Books for a 9 year old

ali85

Hi,

My daughter is 9 and is an avid reader... (she would put me to shame! ) She has read all the Jacqueline Wilson books but she is finding them quite childish now.

Just wondering if anyone has any ideas on what authors we should look at? She is really into the likes of the Harry Potter books and has read the Twilight series aswell so that kind of fantasy, darker side would be of interest to her.

We just joined the local library so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

lemon_sherbert

Garth Nix writes some pretty great young adult fantasy that she might like, particularly the Abhorsen series. Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials might be suitable too. While I haven't read them myself, I've also heard great things about Malorie Blackman's books. With any of the young adult fantasy books you might want to have a look online first though to see if the content is suitable for her.

Books I loved at that age; Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield, The Secret Garden, The Little Princess, The Hobbit, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, When Hitler Stole the Pink Rabbit, the Chronicles of Narnia

cynder

http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/michael+scott/the+alchemyst+28ebook29/6587842/

Michael Scott does a series based on Nicholas flamel.There worth a read. link is book 1.

Plowman

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ali85

thanks a million folks!

I'm after taking note of all your advice, we are hitting the library on Saturday morning so here's hoping we find something she can sink her teeth into...

I read the likes of Enid Blyton when I was a kid, but she is just not interested ha! Mallory Towers was definitely not her cup of tea!

Someone else told me about Darren Shan... do any of you know any of his stuff???

bigsmokewriting

There are a number of Jacqueline Wilson's books that are aimed at a slightly older audience, like the Girls quartet or Kiss or Dustbin Baby - they have same style covers but are often put in different section to say the Tracy Beaker books, so might be worth checking out!

Has she read any Meg Cabot? They're aimed at a more 11+ audience but then again, so are the Twilight books.

Terry Pratchett's stuff for younger readers, Nation and the Discworld books that focus on Tiffany Aching, are also worth checking out.

Madeleine L'Engle's books are terrific - start with A Wrinkle In Time.

Do keep an eye on the darker fantasy stuff as a lot of it really is aimed at teens - if she's reading a lot she'll probably be fine but do remember that teen books really are aimed at teens content-wise, not just at good readers ready to move on to more complicated books!

Kalimah

I was going to suggest Artemis Fowl too. I've even bought them for myself! I'd suggest some classics like Heidi or Little Women or even Jane Eyre. I read them myself at that age.

A2LUE42

ali85 wrote: »

thanks a million folks!

I'm after taking note of all your advice, we are hitting the library on Saturday morning so here's hoping we find something she can sink her teeth into...

I read the likes of Enid Blyton when I was a kid, but she is just not interested ha! Mallory Towers was definitely not her cup of tea!

Someone else told me about Darren Shan... do any of you know any of his stuff???

I would reccomend the Darren Shan books, My kids love them. New Series out now.

Also, there are a few here worth a read;
http://www.childrensbooksireland.ie/index.php?0ption=com_content&task=view&id=270&Itemid=429

LenaClaire

I loved the Anne of Green Gables books (Lucy Maud Montgomery ) at that age

I also really like the Wrinkle in Time series by Madeleine L'Engle.

Revolution9

+ 1 on Darren Shan's Cirque Du Freak series

cynder

I like tom saywer and huck finn at that age,

my daughter has a book called blue, its quite good, i read in while i was in france took all of 2 hours, it is a series. There is also gold and pink.

http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/fiona+dunbar/blue+gene+baby/6025815/


also try waterstones bestsellers for children.

Busi_Girl08

Would the Lemony Snickett series be a bit to young for her?

Or has she already come across them in her travels?

Blush_01

I actually read Tamora Pierce's The Song of the Lioness series books around her age, and totally loved them. She now has three other series which I must find and read, the first ones really were excellent.

I also loved Cormac MacRaois's Giltspur books, about two kids and the Tuatha De Danann... I definitely was 9 when I read them, because I nearly wet myself with excitement when I met him at the Clonmel Writer's Weekend when I was 10, and I'd re-read them to the point of the covers coming off by that stage.

Is she a bit young for Goodnight Mr. Tom? Maybe read that yourself first. It's still one of my favourite books of all time. I read it when I was 10 or 11 and then re-read it as a first year in secondary school as part of our English course.

rubabbel

Try I, Coriander I think it's Sally Gardner. Kind of for the 10+ age group, but nothing in it that would be unsuitable for someone who has read the Twilight books.

Kate P

Derek Landy's Skullduggery Pleasant series is a ripping read for an avid 9 year old. The stories are great but the vocab can be challenging in places, but maybe she's up for that. He's also got a great website where he blogs and answers comments from readers - he's really interactive, loves his audience, is a great raconteur on book tours. Worth a look at.

parker kent

I think Ghost Hunter by Michael Paver or Finding Violet Park by Jenny Valentine would be good for an advanced 9 year old. Especially Ghost Hunter given her interests. That is part 6 of a series called Chronicles of Ancient Darkness (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronicles_of_Ancient_Darkness).

tomissex

I'd really recommend Garth Nix for fantasy. The Old Kingdom series (Abhorsen trilogy) is fantastic - Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen. Definitely a must-read for a fantasy fan I think!

vepyewwo

I loved the Marita Conlon Mckenna famine series at that age- Under the Hawthorn Tree, Wildflower Girl, Fields of Home. I also recommend Children of Bach by Eilis Dillon which was probably my favourite book as a child.

In fourth class our teacher read "I am David" by Anne Holm and "Amelia" by Siobhain Parkinson to us which were both great and everyone in the class enjoyed, there's a follow up called "No peace for Amelia" aswell.

I agree with previous posters who mentioned Little Women and the Anne of Green Gables Series, loved these as well.
Also anything by Roald Dahl.