Treasury · Merit

Davidson Gifted

The Davidson Institute's reading list for profoundly gifted young readers; the hardest list here for its ages.

130 books in the catalog stand on this list. The list itself (opens the list's own website) ↗

A reader aged

32 of these books cover age 13. The 58 that name no age at all are left off rather than guessed at — choose any age to bring them back.

• Alice's Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, 1865 · ages 11–13 · Lexile 880L · AR 7.4 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Halsted - Best Friends, Mensa Kids, TJEd Youth Recommended
  Remember
• Am I Naturally This Crazy?: Poems by Sara Holbrook, 1996 · ages 9–14 · AR 3.5 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  Remember
• Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, 1873 · ages 9–14 · Lexile 1090L · AR 9.6 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Beautiful Feet, Deep Roots Grade
  Remember
• Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, 2001 · ages 9–14 · Lexile 600L · AR 5.0 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  Remember
• A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park, 2002 · ages 11–13 · Lexile 920L · AR 6.6 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Newbery Award, The Good & The Beautiful
  Remember
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, 1962 · ages 9–13 · Lexile 740L · AR 4.7 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Halsted - Best Friends, Mensa Kids, Newbery Award, NY Public Library
  Remember
• Black Stallion by Walter Farley, 1941 · ages 11–13 · Lexile 680L · AR 5.2 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Beautiful Feet, Mensa Kids, TJEd Youth Recommended
  Remember
• Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham, 1955 · ages 11–13 · Lexile 570L · AR 4.1 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Beautiful Feet, Newbery Award, The Good & The Beautiful
  Remember
• D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths by Ingri and Edgar D'Aulaire, 1962 · ages 11–13 · Lexile 1070L · AR 6.6 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Beautiful Feet, Mensa Kids, NY Public Library
  Remember
• Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time by James Gurney, 1992 · ages 9–14 · Lexile 700L · AR 6.9 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on TJEd Early Recommended
  Remember
• Dogs Don't Tell Jokes by Louis Sachar, 1991 · ages 9–14 · Lexile 560L · AR 3.8 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  Remember
• Half Magic by Edward Eager, 1954 · ages 9–14 · Lexile 830L · AR 5.0 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  Remember
• Hardy Boys by Franklin Dixon, 2013 · ages 10–13 · Lexile 700L · AR 4.0
  also on The Good & The Beautiful
  Remember
• Hoot by Carl Hiaasen, 2002 · ages 9–14 · Lexile 520L · AR 5.2 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  Remember
• James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl, 1961 · ages 9–14 · Lexile 870L · AR 4.8 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  Remember
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, 1868 · ages 9–14 · Lexile 1300L · AR 7.9 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Deep Roots Grade, Mensa Kids, The Good & The Beautiful, TJEd Youth Recommended
  Remember
• Nancy Drew: The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene, 1930 · ages 9–14 · Lexile 760L · AR 5.4 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on The Good & The Beautiful
  Remember
• Redwall by Brian Jacques, 1986 · ages 11–13 · Lexile 850L · AR 5.6 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Mensa Kids
  Remember
• The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket, 1999 · ages 9–14 · Lexile 1010L · AR 6.4 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  Remember
• The Giver by Lois Lowry, 1993 · ages 13–17 · Lexile 760L · AR 5.7 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Mensa Kids, Newbery Award, NY Public Library
  Remember
• The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, 2005 · ages 9–14 · Lexile 680L · AR 4.7 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  Remember
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, 1950 · ages 8–13 · Lexile 940L · AR 5.7
  also on Deep Roots Grade, Mensa Kids, NY Public Library, The Good & The Beautiful, Time Magazine 1923-2005, TJEd Youth Recommended
  Remember
• The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman, 1996 · ages 11–13 · Lexile 1150L · AR 6.0 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Newbery Award
  Remember
• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, 1961 · ages 10–13 · Lexile 1000L · AR 6.7 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Halsted - Best Friends, NY Public Library, TJEd Youth Recommended
  Remember
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, 1911 · ages 11–13 · Lexile 710L · AR 6.3 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Deep Roots Grade, Mensa Kids, TJEd Youth Recommended
  Remember
• The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi, 1990 · ages 9–14 · Lexile 740L · AR 5.3 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  Remember
• The Wanderings of Odysseus by Rosemary Sutcliff, 1995 · ages 9–14 · Lexile 1220L · AR 6.5 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  Remember
• The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, 1978 · ages 11–13 · Lexile 750L · AR 5.3 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Newbery Award, NY Public Library
  Remember
• The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare, 1959 · ages 11–13 · Lexile 850L · AR 5.7 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Halsted - Best Friends, Mensa Kids, Newbery Award
  Remember
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, 1900 · ages 9–14 · Lexile 1000L · AR 7.0 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Mensa Kids, TJEd Early Recommended
  Remember
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, 1960 · ages 13–17 · Lexile 790L · AR 5.6 · AR Interest: UG (9–12)
  also on Beautiful Feet, Deep Roots Grade, Mensa Kids, Time Magazine 1923-2005
  Remember
• Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, 1908 · ages 9–14 · Lexile 1070L · AR 8.2 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Deep Roots Grade, TJEd Early Recommended
  Remember