lisabees Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 There are some books on this list with which I am not familiar. Are there any that I shouldn't miss? Thanks! ;) http://www.bravewriter.com/program/language-arts-programs/the-boomerang/already-published-issues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurel Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 The Chosen is my favorite book of all time. If you have not read it, go read it now! I remember the first time I read it. (It had been assigned for high school.) When I reached the end, I turned back to the beginning and started over again. I just could not bear for it to be over. (Chaim Potok's other books are good, too, but none gripped me like The Chosen.) I love Agatha Christie, and of course, Anne Frank is important. All of the choices look good to me, really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 The Chosen is superb. I also liked Cry, the Beloved Country and Diary of a Young Girl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 My favorites are/were: Jane Eyre and The Diary of a Young Girl. There were several books on the list I haven't read, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 These are my favs: Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy The Chosen by Chaim Potok The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson I think they are all more suitable for high school age though, with the exception of The Master Puppeteer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisabees Posted October 20, 2009 Author Share Posted October 20, 2009 These are my favs: Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy The Chosen by Chaim Potok The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson I think they are all more suitable for high school age though, with the exception of The Master Puppeteer. Thank you all! This is for my 7th grader, so I appreciate you telling me the age range! Looks like I need to read The Chosen myself. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Thank you all! This is for my 7th grader, so I appreciate you telling me the age range! Looks like I need to read The Chosen myself. :001_smile: I'm thinking a seventh grader could probably handle all of the ones on my list (can't remember what the others were right off) except Cry, the Beloved Country. The reason I exclude that one is twofold. First, the way it is structured is a bit confusing - I seem to recall that it skipped back and forth between two points of view or something like that. Also, there are themes that a 7th grader just wouldn't get and maybe even shouldn't be introduced to just yet (more mature material). I read it for the first time in my 40s and when I reached the last word I just sat there silently musing. It was so sad and yet so beautiful - haunting might be a good adjective. I can't imagine what I would have thought at approx. 12 years of age - even at 18. I'm guessing most of it would have gone right over my head.:) All these books (the ones I listed) are so rich that I think they are much more easy to understand and appreciate the older you get. I suppose a 7th grader would be able to grasp the general gist of these stories, but would most likely miss the more subtle ideas. If I were having a 7th grader read them, I would probably include a lot of discussion. Or, if that's not practical, I would have him read them again later, say, as a senior in high school. It just seems a shame to use time and effort to read these without being able to bring a broader, deeper understanding of the world to them. These books have the potential to be life-long favorites, but if the reader isn't mature enough to grasp the themes, he may just be bored/confused/irritated and stow them away in his mind as books to be avoided. I would really hate for that to happen. Being intelligent helps, but it is one's life experiences that contribute the most to understanding the themes these books deal with. One could certainly argue that just by reading them one's experience would broaden and deepen and that's true to some extent, but I can't help thinking that waiting several years to read them would be more beneficial. To me, these books are too important to read, fill-in-the-blanks in the study guide and then move on. Of course, that's just my rambling unsolicited opinion. It really depends on the child, obviously. Oh, and yes, definitely read The Chosen. I absolutely loved that book too. I recommended it to ds21 when he was about 18 and he devoured it and loved it as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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