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Starting 7th grader to read classics


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I would like my son to read more classic books - think Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Count of Monte Cristo type books.  It seems as if he needs an intermediate step.  Are there any classics that are considered "starter" classics?  Something that would be a little bit easier to read, but help him eventually read true classics?  He can read around the world in 60 days type books.  Anything else?

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I suggest taking him to a library or bookstore and letting him look at several books of the sort you'd like him to read and see if any seem appealing to him.  I'm not sure the titles you mention are harder than Around the World in 60 Days. So if the books intrigue him, he can probably read them.  Gulliver's Travels unabridged version might also work.  3 Musketeers.

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You could try reading along with an audiobook. You could read some aloud and have him finish the chapter.

 

Really though, a lot of them aren't as hard as you might think. I would be hesitant to go for a kids/abridged version of most classics, they're classics for a reason, you know?

 

Well trained mind has lists of classic books for each year level. Ambleside has good lists, you might like to look here:

https://www.amblesideonline.org/06bks.shtml#lit

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My ds 13 has profound dyslexia. he is reading usborne abridged classics. At the moment he is reading Greek myths. He has read a large amount of the abridged modern classics like War of the Worlds, Treasure Island, and Gullivers Travels. reading abridged classics allows him to read.

 

We did this with his older dyslexic brothers. They were able to read the unabridged versions when in the rhetoric stage. Having read the abridge version when they were younger aided them as they knew what the storyline was already.

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I think Treasure Island is an easy one to try. So is Kidnapped. Try Jack London books as well.

The language in Treasure Island and Kidnapped can be a challenge for someone new to classic lit, though it's a great book. I think Jack London is a great idea. Also maybe consider works by Nesbit as a gentler intro to the language (5 Children and It, Enchanted Castle). Sherlock Holmes? Allan Quartermaine (warning some misogyny and other period attitudes)?

 

ETA The Hobbit

Edited by Targhee
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