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

29 of these books cover age 14. The 58 that name no age at all are left off rather than guessed at — choose any age to bring them back.

• 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
• 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
• Don Quixote, Part 1 by Miguel Cervantes, 1612 · ages 14–18 · Lexile 1410L · AR 13.2 · AR Interest: UG (9–12)
  also on Harvard Classics, Mensa Kids, St. John's College, TJEd Youth Recommended
  Remember
• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, 1985 · ages 14–18 · Lexile 780L · AR 5.5 · AR Interest: UG (9–12)
  Remember
• Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, 1726 · ages 14–18 · Lexile 1370L · AR 13.5 · AR Interest: UG (9–12)
  also on Deep Roots Grade, Mensa Kids, St. John's College, TJEd Youth Recommended
  Remember
• Half Magic by Edward Eager, 1954 · ages 9–14 · Lexile 830L · AR 5.0 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  Remember
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, 1979 · ages 14–17 · Lexile 950L · AR 6.6 · AR Interest: UG (9–12)
  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
• Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne, 1864 · ages 14–18 · Lexile 1030L · AR 9.9 · AR Interest: UG (9–12)
  also on TJEd Youth Recommended
  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
• Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, 1973 · ages 14–17 · Lexile 860L · AR 6.1
  also on Mensa Kids, Time Magazine 1923-2005, 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
• The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket, 1999 · ages 9–14 · Lexile 1010L · AR 6.4 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  Remember
• The Chosen by Chaim Potok, 1968 · ages 14–17 · Lexile 900L · AR 6.6 · AR Interest: UG (9–12)
  also on Deep Roots Grade, Mensa Kids, TJEd Adult Recommended
  Remember
• The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan, 1990 · ages 14–18 · AR 5.9 · AR Interest: UG (9–12)
  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 Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, 1995 · ages 14–17 · Lexile 930L · AR 7.1 · AR Interest: UG (9–12)
  also on Halsted - Best Friends
  Remember
• The King's Shadow by Elizabeth Alder, 1997 · ages 14–18 · Lexile 940L · AR 6.6 · AR Interest: UG (9–12)
  also on Deep Roots Grade
  Remember
• The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, 2005 · ages 9–14 · Lexile 680L · AR 4.7 · AR Interest: MG (4–8)
  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 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
• Watership Down by Richard Adams, 1972 · ages 14–18 · Lexile 880L · AR 6.2 · AR Interest: UG (9–12)
  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