Customer Reviews

Some of My Best Friends Are Books: Guiding Gifted Readers from Pre-School to High School (2nd Edition)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Worried that her gifted child was spending too much time reading by himself, a mother admonished her son to go play outside. "But Mom," he replied, "some of my best friends are books!" Thus the name of this wonderful book which describes the role of books in a child's development, and summarizes the social and emotional needs of the gifted reader. In Part Three of the book, Halsted gives an annotated bibliography of over 300 books, each dealing with issues for gifted children. She then presents a set of easy-to-use indexes of the books by grade level and by topic, as well as by author and title. Topics include aloneness, creativity, differentness, intensity, moral concerns, etc. This book truly is "an excellent resource for selecting the right book to guide a child to better understanding of self and situations," according to the California Association for the Gifted Newsletter, and I agree. It is a must-buy or must-borrow book for the parent of any bright child from kindergarten through high school.

I bought this book mainly for the annotations of the books and, for me, the theory and application to classroom situations is a bonus. The part I will use the most is the annotation section, where the book is discussed and pointers are given on what types of issues are addressed. Discussion points, always useful for teachers, are carefully addressed for each book. I wish more books could have been included, but, of course, there are trade-offs in that - longer ==> more expensive.

It is wonderful to find a book that helps you guide your child - ANY child, gifted or not - to exceptional reading material. I loved the books it recommended for my 4 yr old - we picked up several of them at the library and some here on Amazon. The book also pointed out what the exceptional qualities for each book were, so that you could have a better discussion about the book with your child. It was worth the money, since it gives recommendations for ALL ages of child and I will reference it as he grows older.

This book is very different from others like The Read-Aloud Handbook by Trelease. It focused on the needs of gifted children, not only for the voracious readers but also for gifted kids that don't read. This is the only bood I read that addressed the issue of gifted non-readers.

Don't be discouraged by the very disappointed review. It was for the early version. Now, books recommended, at least the onces I tried, are available through Amazon.

....It should be this one.

What a wonderful find! This is the road map for everything regarding the intellectually gifted child. Guiding the parent or teacher through both the heart and mind of the gifted child.

I was one of the parents in the book who always felt my gifted son was missing out on something by spending time alone, or playing alone at school. I would very much encourage him to spend more time with friends, make new friends, invite friends over. Now I have a much better understanding on why he needs so much "alone" or "down time".

I definite must for parents of gifted children age Preschool to High School! Although it even helped me figure out my gifted husband!

Books are wonderful bridges for communication about feelings, values, & decisions. Books can save lives by allowing Readers a way to use their minds in a safe, broadening & nurturing way. Literacy doesn't simply mean being able to scribble signatures, read shopping lists & understand highway signs, it means being able to read fluently, engaging the mind in an adventure of self-discovery. Packed into our brains, from conception on, is a universe of experiences, learning to read gives that universe language.

SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS ARE BOOKS is a super guide on how to set your children on their road to a lifelong passion. Take the bibliography to your library & recruit the librarians in your hunt for good books.

Everything you want to know about what the ability to read can do for your children's minds, when it can do it & how you can help train & encourage a lifelong love of reading.

Just remember to add Reading Time to your schedule & the mix.

This is an excellent resource for helping gifted children deal with the special problems that accompany giftedness. One reviewer complained about the lack of academic books in the bibliography, but the author clearly states at the beginning that the main thrust of the work is to offer books that help gifted children with emotional issues surrounding their giftedness. Intellectual needs are a part of that, but the author did not try to provide a complete bibliography for this but chose to focus more on the emotional needs.

I found the book most helpful in the first chapter discussion about the unique qualities and needs of gifted children. Although I got the book to help my gifted 4yo, I read descriptions of issues I have struggled with my whole life. In this book, I found my own struggles articulated for the first time, and it was a very emotional experience for me.

My main problem with the book is that it is written a bit immaturely--ignoring the complexities of gifted children and of human nature in general. The author frequently oversimplifies a problem and its solution, and also states opinion or probability as fact. For example, she frequently says that a child had a particular problem, and had the parents responded in a particular way, the child's problem would have been solved. Of course, human nature is much too complex to assume that all of our problems could have been resolved during our childhood by our parents. But the author's insights are nevertheless helpful if you can get past the oversimplification.

This book is very helpful just for the bibliography. Another reviewer complained that books were listed under the grade levels of average students, but I don't see how else they could be categorized, since every gifted child is at their own unique level. I am using the books that correspond to (1) my child's age, (2) my child's reading level, and (3) my child's level of understanding (so these may be read-aloud books).

I bought this book, hoping for good guidance to help my son, an early reader. After having read the book carefully, I have to say that much of the book is useless. The reasons:

(1) The first 5 chapters of the book cover emotional and intellectual development traits of "gifted" kids, and I suspect these chapters are aimed at parents who are looking for affirmation that their kids are little geniuses. Only the last three chapters (6,7,8) talk about books. Chapters 6 and 7 cover all areas of literature that gifted children may find interesting, but the coverage offers no real depth. It is as if the author scans the Internet to see who-is-who in, say, science fiction, then lists a few of those names without actually reading their work. Surely noone can argue with the inclusion of such names, but *why* those authors will be good
for gifted kids is not discussed.

(2)The bibliography section (chapter 8) contains books that are appropriate for average children, not early gifted readers. For example, it lists books in the grade 3-5 that my own son read when he was in 1st grade.

(3)If, as a parent or teacher, you think you might have a truly gifted readers in your hand, then you probably would not want to wait until the kid is in 6th grade or older to offer some guidance, would you? So why this author does not emphasize books in the early years,and spends a good chunk of her book describing what to offer 6th graders and older kids is beyond me

(4)The bibliography section mentions very few books in the area of science or mathematics. It is as if the only books that can possible excite a kid's imagination in the non fiction world are biographies, map books, psychology self-help guides, or books on historical inventions. I wonder what would happen if Reid Barton's parents had read this book and followed its advice.

My suggestion? remove the word "Gifted" from the title...

Beginning with a solid rationale for thoughtful book selection, Halsted makes the choosing of good literature (from the vast sea of written material) manageable. She offers a framework for analyzing and judging works by identifying qualities that make literature worthy of reading and dissection. She is astute in her identification of characteristics common to the different aged children and the types of literature that best meet their needs. The annotated bibliography, organized by grade level, is thorough, diverse, user friendly, and offers insight and direction for possible instructional uses for the interpretation of each piece. This book is a great resource and time saver for teachers looking to blend the best literature with specific content or students' developmental needs, alike.

My daughter is turning 3 in a couple of weeks and I picked up this book because she LOVES books. It's providing me with a ton of book recommendations as well as ways to dig into the book beyond the words on the page. I highly recommend it.