AR (Accelerated Reader) Books at 8.0+ Reading Level

 

I went in search of books for my 6th grade daughter to read that are interesting and appropriate for her 
age, plus taking in to consideration she has had enough social studies to mostly understand the social 
contructs of a given time period. He most recent AR test put her at a 9.0-12.0 reading level. There goes
 all the Harry Potter books she loves (except one, which you will see below and she will be excited to 
know I requested from the library.) Do you know how hard it is to find books that are at that level that 
are appropriate for an 11 year old to read and doesn't require prior knowledge of historical events or 
social constructs in foreign lands? It is not easy. 

Sure I can find lots of non-fiction, but some of it starts to get really technical and, frankly, are of topics 
that would bore her. I am sure I will have to look again when my son gets to this level, as his interest 
in non-fiction topics is different than hers. When I was looking up books that are popular among teens 
and tweens the books were often in the 4.5-6.5 grade levels. Honestly, I saw several books we read for 
book club that are 6.5-7.5 levels. 

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Fiction

Call of the Wild by Jack London (8.0)

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (8.1)

The Tales of Beedle and Bard by J.K. Rowling (8.3)

1984 by George Orwell (8.4)

The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe (9.9)

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (9.9)

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (10.0)

The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss (9.7-10.0, different versions)

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (10.5)

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving (11.0)

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (11.3)

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe (11.4)

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (12.4)

Non-Fiction

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (8.0)

Into the Wild by John Krakauer (8.1)

Lives of extraordinary women : rulers, rebels (and what the neighbors thought)  by Kathleen Krull (8.5)   

Getting Away with Murder by Chris Crowe (8.7)

Cubism by Shannon Robinson (10.1)

The Radioactive Boy Scout by Ken Silverstein (10.1)

Salt, Sugar Fat by Michael Moss (10.2)

Barack Obama by Sherri Devaney (10.3)

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (10.4)

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On these lists I made, I have only read 3 of the books in the non-fiction category, 2 of which I own and will 
give her to read. Luckily, the library system has a bunch and the ones I included are ones I can find within 
our system. I didn't include any that were not available. I like to make up these lists so I can go back and 
reference them when she needs more books, or when my son reaches these levels. No sense re-doing 
all the research when I can just save it and share with my readers. I looked to see if anyone had a list out 
there list this and couldn't find one. Next year, I don't believe she has AR anymore, so she can read some 
of those 4.5-6.5 books that are popular (that were not appropriate for her at the age she was when she 
was at that level.)

FREE Courtroom Concerts in February

There will be 3 FREE Courtroom Concerts presented by the Shubert Club in February. All of thee concerts are at the Landmark Center in St. Paul, MN and are at noon on Thursdays. For more information and to see the full concert lineup, check out the Courtroom Concerts.

Where Did We Go Wednesday? Siesta Key Beach

Siesta Key Beach is dubbed the number one beach in the United States by TripAdvisor. And From these pictures you can see why.

This is all just a couple of weeks after hurricanes swept through the western side of Florida. Our trip was booked over a month before the Hurricanes happened and so we weren't sure what we were even going to get to see and what kind of condition the beaches were in. Yes, there was lots of evidence of debris around in other parts of Florida but Crews had done a wonderful job of cleaning up the beaches right away.

Someday I would love to bring my family back to this beach. We weren't there during tourist season which is the time that all the retirees come. So it was not crowded at all but I do understand that it gets quite crowded especially on weekends and is difficult to find parking which may be another reason to rent a cottage nearby.

We rented a cute little beach cottage bad was literally only a block away from the beach so it was an easy walk but if you are willing to walk that much rather than be directly on the beach you can get a rental at a much more reasonable rate.

We ate in the Siesta Key Village and had a great time. In the bottom corner of the picture above you may be able to see that the Budweiser horses were parading through town for no other reason other than a business paid for them to come it sounded like. It was quite a spectacle to see and a surprise.

It was a wonderful girls weekend and perhaps we will be going here again next year or maybe somewhere else. Due to a mechanical snafu our flight did not leave as scheduled and we had to stay another night in Florida and we're giving vouchers for a future trip which may just be used for our next girls weekend.

Monster Valentine Box

This is my son's valentine box he made for last year's 4-h Valentine Party Meeting. It is a Monster that he made out of a show box. He wrapped it in mint green tissue paper and cut out paper teeth to glue on and made heart ear out of pipe cleaners and glues on eyes and adorned with foam heart stickers. I thought it turned out super cute.

Where Did We Go Wednesday? Ringling Museum

 
The Ringling Museum was one of the fun destinations that I went with my girlfriends during a girls weekend to Sarasota Florida this past September.

The Mansion there was absolutely gorgeous and just amazing. It really made me want to go to the circus World Museum in Baraboo to learn more about the roots of the Ringling Brothers and see how they started out and how non extravagant their lives once wer

I took a lot more photos of things inside the Mansion but there is a whole complex of Museum memorabilia to do with circuses, the Ringling Circus in particular but also other circuses.

There is also a building that was filled with a variety of different circus train cars which is pretty interesting to see as well.

I feel happy that I was able to take in a small circus when I was young and that we were able to take my kids too a traveling circus that went to different indoor venues but wonder what it would have been like to experience a grand circus like the Ringling Brothers in its heyday.

Toilet Valentine Box

Here is one of the kids valentine boxes from last year. There was A Valentine Box contest at our 4-H club meeting. This is the one my daughter made and she won one of the prizes.

She used a tupperware bowl as the actual toilet bowl. It took a lot of work for her to figure out how to attached a box to the back as a tank and also make it stand up. You can see she added on a holder for the toilet paper too. Plus she gave it away for the lid to stay open so people could put Valentine's inside.

Happy New Year!

Free clipart image from Clipartix.