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Post by ameliasmith on Sept 26, 2018 11:30:53 GMT -5
The ones I was going to say have all been mentioned. I just recommended The Secret Garden to a woman at the playground yesterday.
I am currently trying to read Swallows and Amazons to my ADHD-riddled 8-year-old and he was bored by it, but now on chapter 9 things have finally started happening and he's eager to turn the page.
I read both kids the Little House on the Prairie books -- all of them -- a few years ago. We talked about the racism when it came up. I think you can read these things but when you come to a part that is difficult don't just treat it like it's normal and fine.
I tried the Narnia series, which was my favorite in 3rd-4th grade, and they just weren't into it at all.
I also read them Journey to the River Sea and The Great Ghost Rescue by Eva Ibbotson, which are more recent but share the easy-to-read-aloud quality of the early/mid 20th century classics (and have somewhat faster paced stories, too).
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Post by Becca Mills on Sept 26, 2018 12:24:24 GMT -5
I ordered the Ibbotson books, Amelia -- thank you!
I loved The Secret Garden when I was a kid. As of a year or two ago, it didn't hold my girls' interest, but I'm definitely going to try again.
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Post by katiev on Oct 4, 2018 7:23:39 GMT -5
Came to rec Watership Down! Glad that's on the list. Happy to see Marguerite Henry upthread as well.
Is Coraline a classic yet? That one for sure.
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Post by kateelizabeth on Oct 4, 2018 15:48:27 GMT -5
Lloyd Alexander, for sure! I read most of his stuff as a kid, and when my children were small, and we read a picture book by him, I sent him a fan letter, mentioning that I was a writer. He wrote me a lovely, gracious thank you letter. Dianna Wynne Jones - Howl's Moving Castle, Castle in the Air, and House of Many Ways L. Frank Baum - I loved the Oz books Gail Carson Levine - Ella Enchanted and Fairest (The Two Princesses of Bamarre is also good, but darker.) Kate DiCamillo - Because of Winn-Dixie and The Tale of Despereaux
Maud Hart Lovelace - The Betsy-Tacy series. I absolutely loved this series as a child.
Narnia, Anne of Green Gables series, and anything by Shannon Hale, especially Goose Girl and Princess Academy. Both are series beginners. Oh, and I almost forgot Book of a Thousand Days, which features the bravest heroine ever.
Many of these, I enjoy reading again every year.
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Post by Suzy on Oct 6, 2018 4:24:43 GMT -5
I just remembered this book I read as a child, possibly at the same age as your daughters. Its title was The Wind on The moon and it's by Erik Linklater. You can read about it here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wind_on_the_MoonI loved this book because it had a special kind of magic with exciting, scary bits in it that made me want to keep reading. Would highly recommend. ETA: And I have just discovered it's available both in paperback and e-book version with the original illustrations!  |
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Post by Becca Mills on Oct 7, 2018 15:10:09 GMT -5
Lloyd Alexander, for sure! I read most of his stuff as a kid, and when my children were small, and we read a picture book by him, I sent him a fan letter, mentioning that I was a writer. He wrote me a lovely, gracious thank you letter. Dianna Wynne Jones - Howl's Moving Castle, Castle in the Air, and House of Many Ways L. Frank Baum - I loved the Oz books Gail Carson Levine - Ella Enchanted and Fairest (The Two Princesses of Bamarre is also good, but darker.) Kate DiCamillo - Because of Winn-Dixie and The Tale of Despereaux Maud Hart Lovelace - The Betsy-Tacy series. I absolutely loved this series as a child.
Narnia, Anne of Green Gables series, and anything by Shannon Hale, especially Goose Girl and Princess Academy. Both are series beginners. Oh, and I almost forgot Book of a Thousand Days, which features the bravest heroine ever.
Many of these, I enjoy reading again every year.
Thank you! I've read and own a number of these. Goose Girl is one of my favorite YA novels. I taught it a couple times and was disappointed that my students didn't tend to love it like I did. It's such a beautiful engagement with the grotesque and disturbing fairy tale material. A couple questions: I few people have recommended the Oz books, but I've never read them and find myself a little confused on the proper order. Also, they seem to have gone public domain, and the only nice paperbacks I'm seeing are pricey boxed sets. I don't want to go that route if I'm not sure the kids will take to them. Anyone have any suggestions? Maybe these will be best acquired from the library ... Same goes for the Anne of Green Gables books. This set looks like a great deal, but I'm not seeing all the books available individually. Book of a Thousand Days -- ordered! Betsy-Tacy -- ordered! Because of Winn-Dixie -- ordered! |
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Post by Becca Mills on Oct 7, 2018 15:13:49 GMT -5
I just remembered this book I read as a child, possibly at the same age as your daughters. Its title was The Wind on The moon and it's by Erik Linklater. You can read about it here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wind_on_the_MoonI loved this book because it had a special kind of magic with exciting, scary bits in it that made me want to keep reading. Would highly recommend. ETA: And I have just discovered it's available both in paperback and e-book version with the original illustrations! Do you have a link to that edition, Suzy? I'm not seeing a good edition on Amazon for a reasonable price ... |
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Post by Suzy on Oct 7, 2018 15:16:44 GMT -5
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Post by Becca Mills on Oct 7, 2018 15:29:42 GMT -5
Awesome, thank you! Ordering ... |
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Post by Suzy on Oct 7, 2018 15:37:15 GMT -5
Awesome, thank you! Ordering ... Let me know what they thought of it. It was one of my most favourite stories. |
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Post by Miss Terri Novelle on Oct 7, 2018 16:30:45 GMT -5
Oz reading order based on publishing order:
1. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
2. The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904)
3. Ozma of Oz (1907)
4. Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908)
5. The Road to Oz (1909)
6. The Emerald City of Oz (1910)
7. The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913)
8. Tik-Tok of Oz (1914)
9. The Scarecrow of Oz (1915)
10. Rinkitink in Oz (1916)
11. The Lost Princess of Oz (1917)
12. The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918)
13. The Magic of Oz (1919)
14. Glinda of Oz (1920)
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Post by Becca Mills on Oct 7, 2018 19:25:30 GMT -5
Thanks Laura! |
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Post by Victoria on Oct 8, 2018 3:41:47 GMT -5
Gail Carson Levine - Ella Enchanted and Fairest (The Two Princesses of Bamarre is also good, but darker.) Oh, yes, I LOVE Gail Carson Levine! The Two Princesses of Bamarre is probably my favourite - it's got a satisfying romance but also a really beautifully-realised dynamic between the two sisters. I suppose it has a special place in my heart because it reminded me of my sister - she's always been much more adventurous (and owned many more replica swords!) than me, but I guess I like to think that I'd go on an epic quest to save her if I had to. |
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Post by ameliasmith on Oct 8, 2018 6:19:12 GMT -5
I am sorry to say I'm going to have to eat my words about Swallows and Amazons. Since that brief burst of enthusiasm, my boy child has refused to listen to any more of it. It's just too slow-paced for kids who are acclimated to superhero stuff. Oh well.
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Post by kateelizabeth on Oct 8, 2018 14:23:08 GMT -5
I think that I have just about all of the Oz books from childhood. Ozma of Oz, The Road to Oz, and The Emerald City of Oz were the ones that I read again and again as a kid. Actually, I enjoyed Ozma of Oz again last year.
Becca, the Betsy-Tacy books continue as the girls grow up in the early 1900s. I think that Betsy's Wedding was the last book, but I could be wrong.
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Post by Becca Mills on Oct 8, 2018 15:10:05 GMT -5
Well, we'll see how Swallows and Amazons goes. One of our widgets is *much* more patient with slow plot development and "quiet" books than the other. Only the former made it through Bridge to Terabithia. Which, when I was a kid, seemed *very* exciting, but things change. We just started Susan Cooper's Boggart book ... can't remember what it's called. It's lovely so far. Begins with death. I'm a big fan of Gail Carson Levine. Wonderful writer! |
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Post by elephantsbookshelf on Oct 14, 2018 8:49:35 GMT -5
These are great. I'll need to return to this thread. My girls are nine (ten at the end of the year), and we're going to need more books. We've done the entire Harry Potter series (some of them twice!), and are currently reading a couple books I've published that are age-appropriate. But I know we'll be finishing those up by month's end.
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Post by ameliasmith on Oct 15, 2018 16:19:14 GMT -5
My daughter is almost 11 and will now only read Rick Riordan books, and comics. The Rick Riordan ones are ok, but I wish she would branch out and I'm glad I'm not reading them aloud to her any more.
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Post by Becca Mills on Oct 18, 2018 20:29:57 GMT -5
One of our girls liked the Percy Jackson series, but she didn't go all-in on Riordan. But those cat books ... the Warrior series? Total addiction.
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Post by elephantsbookshelf on Dec 2, 2018 9:48:22 GMT -5
Perhaps some of you can offer some recommendations. One of my daughters has a problem with stories involving death. In spite of her fears, we got through the Harry Potter books, but if there's anything remotely scary in the first pages now of whatever we might read, she objects. Any suggestions of "non-scary" books for intelligent children. I know without trying that I can't read them Bridge to Terebithia, for example, or Old Yeller.
But as much as I love them, there's only many times I can read Dr. Seuss books to kids who can handle Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
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