happypamama Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 I'm looking for a few good novels for some specific eras in US history. This is what I need: -A novel suitable for a 10yo girl who is a good, but easily bored, reader, something in the 3rd-8th grade range that she could read to herself, preferably fairly clean and not overtly anti-Christian. (I'm not bothered by a little profanity or mild violence, but no s*x/r*pe or heavy gratuitous violence.) We already have some of the "Dear America" type books on our list, so not one of those. It should take place around the 1960s and might include the moon landing, JFK, MLK, Jr., Civil Rights, segregation, etc. I'm looking at amazon reviews for Yankee Girl, by Mary Ann Rodman, and that might be what I want; has anyone read that? Other suggestions that DD might like? -A novel that meets the above qualifications but that takes place in the 1980s and 1990s. (I can't believe I'm drawing a blank here. Kind of tempting to have her read a BabySitters Club novel, only because they were so much a part of MY late elementary school years, but it might be nice to find something a little more scholarly. I did consider Cynthia Voigt's Homecoming and Dicey's Song -- maybe, but I think she'll love them in a few years, rather than right yet.) -A novel that meets the above qualifications for the 1960s but that would make a good read aloud to include a 7yo boy. (I'm looking at Basher Five-Two for when we study the 1990s; if it's not too above him, I think my 7yo DS1 will enjoy that.) Maybe From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler? I'm not sure I ever read that one, so I don't know how specific it is to the 1960s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithr Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 The Watsons Go To Birmingham is a good book for the Civil Rights era. I think it is set in 1963. Basher Five-Two is a good one; my sons all enjoyed it. Zlata's Diary was written by a 10 year old girl in Sarajevo in the 1990s. I don't know if it is too graphic for your dd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Well, for the first one, I highly recommend Countdown by Deborah Wiles. It's excellent. It interweaves real photos from the 60's with the story in a really interesting way and the story touches on Vietnam, Civil Rights, etc. but it's mostly really just about a girl and her family. There's some big issues and some bullying and some romance - the parents' relationship is not perfect - but it's nothing like s*x or r*pe or anything like you said. Deborah Wiles is a great author and this is the first in a new trilogy on the 60's that she's working on. For the 80's and 90's... help me know what you want to cover in terms of events. I can think of things, but none of them actually touch on much history from that time at all. I mean, you could just have her read something from that time - Walk Two Moons or Absolutely Normal Chaos, maybe? For your ds7... From the Mixed Up Files is great, but there's not much there in that's going to feel specifically historical. The Watsons Go To Birmingham might work, though it's one I would want to save a little longer - it's more 4th and 5th grade to me. Hm... there's something, I just don't know what... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 (edited) I'm looking for a few good novels for some specific eras in US history. This is what I need: -A novel suitable for a 10yo girl who is a good, but easily bored, reader, something in the 3rd-8th grade range that she could read to herself, preferably fairly clean and not overtly anti-Christian. (I'm not bothered by a little profanity or mild violence, but no s*x/r*pe or heavy gratuitous violence.) We already have some of the "Dear America" type books on our list, so not one of those. It should take place around the 1960s and might include the moon landing, JFK, MLK, Jr., Civil Rights, segregation, etc. I'm looking at amazon reviews for Yankee Girl, by Mary Ann Rodman, and that might be what I want; has anyone read that? Other suggestions that DD might like? -A novel that meets the above qualifications but that takes place in the 1980s and 1990s. (I can't believe I'm drawing a blank here. Kind of tempting to have her read a BabySitters Club novel, only because they were so much a part of MY late elementary school years, but it might be nice to find something a little more scholarly. I did consider Cynthia Voigt's Homecoming and Dicey's Song -- maybe, but I think she'll love them in a few years, rather than right yet.) -A novel that meets the above qualifications for the 1960s but that would make a good read aloud to include a 7yo boy. (I'm looking at Basher Five-Two for when we study the 1990s; if it's not too above him, I think my 7yo DS1 will enjoy that.) Maybe From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler? I'm not sure I ever read that one, so I don't know how specific it is to the 1960s. The Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson might be a good one to touch on civil rights (though I think it's a little earlier than the 1960s). Haven't read it in years, so a pre-reading is probably in order. The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963 is a recent award winner. Set earlier, but well worth reading to put civil rights into context is Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. The sequel The Road to Memphis takes place in 1941 and would be a direct lead in to a civil rights study, since this was the reality for the adults who were marching 20-25 years later. The main character is a girl, but I'd not hesitate to hand either of these to one of my sons. ETA: Escape to West Berlin is set in the 1960s and would also have a lot of meaning for the 1980s and 1990s because of the Cold War and Fall of the Berlin Wall. Red Scarf Girl is set in China during the Cultural Revolution (and again would provide background if you were looking at events like Tiannamin Square). Edited January 8, 2012 by Sebastian (a lady) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen+4dc Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morosophe Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Better quality books from/putatively about the nineties: Holes by Louis Sachar, Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. Both of these deal in large part with racial issues, but that's where my brain headed with the first part of your question. Both also have fairy tale/tall tale aspects to them, but are meant to be set in "contemporary" America. Holes is probably a little heavy for your daughter, but I thought I'd throw it out there, since it's such an excellent book; Maniac Magee is just plain wonderful. Oddly, Amazon recommends Holes for 10 and up, and Maniac Magee for 11 and up, although I'd put it the other way around. Not read by me, but recommended elsewhere: The Empty Schoolhouse by Natalie Carlson. It's set in the early seventies and deals with desegregation and "white flight." Along the same lines, The Story of Ruby Bridges is a picture book that seems popular on Amazon. Of course, it's a biography, not a story, but I thought it might work for that read-aloud. Personally, I think Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is not meant for a ten-year-old. Then again, I hated it when I read it in junior high English, and even more when I read it in college for my kiddy lit class, so maybe I'm just extremely biased against it. Still, I think the writing and story would be pretty hard for me to understand at ten years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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