However, in some ways she still has an 11-year-old mind. She likes fantasy, but not if it's "too scary." She thinks Harry Potter is too scary. I suggested Robin McKinley. Any other ideas?
Douglas Adams! Okay, it's not really fantasy, but I loved HHGttG at that age (I think I was 7 or 8 when I first read it). I'd advise against my go-to between grades 3 and 6, which was Piers Anthony.
Ooo! Discworld. She's a good age for Discworld.
Such good ideas. I love Gerald Durrell and Douglas Adams, but they didn't occur to me.
Is Watership Down as scary as Harry Potter?
I remember crying. & the cat was very scary, but I didn't read Harry until I was older so it's hard to compare.
Is Watership Down as scary as Harry Potter?
Given that the book ends with
the most adorable and lovable bunny of them all going CATATONIC,
I say yes.
Remember, Richard Adams wrote Watership, in case you were gettin' him confused with Douglas.
I first read The Mists of Avalon around that age, or a little older. I loved it then, though I don't really remember how scary it was.
How about Wrinkle in Time and all its sequels?
I don't know how scary Harry Potter is, but I was 10 or 11 the first time I read Watership Down. I don't remember anything about it being scary. Sad sometimes, sure, but there aren't evil powers and monsters and ghosts and so on. I suppose it depends what in particular she finds scary. It's certainly got bad things happening to animals, but so did half of the books I read at that age, so I don't think it stood out.
I read a Wrinkle in Time when I was in 5th or 6th grade and it BLEW.MY.MIND. I think that is definitely age appropriate for good readers.
The sequel (A Wind in the Door) is a bit more advanced. I don't think it is suitable for younger than about 7th grade, if memory serves. The science in the book confused me until I read it again in high school.
Swiftly Tilting Planet is advanced. High school for sure IMO.