ButterfliesandBooks Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 I'd like to get some of Burgess' books for my nature loving son. Are they suitable for him at 9 years old? I wasn't sure if they are for younger children. Any recommendations? I've been looking at the bird book and animal book. Many thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Honestly, my 6yo dd doesn't like Burgess books. I bought some of them because one was used in the Classical Writing Primer and I liked the sweet stories. But my dd finds them babyish and refuses to read them. I am not sure a 9 yo boy would like them. That said, first, they are copyright free and can be downloaded online and second, if you buy the Dover thrift editions, they are very inexpensive. You may want to try one book first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy to monkeys Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 but we all preferred the animal series by Arthur Scott Bailey. They are public domain and available for free at project gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search.html/?default_prefix=author_id&sort_order=downloads&query=1842 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caedmyn Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 It's been a long time...and I'm not a boy...but I loved them at about that age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleinMN Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 They were the first stories/books that my eldest ds read on his own...for fun. He would have been 7.5 to 8 or so. Up until then he only read exactly what was required for his school work. None of my other boys have loved them, but *I* still think they are wonderful. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 My kids love them. Why don't you look on Librivox? They have a couple of audio versions (free) and you can have a listen and see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 HERE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButterfliesandBooks Posted September 25, 2011 Author Share Posted September 25, 2011 Thank you for all your help :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 but we all preferred the animal series by Arthur Scott Bailey. They are public domain and available for free at project gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search.html/?default_prefix=author_id&sort_order=downloads&query=1842 Thank you for these :)! My son should like them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 My kids loved these when they were 3-6, maybe 7. I'm not sure a 9 year old boy would be into them ... Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 I feel like most 9 yo boys who are really into nature who read pretty well would be more interested in something like My Side of the Mountain or maybe Where the Red Fern Grows... though that's obviously a very different recommendation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 My kids liked them. We had the ones my husband owned as a little boy. They are the only books he remembers from his childhood. (please note I don't mean the animal book, the bird book... Mean the books that are part of the tales of the green forest. I think we have over 30 of them, and I know include g rereadings my boys have listened to over a hundred. But, if your son is a experienced listener to bookend will find them babyish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 I feel like most 9 yo boys who are really into nature who read pretty well would be more interested in something like My Side of the Mountain or maybe Where the Red Fern Grows... though that's obviously a very different recommendation. DD loved Where the Red Fern Grows! She cried really hard the first time and then listened to the story for about 20 times before I had to return it back to the library. Unlike the Burgess books, books like these can really capture a child's heart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 My kids liked them. We had the ones my husband owned as a little boy. They are the only books he remembers from his childhood. (please note I don't mean the animal book, the bird book... Mean the books that are part of the tales of the green forest. I think we have over 30 of them, and I know include g rereadings my boys have listened to over a hundred. But, if your son is a experienced listener to bookend will find them babyish. I just checked Advanced Reader and one of the books that I was able to locate on there (Old Mother West Wind), is rated at the 5.2 grade level if the child is doing the reading. I just checked them out on Project Gutenberg and I think my son will like them also. He is almost 8. I downloaded them all for free from Project Gutenberg on Kindle for him, along with the Arthur Scott Bailey books also posted here. I feel, for a nature loving child, they will be great :)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 (edited) I just checked Advanced Reader and one of the books that I was able to locate on there (Old Mother West Wind), is rated at the 5.2 grade level if the child is doing the reading. I just checked them out on Project Gutenberg and I think my son will like them also. He is almost 8. I downloaded them all for free from Project Gutenberg on Kindle for him, along with the Arthur Scott Bailey books also posted here. I feel, for a nature loving child, they will be great :)! Now that I think about it, I assume it also relates to how you do them. Simple because we sat down and did them all as read alouds, I assumed that the OP was going to do the same thing. (Bad of me, but I blame the late hour). I think the typical 9 year old would start finding them babyish if you read outloud 30 in a row. You do start to see a pattern. But they could be great for some read alouds, and lots of self reading. They might even be perfect for that. I still remember the series fondly, and that was after reading them again and again. I also think the reason they got such a high grade reading level is, never ending sentences. I find it can be difficult for me to start reading his books outloud when I am out of the pattern. He must have had a great set of lungs, to go so long between breaths. So Reddy Fox told Granny Fox all about how he had run too near the old tree trunk behind which Farmer's Brown's boy had been hiding, but Reddy didn't tell how he had been trying to show off, nor how in broad daylight he had stolen the pet chicken of Farmer's Brown's boy. Edited September 26, 2011 by Julie Smith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Now that I think about it, I assume it also relates to how you do them. Simple because we sat down and did them all as read alouds, I assumed that the OP was going to do the same thing. (Bad of me, but I blame the late hour). I think the typical 9 year old would start finding them babyish if you read outloud 30 in a row. You do start to see a pattern. But they could be great for some read alouds, and lots of self reading. They might even be perfect for that. I still remember the series fondly, and that was after reading them again and again. I also think the reason they got such a high grade reading level is, never ending sentences. I find it can be difficult for me to start reading his books outloud when I am out of the pattern. He must have had a great set of lungs, to go so long between breaths. So Reddy Fox told Granny Fox all about how he had run too near the old tree trunk behind which Farmer's Brown's boy had been hiding, but Reddy didn't tell how he had been trying to show off, nor how in broad daylight he had stolen the pet chicken of Farmer's Brown's boy. Sorry, I was actually just quoting you because you pointed out the series ;), to point out that those were the books I was referring to also. I was not trying to criticize what you posted. I was just trying to point out that there are two levels of reading, in which case the age range differs. There's the reading we do (RA's) and then there is reading they do themselves. I feel in the case where the child is doing the reading themselves, it all depends on personal interest. Some kids will like nature books for example, while others will like adventure books or whatever else meets their likes/ interests. My apologies if it appeared like I was picking on you. I guess I should be careful when I quote people. Lately I have been giving the wrong impression :tongue_smilie:. I often use other people's posts as jumping off points for my own comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen+4dc Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 My ds read them (as silent reading) last year (3rd grade) and loved them! He's a reluctant reader, but he found the stories (Tales From the Green Forest, Old Mother West Wind, Tales of Prickly Porky, Tales of Reddy Fox, etc) funny and silly and he laughed. Plus, they were hard bound and that made them thicker. He felt like he was reading more grown-up books. He's moved on, but he really enjoyed those tales from the Green Forest around 8-9 years old.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlestonmom03 Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 My boys read them aloud to me in 1st grade, and we love them. My almost-9 year old goes back to them very frequently, re-reading them for fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 My apologies if it appeared like I was picking on you. I guess I should be careful when I quote people. Lately I have been giving the wrong impression :tongue_smilie:. I often use other people's posts as jumping off points for my own comments. Absolutely no wrong offensive given at any time. You just had me rethinking my opinion. I found nothing 'wrong' with your thread and honestly didn't give it a second thought after I posted. :$ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorisuewho Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 I'd like to get some of Burgess' books for my nature loving son. Are they suitable for him at 9 years old? I wasn't sure if they are for younger children. Any recommendations? I've been looking at the bird book and animal book. Many thanks. I am just finishing up reading aloud the seashore book to my boys. They loved them although I do feel some of the content was quite difficult for them. They are begging to start the bird book though. I think a boy who is into nature would really enjoy all the factual information that is learned through these books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Absolutely no wrong offensive given at any time. You just had me rethinking my opinion. I found nothing 'wrong' with your thread and honestly didn't give it a second thought after I posted. :$ :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 We own all the Dover editions -- there are many more aside from the animal book, bird book, etc. Nathan has loved them for years. We have also downloaded all the free ones from http://www.librivox.org. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 I feel like most 9 yo boys who are really into nature who read pretty well would be more interested in something like My Side of the Mountain or maybe Where the Red Fern Grows... though that's obviously a very different recommendation. There's always an exception, LOL. Nathan prefers Thornton Burgess (even still at almost 12. In fact, he has inspired Nathan to write stories and poems in similar fashion with references to Mother North Wind and such. But, my oldest would definitely prefer My Side of the Mountain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 but we all preferred the animal series by Arthur Scott Bailey. They are public domain and available for free at project gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search.html/? Nathan loves these as well, and many are on www.librivox.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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