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

19 of these books cover age 8. The 58 that name no age at all are left off rather than guessed at — choose any age to bring them back.

• Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace, 1940 · ages 8–10 · Lexile 650L · AR 4.0 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Mensa Kids, TJEd Early Recommended
  Remember
• Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, 1877 · ages 8–12 · Lexile 1010L · AR 7.7 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Beautiful Feet, Deep Roots Grade, Mensa Kids, The Good & The Beautiful, TJEd Youth Recommended
  Remember
• Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner, 1942 · ages 8–9 · Lexile 580L · AR 3.9 · AR Interest: LG (K–3)
  also on Deep Roots Grade, The Good & The Beautiful
  Remember
• Charlotte's Web by E.B. White, 1952 · ages 8–12 · Lexile 680L · AR 4.4 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Mensa Kids, NY Public Library, The Good & The Beautiful, TJEd Early Recommended
  Remember
• Danny, the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl, 1975 · ages 8–10 · AR 4.7 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Halsted - Best Friends
  Remember
• Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne, 1992 · ages 5–9 · Lexile 510L · AR 2.6 · AR Interest: LG (K–3)
  Remember
• Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, 1997 · ages 8–10 · Lexile 670L · AR 4.6 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Halsted - Best Friends
  Remember
• Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol, 1963 · up to age 10 · Lexile 610L · AR 4.1 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Deep Roots Grade, The Good & The Beautiful
  Remember
• Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes, 1952 · ages 8–10 · Lexile 990L · AR 6.0 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Newbery Award
  Remember
• Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus by Barbara Park, 1992 · ages 5–9 · Lexile 380L · AR 2.9 · AR Interest: LG (K–3)
  Remember
• Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1935 · ages 8–10 · Lexile 600L · AR 5.3
  also on Deep Roots Grade, Mensa Kids, The Good & The Beautiful
  Remember
• Math Curse by Jon Scieszka; Lane Smith, 1995 · ages 5–9 · Lexile 560L · AR 3.7 · AR Interest: LG (K–3)
  Remember
• Matilda by Roald Dahl, 1988 · ages 8–12 · Lexile 840L · AR 5.0 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on Mensa Kids, NY Public Library
  Remember
• My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett, 1948 · ages 8–10 · Lexile 970L · AR 5.6 · AR Interest: LG (K–3)
  also on NY Public Library
  Remember
• Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, 1972 · ages 5–9 · Lexile 340L · AR 2.0 · AR Interest: LG (K–3)
  Remember
• The King's Equal by Katherine Paterson, 1992 · ages 5–9 · Lexile 780L · AR 5.2 · AR Interest: LG (K–3)
  also on The Good & The Beautiful
  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 Magic School Bus at the Waterworks by Joanna Cole, 1986 · ages 5–9 · Lexile 660L · AR 3.7 · AR Interest: LG (K–3)
  Remember
• The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White, 1970 · ages 8–10 · Lexile 750L · AR 4.9 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  also on The Good & The Beautiful, TJEd Youth Recommended
  Remember