ChristusG Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 I'm looking for a book that I can discuss with my DD's. Especially the 7 year old, but possibly where the 4 year old can chime in a few things as well. DD7 loves to sit together and talk, discuss things, etc. I'm looking for a book that we can discuss topics that really make her think....I guess things like character, right vs wrong, life skills, etc. I know there are conversation starter books out there for kids, but they all seem to be along the lines of "what's your favorite food" or "talk about your favorite vacation." Stuff like that. I guess I'm looking for something a bit deeper. Is there anything like that out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 I really liked A Child's book of Character, when my kids were younger. A character trait definition to memorize and then a few stories to illustrate the trait- I would think the stories might be good for discussion I did a review of it on my blog Show n tell: A Child's book of character Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Have you read Deconstructing Penguins? It's got some great suggestions for books to discuss and how to discuss them. Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plain jane Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 What about something like this: Philosophy for Children or Philosophy for Kids ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 How about just discussing a children's book? We had great discussions with Sam, Bangs and Moonshine (a picture book--consequences of disobedience) Little House in the Big Woods (discipline, jealousy, hard work leading to reward) Betsy-Tacy (death--Tacy's baby sister dies, and it's one of the best chapters in children's lit, imo--and friendship, imagination, and families helping one another) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saraha Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 If you are talking about like fiction/literature we just finished two books about Evangeline Mudd from the library and they are fantastic. They have plenty of occasions for discussing character, situational decisions etc. and it is funny and engaging, but the sentence structure and vocabulary are very challenging, making a great read aloud and a serious workout if you want to practice diagramming! If that is not what you are looking for, my kids and I have enjoyed playing the ungame. It is a noncompetitive game that has each player answering thought provoking questions, like explain why you feel... my girls love it because they all like having their thoughts and opinions heard and you can definitely work it with your 4 year old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycalling Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 We're using What Would You Do? which has situations to discuss, like "Suppose you found out someone you know has stolen something." It gives you questions to ask to help lead the child though their own moral reasoning. Then it gives multiple variations, asking if these would change the child's opinions. Each problem is one page long with enough to keep you discussing for a long time. There are 30 problems to discuss in the book. It's $10 from the Critical Thinking Co. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 I've checked out some of these that you guys have mentioned and they are great! I just put the Ungame cards into my Amazon cart. And I'm attending the FPEA convention this weekend and I know that the Critical Thinking Company will be there. I looked at the What Would You Do book online and it looks really good. I hope to purchase it at the convention. I'm trying to decide on which character traits book to get. A Child's Book of Character looks really interesting....love that it applies each trait to the Bible and home too. I'll keep Philosophy for Kids in mind for when they are a bit older...I think it looks a bit over their heads. Deconstructing Penguins looks interesting....but I can't really get a feel for what it is about through Amazon. I wonder if a vendor at the FPEA convention will have it so that I can look through it? Thanks for all the suggestions!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Deconstructing Penguins looks interesting....but I can't really get a feel for what it is about through Amazon. I wonder if a vendor at the FPEA convention will have it so that I can look through it? It's kind of a how-to for book discussions with kids. The authors started a parent-child book group at their local library, so they break down the ways to discuss books (identifying protagonist/antagonist; setting; point of view; identifying the climax) with books they've discussed as a group for examples. In the chapter on character and identifying the protagonist and antagonist, for example, they use their book group's discussion of Charlotte's Web to illustrate what discussions look like and how to help children talk about character in stories. (They also pull in examples from other well-known children's lit.) There are also recommended discussion book lists by grade level in the back of the book. HTH. :) Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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