Books for gifted kids
Looking for books for teachers and administrators? Check out book list for educators.
Books for Gifted Kids
Looking for a guidebook to help with finding the right book for your gifted reader? Some of My Best Friends are Books suggests and details over 300 titles for bright students.
Also, click on “book reviews” under categories in the column to the right. We highlight books of interest to gifted parents, teachers and kids.
Math books for elementary age students
- The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure by Hans Magnus Enzensberger
- What’s Your Angle, Pythagoras? A Math Adventure by Julie Ellis
- Sir Cumference and the First Round Table: A Math Adventure by Cindy Neuschwander
- Grapes Of Math by Greg Tang
- Anno’s Mysterious Multiplying Jar by Masaichiro Anno
- Math Curse by Jon Scieszka
- Primary Grade Challenge Math by Edward Zaccaro
Books to improve vocabulary
Want to slowly improve your child’s vocabulary (which helps on the SAT test) and expose him to great literature? Start him reading the books that are most often cited on the AP English Literature test.
Books about gifted kids
Often gifted kids think they are different, weird, and therefore alone. One way to help them realize they are not the only ones who are gifted is through books.
Please use care in deciding which stories to share with your child as some may be disconcerting for emotionally sensitive gifted children. For example, Matilda includes a Disneyesque mean principal. They can be good starting points for conversations, but should not be blithely used as babysitters or entertainment without parental involvement. The collection (easy books, juvenile fiction, young adult fiction, or adult fiction) can be a good aid in determine whether a book is appropriate.
Brill, Marlene Targ. Extraordinary Young People. Juvenile Nonfiction Call#: 920.00879 BRI
Evangelista, Beth. Gifted. Young Adult Fiction Call#: EVA
Fitzgerald, John Dennis, and Mercer Mayer. The Great Brain. Juvenile Fiction Call#: FIT
Fredericks, Mariah. Crunch Time. Four students form an SAT study group. YA Fiction. Call#: FRE.
Gibbons, Kaye. The Life All Around Me by Ellen Foster. Large Print Fiction Call#: GIB
Goldberg, Myla. Bee Season a Novel. Fiction Call#: GOL. Also available as e-audio book.
Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Mathematically gifted autistic 15-year-old with fear of interaction with people investigates the murder of a neighbor’s dog. Fiction, Books on CD Call#: HAD.
Hickam, Homer H. Rocket Boys a Memoir. Young boys in a poor mining town get the notion to create a rocket from junk and end up going to the national science fair and on to college. Inspiring true story that was made into the movie, October Sky. Biography Call#: Hickam. (See the movie, October Sky.)
Imagine. Johns Hopkins University Press for the Study of Exceptional Talent. Each issue contains stories from students who have succeeded in academic competitions or attended challenging summer camps. Teen magazine display area
James, Simon. Baby Brains Superstar. Easy (Picture Books) Call# IAM
Luddy, Karon. Spelldown. Young Adult Fiction; Call#: LUD
Maguire, James. American Bee the National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds : the Lives of Five Top Spellers as They Compete for Glory and Fame. NonFiction; Call#: 372.532 MAG
McDonald, Janet. Spellbound. Young Adult Fiction Call#: MCD
Moriarty, Laura. The Center of Everything. Math whizzes. Not all children fulfill their early promise. Fiction, Books on CD Call#: MOR
Olson, Steve. Count Down Six Kids Vie for Glory At the World’s Toughest Math Competition. The behind-the-scenes story of the American Mathematics Competition and the International Math Olympiad, coached by UNT’s Dr. Titu Andreescu. Non Fiction Call#: 510.79 OLS
Peters, Julie Anne. How Do You Spell Geek. Juvenile Fiction Call#: PET
Silverstein, Ken. The Radioactive Boy Scout the True Story of a Boy and His Backyard Nuclear Reactor. Biography Call#: HAHN
Tammet, Daniel. Born on a Blue Day: the Memoir of an Extraordinary Mind. Call# TAMMET
Yee, Lisa. Millicent Min, Girl Genius. Young Adult Fiction Call#: YEE
Science books for young adults
The 25 greatest science books of all time, per Discover magazine, December 2006. If you can find the actual magazine, it also lists 50 best-seller science books, some of which will be easier reading.