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*sensitive* advanced reader - help?

2K views 45 replies 27 participants last post by  zibster321 
#1 ·
(Ok. I just know I've seen threads on MDC about books for advanced, sensitive readers but I'm not getting results with my searches. Would anyone be so kind as to link me to previous threads they know about? I promise promise promise to bookmark this thread.)

DD's a voracious reader. She's not yet 5.5 and is pretty sensitive. (Example: When Wall-E lost his eye DD was inconsolable and we had to leave the theater.) She has read lots of Greek and Roman myths, but I think the sense of "mythical distance" in those stories makes the gore/brutality in them less hard to take. But for the most part I'm trying my best to help her avoid more adult themes. I've seen suggestions for Wee Free Men (Pratchett) but I read the wiki on that and it just seems like it'd be the stuff of bad dreams. I've also heard that Tamora Pierce might be a good one to try but I think the coming of age/relationship part might be a bit too much. You can try to set me straight on these if you think I'm wrong.

I guess I have a weak stomach when it comes to her reading that kind of stuff. She may be reading at an advanced level but she's still my baby, yk?

To give you an idea of her reading, she's just finished all the Warrior Cats books by Erin Hunter. She's read every one save the last, which must be recent/popular because we're on a waiting list of about 20 for it at the library. And she has read all those books in under three weeks. Keeping her in books is really a challenge. That's why I'm looking for series books.

Oh, and I don't feel a need to have her reading at a high level, but I would like the writing to be decent writing. I've heard that Magic Treehouse, for example, can make editors cringe. True?
 
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#2 ·
At age 11 my kid was scared of the cat warrior books!

No idea where the thread are but a few suggestions.

Freddy the Pig books by Walter R Brooks - huge series, challenging reading level and big print, not scary.

Swallows and Amazons book by Aurthur Ransome. Very safe sweet books again long and plenty of them.

Dick King Smith books - not a series, but lots of them.

Half Magic and other Edward Eager books.

The Penderwicks
 
#3 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Roar View Post
At age 11 my kid was scared of the cat warrior books!
Thanks for the suggestions Roar. And yes I think the Warrior books might have been a poor choice. I glanced through a few and it seemed as if they weren't actually in a battle they were talking about battles in the past or ones that were on the horizon. DD's play has also evolved to include kitty aggression, so maybe she's working it out there. I estimate that she spends about 50% of her (non-reading) waking hours in pretend cat play. There's lots of healing and mentoring in her play as well. But the aggression part bothers me.

We'll check out the suggestions you've made.

Thanks again!
 
#4 ·
Tamora Pierce would probably be too adult and in some cases too frightening/upsetting. Um we're a big Pierce family so I can tell you there's a lot of fighting, death and some mention of sex (though it doesn't go beyond a mention really).

Ok, now I was reading your post and the one book that kept poping into my mind was "I Want To Go Home". I read it in grade six, it's hilarious. About a boy who goes to camp against his wishes and he and his one friend at camp try all these various means to escape. It's by Gordon Korman.
 
#5 ·
Roar's suggestions are great. They all worked very well for my kids at five.

E. Nesbitt's "Enchanted Castle" and "The Sand Fairy" (a.k.a. "Five Children and It") are great too.

Has she done the Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner? They're a somewhat easier reading level the series is endless ... and tame. This is the one suggestion on my list that I wouldn't call "great children's literature" though it's not Magic Tree House by any stretch. But with 70+ books in the series, it did keep a couple of my kids amused for a few weeks of voracious reading.

Pippi Longstocking and others by Astrid Lindgren.

Avi's "Dimwood Forest Chronicles" ("Poppy," etc.)

Thornton W. Burgess's quaint animal stories from the first half of the 20th century ... "Reddy Fox," "Jimmy Skunk" and many others ... available in inexpensive Dover editions and compilations.

Abel's Island by William Steig ... a little gem

Gone-Away Lake and "Return to..." by Elizabeth Enright

"All-of-a-Kind Family" and others, by Sydney Taylor

Miranda
 
#6 ·
Folks at Miranda's house and at mine have the same taste because every book she listed was a favorite here too!

Good idea about the Box Car Children especially if you don't have to read them aloud. Also in that category of a series that aren't particularly good literature but the library might have plenty of them and it'll keep the kid busy: "The Littles" and "The Borrowers".

Michael Bond books like Paddington and Olga Da Polga are good too.
 
#8 ·
How about the Moomin books by Tove Jansson? There are 8 of them, I think, and they're wonderful. (I expect Miranda would agree.) The later ones might appeal to adults even more than to kids, but they're not "adult" in the sense that they have any violence or sex or anything you wouldn't want a 5 year old to read about.
 
#9 ·
The Redwall books by Brian Jacques might work... but there are battles and bad guys in many of the books. Some are more peaceful than others, and it's one of those never ending series as well, so perhaps flip through a few? The characters are all animals though so if the Warrior Cats books were ok these may work for her as well.

Noel Streatfield's books in the "Shoes" series. They were written some time ago (30s-50s) and generally focus on young people who are gifted in some way.

And if she likes greek and/or roman myths, perhaps collections of myths from other parts of the world? Celtic Fairy Tales and More Celtic Fairy Tales by Jacobs are part of the Dover Children's Thrift Classics, and that series has a lot of different volumes she might enjoy (myths, legends, fairy tales, and morality tales from cultures all over the world).

How about the classic AA Milne Winnie the Pooh? Or LLoyd Alexander's Prydain books? The Narnia books by CS Lewis (though they make me cringe now, I enjoyed them as a little)?

Oh, when I was about that age I read some of the earlier books written by Patricia McKillip. RiddleMaster of Hed (the trilogy) and Changling Sea were favorites of mine at around 5-6yo. In terms of relationships and big time violence they are very tame. But they do address a magical/mystical world view and may be disturbing at certain parts depending on the kiddo. It was nice though that the female characters are both competant and young.
Some of her more recent writing is much more "mature"/involved more elaborate language so don't judge her by recent stuff if you do look into McKillip.

And Andre Norton has a handful of potentially child friendly books hidden in her huge bibliography (though some of her writing was...well... not so much
)... the "Magic" books are probably appropriate for a 5yo. There are a few in the series (though the books don't actually have much in common) and the protagonists are children.
 
#10 ·
Quote:
they're not "adult" in the sense that they have any violence or sex
Trying to imagine moomin sex & violence here, and failing. Yes, I love the later books for their social commentary and for the personality quirks of the characters, but I agree, the earlier ones have more action and kid-friendly humour in them. How could I have forgotten these in my earlier post?

My dd still refers to me as "the ancestor" in her blog.


Miranda
 
#11 ·
when I was little I loved the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary. Also the babysitters club series. Would Nancy Drew be too scary? I did like the boxcar children series. I liked Swiss Family Robinson too. Also the Chronicles of Narnia. I read all the Judy Blume books too, but those might be better for when she is older.

Dr. Dolittle series! Also, the Wizard of Oz books and Pippi Longstocking series.
 
#12 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Roar View Post
Also in that category of a series that aren't particularly good literature but the library might have plenty of them and it'll keep the kid busy: "The Littles" and "The Borrowers".

Oh yes! They may not be 'great' literature but they are wonderful books and they stimulate the imagination.
 
#13 ·
I don't like "The Littles" or Dick King Smith, but I think my sensitive kids may be much more sensitive than yours.

We like the Fairy Realm series by Emily Rodda, but it does have moments of suspense which are about enough for my kid. They're sweet books and about 10 chapters long. Rodda also has a boy fantasy series, "Rowan of Rin" if she runs through the Fairy Realm ones. I haven't read any of those, but I would imagine they're good, too, if a bit more boy-oriented.

Other books we've liked for my very, very sensitive kids are "Milly, Molly, Mandy" (can't remember the author), "Mouse and the Motorcycle" and "Ralph S Mouse" by Beverly Cleary, and Pinky Pye by Eleanor Estes. Several of those we listened to as audio books and there were tense moments in the mouse ones, but we got through them and they're some of our faves now. Oh, also, Ursula LeGuin's "Catwings" series.

hth

ETA: also "My Father's Dragon" and the following ones.

P.S. I think Magic Treehouse is fine writing-wise (not stellar literature, but okay), but it's too scary for my sensitive kids!!
 
#14 ·
I was that kid!
Here were some of my favorite series, though the writing isn't super challenging on any of them, I found the mysteries challenging and the relationships warm and comforting:

Cam Jansen (girl detective series, I loved short mysteries)
Encyclopedia Brown (boy detective series)
Ramona Quimby
Little House series (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
Boxcar Children
 
#15 ·
So many of our favorites have already been mentioned, but I'll add a few more.

*The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster has been a perennial favorite here.
*Bunnicula, The Celery Stalks at Midnight, etc by James Howe are a very safe way to explore suspenseful themes. They are also wry and funny with animal protagonists.
*The Oz books by L. Frank Baum were hugely popular around here for a while.
*Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke is one that my shoulder-surfing six year old recommends.
 
#16 ·
Bookmarked in....
....3...2....1...

Done!

Y'all are the best. Thank you so much for all the ideas.

Regarding nonfiction, we do have a couple sets of older encyclopedias. One is about how things work and the other is one by Jacques Cousteau.

One of the best gifts she's ever gotten: a couple of boxes of discarded Ranger Rick and Zoobook magazines. She's had them about a year and still has piles of them on her bed each night.

DP brought a Moominland book home with him today. I've watched her open it up and then put it right back down in favor of rereading one of the Warriors books. She's done that twice now. I sure hope those Warriors books aren't a path of no return for her. I'm not sure how much more patience I can muster for the pretend feral cat world.
 
#18 ·
Ack. She just finished the Moomintroll book.

I could tell she was reluctant to start it, so I decided I'd sit down and read a few pages to her. It's been ages since I've read to her, so that felt simultaneously strange and nice. When my voice gave out she read a little more, played a game, played some violin, read some more. She's hard to keep up with.

Thanks again for the suggestions. Keep them coming!

Oh, and I'd never read any Moomintroll books. The writing is delightful and has a bit of an AA Milne feel to it. Very sweet.
 
#20 ·
I always plug the original Mary Poppins series by P.L. Travers. Make sure you get the updated edition; Travers changed a portion of one of the books when she realized that British stereotypes about peoples of other countries were no longer considered quaint. At any rate, the vocabulary is challenging while the plots themselves are rather mild. Mary, herself, is by far the most frightening figure in the books--she's not like Julie Andrews!

Rumer Godden is another author from times gone by who's books are very enjoyable. My daughter quite liked Miss Happiness and Miss Flower, who are dolls.

We loved The Piemakers by Helen Cresswell. There's nothing else quite like it.

Frances Hodgson Burnett has a milder book for younger children called The Racketty Packetty House. It's not as stressful as The Little Princess or A Secret Garden, but it's still sweet.

Also, don't discount the American Girls series of historical fiction books. They contain relevant historical issues, but typically in a mild way, and always have a happy ending.
 
#23 ·
I second the Beverly Cleary books - there are quite a few and very low on violence, shocking events or major suspense. My favorites are the Mouse and the Motorcycle trio, but Ramona books are good, the Henry Huggins books are good, and the ones about animals are nice.

Clementine, the Talented Clementine and Clementine's letter are good too.

Has she read the Little House books?

I think my other favorites have been mentioned.

Don't forget your friendly neighborhood children's librarian either. They can often help.

OK, and now to spout some heresy:
If you've got a voracious reader, there are worse things in the world than letting them 'slum' with a little pap. I've learned some of my best vocabulary from mystery novels with little or no literary value. In addition, one way to learn the qualities of 'good' writing is to have some bad writing to compare it to!

My kids LIKE the Magic Tree House series.
:
The A to Z Mysteries are formulaic, but not too scary.

There are a lot of kids' series that would fall in the "little redeeming value but fun to read" category. Why not?
 
#24 ·
I saw one recommendation for "My Father's Dragon" and wanted to second that. It was part of DS's curriculum last year, and we read it in one sitting. I'm waiting on the second book and have the third.
 
#25 ·
I haven't read through everything, but 5 year old is much like what you described.

I struggle to find books that will keep her interested, but aren't too mature for her.

Her absolute favorite book ever at this point is "George's Secret Key to the Universe" by Stephen Hawking. She's on her 6th or 7th read of it now.
She just can't get enough of it. It's over 300 pages.. so it keeps her occupied longer than the others.
 
#26 ·
My DS is about the same age, and super-sensitive as well. It's hard. We have found that the typical 'classics' at his reading level have way too much dramatic tension. He had found a niche for a while in the 'series' books (Magic treehouse, etc), mostly I think because they are sooo predictable.

He's also recently started going back to the picture book section in the library for books. He had no interest there for about a year or so. The social/friend/relationship topics are much more appropriate though, so I'm thinking that may be what he is looking for, and the levels of tension in the writing are so mild.

?? Anyway, here's what we've discovered. Hope it helps.

The good list:
The Ramona books by Beverly Cleary are a top favorite, as well as the Ralph S. mouse.

Cricket in Times Square.

Cam Jansen

Magic Treehouse (It's been about a year though, and he refused to read the one's with dinosaurs or dragons on the covers. We would find these on his bed, two or three open at a time, but then when he had read them, he was done.)

Geronimo Stilton

Flat Stanley

Little House on the Prarie

The world according to Humprey

Animal Ark (though I can't speak for quality there as I haven't actually read any of these with him---but he tends to pick them up and bring them home whenever he sees them)

1st Narnia book

Stuart Little

Tried, but failed list (those he deemed too scary):
Encyclopedia brown
Roald Dahl (several, including Matilda)
Wizard of Oz
Fairy Tales / Legend-type books
2nd Narnia book. LOL
anything with dragons/dinosaurs (though he loved My Father's Dragon)
Charlotte's Web
 
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