Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Booklist for Very Young Very Precocious Readers


Not to repeat myself but I've taught gifted kids for 25 years. Part of our assessment process for services include meeting with parents and classroom teachers. I'm on the hunt for kiddos who are (in part) reading two-three years above peers. With older students 4th-6th this is fairly easy (except for the fact that some gifted kids are not pleasure readers). Older gifted readers will have read all the regulars--popular series as well as YA fantasy and science fiction series; some classics and even outlier titles like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Animal Farm, Robert Ludlum thrillers, or Stephen King.

My problem was in discussions with parents and teachers of very young very precocious readers. These kids were in kindergarten through second grade and reading 4-5 years above grade level. I'd mention Charlotte's Web and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and then I was at a lost for good titles. Reading 4th grade books like Junie B. Jones or Captain Underpants was not good enough for me so I went on a hunt for recommended titles for these very young readers. I wanted the books to have rich themes and vocabLinkulary but age appropriate content.

So for several months I asked everybody I knew--current gifted kids, old gifted kids, parents of gifted kids, classroom teachers, gifted ed teachers, and public and school librarians to send me good book titles. I have compiled the list. You can find the link to the list at the bottom right of my website A Different Place. If you have some MUST ADDS let me know. N


I have not read all these books. Be sure to let students self-select, you will be pleased with the results.

21 comments:

Kevin said...

Thanks for the list. I passed it on to my wife, who is a school librarian. She was familiar with most of the list, but found one or two books she was not familiar with.

nbosch said...

Kevin, Be sure if she has any adds she lets me know.

Unknown said...

I am SO grateful for this list! I have a 6-year-old who has been reading since he was 3 and is very advanced, with good comprehension as well. He's been working his way through the Boxcar Children series and enjoys them but finishes in only a couple of hours. This list gives me a good idea of some more challenging options. I had never heard of the Lexile framework before but it seems very useful. Thanks, and I'll let you know if we come up with anything good to add!

nbosch said...

You are welcome Rachael, glad it helps. N

Mom's Sewing Vault said...

I would love to access your list without setting up a DocStop or Google AdSense account. Any help? btw, LOVE your Mapping the World by Heart project. That's how I found you, googling reviews. :)

nbosch said...

Actually I didn't know that the file was loaded to DocStop. I guess Blogger does that automatically. If you can't get a copy let me know and I will find one and email it to you.

nbosch said...

Jason, You can find it here http://www.docstoc.com/docs/34126789/Books-for-Very-Young-Precocious-Readers or email me at nbosch at aol dot com and I'll send it to you.

Lissa said...

Thank you for this list. I've been looking for these types of resources for our 4 year old, and this is very helpful.

ethan said...

Excellent news, I'm glad this is getting sorted!

Ethan
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Arthur said...

Interesting idea, I look forward to hearing more about it!
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Mohka.co.uk said...

Charlotte's Web was my favourite book as a child!

Mary @ Mohka Art

Julia McL said...

Thanks for this list. My son is 6, and has read many of the books on it, but I was thankful to find a handful of new ones to try. A series that we found amazing is the Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart... about gifted children who solve riddles on their adventures. Kept him excited for a long time! Thanks again!

Julia McL said...
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Katie said...

Thank you for sharing your insights and experiences. I teach 2nd grade at a Classical Christian school and am so anxious to see your list; however, I am unable to locate it online through the suggested links. Any suggestions?

nbosch said...

Katie email me at nbosch@ aol.com and I'll sen it to you

Ariana said...

DO you still have this list? I can't seem to get any of the links to it to work.

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