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Picking books for a gifted child should be a shared experience between child and adult. Picking gifts and books for other adults, let alone children is a notoriously difficult task and it is easy to waste money in picking the wrong book for a gifted child. After all, many adults would not appreciate a selection of books being made for them.

Many gifted children will have reading and academic skills beyond their years, but that does not mean that adult subjects are suitable reading matter for their young minds. It is therefore important to have the input of the child at the Bookstore or Library or even at the computer if taking time to browse in the comfort of home by using Online Book Stores such as Amazon.

Gifted children will appreciate books which are suitable for their social and emotional development level, but which challenge and engage them intellectually. Many gifted children who like to read are curious about social, political, justice and environmental issues and need access to literature which presents these topics at a level which is appropriate for their development. Such books include "Here Lies Arthur" by phillip Reeve or "Crusade" by Elizabeth Laird. These titles include discussion on topics such as Dissent, Power and Christian/Arab/Muslim conflict. In order to choose from a wide range of challenging books like these, they first need exposure to a more advanced display of Literature.

The first task is to observe the child and note their natural interests and preferences. It is a great surprise to many parents to see the sort of books their child actually chooses when left to their own devices. Gifted children should be taken to a high quality bookshop which displays the full range (barring inappropriate material.) The child should be encouraged to browse and dip into many genres under adult supervision. Parents should note which books the child actually stops to read a few pages from, particularly those which they appear to become lost in.

If the family budget is an issue, titles can be recorded and then reserved or ordered at the library. It is always a treat however, to take away just one glossy, brand new book with its lovely fresh smell and crisp pages which is all the child's own.

Suitable examples of more intellectually demanding titles with fairly sedate content can be found in the Classics genre, such as the newly introduced series "Childrens Classics." There is much debate about about whether this Literature is demeaned by being abridged for children but even the best authors have written novels which have been criticized for being too wordy, or for wandering off-topic. Even Dickens has been criticized for including so-called unnecessary passages. High quality abridged versions will usually enshrine the salient essence of the text and gifted children can read them again as adults.

Non-fiction books for gifted children might include myriad reference books on a huge range of Leisure Interests from Vintage Motorbikes to World War Two Planes or glossy Art Books with detailed color plates depicting masterpieces by Vermeer or Picasso. It is also worth selecting a diverse range of Library Reference Books to leave lying around at home. Parents never know what their gifted child might pick up on. Gifted children will never discover the culture and knowledge contained in such books if they are never exposed to them. Therein lies the importance of letting them do the choosing.

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