Heidi

Author: Johanna Spyri
Lexile measure: 960
Language:  there are some references to Heidi being "wrong in the head" and "stupid", though the implication is that she is not, also, there is also a lot of German vocabulary
Violence:  reference to the Alm Uncle having killed someone in the distant past, never actually confirmed
Big Kid Mature Topics:  multiculturalism, bitterness/forgiveness, Heidi is an orphan and also separated from her family to live as a companion to a rich girl, rich/poor, the rich girl is paralyzed
Illustrations: depends on the publisher--ours has both line drawings every few pages and occassional color pictures
Plot:  very complex (there are several major subplots)

My daughter says she has never read this all the way through even though it has been in our library for a long time.  I think it is because it is a little too complex for her to hold it all in her head all at once.  This is a really good book, but its just too complicated (with all the characters, subplots, and German vocabulary) for very small children.  I would probably not read it below a mature age 4 or 5 and then only as a read aloud.

(There are also many abridged versions of this book, including one from Chik-Fil-A.  This is in reference to the original English translation of the unabridged book.)

Question of the week

Since we haven't been doing a lot of heavy reading this week, I asked this question after we saw a kid's musical.

Question of the week:  What did you like best about the show and how would you change it?

Fairy tales

My daughter has recently had a renewed interest in picture books.  We've revisited Peter Rabbit, Hans Christian Andersen, Little Bear, and even Corduroy this past week.   Its good to remember that a precocious reader can still be interested in age appropriate literature.  One thing I wanted to bring up, though, was that fairy tales can be terribly scary with witches and wolves and people being gobbled up by giants and ogres and such.  If your child doesn't like them, don't stress about them missing out on some of the classics.  Wait a bit, maybe try something with less graphic illustrations (we have Michael Hague's HCA and they aren't gory, but the witches and bad people are twisted and gnarled looking and pretty scary in my opinion!)  and they'll probably be fine!

Early chapter books

I haven't posted on early readers because many of these books are very short and can be easily perused by a responsible adult while at the library.  However, this is a short list that we found to be fun and enjoyable.  None of them contain objectionable language like swearing or potty language.  All have color pictures on nearly every page.  Some may contain content that may be upsetting for very sensitive readers but if your child can watch Sesame Street without a problem they shouldn't be an issue.  I am talking about things like a character getting mildly sick and having to stay home for the day, or something getting lost, only to get found again, or a character telling a lie but getting found out and it being dealt with gently but appropriately, or a thunderstorm that doesn't do any real damage.

Poppleton series, Cynthia Rylant
Mr. Putter and Tabby series, Cynthia Rylant
Annie and Snowball series, Cynthia Rylant--may be more appropriate for girls, but there is plenty of Henry and Mudge in them too, for the boys.
Henry and Mudge series, Cynthia Rylant
Frog and Toad, Arnold Lobel
Houndsley and Catina series, James Howe

Fly Guy series, Tedd Arnold  --just keep in mind that some people don't like flies and swat at them, or they can get swallowed by old ladies.
Danny and the Dinosaur series, Syd Hoff  --does contain reference to millions of years (for those old Earth Creationists out there), main character is a boy (actually I'm not sure if these are chapter books per se, but they are about the same length as the other books in this list)

Golly Sisters series, Betsy Byars -- Golly is just a name, not a cuss word in this book;  best for girls
Cowgirl Kate series, Erica Silverman--I thought my son would think these were boring, but he relates most to the horse!
Boris and Morris series, Bernard Wiseman--DD thought these were funny, but not every small kid is going to understand some of the puns.
Amelia Bedelia series, Peggy Parrish--DD thought these were funny too, but I'm not sure she really understood the figures of speech.   These are definitely girl books.

Question of the week

Here is another tried and true question for your precocious reader.  Remember, these questions are not comprehension questions so much as appreciation questions and thinking questions.  You can ask them orally to a younger reader, or if your reader is able to write well, you may pose it as an essay question or a reading journal question.  Many teachers will have students write them a letter about their book, and then write letters back.  Your kid may get a  real kick out of getting a letter from you!

The question of the week:  What do you think would have happened differently if ... ?

Ivy + Bean

Author:Annie Barrows
Lexile measure: 510
Language:  frequent name calling--"stupid", "boring"
Violence:  none
Big Kid Mature Topics: one of the main characters spends a long time pretending to be a witch, one main character acts a lie (pretends she is sick) to get another character out of trouble
Illustrations: frequent shaded drawings
Plot:    moderately complex.


This book is about being open minded about friendships and not judging a person based on superficialities.  I like that.  However, I couldn't get around all the name calling and the pretending to be a witch (not even a nice one, a witch who has blood on her face) stuff.   With Annie and Snowball, Mr. Putter and Tabby, Ruby Lu, and Judy Moody in this reading range, there are plenty of entertaining alternatives that don't share the edginess of this selection.  My daughter didn't see this one.

How to challenge an advanced reader

Challenging books are only the first part of challenging your precocious reader.  The technical aspect of decoding words is only the beginning of appreciating great books and learning content.  How do we get our kids to read more deeply?  By asking the right questions.

Sometimes advanced readers can get the right questions asked by participating in gifted classes or pull out groups in which the teacher asks more complex questions.  Its important to ascertain whether that is occurring in your child's classroom.  Your child might also participate in a book club through a local public library, or possibly a church or bookseller.   However, if you have a very young child, none of those may be accessible for your child at the moment.

So, I'm going to start a series on questions.  You can either ask these orally with a younger child, or have an older child write/draw responses in a response journal.  To start off with, I would go with a book that is at grade level or maybe just above grade level, because you want your child to focus on their response, not so much on decoding.

The question of the week was:  what did you like best about this book?

Seems simple, but for us, it lead to a conversation about bullfighting, the history of bullfighting, Roman gladiators, and why we should be kind to animals....  So, you never can tell...

Precocious Reader Booklist

Since I publish both negative and postive reviews, I thought I'd post a list of the ones we recommend, in case you just want something to start with.  You should still read the reviews because kids under age 5 can be so different in what they like and don't like, and in what kinds of life experiences they can understand.

2nd-3rd grade level
Babe
Betsy Tacy and Betsy Tacy and Tib
Charlotte's Web
Duck for a Day
Flat Stanley
Judy Moody and Stink:  The Mad, Mad Pirate Adventure
Many Moons
My Father's Dragon
Nate the Great
Roxie and the Hooligans
Winnie the Pooh
The Magic Schoolbus series
Little House series to Plum Creek, excluding Farmer Boy

4th grade-6th grade level
All of a Kind Family
Alvin Ho series
Cricket in Times Square
Dr. Dolittle
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Ruby Lu series

beyond 6th grade
21 Balloons
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwiler
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Many Moons

Author: James Thurber
Lexile measure: 790
Language:  Acceptable
Violence:  none
Big Kid Mature Topics: fantasy vs. reality
Illustrations: monocolor shaded drawings
Plot:    complex.


This classic is actually perfectly suited to the young precocious reader, because although it is a picture book, the vocabulary is quite challenging.  It is a princess story, so some boys may be turned off (although my son LOVES Cinderella), but its not really that fluffy and I thought it was just right for snuggling up to go to bed.  A great read for Dads and daughters.

D'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths

Author: Ingri D'Aulaire
Lexile measure: probably over 1000
Language:  Acceptable
Violence:  Warfare, murder, medieval weapons.
Big Kid Mature Topics: ancient Scandanavian mythology, preface contains commentary regarding the Bible and other mythology from a comparative mythology standpoint.  There is also lying, males dressing as females (for the purposes of deception, not for personal identification), practical joking, gods with multiple wives, multiple gods.
Illustrations: color lithographs, nearly every page
Plot:   very complex.


My daughter got to this one before I could stop her.  She liked the pictures, but the story line was sometimes very bothersome to her, especially the males dressing as females.  This is a very fascinating intro to Norse mythology and probably the best out there for kids, but it is violent just by nature of the topic (but not gory--it might say that someone was killed but not go into how things looked when they died) and definitely not for the sensitive child or for the younger child just starting to sort out right from wrong.  My daughter specifically requested that we get this one back from the library, though.

The D'Aulaires have also done Greek Mythology and Trolls.