What We’re Reading: Summer 2015

��Ƶ Staff — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 01:30:00 +0000

Much like many of the kids we serve, the ��Ƶ staff is a group of voracious readers. We wanted to share what we’re reading now in case you are looking for some good summer reads.

New and Selected Poems, Volume 1 by Mary Oliver

“I give my highest, unqualified recommendation to this collection, whose wisdom continues teaching me what it means to be attentive. Good reading for summer nights.”

– Brianna Safe

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

“Marie Kondo has a writing style that invites you to read slowly and deliberately and enjoy every word.�� She has a relationship to objects that makes them seem to have feelings, which many of us gifties can relate to. (Which is why I can never throw away a pen.)�� And it just feels freeing to try her method.”

– Zadra Rose Ibañez

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling)

“I couldn’t resist reading another novel by the fabulous J.K. Rowling, and her writing pulled me in immediately, as usual.”

– Jennifer Kennedy

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

“I love this story both for its beauty and for how it teaches me. Throughout the novel, Brontë asks compelling and profound questions about love and the nature of goodness in a person’s life. Jane Eyre is a captivating and challenging read that I always enjoy.”

– Morgan Carrion

Lila by Marilynne Robinson

“It is deeply contemplative, insightful, and introspective. I like how Robinson deals honestly and lovingly with some of the most profound questions regarding religion and faith.”

– Jennifer de la Haye

My Struggle: Book 1 by Karl Ove Knausgaard

“‘I saw life; I thought about death.’ Slowly slogging my way through this six-book autobiographical series, whose literary voice echoes the cinematic eye of fellow Scandinavian Ingmar Bergman. Not for the easy reader or faint of heart.”

– Brianna Safe

The Mysterious Benedict Society, Book 1 by Trenton Lee Stewart

“Such an engaging story about bright young kids. It actually reminds me a lot of A Wrinkle in Time. I will definitely be getting a copy for my nephew!”

– Jennifer Kennedy

Walking Away by Simon Armitage

“It’s British poet and novelist Armitage’s account as a sort of ‘troubadour’, walking the south-western coastline of the UK, and the people he meets who feed him and accommodate him in return for a poetry reading. It’s a testament to the beauty of the British landscape, the therapy found in walking (and being blasted by the elements) and, most reassuringly, the enduring power of poetry. He’s also just been nominated as Oxford’s Professor of Poetry – and !”

– Louise Hindle

Brainstorm by Dr. Daniel J. Siegel

“I love the scientific analysis behind adolescent behavior – this type of understanding is empowering.”

– Jennifer de la Haye

The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks

“This book helped me uncover hidden blocks to reaching for what I wanted and gave me a new perspective for dealing with obstacles in my life.�� I absolutely experienced a paradigm shift in how I relate to what matters to me.”

– Zadra Rose Ibañez

Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

“Another excellent novel from my favorite author. I get caught up in the language and storytelling ability of Picoult every time. The extended metaphors in this novel relating to wolf behavior and wolf pack dynamics add an interesting dimension as well.”

– Jennifer Kennedy

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

“The book is a fictional account of two sisters struggling to survive the atrocities of World War II in German-occupied France—one a resistance fighter in Paris, the other a mother and teacher in the countryside. I’ve read a lot of material about the horrors of the Holocaust, but never from the perspective of the French people.”

– Bonnie Raskin

Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults

“What’s most exciting about this multi-authored text is the underlying principle that IQ is not an isolated piece of the individual. The work asks two questions: How can this principle help avoid inaccurate diagnoses and the conflation of giftedness and behavioral/emotional/mental disorders?�� And how can we understand the intersection of giftedness and these disorders (dual diagnoses) in a way that preserves the child’s needs first and foremost?”

– Brianna Safe

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What books are you reading this summer? We’d love to know. Please share in the comment section below.

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Five Great Children’s Books for Gifted Kids

��Ƶ Staff — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 05:30:50 +0000

By Jennifer de la Haye

April 2 is International Children’s Book Day, so we thought it would be fun to highlight some great children’s books for gifted kids. Here are five of our picks:

Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Hermione is clearly gifted, as evidenced by her perpetual thirst for knowledge, heightened sense of justice, advanced academic acceleration, adult-like wisdom, and sharp intuition. The series also appeals strongly to kids who feel “different” and those with imaginational overexcitabilities.

Encyclopedia Brown series by Donald Sobol
Both Encyclopedia Brown – named thus for his wealth of knowledge and understanding – and his bodyguard, Sally Kimball, exhibit qualities of gifted children. Encyclopedia’s intuition allows him to solve his police officer father’s cases by listening to the evidence, closing his eyes, thinking, and asking a single question that leads Encyclopedia to the solution. Sally and Encyclopedia work together to solve neighborhood cases using their abilities to observe and intuit at a level that most young children are unable to understand.

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Harriet thrives on routine, she is obsessive and, similar to the other characters on my list, she has the ability to observe and process information at an accelerated rate. She struggles to thrive in relationships with the other children in her class, yet she shares a deep connection with her nanny, Ole Golly.

Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss
As with most of Dr. Seuss’ stories, Bartholomew and the Oobleck relays a moral lesson through a story that uses quirky and creative language, made-up, whimsical words, and silly but complicated names. Bartholomew Cubbins, King Derwin of Didd’s page boy, would not necessarily be considered gifted, but the story itself might appeal to gifted children. It is longer and more advanced than many Dr. Seuss stories and emphasizes the importance of gratitude for our world, no matter how boring it may seem at times; the value of humility; and the importance of sincere reconciliation. Oobleck is a sticky, thick substance that blankets the town and completely hinders everyday life, and though it may appear to be one of Seuss’ famed word concoctions, oobleck is, in reality, a viscous substance made from corn starch.

The Boxcar Children series created by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Each of the siblings in this series exhibits at least one gifted quality: Henry’s innate intelligence and abundance of knowledge; Jessica’s ease in an adult role, meticulous particularity, and fearlessness; Violet’s sensitivities and love for animals; and Benjamin’s acute curiosity comprise many of the traits with which a gifted reader might identify.

As a bonus, here are some additional recommendations from our Facebook fans and blog readers:

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

We also recommend , whose books our gifted kids cannot get enough of!

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The Mysterious Benedict Society – Institute for Educational Advancement

What We’re Reading: Summer 2015

Five Great Children’s Books for Gifted Kids