I am wondering if any of you guys know of a good children series for my daughter. She is ten years old (5th grade). I gave her some of the Harry Potters but she is not that interested in such big books. Last year to get her to start reading I gave her some Judy Blumes and I told her I would pay 50 bucks to read them. She is almost finished with them and I will have to cough up 50 bucks. Unfortunately, I cannot think of another series that she would like to read. She liked the Diary of Wimpy Kid series and the Goosebumps series as she has read most of them. Many of the decent series out there are too mature for her. In addition, she is slightly below the rest of the kids in her grade so she can't handle anything too advanced. Any thoughts on a new series or maybe just some good books?
Perhaps the Darren Shan vampire/demon series, if she enjoyed goosegumps? The vampire books can be bought in short, 30k-length books if the larger ones seem a bit intimidating for her right now. I absolutely loved them, I hope she will too.
I'm not much of an expert on new children's books, but if she likes the goosebumps series maybe have her graduate to Fear Street, by the same author. Those center around high school kids, and when I was her age, I loved reading about kids who were a little older than me. Other series I liked as a kid were Nancy Drew, Babysitters Club, and Narnia. I suppose you could suggest Twilight. It might be a bit mature, but there are vampires like in some goosebumps books, and most tweens and teens love it.. Oh and maybe look into reading programs. My library in town has a summer kid reading quest, and when you read a certain number of books and had a parental witness verify, you got to retrieve a really awesome prize. My library is good with that sort of thing and I know not all towns have that kind of library, but I bet there are some interactive programs like that around your area that might spark her interest or at least have some current series suggestions. Good luck!
She might like the Mr Gum series by Andy Stanton as that's funny. I've read one of them and they are great. If she does like humour, she might also want to try reading some Roald Dahl. If she wants something more girly to read, then maybe try the Star Maker series by Anne-Marie Conway. I think there's only two in the series so far. Also, there's always Jacqueline Wilson books which are popular among girls.
Maybe a Series of Unfortunate Events? It's funny, and quite twisted. Captain Underpants is fantastic for a hilarious, comic book style read. Jacqueline Wilson is a fantastic character creator, her stories are always perfectly executed, but I always thought they should come with a warning: almost every single one had me in tears at the end. The only one which didn't was a fantastic little book by her called Video Rose, about a girl who could rewind time. And Toots and the Upside Down House by Carol Hughes is a wonderful book.
Thanks everyone, I will look into these books...except for Twilight. I have the Twilights and she is not interested. I do have her in a reading program. However, she is below grade level because of the school she is in and not because of anything wrong with her. At her old school she was to;p of the class, but at this new school her grades plummeted. In addition, the school lost some funding because nearly all of the students had a drop in grades over a couple of years. This year they replaced the principal...but they kept the same crappy teachers. I have tried to teach her at home in subjects that the school fails at, but we have so little time...after she gets off the bus she has homework, chores, dinner..and so on.
I don't recommend Twilight -- weak, dependent female character...of course it's her choice if she wants to read it but I personally am not a fan.. Goosebumps books rocked when I was that age. Another really great series is the boys vs. girls series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. It's about a group of brothers and a group of sisters who have a funny, adventurous practical joke war. On that note, there's the Alice books by Naylor. "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins The Bruce Coville books Junie B. Jones - might be a tad bit young, but I think it's 2nd-3rd grade level and you said she's a bit behind so she might like it. Also, Junie is in kindergarten but it's not for kindergarteners; all ages will find it funny. If you need more just ask!
Cows in Action or SpyDog are brilliant and funny. If she is a girly girl then there is Secret Unicorn, The Fairy House, The Magic Kitten and a gazillion bubblegum choices.
Percy Jackson. I know that the main character is male, but there are a LOT of powerful female characters that have main parts throughout the story. It is also a great introduction the Greek Mythology without being overwhelming. They are clean and have great humor. They also are very interesting from the first page to the last page. It is Urban Fantasy, but the story is not as fanciful as Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings and is more along the lines of teens with abilities screaming with emotion and other things. I read the Last Hero (which is a continuation after the Percy Jackson series) and it's just as good. That one, however, has a main character that's female. It follows three heroes. Two who are male and one that is female. It is not a hard read. It's a good challenge.
When I was her age, I liked the RL Stien books too. There are a set of "scary stories" also, if she likes the horror type books. Baby Sitters Club are great, as well as Sweet Valley Twins and Friends. What's great about sweet valley is it sets her up to read the high books when she gets older, so she'll still have something she enjoys reading.
I grew up on The Famous Five and loved those books, but when I came to pass them on to my kids I found them unreadable, as did my kids. I think the times have left them behind.
Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels are great fun, and he's done some aimed at younger readers; I'd recommend The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents, which I absolutely loved when I first read it.
Thanks so much everyone! I have plenty of ideas now!! When I searched on my own I kept finding Twilight(ish) books..
