>I tend to ignore age recommendations when it comes to reading (unless it is based on subject matter/content). It seems to me that most books are recommended for grades too high - probably based on the fact that so many American students read below their grade level. When my daughter attended 4th grade she was in a private school. Students took the college SATs for EOGs, and she tested at the 9th grade level in reading. She read many books (in school and out) for the 8th, 9th, and 10th grade levels while in the 3rd and 4th grades. From the 5th grade on she attended public schools. While she still reads well, her reading level has not progressed at the same rate it did while she attended the private school.

A couple of points. First, your daughter is probably above average in intelligence, so it's not surprising she'd read above grade level.

Second, typically, for kids' leisure reading, the idea is to have books a little below their instructional level. That is, for the act to be pleasurable, it has to be not too hard.

Finally, I wouldn't expect reading level to grow smoothly. First, reading is something of an "aha" experience like riding a bike or roller skating. You can't read and you can't read and you can't read and then suddenly you can. I watched this most recently with one of my nephews who was struggling with reading and then, in a period of months, became able to read pretty much anything. I hadn't realized how well he read until we were in the car one night (he was about 7) and he said "I never heard of a drive-through pharmacy." Sure enough, he'd read a sign.

In addition, once you reach a certain point, there's not much more to learn. Sure, there are occasional new words (I still encounter a very few), but if she was reading at a 10th grade level, there's not much farther to go.

Tamar