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DD13 is interested in literature that is rooted in accurate science.  Something that is inspiring to her and well-written (the latter is important to her).  

 

I am thinking of things like:

 

Flavia de Luce series

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

My Family and Other Animals (I know this is not fiction, but I assume it may feel like it)

 

What other fiction can you recommend?  I know of many narrative non-fiction, but it is not what she is looking for.

 

Thanks!

Edited by lisabees
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Well, My Family and Other Animals (Durrell) is non-fiction (autobiographical sketches), so is story-like autobiography non-fiction okay? You might also look at some of Gerard Durrell's many other books to see if any would be a good sequel to My Family...

 

Books similar to My Family...

- All Creatures Great and Small series (Herriot)

- Uncle Tungsten (Sachs) -- memoir

- Surely You Must Be Joking Mr. Feynmann (Feynmann) -- memoir

- Kon Tiki (Heyersdahl) --  non-fiction autobiography

 

Books somewhat along the likes of Calpurnia Tate:

- My Side of the Mountain, and sequels (George)

- Island of the Blue Dolphins (O'Dell) -- survival, rather than science

- Julie of the Wolves (George)

 

Animals:

- Owls in the Family; Never Cry Wolf; (and others by Farley)

- Gentle Ben (and others by Morey)

- Born Free (Adamson)

 

Humorous with science:

- The Lemonade Trick (Corbett)

- The Hateful Plateful (Corbett)

 

Mystery with science:

- The Poison Factory (Branfield)

 

Science Fiction with science:

- A Wrinkle in Time; A Wind in the Door; A Swiftly Tilting Planet (L'Engle)

 

 

For high school ages and up:

- The Martian (Weir)

- Anathem (Stephenson) -- the first section esp. has a lot of math and a few science concepts

- The Doomsday Book (Willis) -- time travel, but the real focus is on the plague epidemic in the 14th century and the modern scientist who is temporarily trapped in that time

- Good Books list of ADULT novels with Science in Fiction but Not Science Fiction

 

 

While most of these are probably too young for your DD, you might look through this recent thread for ideas:

- "Science-based novels for kids"

Edited by Lori D.
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Love the suggestions so far. 

 

I would see Dava Sobel (The Planets, Longitude, Galileo's Daughter, etc.) which are a mix of pure nonfiction and fictionalized history.  So of course go with pure literature if that's where she leans but the whole side trips of memoir, history-as-background,  and even vignette type nonfiction (The Disappearing Spoon is a perfect example of the latter) might be good to explore too. 

 

I would also pick a science discipline and see where it goes:  astronomy, biology, chemistry, physics...it might lead to some fun books she might really enjoy.

 

We do fiction alongside our science all the time.  We loved Calpurnia Tate (there's a sequel too) and Peter Dickenson's books on prehistoric humans (The Kin, A Bone from a Dry Sea) and even Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle when we studied evolution, for example.  Chemistry had us reading Uncle Tungsten, Napoleon's Buttons, The DIsappearing Spoon (either as read-alouds or she'd read them herself).  Next year is astronomy/earth science so she's tapped to read The Planets by Sobel, The Clockwork Universe by Golnick, and even some science fiction :) because it's fun to mix things up.

Edited by fastweedpuller
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Love the suggestions so far. 

 

I would see Dava Sobel (The Planets, Longitude, Galileo's Daughter, etc.) which are a mix of pure nonfiction and fictionalized history.  So of course go with pure literature if that's where she leans but the whole side trips of memoir, history-as-background,  and even vignette type nonfiction (The Disappearing Spoon is a perfect example of the latter) might be good to explore too. 

 

I would also pick a science discipline and see where it goes:  astronomy, biology, chemistry, physics...it might lead to some fun books she might really enjoy.

 

We do fiction alongside our science all the time.  We loved Calpurnia Tate (there's a sequel too) and Peter Dickenson's books on prehistoric humans (The Kin, A Bone from a Dry Sea) and even Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle when we studied evolution, for example.  Chemistry had us reading Uncle Tungsten, Napoleon's Buttons, The DIsappearing Spoon (either as read-alouds or she'd read them herself).  Next year is astronomy/earth science so she's tapped to read The Planets by Sobel, The Clockwork Universe by Golnick, and even some science fiction :) because it's fun to mix things up.

 

I did plan on grouping them together by discipline.

 

This is dd's second year of homeschooling and she is finally coming into her own - showing strong preferences and interests.  With my boys, I followed them and it worked out very well.  

 

She would now love to just read all day (other than her Great Courses and Latin). She has a strong desire to make up for a lack of challenging books in her earlier years.  I do agree that immersing her in books will do nothing but wonderful things, especially since she is leaning towards linguistics and languages.  I am just not sure how to weave it all together.  And I am trying to be careful about bumping up her progression in difficult works.  She will be starting Pride and Prejudice this week, because I cannot hold her off any more.  I am not sure if she is quite ready.  We will see.

 

Because of her linguistics/language passion taking over hours a day, I am trying to figure out how to weave in history and science.  

 

For history, I have decided to give up the typical, chronological medieval history, instead doing History of Language (with an emphasis on English; plenty of medieval history in there).  For science, I figured that I could start with fiction (it's what she has requested) and move on to books like The Disappearing Spoon.

 

So...I am kind of scrambling, letting her lead the way.  One thing is leading to another, which is good.  She is becoming passionate.  I should know better than to worry.  I've been through this before!

 

Lori - thanks for the reminder about KonTiki.  She mentioned that one earlier in the year.  And Feynman is a must in our household. ;)  I also had Sachs and Herriot on my list.  I was just looking for more novels.  Island of the Blue Dolphins and Julie of the Wolves.  They were meh to her.  

 

This post has veered away from Science.  Oops!

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Kenneth Oppel's Half Brother may appeal to her, perhaps. http://www.kennethoppel.ca/pages/halfbrother.shtml (language, anthropology, primatology)

Eva Ibbotson's Journey to the River Sea was very good. http://www.booktrust.org.uk/a/books/view/24769 (environmental science, conservation)

I haven't read Laurie Halse Anderson's Fever, but it sounds interesting. http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-689-83858-3 (epidemiology)

One of my kids loved Gerelchimeg Blackcrane's Black Flame. http://houseofanansi.com/collections/imprint-groundwood/products/black-flame (nature, animals)

If you think she'd like Kon Tiki, she might also like Tim Severin's The Brendan Voyage (my kids liked it a lot more than Kon Tiki, which they also enjoyed).

https://www.amazon.com/Brendan-Voyage-Sailing-America-Exploration/dp/0375755241

A fictional extreme adventure that was beloved here is The Ascent of Rum Doodle by WE Bowman. http://www.rumdoodle.org.uk/

These might be too silly for her, but my kids years ago adored the Mad Scientists' Club books. http://www.purplehousepress.com/msc.htm

 

That's all I've got for right now! Will come back and edit if I think of anything else.

 

ETA: Google reveals a couple of books that look like lots of fun to me: Greg Leitich Smith's Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo and Tofu and T. Rex. http://gregleitichsmith.com/books/tofu-and-t-rex/ http://gregleitichsmith.com/books/ninjas-piranhas-and-galileo/  I think I'm headed to the library!!

Edited by Emerald Stoker
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Kenneth Oppel's Half Brother may appeal to her, perhaps. http://www.kennethoppel.ca/pages/halfbrother.shtml (language, anthropology, primatology)

Eva Ibbotson's Journey to the River Sea was very good. http://www.booktrust.org.uk/a/books/view/24769 (environmental science, conservation)

I haven't read Laurie Halse Anderson's Fever, but it sounds interesting. http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-689-83858-3 (epidemiology)

One of my kids loved Gerelchimeg Blackcrane's Black Flame. http://houseofanansi.com/collections/imprint-groundwood/products/black-flame (nature, animals)

If you think she'd like Kon Tiki, she might also like Tim Severin's The Brendan Voyage (my kids liked it a lot more than Kon Tiki, which they also enjoyed).

https://www.amazon.com/Brendan-Voyage-Sailing-America-Exploration/dp/0375755241

A fictional extreme adventure that was beloved here is The Ascent of Rum Doodle by WE Bowman. http://www.rumdoodle.org.uk/

These might be too silly for her, but my kids years ago adored the Mad Scientists' Club books. http://www.purplehousepress.com/msc.htm

 

That's all I've got for right now! Will come back and edit if I think of anything else.

 

ETA: Google reveals a couple of books that look like lots of fun to me: Greg Leitich Smith's Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo and Tofu and T. Rex. http://gregleitichsmith.com/books/tofu-and-t-rex/ http://gregleitichsmith.com/books/ninjas-piranhas-and-galileo/  I think I'm headed to the library!!

 

Thank you thank you!  Just pulled Journey to River Sea and Gone Away Lake from the bookshelf.  Fever was on my list. The others I had never heard of - thank you.

 

Oppel wrote Silverwing, right?

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Middle ages, huh?  Well...dd read Fever, and liked it; she read some Karen Cushman books during her studies of that time period; Alchemy and Meggy Swan, The Midwife's Apprentice, Catherine, called Birdy...there is *some* science there, and I am not sure how 13 she is (as in, my near-13yo skews 11 most days) but those books skew much younger than a girl heady on reading Pride and Prejudice.  :)

 

I always try to have dd go on-script with reading novels or science-y books about the time period; novels for the lived-in feeling and science because that's her main interest in life.  One of the timesavers for me has been Guesthollow's curated books-by-century lists; she links to books and videos, but this may be old news to you if you've been homeschooling for a while

 

I can't wait for my own dd to age into reading Pride and Prejudice.  I know she practically knows the tale by heart with my repeated cozy playings of the mid-'90s BBC production, Colin Firth rawr

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Yes, Oppel wrote the bat series (he also wrote an airship series, and one about a train called The Boundless--all popular here--not really science-y, though).

 

I was thinking about your history, too--has your daughter read any Sally Gardner? I, Coriander is a wonderful book, set in 1650s London. She also wrote The Red Necklace and The Silver Blade, set during the French Revolution. She's such a magnificent writer. http://www.sallygardner.net/about-sally/about-sallys-books/

 

One of the kids just reminded me about the incomparable Frances Hardinge. http://www.franceshardinge.com/library/library.html Said kid says that The Lie Tree's protagonist's father was a scientist, and the story has a lot of scientists arguing about Darwin's theories (it's set at the time). A Face Like Glass would be very interesting to a child interested in language and communication. Fly By Night and Fly Trap are set in an alternative eighteenth century.

 

ETA: Another kid just reminded me of Jay Hosler's graphic novels--very scientific! http://www.jayhosler.com/books.html Those were much loved here.

Edited by Emerald Stoker
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Yes, Oppel wrote the bat series (he also wrote an airship series, and one about a train called The Boundless--all popular here--not really science-y, though).

 

I was thinking about your history, too--has your daughter read any Sally Gardner? I, Coriander is a wonderful book, set in 1650s London. She also wrote The Red Necklace and The Silver Blade, set during the French Revolution. She's such a magnificent writer. http://www.sallygardner.net/about-sally/about-sallys-books/

 

One of the kids just reminded me about the incomparable Frances Hardinge. http://www.franceshardinge.com/library/library.html Said kid says that The Lie Tree's protagonist's father was a scientist, and the story has a lot of scientists arguing about Darwin's theories (it's set at the time). A Face Like Glass would be very interesting to a child interested in language and communication. Fly By Night and Fly Trap are set in an alternative eighteenth century.

 

ETA: Another kid just reminded me of Jay Hosler's graphic novels--very scientific! http://www.jayhosler.com/books.html Those were much loved here.

 

Give those kids great big hugs for me!

 

She enjoyed a couple of Hosler's a while back; graphic novels may just work. 

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Forgot another non-fiction work: A Man Without Words (Schaller). Absolutely fascinating account of a man who is Deaf, but did not acquire sign language until well into adulthood, and the gigantic change that language brings to who you are as a person.

 

 

... She would now love to just read all day (other than her Great Courses and Latin). She has a strong desire to make up for a lack of challenging books in her earlier years...

 

... she is leaning towards linguistics and languages.  I am just not sure how to weave it all together.  And I am trying to be careful about bumping up her progression in difficult works.  She will be starting Pride and Prejudice this week, because I cannot hold her off any more.  I am not sure if she is quite ready.  We will see.

 

... For history, I have decided to give up the typical, chronological medieval history, instead doing History of Language (with an emphasis on English; plenty of medieval history in there).  For science, I figured that I could start with fiction (it's what she has requested) and move on to books like The Disappearing Spoon.

 

... Lori - thanks for the reminder about KonTiki.  She mentioned that one earlier in the year.  And Feynman is a must in our household.  ;)  I also had Sachs and Herriot on my list.  I was just looking for more novels.  Island of the Blue Dolphins and Julie of the Wolves.  They were meh to her...

 

Actually, it sounds like she has more enjoyed the non-fiction Science rather than the fiction with a bit of Science leaning ...  ;) Perhaps just enjoy a lot of beginning classic Lit from various time periods and not worry about matching it up with Science. That would be great if you could find works that fit with Science, but if she ends up being "meh" about actual fiction with some Science theme or aspect to it, then maybe drop trying to combine classic Lit and Science... Just a thought. :)

 

 

 

Edited by Lori D.
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A third kid (I've got the whole crew working on this!) just reminded me of Benedict Carey's middle-grade mysteries for math and science buffs: Island of the Unknowns and Poison Most Vial.

https://www.amazon.com/Poison-Most-Vial-Benedict-Carey/dp/1419700316/ref=la_B001JS6ABA_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1483986673&sr=1-2

https://www.amazon.com/Island-Unknowns-Mystery-Benedict-Carey/dp/0810996634/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=980FCHYBY26ETDRZ8XYV

 

ETA links.

Edited by Emerald Stoker
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Forgot another non-fiction work: A Man Without Words (Schaller). Absolutely fascinating account of a man who is Deaf, but did not acquire sign language until well into adulthood, and the gigantic change that language brings to who you are as a person.

 

 

 

Actually, it sounds like she has more enjoyed the non-fiction Science rather than the fiction with a bit of Science leaning ...   ;) Perhaps just enjoy a lot of beginning classic Lit from various time periods and not worry about matching it up with Science. That would be great if you could find works that fit with Science, but if she ends up being "meh" about actual fiction with some Science theme or aspect to it, then maybe drop trying to combine classic Lit and Science... Just a thought. :)

 

Thanks, Lori.  I know I need to take this one day at a time. She is changing rapidly and I am willing to go with the flow if she is engaged.  

 

You never know what resonates with her.  While those books were meh to her, she loved Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, Mandy, many of Shannon Hale's books, Wolves of Willoughby Chase and even Midwife's Apprentice.  Not sure if you see a common thread there or not. 

 

This is the first time she has loved literature and wants more (and there is only so much time in the day).  She specifically asked if she could do science through fiction (not science fiction).  I think she will like narrative non-fiction and memoirs, even if she doesn't think so.   With my older boys, they were inspired through documentaries.  In middle school, I didn't worry about the details of science.  Only the inspiration.  Once the fire was lit, they wanted more and more. And I ended up with two science kids!

 

Just more rambling.  Thanks for listening. :)

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A third kid (I've got the whole crew working on this!) just reminded me of Benedict Carey's middle-grade mysteries for math and science buffs: Island of the Unknowns and Poison Most Vial.

https://www.amazon.com/Poison-Most-Vial-Benedict-Carey/dp/1419700316/ref=la_B001JS6ABA_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1483986673&sr=1-2

https://www.amazon.com/Island-Unknowns-Mystery-Benedict-Carey/dp/0810996634/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=980FCHYBY26ETDRZ8XYV

 

ETA links.

 

Thanks guys!  :hurray:

 

I have never heard of that series.  It reminds me of the first Flavia book (I only read the first one).  Thank you!

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A couple more ideas...

Robert O'Brien, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.

Russell Stannard, the Uncle Albert series (physics) https://www.faber.co.uk/author/russell-stannard/

Would the Hitchhiker's Guide (etc.) be of any interest? It's thirty years and more since I read them, and I can't remember how appropriate they'd be.

George Gamow's Mr. Tompkins books are interesting (but a bit difficult, as I recall). https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Tompkins-Paperback-George-Gamow/dp/0521447712/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_1/157-0479987-9866705?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=C5RZEQKFH30VXMMC61B0

Thomas Keneally, Ned Kelly and the City of Bees.

If math books would be fun, too, these are goodies:

The Cat in Numberland (Ivar Ekeland; short but v. good). https://www.amazon.ca/Cat-Numberland-Ivar-Ekeland/dp/081262744X

The Number Devil. https://www.amazon.ca/Number-Devil-Mathematical-Hans-Enzenberger/dp/0613285913/ref=pd_sim_14_2/159-8028977-0877810?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=M6GX6D9CB5QWEXGGF31W

And of course Flatland is a classic: https://www.amazon.ca/Flatland-Romance-Dimensions-Distinguished-Chiron/dp/918775116X/ref=pd_sim_14_27?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=7QAHQTCKKFKWH6BHDB68

 

ETA Kid # 2 just reminded me of Michael Reisman's Simon Bloom, the Gravity Keeper. https://www.amazon.com/Simon-Bloom-Gravity-Keeper-Hardcover/dp/0142413682/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1484018530&sr=1-1&keywords=simon+bloom

 

And again ETA one I remember seeing at the library but haven't read: Jacqueline Houtman's The Reinvention of Edison Thomas. http://www.jhoutman.com/pages/edisonThomas.html

 

Oh, and one last idea--what about Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael books? Lots of interesting things about herbal medicine, and the mysteries are solved most often through the logical interpretation of physical clues. Also the medieval setting might be of interest. And though they're written for adults, they're very innocent (even my gran loved them!).

 

I'll stop now!

Edited by Emerald Stoker
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Middle ages, huh?  Well...dd read Fever, and liked it; she read some Karen Cushman books during her studies of that time period; Alchemy and Meggy Swan, The Midwife's Apprentice, Catherine, called Birdy...there is *some* science there, and I am not sure how 13 she is (as in, my near-13yo skews 11 most days) but those books skew much younger than a girl heady on reading Pride and Prejudice.  :)

 

I always try to have dd go on-script with reading novels or science-y books about the time period; novels for the lived-in feeling and science because that's her main interest in life.  One of the timesavers for me has been Guesthollow's curated books-by-century lists; she links to books and videos, but this may be old news to you if you've been homeschooling for a while

 

I can't wait for my own dd to age into reading Pride and Prejudice.  I know she practically knows the tale by heart with my repeated cozy playings of the mid-'90s BBC production, Colin Firth rawr

 

I missed this post!

 

DD likes Karen Cushman.  I will get Alchemy and Meggy Swan and see what she thinks.  I think she'd like Fever.

 

And...Colin Firth.  Yum.

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A couple more ideas...

Robert O'Brien, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.

Russell Stannard, the Uncle Albert series (physics) https://www.faber.co.uk/author/russell-stannard/

Would the Hitchhiker's Guide (etc.) be of any interest? It's thirty years and more since I read them, and I can't remember how appropriate they'd be.

George Gamow's Mr. Tompkins books are interesting (but a bit difficult, as I recall). https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Tompkins-Paperback-George-Gamow/dp/0521447712/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_1/157-0479987-9866705?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=C5RZEQKFH30VXMMC61B0

Thomas Keneally, Ned Kelly and the City of Bees.

If math books would be fun, too, these are goodies:

The Cat in Numberland (Ivar Ekeland; short but v. good). https://www.amazon.ca/Cat-Numberland-Ivar-Ekeland/dp/081262744X

The Number Devil. https://www.amazon.ca/Number-Devil-Mathematical-Hans-Enzenberger/dp/0613285913/ref=pd_sim_14_2/159-8028977-0877810?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=M6GX6D9CB5QWEXGGF31W

And of course Flatland is a classic: https://www.amazon.ca/Flatland-Romance-Dimensions-Distinguished-Chiron/dp/918775116X/ref=pd_sim_14_27?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=7QAHQTCKKFKWH6BHDB68

 

ETA Kid # 2 just reminded me of Michael Reisman's Simon Bloom, the Gravity Keeper. https://www.amazon.com/Simon-Bloom-Gravity-Keeper-Hardcover/dp/0142413682/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1484018530&sr=1-1&keywords=simon+bloom

 

And again ETA one I remember seeing at the library but haven't read: Jacqueline Houtman's The Reinvention of Edison Thomas. http://www.jhoutman.com/pages/edisonThomas.html

 

Oh, and one last idea--what about Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael books? Lots of interesting things about herbal medicine, and the mysteries are solved most often through the logical interpretation of physical clues. Also the medieval setting might be of interest. And though they're written for adults, they're very innocent (even my gran loved them!).

 

I'll stop now!

 

Yowza.  You're awesome.  She started reading Journey to the River Sea today.  I placed Fever and Half Brother (this looks awesome) on hold at the library.  

 

She loved The Number Devil years ago.  I'll have to pull Flatland from the shelf for her.

 

So many people recommend the Cadfael series.  We'll have to try them out.

 

Re: Hitchhiker's Guide.  She JUST asked me about those again.

 

Thank you again.  I love all of your ETA's!!! 

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