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Health & Fitness

Finding Books for Advanced Readers

How to to keep young advanced readers supplied with books appropriate for their age.

Every parent wants their children to learn to read and read well.

Sometimes, the kids get a little out of hand.

From the student that comes into kindergarten already reading chapter books, to the fourth grader whose reading level is three grades ahead, finding books that challenge your eager reader - while steering clear of material that may be inappropriate for their age - is a constant challenge for parents of precocious readers. And those advanced readers are fast too! I'm out of books again! is a constant refrain in my house, and I struggle to keep up with the demand, much less try to pre-read all of their books.

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There's three of them after all; it's hardly fair.

But I have developed a method to at least pre-screen books for my boys. I try to get them books that challenge their reading level, but mostly I try to preserve their childhood by not introducing books that are too disturbing or graphic for their age.

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The Strategy

I check the AR guide first, to find the "target" audience for the book: publishers develop these targets so that booksellers (and parents) will know the intended audience (MG=grades3-8, MG+=6 grade+, UG=grades 9-12). They also list the reading level of the book, which may or may not be at the reading level of the target audience (for example many teen books have less than a fifth grade reading level). I also consult Common Sense Media, which has book reviews for many popular books and very detailed content descriptions. On my Ink Spells blog, I've recommended many books, giving age ratings and content guidelines (you can find them listed by genre on the sidebar). I've also assembled book lists with rough content guidelines for middle grade (ages 8-12), young teens (ages 12-14), young adult (ages 13+), and even some for the wee ones (ages 5-8). Reading Teen has many reviews of young adult (teen) books with content guidelines as well.

The Philosophy

This article from Parent Magazine about choosing books for advanced readers has some great tips, including this:

Many advanced readers are gifted in other subjects and may feel isolated or different from other children their age. Books about real-life geniuses and exceptional children, such as Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl; Ordinary Genius: The Story of Albert Einstein; or Beware, Princess Elizabeth are great choices for your child. Novels about kids who are different will speak to him and help guide him as he grows. 

The Book Club Guide had a guest post from a teacher (who blogs about books at Shelf Elf) with similar ideas, along with this wonderful snippet:

Will reading a book that is not age appropriate damage a child for life? I doubt it. Will reading a steady diet of books that are not age appropriate influence a child's social and emotional development and way of seeing the world? I imagine so.

It's funny. I've found that once a child gets a taste for books that are beyond them in terms of content, it's difficult to pull them back to something more age appropriate, because the child often views these titles as "babyish" even when they are not. Once they head in that direction, it's hard to go back again. Childhood is short enough as it is, I think.

This is a teacher after my own heart, and I like her emphasis on not just protecting the innocence of youth, but realizing that even advanced reading children can only understand and absorb concepts that are appropriate for their emotional age. This is why it's so important to know your kids, know what they're reading, and help guide them to books appropriate for them: there's a right time (and age) for every kid to learn about all the good (and bad) things in the world.

Keeping kids well supplied with books they love will help build that early-reading steam into a lifetime reading habit.

What strategies do you have to keep kids well-supplied in books?

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