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| Author: | Isaac Asimov |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | Science fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1950 |
One of the milestones of science fiction. The three rules of robotics are still relevant today. | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: I, Robot | |
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| Author: | Zilpha Keatly Snyder |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1966 |
Twelve-year old boy learns to use and appreciate his gifts. A soothsayer once told Harry that his was "... a rare gift, and his magic will be of a special kind." Now, many years later, it is summer in San Francisco. It's possible that Harry has heard that same voice intone the words "The air is absolutely heavy with possibilities." Or maybe he dreamed them. Because he performed a good deed, twelve-year old Harry (interesting name, isn't it? -- my daughter thought so!) receives a gift. As such gifts often do, this one is bestowed with limitations. Harry must never be caught displaying the gift "publicly" lest the giver of the gift be harmed. | |
My 9 year old loved this story about how Harry learns to take advantage of the gifts with which he's been born and the gift he receives. Zilpha Keatley Snyder has written MANY books! And all of the ones we have read have held our interest. Black and Blue Magic is based in the San Francisco Bay Area; we really enjoyed the geographic "cameos". The 9 year old says, "I am SO glad I read this book!" Much resonance, I thought, with the plight of gifted kids: to use their gifts but to use them in such a way that they do not attract undue attention. And also, that what others might imagine to be the way a gift is to be used may not actually be the way the one who has the gift might choose to use it. -- Emily Berk | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Black and Blue Magic | |
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| Author: | Zilpha Keatly Snyder |
| Illustrator: | Alton Raible |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | Dystopian/religious |
| Year of publication: | 1975 |
Issues sometimes arise for gifted readers who become infatuated with books written by authors who write for both adults and children and/or with books that are in series that are unevenly targeted. Below the Root, which is a book my 9 yr. old adored, is a prime example. Because she reacts very poorly to unhappy endings, we had decided to recommend against her reading certain novels. So, for example, after significant discussion, we decided that Lois Lowry's The Giver was too intense for her, for now at least. But she had loved Zilpha Keatley Snyder's The Egypt Game, and the illustration (by Alton Raible) on the back cover of Below the Root made us yearn to read the book, even though our resident teenager warned against it. So we decided to read Below the Root together. | |
Well, there are some very scary moments in this dystopian novel. In fact, towards the end of the book, we decided that we could not read it too close to bedtime because it might not end happily. But, as it turned out, in this volume of the trilogy, Snyder never manages to become as pessimistic as Lois Lowry. Unfortunately, the story of Raamo, gifted with empathy and abilities that many others of his society don't share, doesn't exactly end in Below the Root. Or, at least, my nine year old didn't feel that it ended with the finality she would have liked. Or, maybe, she wanted the book to go on and on because the environment it describes is SO compelling. As we've come to expect from Zilpha Keatley Snyder, in Below the Root she imagines (mostly) well-rounded, thoughtful characters who inhabit a strange but consistent and believable reality. And, as with other Snyder plots, this one is involving and (mostly) unpredictable. Says the nine-year old, "How come they don't make great books like this into movies? A movie of this book would be so much better than Harry Potter." So then we had to read AND ALL BETWEEN, not exactly a sequel -- it overlaps the time and takes place in a dystopia that borders that of Below the Root. And All Between is a much darker book than Below the Root in many ways. Whereas Below the Root takes place in the tree canopy, And All Between mostly takes place underground. And, And All Between expands in depth on the theme of how the corruption of the religious elite can corrupt an entire society. But And All Between doesn't end the story either, so then we had to proceed to Until the Celebration. My child became very, very angry with the protagonist who kind of gave in to his own death. And very, very angry with the author who "let" her read so many pages to just have the protagonist "throw his life away". Too bad -- the message in all as far as I can tell is that demonizing the Other can have bad consequences for those who do the demonizing. Sounds pretty pertinent these days, huh?--Emily | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Below the Root | |
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| Author: | Christopher Paolini |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2003 |
Involving dungeons and dragons style story, with dragons of the Anne McCaffery model. (You know, the inhabitant of the egg becomes impressed on a single special human. They grow up together and have adventures.) | |
Amazingly well-written by a 15 year old homeschooler. Grabs you right from the beginning and pulls you along. My 11 year old is not sure she'll survive until we get the next book in the series. And here is our review of Eldest, Book Two in this trilogy.-- Emily Berk | |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Eragon | |
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| Author: | Orson Scott Card |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | Science fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1977 |
Story of a boy who is raised (some would say, manipulated) to use his gifts to save humanity, and the thanks he gets. Easy to read, but not appropriate for young readers. | |
Caution: Lots of violence, some racial stereotyping. The only answer to bullying, per Orson Scott Card, is to beat the ringleader to a pulp, if not worse. (It might not sound like it, but we did enjoy this book, when we were not wincing...)Other books for about ages 12 and up Other books about/for gifted children | |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Ender's Game | |
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| Author: | Paul Stewart |
| Illustrator: | Chris Riddell |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2004 |
The Edge Chronicles is an interesting series for advanced young readers. They are for-real chapter books set in a very odd post-apocalyptic time/place, but they include very interesting pen drawings on nearly every page. The only downside to them is that there is a great deal of violence and death throughout, including deaths of very prominent characters. | |
Two years ago, my daughter would not have finished even one of these. She's on the fourth of the series now. Each time she finishes one, she vows to not read the next, but after a few weeks pass, she's on to the next. | |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Edge Chronicles, The | |
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| Author: | T. A. Barron |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | King Arthur |
| Year of publication: | 1999 |
Fourth in a series about the childhood of Merlin. The bally mag is just a hoot. | |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Mirror of Merlin | |
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| Author: | Anne McCaffrey |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction, dragons |
| Year of publication: | 1979 |
Menolly's friend Piemur (a boy) comes of age (confronts bullying and anti-intellectualism). | |
Not as compelling as the previous two in the series, and Dragonsinger, and beware the love scene at around page 238. | |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Dragondrums | |
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| Author: | Anne McCaffrey |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction, dragons |
| Year of publication: | 1977 |
"Like Harry Potter, but better," says my daughter. "And, it's about a GIRL (Menolly by name) who goes to school to get better at something she's good at." | |
Sequel to Dragonsong, which was the first fiction book that captivated my then 9-year old daughter. (Before that, she read non-fiction almost exclusively.) | |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Dragonsinger | |