Book list for pre-teen gifted readers

Pre-teen gifted readers often run into a problem around the age of ten: as younger children they read everything in children’s literature that they could get their hands on. By the time they reach ten years old, they’re starting to run into roadblocks when looking for appropriate books. Some ten-year-olds are ready to go on to Young Adult fiction, but most aren’t. Young Adult, with its focus on teens’ changing bodies and questioning of their place in the world, is often inappropriate and sometimes very upsetting for “tweens” who have outgrown children’s books but are looking for meaty reading to satisfy their literary cravings.

The list below contains books recommended for this demographic. In general, recommended books will not contain violence described in a visceral way, though books that very sensitive readers might want to avoid are starred. If you have recommendations for this list, please leave them in the comments below.

See also:

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11 thoughts on “Book list for pre-teen gifted readers

  1. Hi – Love the list – it’s very useful thank you. Ender’s Game though, has visceral violence in it I think (I reread it a few months ago), and a couple of other topics than you wouldn’t have to be “very sensitive” to be bothered by.

    1. That’s why Ender’s Game has an asterisk – some parents said their kids did fine with it, and others thought it was too violent. Sometimes it’s hard to make a call so included it with caution.

      I’m glad you found the list useful!

  2. I think I have a preteen fiction book recommendation for your list. “The TortoiseTales” is a fiction book collection of nine separate short stories targeting the 8-12 year old reader. A 130 year old tortoise communicates the stories to a young girl he meets and the stories are fun with relatable animal characters who also teach some great life principles and pique interest in nature…www.thetortoisetales.com.

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