved the Inkheart series at that age especially since one of the main characters is a girl in that age range!!

Be prepared for the reality that the Eragon series is not completely finished and available for purchase, I know from experience it is not fun to read 3 great books and then have to wait 2 years for another one that finishes the story!!

Huggles!!
~S.~

I love all books by Cynthia Voigt, especially Homecoming and Dicey's Song--all her books have strong female figures, perfect for an advanced reader and pre-teen. I've read her books over and over and am impressed how multilayered, though very readable those books are.

Most of the Newberry Award Winners are wonderful: Witch of Blackberry Pond (takes place in Salem) is an all time favorite of mine. I also recently read Uglies, a very recent series she may have already read those.

Thanks for encouraging her reading habit!

Jen

I loved Judy Blume books when I was growing up and my favorite of all time was " are you there God, its me Margaret" and "its not the end of the world"

I think she would love them.

My Granddaughter is also a crazy reader and a horse lover. So, I bought her a large collection of the Marguerite Henry - Misty & Stormy books that I had read as a little girl. She loved them! Something about horses that all girls love.

Wow M., you got great suggestions! My daughter is also an advanced reader! The only one that I would add is the Maximum Ride series. It's not "Advanced" but a blast to read, for adults as well!

If she hasn't already read them, the Little House on the Prairie books are wonderful. I second the Wind in the Door series. Madeleine L'Engle is a very good author.

I have a book called The New York Times Parents Guide to the Best Books for Children by Eden Lipson. It has references by age.

My favorite book was The Secret Garden about girl who survives the cholera epidemic in India only to be sent to live with her uncle in Scotland. I re-read it as soon as I had finished it!

The American Library Association website has a great list on their website.

Most book retailers have books listed by age on their websites. We use Border’s, but I’m sure most have access. If she reads fast, you may give a longer lasting gift with a series of paperbacks rather than one new release hard cover – unless she has already read everything in the series and the latest version just came out – then there is a nice ‘wow’ factor with the hard cover!

I see Harry Potter, Inkheart, and Narnia series have already been suggested. Those were big hits here as well, and if she likes fantasy/adventure books as my son did at that age she may also like:

The Artemis Foul series (by Eoin Colfer - Time Paradox, Lost Colony, etc), Charlie Bone books (author Jenny Nimmo), and author Cornelia Funk (Dragon Rider is one I recall, but there are many). Author Rick Riordon (Lightning Thief, The Last Olympian, etc). Sorry, I’ve only been through that age with a boy, so there are probably more girl appealing books out there. It really depends on her maturity level and interests.

Another source of reading suggestions is "Battle of the Books", a program used in our school district as well as many others. Students ‘compete’ in teams with their knowledge of the books in the spring. A purchasing challenge may be that several of these books are not new releases and are harder to find, though our local Borders had a few on display for summer reading when I was in there last week. The good news is they are paperback, so less expensive. Here are links to their suggested reading lists for this year for grades 4-6 and 6-8.

http://www.battleofthebooks.org/4-62010.html
http://www.battleofthebooks.org/6-82009.html

Happy reading!

P.S. If her school has a Book Fair during the school year, a gift certificate to it would be a fun gift to think about for future giving. They are usually held as fund raisers for the school so you would be giving twice =); the kids love to be able to pick out their own books and the school (or PTA) gets a percentage of sales to buy books for the school. Your 6 1/2 year old would probably find a book or two also!

I loved David Eddings the Belgarian
Pawn of Prophecy
Queen of Sorcery
Magician's Gambit
Castle of Wizardry
Enchanters' End Game
They are wonderful books.
Anything by Ursala k le Guin.
Robing McKinley is a great author.

I would suggest reading Twilight with your daughter, so you know what they are about. There are definitely parts where you want to say "If a real boy does this, it is cause he is a crazy stalker boy who will hurt you, not cause he loves you..." Anyway, my two cents...
Good Reading!
R.