Great Books for Gifted Readers*:
2nd-3rd Grade (approx.) Book List
Adler, David: Cam Jansen series
Banks, Lynn: Indian in the Cupboard series
Blume, Judy: Freckle Juice
Bunting, Eve: Fly Away Home
Byars, Betsy: Summer of the Swans
Cameron, Ann : Stories Julian Tells; More Stories Julian Tells
Cherry, Lynn: The Great Kapok Tree
Cleary, Beverly: Dear Mr. Henshaw; Henry Huggins; Ramona Quimby, Age 8; Ramona the Pest; Ramona’s World; Runaway Ralph; Strider
Cole, Joanna: The Magic Schoolbus series
Coville, Bruce: My Teacher is an Alien
Dahl, Roald: Matilda
Denenberg, Barry: So Far from Home: The Diary of Mary Driscol
dePaola, Tomie: 26 Fairmont Avenue; Here We All Are
Eliot, T. S.: Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats
Estes, Eleanor: The Hundred Dresses
Fitzhugh, Louise: Harriett the Spy
Fleischman, Sid: The Whipping Boy
Frasier, Debra: Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster
Gardiner, John: Stone Fox
Giff, Patricia Reilly: Polk Street School series
Hesse, Paren: A Light in the Storm
Hoffman, Mary: Amazing Grace
Howe, James: Bunnicula series
Lindgren, Astrid: The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking
Lobel, Arnold: Fables
Lowry, Lois: Anastasia series
Maclachan, Patricia: Sarah, Plain and Tall; Baby
Marshall, James: George and Martha; Miss Nelson is Missing
Martin, Jacqueline: Snowflake Bentley
Martin, Rafe: The Rough Face Girl
Morton, Mary: The Borrowers
O’Dell, Scott: Island of the Blue Dolphins
Osborne, Mary Pope: Magic Tree House series
Pilkey, Dav: Captain Underpants series
Polacco, Patricia: The Keeping Quilt; Betty Doll; When Lightning Comes in a Jar; Mrs. Katz and Tush
Scieszka, Jon: The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs; The Stinky Cheese Man
Sobol, Donald: Encyclopedia Brown series
Steig, William: Abel’s Island; Brave Irene; Amos and Boris
Stewart, Sarah: The Library; The Gardener
Viorst, Judith: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good…; If I Were in Charge of the World and Other Worries
Warner, Gertrude: The Boxcar Children series
White, E. B.: Charlotte’s Web; Stuart Little; Trumpet of the Swan
Wilder, Laura Ingalls: Little House series
4th-6th Grade (approx.) Book List
Alcott, Louisa May: Little Women; Little Men; Jo’s Boys
Alexander, Lloyd: The Black Cauldron series
Armstrong, William H.: Sounder
Avi: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle; Nothing But the Truth
Blume, Judy: Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing; Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Bridges, Ruby: Through My Eyes
Brink, Carol Ryrie: Caddie Woodlawn
Burnett, Frances: The Secret Garden; A Little Princess
Burnford, Sheila: Incredible Journey
Clements, Andrew: Frindle
Coerr, Eleanor: Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Creech, Sharon: Love That Dog; Walk Two Moons; The Wanderer
Cushman, Karen: The Ballad of Lucy Whipple
Dahl, Roald: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; James and the Giant Peach; The BFG
Danziger, Paula: Forever Amber Brown; Not for a Billion Gazillion Dollars; the Pistachio Prescription;
This Place has No Atmosphere; The Cat Ate My Gymsuit
DeCamillo, Kate: Because of Winn Dixie
Dorris, Michael: Morning Girl; Sees Behind Trees
Fitzhugh, Louise: Harriett the Spy
George, Jean Craighead: My Side of the Mountain; Julie of the Wolves
Giff, Patricia Reilly: Pictures of Hollis Woods; Lily’s Crossing; Nory Ryan’s Song
Grimes, Nikki: Meet Danitra Brown
Hesse, Karen: Music of the Dolphins; Out of the Dust; Witness
Hunt, Irene: Across Five Aprils
Hurwitz, Johanna: Class President; Much Ado About Aldo
Justin, Norton: The Phantom Tollbooth
Konigsburg, E. L.: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler;
The View from Saturday
L'Engle, Madeleine: A Wrinkle in Time; A Wind in the Door; A Swiftly Tilting Planet
Levine, Gail Carson: Ella Enchanted
Lewis, C. S.: The Chronicles of Narnia (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian, etc.)
Lisle, Janet: Afternoon of the Elves
Lowry, Lois: The Giver; Gathering Blue; A Summer to Die
Macaulay, David: Black and White
Naylor, Phyllis: Shiloh; Agony of Alice
Nichol, Barbara: Beethoven Lives Upstairs
O’Dell, Scott: Sing Down the Moon; The Black Pearl
Paterson, Katherine: The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks; Jacob Have I Loved;
The Great Gilly Hopkins
Paulsen, Gary: Hatchet; Dogsong; Brian’s Winter; The River
Polacco, Patricia: Pink and Say; Thank You, Mr. Falker; Thundercake
Price, Leontyne: Aida
Raskin, E: The Westing Game
Rawls, Wilson: Where the Red Fern Grows; Summer of the Monkeys
Rowling, J. K.: Harry Potter series
Sacher, Lois: Wayside School series
San Souci, Robert: The Faithful Friend; The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Scieszka, Jon: Math Curse; Time Warp Trio
Smith, Robert: Chocolate Fever
Snicket, Lemony: A Series of Unfortunate Events
Snyder, Zilpha: The Egypt Game
Spinelli, Jerry: Maniac Magee
Stanley, Diane: Good Queen Bess: The Story of Elizabeth I; Joan of Arc
Steptoe, John: Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters
Taylor, Mildred: The Gold Cadillac; Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Tunnel, Michael: Missing May
Voight, Cynthia: Dicey’s Song; The Homecoming; Izzy Willy Nilly
*A Big Mahalo! to Gifted Education Specialist, Patti Wood, for prividing this list.