My seven year-old daughter is a very gifted and voracious reader. She started chewing through the Harry Potter series when she was five, and she’s currently reading three different series of novels (Wings of Fire, The Land of Stories, and The Lord of the Rings), at the same time. And then there all the science books, graphic novels, and classic literature she consumes.
I probably spend a few hundred dollars a month just trying to keep up with her reading habits. But I am not complaining. It is a great problem to have, and I am super proud. However, I am running into a difficult problem now.
Her reading level is at least 8th or 9th grade (maybe higher), but she is still just a little kid. So a lot of the books targeted at second graders are too easy for her, but the books at her reading level often contain more mature themes that are not appropriate for her age.
Like Tom Sawyer, Flowers in the Attic, the Diary of Anne Frank, The Fault in our Stars, and Flowers for Algeron are all great books, but also have a lot of stuff in it that would be a bit too mature for a little kid to read.
Right now, I want to start her on some good science fiction–and while Asimov’s robot and Foundation series are a pretty safe bet–a lot of my favorite sci-fi contains social, racial, moral, sexual or personal themes that are too mature for a seven year-old.
Sure The Mote in God’s Eye might be fine, but a big chunk of Heinlein’s and Niven’s work contains problematic stuff. I love The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, but I don’t know if I want to be explaining polygamy and casual racism/sexism to my kid right now. Stranger in a Strange Land? Nope. No way. And while Heinlein’s short stories are mostly safe, there’s also the really socially problematic stuff those authors got up to (like in Farnham’s Farmhold or Lucifer’s Hammer).
Meanwhile, the Wind-up Girl is amazing and set in her hometown, but then again, prostitution is not something my kid needs to learn about right now. Ender’s Game: child abuse and genocide. Ringworld: people having sex to say “hello”. Bank’s Culture novels: my favorite of the genre, but also rape, prostitution, torture, and a lot of high concept sci-fi ideas. I could go on, but you get the idea.
So even stuff that doesn’t have explicit sex scenes in it can still have stuff that is not at her maturity level, even if it might be good stuff that is just too high-concept for her to grasp and enjoy. Does anyone else have this problem? What should I do? What is the right balance to strike between a very advanced reading level and a very young reader.
Can anyone recommend some good sci-fi that isn’t too “kiddie” (especially in the reading level), but also not too mature?
by pudgimelon
7 Comments
Klara and the Sun
Maybe ender’s game? The rest of Tolkien should be ok, perhaps hitchhikers guide to the galaxy. War of the worlds?
I would suggest A Series Of Unfortunate Events. It’s a series of 13 books which are amazing. They’re a bit dark though, but they are children’s books after all. The books play around with words and phrases a lot so they’re also educational in a way. Highly recommend.
I can’t think of any sci fi off the top of my head, but older children’s lit was a lot more innocent. some that I liked when I was that age:
– the jungle books by Rudyard Kipling. I got obsessed.
– the far distant Oxus by Katherine hull and Pamela Whitlock. children and ponies.
-the worlds end books by Monica dickens. children and various animals.
my brother and sister loved the swallows and Amazon’s books by Arthur Ransome. sailing and camping.
Ella Minnow Pea
Jurassic Park
(Also, hit up your library and librarian.)
Unrequested advice coming: get her a library card/ bring her the library. Like that you don’t have to spend so much and support the library. Also, there is the online library system. Not sure the name. Libby? I think?
Anyways, good luck.
Hello, fellow ‘rent of a reader.
Just came to say: solidarity.
Eventually they start finding their own books and you’ll find yourself saying things like, “Whoah, whoah, whoah…what did you say? What the crap have you been reading?” and “Maybe don’t bring that up in class or to your grandparents just yet.”