Newsweek recently published a list of books that they considered vital to contemporary reading. Plenty of non fiction and newer titles that "they" felt should be on your reading list. Of course this is just another in a long line of groups or people endorsing and labeling books we should? be reading. It leads to the obvious question, are there still classics? Should there be certain titles that every school kid reads without question? What does it mean to be well read?
I have contemplated this alot this year as I have chosen books for our home school curriculum as well as directed H's choices and chosen family reading. It isn't always as easy as I once would have thought. H's reading level suggests she should be choosing 5th and 6th grade level books, but that skips her right over the Boxcar Children and most Beverly Cleary titles. Shouldn't this be on every third grade reading list? And how many new titles do I allow to push out the old stand bys? While I have not read the Chronicles of Narnia with the girls, I have read all but the last two Harry Potters. On the other hand, B and I just finished The Witch of Blackbird Pond as part of school and I was overwhelmed at how this book still thrilled me as much as on first reading many years ago. In yet another twist, A friend's daughter was placed in the advanced reading class at her middle school and many of our little circle were taken back at the reading list which had no "classics" but all newer titles including My Sister's Keeper. While horrified at that choice for a seventh grader, I read the next title The Hunger Games and absolutely loved it. What a great book on so many levels, but what title did it push out and is that okay? What if my kids never get around to the Mouse and the Motorcycle or Madeline L'Engle?
So, here's the question and I am seriously looking for feed back. What makes a well read person in the year 2010? What books would you have on the list- adult or juvenile?
5 comments:
Oh, I could spend HOURS on this. And if I didn't have to finish one more 20 page paper (my punishment for being TOO well read), then I would.
So to get started--
I think it was important, at least for me, to read a great deal of historical fiction when I was middle school age. I didn't especially like history--at least I didn't like how it was taught in groups with these miserable things called "simulations"--and I can't remember much about the "facts" we learned at that age. However, I do remember the historical fiction that I read. By no means to I think that these were all classics, but they helped me create a great historical framework that I STILL rely on today. So books that fell into that category:
-Number the Stars
-Catherine Called Birdie
-The Tamarack Tree
-Turn Homeward, Hannalee
-Letters from Rifka
-The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
-The Sign of the Beaver
-The Tamarack Tree
-Stepping on the Cracks
Juvenile/Young Adult books that I can't imagine growing up without
-Anne of Green Gables
-The Trumpet of the Swan
-Island of the Blue Dolphins
-Julie of the Wolves
-Jacob Have I Loved
-The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More
-Killing Mr. Griffin
Amazingly wonderful "fantasy" fiction and such:
-Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales (It's important to see that FT's did not originate from Disney...and that in their original form, they're more amazing)
-The Tripod Trilogy (and prequel)
-A Wrinkle In Time
-The Dark is Rising Series (This woman SO out Harry Potters Harry Potter...she just didn't become as famous because the books were a bit harder to read. Not to be confused with His Dark Materials--which is a very different series)
-I think one should probably read the Chronicles of Narnia here, but I didn't read them until I was older.
This falls a bit earlier in terms of reading level, but I think H should definitely read the Ramona books. Some of the scenes are literally seared on my memory.
Okay, as for what makes a well-read teenager and young adult? That will have to wait....
And my last line was supposed to indicate that any list for what makes a well read Teenager and ADULT will have to wait...at least until I decide to procrastinate again.
Oh, and I completely forgot to add Caddie Woodlawn, Bridge to Terabithia, Lyddie, and I'm sure there are other good ones I'm forgetting.
I am still a fan of most of the Newbery books. There are some I still disagree with, but for the most part that is a wonderful list to get started with. I have always liked some of the honor books more than the winners.
I agree with Becky (oops, I mean Rebecca) on the historical fiction. I would include The Watson's Go to Birmingham as a must read. My list of things that I would like my kids to read include more authors than specific titles.
--Lois Lowry
--Christopher Paul Curtis
--E.B. White
--Karen Cushman
--Judy Bloom (more for Katie later than for Sean)
--Lois Duncan
--Chris Crutcher (Sean)
--Laurie Halse Anderson [I think every teenage girl should read Speak]
--Avi
--Roald Dahl
--Kate DiCamillo
--Beverly Cleary
--Karen Hesse (esp. Out of the Dust)
--I also have really liked the Andrew Clements books
--I like James Patterson's series for YA--Maximum Ride and Daniel X
--Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series is also good
--Artemis Fowl and also Half Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer
--Pam Munoz Ryan
--Gary D. Schmidt
Series that I absolutely wouldn't have been who I am today without having read
--Every Little House Book
--The Chronicles of Narnia
--The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger
--The Beverly Cleary books (not necessarily a series, but I read them as if they were)
--The Judy Blume books (I got to meet her last year by the way)
--The E.B. White books--Stuart Little, Trumpet of the Swan, Charlotte's Web (again not really a series)
And, as your mom can attest, I also read every Agatha Christie book ever written. (sometimes you just find an author that you really like and stick with them even though they are not considered "great literature"
Okay, I can do this all day. It really bothers me when teachers assign books that are way beyond students' maturity levels such as the Jodi Picoult books when there are so many excellent books for that age and ready level. Don't get me wrong, I really like Picoult, but not for middle schoolers no matter how well they can read. High school, definitely. I think high schoolers should definitely read Nineteen Minutes by Picoult.
Are you truly trying to torture us book lovers? This is extremely difficult. I obviously have been thinking about this for days now and here is my answer...
Diversity, diversity, diversity...some old, some new. Every book holds a new adventure and a nuance no other book holds. That is why it is torturous to try to figure out the perfect reading list. As my oldest is exploring amazing and horrible authors this year, I have feared at times that we are not choosing the "perfect" book. WHAT AM I THINKING?!! If he is reading, it is perfect. If he is utilizing his imagination and enjoying the experience, it is the perfect book. I have found that if we have just finished an intense book or short story, we must have something a bit lighter next time. It is so easy to get bogged down with the expectations. However, I have discovered that as long as we keep reading, the "list" happens. I plan about two books at a time and then see where those books lead us. If he is really into Hemingway and Pearl Buck, then we stick with them for a few books. If not, we finish those and move on. Again,diversity, diversity, diversity. I have had to realize that he will not get every book read. Oh, how I hate to even write that, but then once every book has been read, what a horrible world that would be. So, I must remember that that is a good thing.
Plan a few traditional classics, then a few more modern...diversity, and flexibility count for a lot. Most importantly though, pray , pray, pray. Only the Lord knows how your kids are made and the exact reading list that they need.
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