That Pre-teen set!

[S.C.]

Maybe this has already been addressed, if so, I am sorry, point in the right direction!
But...
My father has taken on a couple of preteens via his girlfriend (they are 10 and a very precious eleven). I'm new to this area, and was wondering what one may recommend for reading for such ladies. The ten year old "likes reading," but seems very immature and noisy compared to the other. I think the other may well be interested in deeper, slightly darker concepts. I know The Giver is coming up for her in sixth grade, any suggestions along those lines? As for the ten year old... are there books you can buy that convince children that buying things for them is wrong? I need that one! I have yet to meet a greedier being...

[Deborah]

Stefanie - for the eleven year old, I'd recommend Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and A Wrinkle in Time, I can't remember the authors for the last two. For the ten year old, I don't know. There may be books out there for kids about Habitat for Humanity or Doctors Without Borders. Or even try to involve her with community projects that paint houses or help care for gardens for the elderly or disabled. My experience with kids that age is that, with a little encouragement, they love to do things that not only help others but that begin to put them in a peer position with adults.

[[deleted user]]

How about getting the ten year old Lemony Snicket's A series of unfortunate events? The series is about 3 siblings who lose their parents and have to rely on each other. It's more an alternate-world fantasy than a realistic book (nothing Harry Potter-like, but also not really reality, if you know what I mean) but it's a fun book that stresses responsibility.
The 11 year old might like Mark Twain... How about Tom Sawyer? Or get her Twilight. It's no great literature and the sequels are pretty awful, but it is for older teens (that's why it might be interesting for her to read), there's really a hype about it and the first book is actually quite gripping.
She might also like To kill a mockingbird. Don't know if she's already that mature, though.

[Kathryn]

Hum... I loved LM Montgomery's books and Alcott's "Little Women" and Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" books though eleven might be a bit young and they might be a bit old-fashioned, depending on the girl's taste. "Daddy-Long-Legs" is also really sweet. All of girls would be good role models!!!

"Ballet Shoes" is a beloved classic, too, but maybe a bit better speed for both girls and features sisters; and there's a new movie out with Emma Watson (from HP) which I have yet to see but could make a good tie-in.

"The Penderwicks" by Jeanne Bridsall is fantastic; a bit old-fashioned in flavor but set in present day and features sisters that are 5, 9, 10 & 12. A bit of the drama concerns the neighbor boy's annoying step-father-to-be so not sure if that would be problem or not...? There's also a sequel.

If they are interested in sci-fi/fantasy, "Larklight" by Philip Reeve is hilarious and great fun, brother-and-sister team; then "Inkheart" is aso lovely and features a girl protagonist but might be a bit advanced depending on the eleven year old's reading level.

Needless to say, I shied away from a lot of the modern-pop YA literature and prefered the old-fashioned stuff. But, of course, Harry Potter is fabulous.

[Dottie]

Clicking on the book links gets the author info just so you know. This is truly a great feature to be able to just click and put the link in place!

[[deleted user]]

Oh, how could I forget that... What about classics like The Chronicles of Narnia? At least for the older girl, that would be perfect, if she likes fantasy.

[Ann]

Well, I second pretty much everything Kathryn said! I totally recommend those books! And yes, Chronicles of Narnia is also great - short enough that they can get through it fairly quickly and still have a sense of accomplishment.
Also, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, I just read this and it's a huge book, but most of it is taken up with pictures, so again, good sense of accomplishment. It does deal with stealing and kind of "ownership rights" I suppose, and again, orphans etc., so you might want to read it first yourself to see if it would help or not.
I'll keep thinking!:D

[Angie]

I am a moderator for a great group.. the YA book club... you may find some ideas there...


http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/3...

[[deleted user]]

I just came up with something else, again for the older girl, though: What about Paranoid Park? I just recommended it to a boy I tutor, he is slightly older (14), but girls tend to be more mature than boys and I gave him the book because he is no English native speaker so I wanted something easy for him to read.. He said he enjoyed it and he is actually "saving chapters up" because it is a fairly short book and he wants it to last longer. How much more can you want from a book? : )

[S.C.]

Thank you all for your suggestions! I'm definitely going to take this list to the bookstore this weekend.

[Megan]

I would recommend Ballet Shoes-the film was also pretty good. Plus Noel Streatfield has a few other books centered around the shoe theme-Theatre Shoes, Skating Shoes, and so on. Most are out of print so you may have to go to the library.

Students I work with in the preeteen age range have thoroughly enjoyed the Shadow Children series by Margaret Peterson Haddix (it is along the lines of the Giver). For the older of the group is The City of Ember by Jeanne Duprau (just released as a movie this weekende which was also well done) and the other books in that series-The People Of Sparks, The Prophet of Yonwood, The Diamond of Darkhold.

For more girlie books there is the Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging series by Louise Rennison.

I also know that Scholastic rereleased The Babysitter's Club with more of an anime look to the illustrations.

[Ann]

I LOVED the "Ballet Shoes" book as well as the movie! I was quite impressed with both!:D

[Kristi]

I loved Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry when I was 11. It's a serious book, but I think it is a must-read.