Suggestions for a 7-year-old?

[Sabriel]

Here's a problem. I have a 7 year-old daughter who reads at a 12th-grade level, so I'm looking for non-fiction that doesn't have "adult" content, if you know what I mean: sexual relationships, graphic violence, etc. I'm thinking about books along the lines of The Double Helix or Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea.

Anyone have any ideas? She needs to be challenged more, and she's run through all the younger non-fiction.
Thanks!

[MichiganVote]

1. Poetry?

[wavesofeuphoria]

2. a few suggestions ...

The Gospel According to Larry, Janet Tashijan

Maiden Voyage, Tania Aebe

Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser

Thief of Time, Terry Pratchett

Plainsong, Kent Haruf

[coffeenap]

3. Hi--here is a link that might help--the site owner is well informed

and has lots of ideas and resources. I am sure there is a list of reading materials in there somewhere! Good luck (I have a similar situation..):)

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/reading_lists.htm

Edited for direct link to the reading lists.

[Sabriel]

11. Thanks, coffeenap! Great site I wasn't aware of. n/t

[TallahasseeGrannie]

4. A Wrinkle in Time

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh
The Boxcar Children
Summer of the Swans
A Summer to Die (about death...if she is ready)
The Chronicals of Narnia
The James Herriot books (All Things Bright and Beautiful, etc.)
Gone With the Wind (I read it at 7)
Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea (actually all seven in the series)
Lemony Snickets


Also, go back to the old classics like The Swiss Family Robinson, Little Women, Little Men, etc.

[pstans]

5. Post something in the education forum

There are a lot of teachers that would have ideas there.

[noamnety]

6. Try the chinaberry catalogue

http://www.chinaberry.com/

They do a great job of searching out books that are actually worthy of being read. Read the descriptions to check the appropriateness, of course, but I ordered many a book from there when my kid was growing up, based on their recommendations.

[jwirr]

7. Has she read some of the Children's Classics? Those

old stories are "clean" and fun to read even as an adult.

[ms liberty]

8. Here's a couple:

The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword, both are by Robin McKinley.
The Dolphins of Pern, Dragonsinger, Dragonsong, Dragondrums, all by Anne McCaffrey.

All are in the science fiction and/or science fantasy section, although some libraries keep them in YA fiction.

Rereading your post, though, you are asking for non-fiction? or science fiction?

[unhappycamper]

9. A few more in the science genre:

A short history of nearly everything, Bill Bryson

The two-mile time machine: ice cores, abrupt climate change, and our future, Richard Alley

The elegant universe: superstrings, hidden dimensions, and the quest for the ultimate theory, Brian Greene

[Sabriel]

10. I'm looking predominantly for non-fiction

She's run through all the younger fiction/fantasy listed here, so I'm trying to find "adult" non-fiction we haven't tried yet. If it's science/social studies, so much the better. Thanks to all who suggested approaches.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

12. "Sophie's World" by Jostein Gaarder

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0425152251/

I'd also recommend Gaarder's other work, but they are definately fiction as opposed to this which straddles the two. That said, if you're open to fiction, try Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy (before it gets murdered by Hollywood).

Russell Stannard's Uncle Albert (as in Einstein) books are fantastic introductions to physics, etc although the language is quite simple (from what I remember).

Ian Stewart's Flatterland (and the original Flatland - which you can get free online - FWIW).

Michael White & John Gribbin's biographies are wonderful (they've done Stephen Hawkings, Einstein & Darwin), although they may be a tad advanced.

[China_cat]

13. Almost anything by Carl Sagan

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors and Demon-Haunted World being on the top of that list.

[Richardo]

14. In non-fiction: Isaac's Storm or The Perfect Storm

Also "The Hungry Ocean" by Linda Greenlaw - your daughter may like this one because Greenlaw is the only woman to captain a fishing boat.

BTW: Congratulations on having such an accomplished reader! :thumbsup:

[Matilda]

15. Highly recommend two books by Karen Cushman -

Catherine, Called Birdy and The Midwife's Apprentice. They're both
set in the Middle Ages and while they are fiction, they are very good
representations of life in that time and particularly in regard to
the status of girls and women. Catherine Called Birdy in particular
is also very amusing.

My daughter was also ahead of her age in reading, and she read these
when she was 11. They're probably generally classed in Young Adult
Fiction.

I checked them on Amazon to be sure they're released in the US,
and they are.


Edit: added para about US release