 | The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $2.23 Brilliant, engaging story about exceptionally gifted children (which recognizes that there are many different ways to be exceptionally gifted)
|
 | The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $3.10 Sequel (my daughter loved it as she loved the first one; I didn't read it)
|
 | The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Buy new: $16.49 / Used from: $11.39 Brilliant and beautiful; a work of art, a compelling story, intriguing use of historical facts and characters that made me do some extra research on early movies and automatons
|
 | The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy (Penderwicks (Quality)) by Jeanne Birdsall
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $0.01 Excellent characters and story; one of my daughter's very favorite books (although she has a lot of those)!
|
 | The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall
Buy used from: $2.77 One of my daughter's favorite books.
|
 | The Wrinkle in Time Quintet Boxed Set (A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, An Acceptable Time) by Madeleine L'Engle
Buy new: $23.09 / Used from: $16.00 The Wrinkle in Time and other books in the series were among my most favored books when I was growing up; my daughter has read them all and loves them just as much.
|
 | The Complete Wreck (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Books 1-13) by Lemony Snicket
Buy new: $94.50 / Used from: $75.00 My daughter devoured these books. She got them from the library and boy was I able to extract a lot of help and chores from her with promises to take her to the library to get the next in the series! I've read only snippets of them myself, but they strike me as intelligent and creative with WONDERFUL appreciation for vocabulary and play on words.
|
| Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go (Circles of Heck) by Dale E. Basye
Buy used from: $6.16 My daughter LOVED this book. Haven't read it myself, but my impression is that it's a bit tongue-in-cheek and irreverent, with subtle references to Dante and Milton.
|
 | Rapacia: The Second Circle of Heck (Circles of Heck) by Dale E. Basye
Buy new: $11.55 / Used from: $9.25 Can't tell you how excited my daughter was when I gave her this second book of the series. She absolutely loved it. I hope and expect more in the series will follow.
|
 | His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass) by Philip Pullman
Buy new: $15.30 / Used from: $10.95 My daughter LOVED The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife. She's holding off on reading The Amber Spyglass for a while, so that she can forestall reaching the end of the series.
|
 | Warriors: The New Prophecy Box Set: Volumes 1 to 6 by Erin Hunter
Buy new: $24.41 / Used from: $20.25 My daughter and all the girls in her fourth grade class LOVED the Warrior series. They shared the books, drew pictures of the cats and discussed the detailed histories and sagas of the various cats in the clans.
|
 | Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $1.42 My daughter and I both read and enjoyed this book. Led to interesting discussions about bravery, loyalty, good and evil.
|
 | Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $2.59 |
 | From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
Buy new: $9.99 / Used from: $4.50 Wonderful, memorable classic I loved as a kid and re-read several times; now my daughter loves it as well.
|
 | The Complete Anne of Green Gables Boxed Set (Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne's House of Dreams, ... Rainbow Valley, Rilla of Ingleside) by L.M. Montgomery
Buy new: $31.63 / Used from: $27.90 So far, my daughter has read Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea. She loved them both. They were slower reads than some of the newer action-packed books on this list, but the were nevertheless endearing, rewarding reads. I'm sure she'll eventually get to the others in the series.
|
 | The Name of this Book Is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch
Buy new: $5.99 / Used from: $2.75 Daughter LOVED this book (and the others in the series)
|
 | If You're Reading This, It's Too Late (Secret Series) by Pseudonymous Bosch
Buy new: $5.99 / Used from: $3.13 Daughter LOVED this book (and the others in the series)
|
 | This Book Is Not Good For You (Secret) by Pseudonymous Bosch
Buy new: $11.55 / Used from: $7.76 Daughter LOVED this book (and the others in the series) ... liked the recipes at the end too!
|
 | Emily Windsnap: Three Swishy Mermaid Tales: Books 1-3 by Liz Kessler
Buy new: $12.22 / Used from: $7.99 Much loved favorites of my daughter and many of her fourth grade pals.
|
 | Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $4.37 She loved it ... and she looks forward to reading the sequel eventually (but so many books, so little time)!
|
 | Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) by Stephenie Meyer
Buy new: $5.50 / Used from: $2.39 I haven't read the book so I don't know what I'd think of it. A trusted mother of one of her friends read it and thought it was ok for the girls. She thought the 2nd was fine but the 3rd in the series was too mature for them. I had mixed feelings, but I have to admit my daughter LOVED the book and churned through the 500 or so pages in one day.
|
 | Julie of the Wolves (rack) by Jean Craighead George
Buy new: $5.99 / Used from: $2.40 My daughter loves animals and strong female characters, so she absolutely loved this book. The sequel is on her "to be read eventually" list. Btw, J.C. George's "My Side of the Mountain" and "Frightful's Mountain" are on the short list of my non-book-loving son's favorite books.
|
Listmania!
