Archive for December 1st, 2012

Quick Book Recs for a Ten-Year-Old

December 1, 2012 @ 12:04 pm | Filed under:

Someone on Twitter was looking for suggestions. I rattled off a listā€¦and then copied it to Facebook and thought of moreā€¦and I figured Iā€™d throw the titles up here too, for easy access, though of course this is a mere sliver of what Iā€™d put on my ideal Books for Ten-Year-Olds bookshelf. Later, when time permits, Iā€™ll try to come back and add capsule reviews, but today is not that day.

(Um, it goes without saying I recommend my own The Prairie Thief for this age, yes? Because Iā€™m totally saying it anyway. For boys and girls. Ahem.)

ā€¢ Turtle in Paradise by Jenni Holm
ā€¢ The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
ā€¢ Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword (and sequel) by Barry Deutsch
ā€¢ Smile by Raina Telgemeier
ā€¢ Jane of Lantern Hill (happy sigh) by L.M. Montgomery
the Betsy-Tacy books (obviously)
ā€¢ The Firelings by Carol Kendall
ā€¢ The Gammage Cup / The Whisper of Glocken by Carol Kendall
ā€¢ Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
ā€¢ By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman
ā€¢ The Children of Green Knowe by L.M. Boston
ā€¢ The Great Turkey Walk by Kathleen Karr
ā€¢ Rowan of Rin (and sequels) by Emily Rodda
ā€¢ Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
ā€¢ The Penderwicks series by Jeanne Birdsallā€”the first one is my favorite
ā€¢ Rules by Cynthia Lord
ā€¢ Bad Island by Doug TenNapel
ā€¢ Linnets and Valerians by Elizabeth Goudge
ā€¢ The Rangerā€™s Apprentice series by John Flanagan
ā€¢ The Warriors books by Erin Hunterā€”Roseā€™s longtime obsession!

Harold Underdown suggested Rapunzelā€™s Revenge by Shannon Hale, and I second thatā€”my kids and I loved it (and the related Calamity Jackā€”both graphic novels); they love all Shannonā€™s books like CRAZY. Next to Betsy-Tacy and Percy Jackson, the Shannon Hale novels are the most frequently borrowed books by their friends. We basically have a Lovelace/Riordan/Hale lending library going here.

Obviously, I could go on and on here. (See the comments for more suggestions.) This truly is a just-off-the-top-of-my-head list. Also check out my master list of book recommendations!