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I would recommend moving her towards poetry to accompany any prose she may be reading. If I am teaching an English class with an advanced student, I usually try to extend that student with more varied texts.
You should aim to expose her to perspectives that are different from her own, so books with challenging information on the environment and other cultures are excellent for a gifted reader. This also means varying subjects and allowing her the chance to work with you on choosing books that interest her.
Guided exposure to more difficult vocabulary and themes can also challenge her. You may find her ready for select texts that would be appropriate for higher grades. I say select because you no doubt are concerned about content.
You should also allow her to extend her learning beyond the scope of her current schooling. Differentiating the curriculum is a responsibility of the school and you can assist with this outside of the classroom at home.
May be some of these:
The Bad Beginning: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Part I by Lemony Snicket
The Folk Keeper by Frank Billingsley
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm
King of Shadows by Susan Cooper
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
The Orange House by Paul Griffin
The Great Wide Sea by M.H. Herlong
The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks
Alligator Bayou by Donna Jo Napoli
Stitches: A Memoir by David Small
Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland by Sally M Walker
Some of these may be a bit challenging or more mature than the books you have in mind. Most of my experience is with 12-18 year old students, though I have friends with gifted readers and was part of a school-based program when I was in Primary school (many, many, many years ago).
I will have a look around some more and add some recommendations later.
I certainly second Pratchett but I'd also like to add "The Swarm" by Frank Schätzing. Here in Germany it was a major bestseller and caused quite a stir (in a good, non-scandalous way). The story deals heavily with marine biology so it should be very much in your (or your kid's) field of interest.
I was just thinking of more horrifically inappropriate books to suggest, and I thought of The Painted Bird by Jerszy Koscinski (sp?). [Shudder] Anyone else ever read that?
Susan Coopers 'Darkness Rising' Books are among the best fantasy novels for a young audience I know. I would also second Pratchett, especially the Tiffany Aching books.
That's "The Dark is Rising" if you're looking to google it or some such, but yes, terrific fantasy for children. Do not trust the movie as a decent adaptation.
Doodle, is that the one about kid wandering on his own in europe after/during the holocaust? Well, if it's about a child it must be age appropriate.
Yeah, that's the one. Nasty stuff.
Also the Rats of Nyhm is a must read, loved that as a kid.
Ooh! I haven't thought of that in years!
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The Bad Beginning: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Part I by Lemony Snicket
I enjoyed those.
I read them when I was working at the airport. I was working with this 20 year old kid from Peru who was like a full-blooded Inca and wore his hair like a porcupine. I'd finish one of the books and he'd read it and when I asked him how he liked it, he'd invariably respond "That was stupid, are you done with the next one yet?"
Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny
Be warned, Zelazny has an immortality vs. suicide leitmotif that might provoke some questions, but yeah, seconding the recommendation.
Charles Dickens ? "Oliver Twist" and "David Copperfield".
Frances Hodgson Burnett; "The secret garden"
"The Jungle Book" by Rudyard Kipling.
Anything by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren - Pippi Longstocking ?
As for the science stuff - ask the librarians:)
If you'll count ecology/environmentalism as a science My Side of the Mountain is a nice mix of boy's adventure story (genre name, not a requirement) and science textbook.
Man, I miss The Spider's Web and Reading Aloud from NPR back when...
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Susan Coopers 'Darkness Rising' Books are among the best fantasy novels for a young audience I know. I would also second Pratchett, especially the Tiffany Aching books.That's "The Dark is Rising" if you're looking to google it or some such, but yes, terrific fantasy for children. Do not trust the movie as a decent adaptation.
Sorry, I read the German translation and did not, as I should have, check the original title that I remembered incorrectly, thank you for pointing it out.
And yes, the movie is horrible.The 'Inkheart' triology is also quite good - the movie adaption is a decent watch but falls flat compared to the story as written.
Jerszy Koscinski (sp?).
Jerzy. (Polish name equivalent of English George).
I was in the same position as your daughter.
After picking my way through my Dad's selection of classics (my favorite was Swiss Family Robinson- the original, not the disney version), I ended up spending a lot of time at the local library. Maybe your library needs volunteers?
Working around books might give her an idea of what she wants to read next and the ability to find it.
I ended up reading mythology, mysteries, and Louis L'Amour, but she might lean towards poetry, plays, or Agatha Christie.
My wife mentioned Alan Bradley's Flavia DeLuca stories (which seem to be about a 13 yr old chemist/sleuth), the Lily Dale series by Wendy Corsi Staub, and mentioned that 'Eye of the Dragon' was written by Stephen King for his kids.
If you'll count ecology/environmentalism as a science My Side of the Mountain is a nice mix of boy's adventure story (genre name, not a requirement) and science textbook.
I ran away because of My Side of the Mountain.
Years later I'm reading an issue of Brian K. Vaughan's Runaways and they run into a kid who explains that he ran away because of My Side of the Mountain. Man, I loved that comic.
Don Juan de Doodlebug Addendum
You remember when he fantasizes about siring a race of half-deer people? ?!?
I ran away because of My Side of the Mountain.
Years later I'm reading an issue of Brian K. Vaughan's Runaways and they run into a kid who explains that he ran away because of My Side of the Mountain. Man, I loved that comic.
Don Juan de Doodlebug Addendum
You remember when he fantasizes about siring a race of half-deer people? ?!?
Okay, that's not science! I was thinking of the part where he's cleaning an animal and has a grab-the-liver-eat-it-raw freakout because he's suffering from a vitamin (C, I wanna say?) deficiency. Of course, I'm not a tree-hugging commie pervert, so YMMV.
(I love you Doodle)
Jerszy Koscinski (sp?).Jerzy. (Polish name equivalent of English George).
** spoiler omitted **
Pedantic Amateur Film Critc Alert!
He also wrote Being There, which Hal Ashby turned into a movie at Peter Sellers' behest.
MORE KID'S BOOKS:
Roger Lancelyn Green wrote great kids' books about Greek, Norse and Egyptian mythologies and a volume each for Robin Hood and King Arthur.
I, too, went through an Agatha Christie phase. I preferred Hercules Poirot to Miss Maples. And that makes me think of Sherlock Holmes, but I wonder about age suitability.
Last year, I got a hot tip on the Steampunk thread about Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan and it has a trailer!
(I love you Doodle)
[Blushes]
Not exactly a recommendation to hand Holmes to an eight year old ("Mommy, does cocaine make everyone that smart?"), but there's something to be said for victorian language going over even the most literate kid's head. It Can't Happen Here was written later, but it took me a few pages to realize that the main character was having an affair, whereas a contemporary reader would have known immediately: why else would a married man visit a single woman at her house?
Edit: I was around twenty-five at this point.
Oh, so it's okay to show kids people getting offed in horrendous ways, but show a dude taking the edge off after a hard day's work and Hitdice and the Morality Police show up to take you away?!?
Srly though, you're probably right. Now that I think a bit, I was reading "kiddie-ized" versions--maybe even straight out retellings, I don't remember.
Well, I've read Conan Doyle around eleven, got most of it, and never became a cocaine addict.
Nor would I claim that you would, but anyone who's considering giving the books to their preteen to read should be aware that the question might come up.
Then again, in this day and age the average preteen has probably already heard about it...