OP, I was also an exceptional reader as a child. I preferred books to people. In 4th grade, I read 15-20 books a week.

Make sure your daughter develops social skills, because kids who get too lost in books can find the real world disappointing.

Anonymous wrote:You're either gifted or you're not. How can someone be "very" gifted?

I think OP just meant it as hyperbole.

However, in the “gifted realm,” different phrases have categorical meaning:

130-145 IQ = gifted

145-160 = highly gifted

160+ = exceptionally gifted

See if your library system will consider hosting a "Battle of the Books" in your schools. I live in Carroll County, MD and we have Battles, as do the schools in Howard County. My son has had a lot of fun reading the books and working with his team to compete. It doesn't hurt that the books are generally outstanding. I've read many of the books and coached or co-coached my son's team.

Howard County: http://hclibrary.org/new-a-main/battle-of-the-books/battle-of-the-books-list/

Carroll County: http://hclibrary.org/new-a-main/battle-of-the-books/battle-of-the-books-list/

General Battle of the Books info: http://www.battleofthebooks.org/

I also interested in like a “weakly reader” type thing written at the high school level. My dd reads a lot of fiction, but hardly any nonfiction. Is there something like this? Thanks.

You're either gifted or you're not. How can someone be "very" gifted?

Anonymous wrote:She talks about maybe becoming a writer when she grows up. She also wants to be a 3rd grade teacher.

The problem right now is that she has no patience for writing. She is a good writer IMO, but I think she won’t write steadily until she can type much faster. She has never kept a log for this reason. Her teachers gave her a pass.

I did download the goodreads app and got her an account. I haven’t shown her yet, but I think she will love it. It got me more excited about reading just looking at it. I think she may be more inclined to log books on the app? I’m not sure.

I also bought her a greatbooks (textbook?) off amazon used for $8. She loves these types of things.

The battle of the books would be fun. That was what I was hoping for. She would like just answering trivia type questions. I wish she could just go something like this online.

She is just really good at reading, and it would be nice for her to get some recognition. Not public recognition. Just a challenge she could feel proud about. I think she will do well on the ACT in 7th. I wish there were something like that now.

Thanks everyone.

Use her love of reading as an incentive to type. If she does x time practicing per week, she gets y money towards whatever kindle accessory or hardback book she wants. She could talk to the library about getting a certain series on overdrive if she raises enough money to donate the full amount.

Anonymous wrote:My dd sounds a lot like yours. She started a book club with 5 of her friends who also love to read. It didn’t matter that she was reading higher level books than they were usually because she continues to enjoy all level books despite her abilities. We would pick 3-4 books and have the girls vote on the one to read. They would get together and talk about their favorite parts and characters, then it would dissolve into a play date (much like my book club which dissolved from the book discussion into a drinking wine and talking about life party). But it got all of those girls into different books and talking about them and enjoying them.

Be sure to let everyone know what the deadline is to have finished the book. I tried this three times in elemtary school (no parent involved), but although two of the kids kept doing it, I got too frustrated with them taking a week or more to read the book. However, in middle school, we got a group together and we split up a list, so that worked much better. I would wait until 1-2 days before the group met, and everyone else could take 1-2 weeks to read their books. Best of all, nobody got mad at me for wanting to talk about shocking events or cliffhangers if I took two days to read, because I wasn’t spoiling anything for them. Because we each presented a book, talked about things we liked and didn’t like, but didn’t give away the endings, I always had ideas for other books to read, and occasionally one of the other kids would read something that was presented.

If there is such thing as a reading competition, my DD will easily won 1st place. She will let the world collapse around her when she is reading. She often wets her pants (she is already 12!!) while reading. She reads in the car and have forgotten to turn off the car light until the car battery died, twice!! At school, her teacher has a book jail for her. She reads any and everything, include instruction manuals, cereal boxes, nutrition labels. She borrows so many inch-thick books from the library that she needs to transport the books in boxes. I even caught her reading in the bathroom after she has taken off her clothes and has forgotten whether she has showered. Reading has become a drug to her and has seriously impacting our family lives. I wish she can put in half the zeal she has in reading for something else, which I am sure she will excel. For now, she is just a bookworm.

Anonymous wrote:My DS is 9 and is also an advanced reader who loves to read. I love to read too. I read all the books before him so he and I can discuss it together. This has been one of my greatest parenting joys. We have finished some great series and it have been a wonderful bonding experience for us.

Well I shouldn’t say all. There is a small %, maybe 10% that I won’t read, like goosebumps or books on rocks and minerals.

Sorry. I said this as a way to recommend that OP read the books as well and form her own “book club” with her DC.

My DS is 9 and is also an advanced reader who loves to read. I love to read too. I read all the books before him so he and I can discuss it together. This has been one of my greatest parenting joys. We have finished some great series and it have been a wonderful bonding experience for us.

Well I shouldn’t say all. There is a small %, maybe 10% that I won’t read, like goosebumps or books on rocks and minerals.

At that age I remember getting scolded by my parents because I would go through 2 books in one week-end. The school library was very small and there were no public libraries (small Middle Eastern country in the 70's). So we had to buy books from bookstores. Librairie Ideale was the biggest bookstore that carried books in English and French. I was buying one Bobbsey Twins or Hardy Boys and one Comptesse De Segure book every week-end.

Anonymous wrote:OP: I’m just looking for ideas of what’s out there. We are very aware of the library. DD also has a kindle with the amazon subscription (I can’t remember what it is called now. She can borrow 10 books st a time) she loves reading everything. She also loves being “tested” on her ability to comprehend at high levels. She uses an online program called readtheory. <—I’m looking for more ideas like this.

Nanny here. I have used readtheory while homeschooling, and I love it!

Is there anything like Clue-me-in in this area? When I was in Michigan, the kids who loved reading all did that through the school. There’s a list of books for each grade level, then they have matches with teams, trying to guess the books as early in the clue as they can.

The best suggestion is just to let her read. If she sticks to just 1-3 genres, have mix it up. Every third book has to be from a different genre. Encourage series with overarching plot, but discourage series with mindless repetition. Stand alone books are great. There’s a lot to be said for fiction, but if she can find an interest in an area of non-fiction and run with it... That’s the best thing. Try equating non-fiction with the fiction she lives. “I know you live reading fantasy, so I thought you’d like to learn about the history of people believing in and developing stories about unicorns, dragons, centaurs, etc. Did you know that people came up with ideas in different parts of the world, and some were very similar, while others were very different?” “I know you love reading about girls who lived a long time ago. How about looking at one of these?” I presented one of my charges with the history of underwear, history of fashion (everyday people) prior to 1950, a book about jobs for which girls apprenticed in the Middle Ages, and a book about girls and animals in history. If you know what she likes to read, you can find a way to redirect or extend her interest.

We do a mom-daughter book club with other moms and kids, a family book club (themed dinner and book discussion every 6-8 week’s or so), lots of library and bookstore trips.

In our state there is a reading competition called “Battle of the Books.” It is a team competition through school where kids read from a reading list of 15-20 books and answer knowledge bowl type questions. One of my kids loves this.

I’m still mulling over what has been said in this thread.

1. Reading well and a love or passion for reading is not a gift.

I will concede this one. Whether it is or isn’t, who really cares? I think it’s kind of an obnoxious thing to say out loud.

2. If it is a gift, it is a useless one.

The pps who are most vocal about this one seem to have done really well for themselves by being good at reading.

3. My kid is also an advanced reader, just go to the library.

It’s not about her being advanced at reading. It’s about her passion for reading. She is always reading. She chooses reading over everything else 9/10. She wakes up early to read, and she’s been like this since she was born. When she runs out of things to read she just re-reads her favorites.

4. You shouldn’t make it competitive.

I agree I should not kill her love for reading with stupid competitions. I still think she would actually really like something like battle of the books. And I think she’d like to meet other kids like her. And I think she would like the challenge.

5. Just have her write.

She likes writing, but it’s not like she likes reading. So I can buy her a journal, and she may write a bit. I can buy a typing app and make her use it. It’s all fine, but she is not necessarily going to write with anywhere near the same zeal as she reads. There isn’t anything wrong with that. But I can’t just force her into writing. I will talk to her about being patient with writing.

I’m just going to let her keep reading as she is and try to keep my eye out for great books that will “ broaden her horizon”. I’m also going to try to get her to use goodreads.

She has no other hobbies. Nothing like reading. She has actually protested joining an after school club because it would take away from her down time (reading time). We made her sign up. She is a 19th century couch potato.

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Anonymous wrote:Why does she need to do anything?? It's something she likes, so get her a Kindle, but I don't think reading is really something you can be "gifted" at. Anyone who reads enough will be good at it, and some kids progress faster than others, but it's not really a "gift" so much as just something you learn to do. I was an advanced reader at an early age, too, and frankly it isn't very useful. I now have multiple graduate degrees in literature and I've got to be one of the best readers in the world, and it's a completely useless ability. I think reading early might be an opportunity for her to do other things, since she is able to access information better than others her age. Perhaps it would be more beneficial if she used her ability to learn about another subject or to participate in some interesting activities generally reserved for older kids - i.e. plays (memorizing lines is hard if you can't read them!),

+1
Sorry...I know OP is serious and loves her kid and all. And it's great to be a proud parent.
But I read this post a little while ago and I'm still chuckling at the idea of reading being her "gift"...

Well, to be fair, there are people who are natural speed readers (like 4 novels on a cross country flight), which is a gift. There are also people who remember everything they read (I clerked for a judge who could tell you which page of which volume a particular holding of a case would be found!!). And I know several people who can recite a long quote from a variety of novels at just the perfect moment in a conversation - always freakishly on point and impressive. And many people are so widely read, with impressive memories of what they read, that you will never keep up with them in a conversation about books.

There is such a thing as a gifted reader.

OP: I am really appreciating the conversation.

DD was/is an advanced reader. I don’t think that is a “gift”, although one could argue it does open up opportunities to learn more at an earlier age. DD is also “gifted” per a psychologist. I also don’t think of that as a gift. She’s not a genius, nor is she good at everything (she was tested for LDs). But her ability to read the way she does (prolifically, at high levels, indiscriminately), her love for books, her effortless comprehension and mature analysis... It seems innate. Like a natural talent. Wouldnt we all want our kids to have this? (Not all my kids do.) seems like a gift to me.

It really is her one passion right now. I hate that it’s considered useless. I guess the whole point of this discussion is to figure out how to turn a gift that is a hobby into something more useful and celebrated. I’m hoping it translates to writing or a passion in another subject. I’ll encourage it. Thank you for all the links. I’m looking into everything.

Whatever. I was an early and excellent reader, and it was absolutely a gift. It's been a lifelong source of learning, entertainment, solace, and pleasure. It's different than being "gifted," but it truly has been a gift to me, and I'm thrilled to see my own child develop the same skills and enjoyment of reading.

It is also far from useless. Simple and kind of obvious examples: my DC reads so fast and with such incredible comprehension that standardized tests take him half the expected time; the reading part of homework is done in minutes so he has tons of time to pursue other things; if he spends the same amount of time on a research project as an average reader, he covers 3x the material. All of this adds up in increasingly significant ways as you get older.

But did you make it a competition? That's the crazy part. By all means encourage her love of reading and encourage her to read a very broad assortment of books. I read The Song of Roland (in English of course) in second grade, but it wasn't a competition! I just read. All the time. At dinner, while walking across the street (got spanked for that), in the car, sitting on the floor of the deli while my mom waited in line. I'd finish my assigned work in class and start in on a book and the teacher would have to take it out of my hands when the bell rang because I'd get so lost in it. I used to write, too -- journal, poetry, short stories. I'm a very fast reader and excellent writer and now, as a lawyer, these are great skills to have. But reading isn't anything that needs to be made into a competition. That's a sure way to kill the joy.

Facilitate your daughter's access to books via the library or book club or other sources; read additional books with her; discuss the books. But for pete's sake don't enter her in some stupid speed-reading competition. And make sure she has other hobbies too, especially outdoor stuff and music. It's too easy to always be wrapped up in your own world when you're a gifted reader.