Just Three Literature Books a Year. What would you pick?

[Spy Car]

K-12

 

Moby Dick :D

 

Bill

[Hunter]

K-12

 

Moby Dick :D

 

Bill

 

I noticed once, that on a Great Books reading list, that otherwise was primarily translations of ancient through renaissance books, this was the lone modern novel. That has always stuck with me.

 

I think for me, this might go on my high school list, which I was thinking that I don't want to think about yet, but...I might need to, sooner than I planned.

[Spy Car]

I noticed once, that on a Great Books reading list, that otherwise was primarily translations of ancient through renaissance books, this was the lone modern novel. That has always stuck with me.

 

I think for me, this might go on my high school list, which I was thinking that I don't want to think about yet, but...I might need to, sooner than I planned.

 

I read bits and pieces to my son (now 7.5) so he gets a feel for what great writing sounds like.

 

Imagine his delight when we started Michael Clay Thompson's Paragraph Town recently and he discovered the opening line was: Call me Fishmeal! :D

 

Bill

[sagira]

Thank you for the link. After looking at it, I know Pilgrim's Progress is a definite for me. Maybe Swiss Family Robinson.

 

From your list, the Velveteen Rabbit is soooo tempting, but...I don't think I have room.

 

Can you share why you picked Nesbit's Shakespeare over Lamb's?

 

Can anyone compare Jungle Book to The Just So Stories? Is Rikki Ticki Tavi one of the Just So Stories?

 

I picked Nesbitt because I know Nesbitt and I like her writing style. I haven't seen Lamb yet. I hear it's for a slightly older audience - maybe middle? I could be wrong.

 

Back in first, we read Rikki Tikki Tavi, and it was its own book. Dh continued reading Just So Stories as a read-aloud. It was irritating for me to read out loud :tongue_smilie:

[Hunter]

I picked Nesbitt because I know Nesbitt and I like her writing style. I haven't seen Lamb yet. I hear it's for a slightly older audience - maybe middle? I could be wrong.

 

Back in first, we read Rikki Tikki Tavi, and it was its own book. Dh continued reading Just So Stories as a read-aloud. It was irritating for me to read out loud :tongue_smilie:

 

I found this CM thread that elaborates on what you said. http://www.amazon.com/Science-Matters-Achieving-Scientific-Literacy/dp/0307454584/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2

 

I think I have found Rikki Tikki Tavi in Jungle Book. Have you tried reading this book aloud?

[Homemama2]

Can anyone compare Jungle Book to The Just So Stories? Is Rikki Ticki Tavi one of the Just So Stories?

 

Rikki Ticki Tavi is in the Jungle Book (at least my version) although you can get it by itself. My library has a nice picture book version (it is not abridged, but has beautiful full page pictures for the entire story). I like Just So Stories for slightly younger kids than Jungle Book. I use AO lit. lists, and I think Just So Stories was used around the ages of 6, 7 or 8, and Jungle Book for 3-5th grade. This worked well for us. The first time I read Just So Stories outloud, I HATED it. But when I read it aloud last year to my youngest, I loved it. So did my kids. I think my problem was that I wasn't familiar with reading that kind of a book outloud, and it was very awkward for me. Jungle Book was easier to read aloud, imo.

 

As far as which of them to choose, I like both. See, I wouldn't want to choose between some of these books...I couldn't pick only 3 per year. :lol: I'm tempted to write down every book on this thread and make sure we squeeze them in. ;)

[Hope in God]

The first thing that came to my mind when I read your original post was The Wind in the Willows. What a neat book about home and friendship.

 

I was also thinking about Tuck Everlasting because Babitt is such a masterful writer and says so much with so few words. This book would also be a great jumping off point for talking about some philosophy.

 

I'm kind of enamoured with A Little Princess right now as we are currently listening to the audio version. I like that this book gives clues about how to live in a gracious way but it is not preachy at all.

 

And just for fun my kids just love Kiplings Just So Stories and if you get the audio version you have to get the one read by Jim Weiss. Little bits of these stories come into our conversations frequently (The greasy, green Limpopo River all set about with fever trees). Weiss' reading of these stories is beyond hilarous in some places.

 

Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Heidi is one of the most delightful books I have read and I still have it on my top 10 even though it has probably been 7-8 years since we read it last (maybe I will have to pull that one out again).

 

Oh, and lastly, my kids are really enjoying Little Pilgrims Progress. This is Pilgrims Progress for children. I typically belive in only reading the unabridged versions but in this case I make an exception because the point of the book is to convey spiritual truths. I would gladly read the children's version to get the message through in a more delightful way.

[nmoira]

non multa, sed multum Plinius

Not many, but much. (Meaning, not quantity but quality.)

Just curious. Would this hold for adult reading in the household as well?

 

I still can't wrap my head around so few books. :001_smile:

[stripe]

Just curious. Would this hold for adult reading in the household as well?

 

I still can't wrap my head around so few books. :001_smile:

Neither can I.

 

But there does come a point where I have too many books I am supposedly reading (or want to read) and I end up skimming them and flipping through them, and somehow willing myself to believe that this is reading, when I am not getting much out of them.

 

ETA: I am buying a new copy of the Wind in the Willows. The copy I got at B&N has awful illustrations. My kids loved Winnie the Pooh (previously unloved) from the deluxe edition, with gorgeous cream paper and color illustrations, that I bought for about $2 as a remainder. I am going to try the Ingpen.

Edited March 12, 2012 by stripe

[sagira]

I found this CM thread that elaborates on what you said. http://www.amazon.com/Science-Matters-Achieving-Scientific-Literacy/dp/0307454584/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2

 

I think I have found Rikki Tikki Tavi in Jungle Book. Have you tried reading this book aloud?

 

We're reading The Jungle Book next year. We enjoyed Rikki Tikki Tavi, and by the time ds is in fourth next fall, it would have been a long time since he heard Rikki Tikki Tavi.

[shann]

I feel like we are getting two different lists in this thread. Lists to be read aloud to children and lists for children to read to self. Or are we expecting all these to be read by children?

 

I can't see a 5th grader reading Les Mis. A 7th grader reading Paradise Lost is also quite a challenge, no? I don't mean to point the finger at individual replies and I don't intend my tone to be snooty. I am genuinely curious if many children are reading at such an advanced level that they can truly appreciate these books so young. Or are we talking abridged classics?

 

I also wonder if the parents recommending them have read all the books on their list? Really hope that doesn't sound rude, I don't mean it to! I just feel some of these titles are definitely must reads, at some point, but I'm not sure that point is 10-13 years old.

 

I do think it is important to expose children to the classics. I am in the process of reading 200 classics myself and love to talk the stories over with my dd.

Spycar- Loved your post about reading aloud parts of Mody Dick. I will have to start bookmarking pages for dd while I read.

[Hunter]

I feel like we are getting two different lists in this thread. Lists to be read aloud to children and lists for children to read to self. Or are we expecting all these to be read by children?

 

I can't see a 5th grader reading Les Mis. A 7th grader reading Paradise Lost is also quite a challenge, no? I don't mean to point the finger at individual replies and I don't intend my tone to be snooty. I am genuinely curious if many children are reading at such an advanced level that they can truly appreciate these books so young. Or are we talking abridged classics?

 

 

Thank you for asking this! I was just thinking the same thing as I was sitting on the floor at Barnes and Nobles today, looking at books.

 

I'm not ignoring the rest of your post, but just responding to this part immediately.

 

I think for me the reading aloud, and the child reading to themselves, has become blurred. Sometimes I'm even retelling a story and not even reading it aloud. But then giving the child portions of it as copywork, or working with a portion of the text in some other way.

 

Between my KJV only days, and the influences from Waldorf. Also at times in my childhood I had nothing age appropriate to read, and learned to just...kind of pick out what I could sort of understand. I'm used to children learning from books they are incapable of reading from cover to cover unassisted.

 

I've been giving all this so much thought, but the more I start to figure out, the more questions I have :-0

 

I'm realizing that the list I am beginning to compile is a read aloud list. And it is meant to...I'm grasping for words. I want to pick books that will...light a fire in a child, not fill a bucket. That pathways will form in their brain, and ideas come to them to play, and that the book will live on past the reading of it. That this book will possibly be quoted by them in their future writing. That it will become a part of them in many ways.

 

I'm wanting to focus on the words in a book, not the pictures.

 

I'm sorry, I don't know about anyone else, but I don't have this figured out yet :-)

 

I tend to teach centered around the KJV BIble and an extended morning worship time that covers almost every subject. Because I spend so much time on the Bible and nonfiction, and stressing over skills, literature gets squeezed out.

 

I long ago realized that I just cannot teach literature like I do the nonfiction subjects, or it will get pushed aside. I just cannot get all worked up for very long over plot points, when the math is getting behind.

 

What I didn't understand in the past is how important mental health is, and how the arts have a place in securing it. I need to approach literature as an art, and time of healing and inspiring.

 

So I'm realizing MY list is about books that I am passionate about sharing with a child (or an adult from a deprived background). That I will be STORYTELLING from, as much as just reading the text. It will be a partnership between me and the person being read to. It'll be something special and different from the nonfiction, Bible and skills. It will be a verbal art lesson, and a time of special pleasure and companionship.

 

I still don't have this figured out :-0 But hopefully typing and listening here is helping me move closer to figuring this out.

[FromA2Z]

I've whittled my amazon reading wishlist of over 200 books to this. I couldn't help but through in a 4th alternate in the elementary years. My list does loosely follow the 4 year cycle. Considering that this is a Literature list for school, I've included more "classic" titles. I've tried to include a little of adventure stories, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction works. As I have two boys, my list leans that way. I've included links to some hardcover illustrated (usually abridged) editions of books. I really like the idea of having this kind of books that can be handed down. I believe a pp mentioned it. Some of them are available used only.

 

My list (younger years as read alouds):

 

Preschool 2 yrs:

Complete Adventure of Curious George -Rey (original 6 stories)

Mike Mulligan and More Burton

 

 

 

Preschool 3 yrs:

My Father's Dragon Trilogy

The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter

James Herriot's Treasury for Children

 

Preschool 4 yrs

Mr. Popper's Penguins

A Bear CalledPaddington

Winnie the Pooh Collection

 

Kindergarten

Wizard of Oz (I have this beautifully illustrated version from my childhood)

Uncle Wiggily's Storybook

Aesop's Fables

 

1st Grade

Hans Christian Anderson's Fairy Tales

Jungle Book Note: the book linked does not contain Rikki Tikki Tavi

D'aulaires Greek Myths

 

Lighter alternate: Ralph and the Motorcycle

 

2nd Grade

Peter and Wendy

King Arthur

Adventures of Robin Hood

 

Lighter Alternate: Charlotte's Web

 

3rd Grade

Call of the Wild or White Fang

Wind in the Willows

http://www.amazon.com/Story-Doctor-Dolittle-Books-Wonder/dp/0688140017/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=I22UODFO9DVYKH&colid=34235ARZHO4Y9

 

Lighter Alternate: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh

 

4th grade

The Railway Children

Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Chronicles of Narnia

 

Lighter Alternate: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

 

5th Grade

Arabian Nights

Black Ships Before Troy and Wanderings of Odysseus - Sutcliffe

The Bronze Bow

 

Lighter Alternate: A Wrinkle in Time

 

6th Grade

Swiss Family Robinson

Secret Garden

Johnny Tremain

 

Lighter Alternate: Island of the Blue Dolphins

 

7th Grade

Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Red Badge of Courage

Tom Sawyer

 

8th Grade

The Time Machine

A Separate Peace

To Kill a Mockingbird

 

9th Grade

Anthology of Greek Plays

Ben-Hur A Tale of the Christ

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings

 

10th Grade

Anthology of Shakespeare

Pilgrim's Progress

Moby Dick

 

11th Grade

Les Miserables

Crime and Punishment

Great Expectations

 

12th Grade

Grapes of Wrath

Animal Farm

Fahrenheit 451

[Chrysalis Academy]

I feel like we are getting two different lists in this thread. Lists to be read aloud to children and lists for children to read to self. Or are we expecting all these to be read by children?

 

I can't see a 5th grader reading Les Mis. A 7th grader reading Paradise Lost is also quite a challenge, no? I don't mean to point the finger at individual replies and I don't intend my tone to be snooty. I am genuinely curious if many children are reading at such an advanced level that they can truly appreciate these books so young. Or are we talking abridged classics?

 

I also wonder if the parents recommending them have read all the books on their list? Really hope that doesn't sound rude, I don't mean it to! I just feel some of these titles are definitely must reads, at some point, but I'm not sure that point is 10-13 years old.

 

I do think it is important to expose children to the classics. I am in the process of reading 200 classics myself and love to talk the stories over with my dd.

Spycar- Loved your post about reading aloud parts of Mody Dick. I will have to start bookmarking pages for dd while I read.

 

:lol::lol::lol: When I read the post about Paradise Lost in 7th, I was thinking "Really??" but I put Les Mis in 5th on my list, so the pot was calling the kettle black, I guess :D

 

In my post, I am thinking more about the literature that is tied to the history we are studying at a particular age/stage (as well as its appropriateness), and I am doing a combo of RA and IR. For example, DD read Tom Sawyer herself, but we are reading the Wind in the Willows (and will read Les Mis) together, aloud. The reason I put adaptations, rather than originals, in 7th & 8th is that I think that is the time she will transition into independent reading, but I can't predict exactly what she'll be ready for - but I can't see assigning the Iliad to be read independently in 7th grade!

 

And yeah, I either have pre read or will pre read everything. She asked to read Uncle Tom's Cabin, and I am currently reading it, and thinking no - this one can wait till she is older. By next time around the history loop she will be in 10th grade, a better time for that book than now . . .

[MidwesternMom]

Wow. Great lists-- a lot to think about.

 

My oldest is high school aged, and I asked her what she would pick, both for how much she enjoyed reading them (or having them read to her) and how much they stuck with her over the years.

 

Dr. Doolittle

Black Beauty

D'aulaires Greek Myths and Norse Myths

Charlotte's Web

The Hundred Dresses

The Secret Garden

 

Read on her own:

The Odyssey

The Narnia series

Island of the Blue Dolphin

To Kill a Mockingbird

Grapes of Wrath

 

She mostly reads non-fiction now that she's older and her picks from the last two years are:

 

Into the Wild

What is the What?

Half the Sky

and on and on in the same vein.

 

She was assigned and read many more "classics" than appear on this list, but they didn't make her list of having "meant the most".

[Hunter]

I adored Curious George as a child, but...I don't think I have room. I just put a hold on My Father's Dragon Trilogy at the library. I have to see that!

Thank you everyone for the lists, stories and links. Links are so nice.

 

Has anyone read Raggedy Ann lately?

 

I am having the hardest time picking Greek and Roman mythology. In the past I know my youngest son read some Padraic Colum and someone else like him, but it is all so fuzzy to me now.

 

The Pooh thread I started was surprisingly popular :-0

 

I haven't read Twain in awhile, but I remember Huck being uncomfortable as a group read in High School. Is Tom Sawyer as racial?

 

Has anyone read Nelson Mandalas African Folktales?

 

I'm struggling with racial balance, but lately I have come to a place of acceptance that it is not my duty to learn about the whole world and it really is okay to mostly concentrate on my own little corner of the world.

 

As I child I remember reading a set of Native American myths. There was a book for each of the 4 directions. I have never been able to find the series. I think I really want something Native American, but am not sure what. Probably one of the stranded girl books.

[Hunter]

Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Heidi is one of the most delightful books I have read and I still have it on my top 10 even though it has probably been 7-8 years since we read it last (maybe I will have to pull that one out again).

 

 

I think Heidi is a definite. I was starting to worry that my list was too white, but...then I said to myself, I am white, and...it's okay to be me.

[Hunter]

Has anyone seen this edition of Black Ships Before Troy?

[stripe]

I adored Curious George as a child, but...I don't think I have room. I just put a hold on My Father's Dragon Trilogy at the library. I have to see that!

Thank you everyone for the lists, stories and links. Links are so nice.

 

Has anyone read Raggedy Ann lately?

A few years ago. I've mentioned previously I have an old one with a black Mammy character.

 

The one I read was ....in Cookie Land. At the time, my kids found it positively frightening!

 

I am having the hardest time picking Greek and Roman mythology. In the past I know my youngest son read some Padraic Colum and someone else like him, but it is all so fuzzy to me now.

 

Has anyone read Nelson Mandalas African Folktales?

They're very nice. Beautiful illustrations.

 

I'm struggling with racial balance, but lately I have come to a place of acceptance that it is not my duty to learn about the whole world and it really is okay to mostly concentrate on my own little corner of the world.

 

It is hard to cover the whole world.

 

If you want something African for a change, I have to say that, for young kids, Atinuke (who is Nigerian) has written some very charming books about Anna Hibiscus. I think they are very life-affirming and not at all saccharine. And set in an urban environment, not out in the bush. Additionally, for older children, I think Nancy Farmer's books are good and somewhat sci-fi, which one never expects from Africa. The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm is set in a futuristic Zimbabwe.

[Xilka]

I don't have time to group by grade or think of three for each grade, but my list would definitely include in elementary age:

 

Grimm's fairy tales

a good collection of Norse Mythology retellings (d' Aulaire's or similar)

a good collection of Greek Mythology retellings (d'Aulaire's or similar)

a collection of children's poetry

 

for an American child, I would further include:

Little House in the Prairie

Wizard of Oz

Alice in Wonderland

something by Roald Dahl (James and the giant Peach, for example)

 

 

for Middle grades (6-8)

The Hobbit

Tom Sawyer's Adventures

The Three Musketeers

Gulliver's Travels

Robinson Crusoe

Short Stories by Edgar Allan Poe

for strong readers: a novel by Charles Dickens and Jane Austen each

 

Wow! Almost identical to mine. Except that ds is reading some of the middle grade books at elem age (Gulliver's Travels, Tom Sawyer, Robinson Crusoe). And yes, lots and lots and lots of mythology.

[Hunter]

Sigh about Raggedy Ann. Sometimes it's so hard to have so much access to so many old books that have several reoccurring blatantly different and now offensive world views in them. When I read Pa singing that horrible folk song in Little House in the Big Woods, I was just caught so by surprise. At least for that book, it is fairly easy to edit it out. Other books are just infected all the way through with something unacceptable. I have to wonder what certain Christians and other people who believed in human rights thought of those book back then. And what are we blind to in the books being written now?

 

I put Anna Hibiscus on hold at the library. I'm excited to see that book! It sounds like it might end out being a good tutoring tool for me. This librarian is obviously in love with the series. http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/afuse8production/2010/08/11/review-of-the-day-anna-hibiscus-by-atinuke-and-hooray-for-anna-hibiscus-by-atinuke/#_

[stripe]

By the way, Raggedy Ann in Cookie Land takes place out of the nursery so there are no other dolls. You can avoid Mammy that way. But it does have a goblin who (of course) is finally reformed but keeps trying to eat the raggedies.

 

BTW Anna Hibiscus is actually mixed and in the fourth book goes to stay with her (white) Canadian grandma.

[Hunter]

For the Poe stories, has anyone found a collection that they particularly like?

[Hunter]

By the way, Raggedy Ann in Cookie Land takes place out of the nursery so there are no other dolls. You can avoid Mammy that way. But it does have a goblin who (of course) is finally reformed but keeps trying to eat the raggedies.

 

BTW Anna Hibiscus is actually mixed and in the fourth book goes to stay with her (white) Canadian grandma.

 

I bought a $0.01 copy of Raggedy Ann last night. The sample doesn't include a table of contents. Maybe I'll glue the chapter shut, if it's included :-)

 

Yes, I saw that Anna's mom was Canadian, and that everyone has cell phones and Anna texts people oversees. I think the majority of Africans live in cities now, just like the rest of the world, don't they? So far I think this might be the only modern book I am considering, and I think might be the perfect one to provide some balance, in a variety of ways.

[Sukale]

My sister always buys my girls books for their birthdays and asks me what ones to get them. I am so happy to use this thread to make an awesome book list to give her to pick from. My sister can't have kids so she kind of shares mine, LOL. This will be nice to read these special books to them throughout the year from their favorite Aunt.

[EMS83]

I'm tempted to write down every book on this thread and make sure we squeeze them in.

 

I AM writing down every book on this thread! Well, copypasta to Excel. I'm glad you started this OP, but I fear it has had the opposite effect on me; I now want a huge library of excellent books. And I'm vaguely ashamed to say that I have a BA in English and I haven't read even half the books on this thread. :blushing: I'm currently going through Heidi (which I've never read) with my two older ones. Just a chapter a day, completely unrelated to our other endeavors.

 

And you're right about literature (good literature) being verbal art. It cannot be approached like math or science.

[Hunter]

I'm glad people are finding the thread useful in any way they want to use it.

 

I'm battling the "shoulds" today vs the books that will delight a child.

[Pen]

Why the phrase "non-literature"??? Especially when you're talking about McClosky?

 

Hunter---yes i do really love the books by the Langs. There's also Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp

 

Probably not so much a distinction between "literature" and non-literature as between long vs. short books.

 

It isn't clear to me what the purpose of this list is, but looking at it from the desert island POV there is an issue of whether it would be better to have long books that would keep entertainment going longer, or shorter books that get read again and again. I could have perhaps solved this by putting in the McClosky, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, and also perhaps Good Night Moon in for the pre-pre stage and then continuing on. Anyway, they were read again and again. The Mountain who Loved a Bird book, btw. is also in this category, illustrator Eric Carle as I recall, but loved here far more than the Hungry whatever it was, Caterpiller?.

 

Also I'm told that Everything for a Dog is fantastic and stays on 3rd grade list, but that so is Mary Poppins (from child) therefore, replace the Reluctant Dragon with Mary Poppins in my list.

 

My list has been geared toward what was actually loved and would be good company on the desert island--not toward what look like they "should" be in a library for a child. I should add that Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web were also loved here, but I put Trumpet of the Swan, both because it was often the number one favorite by that author, and because fewer people would have been likely to mention it.

[Pen]

I'm glad people are finding the thread useful in any way they want to use it.

 

I'm battling the "shoulds" today vs the books that will delight a child.

 

There's something to say for having some "shoulds" around. But I think in terms of your money expenditures (I sensed that was part of the issue) it would be better to focus on the things that will delight the child and are also worthwhile reading (rather than either ones that would sit, or ones that would be fun, but not excellent in any way). Also if you are not actually on a desert island, you can get books that will be a 'read-it-once' type books from a library and put more of the money into the ones that will be the over and over again type books.

 

 

I have already used up all my spots for 3 for each grade done, but another thing that got over and over again reading here were the Lemony Snicket Series of Unfortunate Events books. They are definitely in the delight the child, not great literature should books. But if on a desert island, they could give some solace.

 

So, ummm, how old are your children (or grandchildren?) and what are you going to actually get now that you have all of these ideas? BTW, we got some nice "should" books from grandparents...as gifts there is something to say for some should books coming from grandparents, but where the delight books came from grandparents it gave more of a basis for something to talk about with the grandparents. A lovely Aesop's fables (especially since we already had a copy that was already not being used) for Xmas is kind of ho hum, you know, Dear ___, Thank you so much for the beautiful book..." and there it sits. Make Way for Ducklings was something to actually snuggle up with grandma over at reading time.

Edited March 13, 2012 by Pen

[Pen]

I'm glad people are finding the thread useful in any way they want to use it.

 

I'm battling the "shoulds" today vs the books that will delight a child.

 

"A curriculum that gets done is superior, to a superior curriculum that doesn't get done." A good book that gets read is superior to a better book that doesn't get read.

[Hunter]

OKay, I know I'll change my mind, but this has been a good exercise for me, to ATTEMPT to create a list. I'll be editing this to add links.

 

The Loeb classics are because I think it is critical for children to see real books in Greek and Latin and to use sentences for copy work. These little books also include the English on the facing page and were created to fit in a suit jacket pocket. Children find them fascinating.

 

Pre-3 Mother Goose, Winnie-the Pooh, Beatrix Potter

 

Pre-4 Little House in the Big Woods, Raggedy Anne, A Child's Garden of Verses

 

Kingergarten Cinderella, Eskimo Twins, Jungle Book

 

Grade 1 Grimms, Pinocchio, Wind in the Willows

 

Grade 2 Aesop, Peter Pan, Heidi

 

Grade 3 Charlotte's Web, Nesbitt Shakespeare, Swiss Family Robinson

 

Grade 4 Norse Myths, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Black Beauty

 

Grade 5 Native American Myths, King Arthur, Christmas Carol

 

Grade 6 Greek/Roman Myths, Loeb The Gallic War, Moby Dick

 

Grade 7 Pilgrim's Progress, Sherlock Holmes, Loeb Plutarch's Lives VII

 

Grade 8 Arabian Nights, The Old Man and the Sea, Poe Stories

Edited March 13, 2012 by Hunter

[Chrysalis Academy]

Honestly, I think The Wind in the Willows would be wasted on a first-grader . . . :D I am reading it aloud to dd9 now, and she loves it. But it has some really advanced vocabulary, (which I think is fine for littles) and some *long* passages of description with I don't think dd5 would get much out of. DD9 is at the perfect stage to hear the alliteration, pay attention to the sound of the language, see the pictures in her mind - and to appreciate the sarcasm, and the quirky characters. DD5 wouldn't get all that.

 

I definitely agree with some pps who said that the right book at the wrong time might be not only wasted, but counterproductive. I would think that it would be important to be willing to put a book on the shelf for a year or two if it's over the head of a child.

 

Anyway, just 2 more cents!!

[stripe]

Peter Pan seems more advanced to me than Charlotte's Web

 

But I find Hunter's list totally fascinating

[nmoira]

The Jungle Books are pretty intense for K in terms of content and vocabulary.

[Hunter]

I know my list seems really weird :-)

 

I want to use the stories to inspire play, dress up, drawings, creative writing, and to be a source of copy work.

 

I felt like I needed to INTRODUCE ideas, and people, and quotes as early as possible, to make them AVAILABLE to the child, to ponder and revisit for years and years to come.

 

It is not wasted if it's revisited, which is the plan. These books are their forever books.

 

With my own children and even now with the students I tutor, I tend to be "no nonsense" and "tough" as they call me. Play and pleasure are hard concepts for me to teach, because of my disadvantaged and hard life. If I don't create a SMALL list that is doable for me, with a goal I am passionate about, it won't get done.

 

I have an increasing number of people using my private library, and looking for a quick lesson put together on the fly. And they are always asking me what NEEDS to de done. Many of them have missed out on the most basic of academics and homelife. With my lacks and their lacks, I have to be real.

 

And when I have grandchildren, my time with them might be very limited. I might need to make every moment count. I'd rather give them a retelling of a difficult book and leave it with them to grow into, than just read a baby book with them, that gets soon tossed aside and forgotten.

 

If I retell some of Raggedy Anne, and help them make a rag doll, and keep talking about Raggedy Anne on the phone for years to come, I'm hoping it will mean something to them.

 

And for some of my disabled, foreign, abused, etc students, I want to introduce these books for the first time. I cannot recreate an entire lost childhood for them, but I can give them a taste of what they missed. Sometimes just a chapter of pooh, to whet their appetite, and then they start reading it to their nephew and finish it that way.

 

I wanted books about living toys, and warm loving homes, and far away places. Many of my students know nothing of these things. My children and I didn't get enough of it, but things can be different for the grand babies.

 

I know my list is weird :-) But I'm weird! :-) Thanks for the things you all pointed out. I'll be sure to see if I can rearrange things, if I can still present play inspiration in time, some other way. I ordered the Mother Goose and poetry book already, so I can see what wide variety of play inspiration is in them.

 

I always use the KJV Bible as my main literature book and main textbook. There are so many free educational support resources available for the Bible. That is why I didn't list a Bible story book. I've always just retold the Bible myself and let even preschoolers wrestle with bits of the rich language. I just wish I'd been even more playful with it back in the day.

 

http://www.faith-at-home.com/godly-playtips.html

 

http://exploreandexpress-sheila.blogspot.com/2012/03/three-brave-friends-shadrach-meschach.html

Edited March 14, 2012 by Hunter

[stripe]

I want to use the stories to inspire play, dress up, drawings, creative writing, and to be a source of copy work.

 

I felt like I needed to INTRODUCE ideas, and people, and quotes as early as possible, to make them AVAILABLE to the child, to ponder and revisit for years and years to come.

...

I wanted books about living toys, and warm loving homes, and far away places. ....

I know my list is weird :-)

Frankly, I don't think you are weird so much as groundbreaking, because you are looking at this through an interesting perspective and questioning a lot of assumptions AND I think your idea is really fantastic.

 

Now, as much as I love books, I have started to wonder if skipping madly from book to book leaves any impact. My kids have forgotten a lot of books, and I've reread some already, but I always feel like I need more! more! more! And so something here resonates with me. I also like the idea of delving into something again and again. I never quite identified with CMason's idea of reading a book once and never again. I think one gains something by encountering a book multiple times.

 

Also I agree with the idea of introducing people to things so they understand references. My kids' eyes lit up when they overheard someone on the news reference the goose that lay the golden egg because they knew that goose!

 

Additionally I love the idea of inspiring play.

 

It's a great idea. I always pay close attention to your ideas.

[Hunter]

Make a Peter Pan sword

 

Peter Pan sword fights just cannot wait till after Charlotte's Web. Also there are already talking animals in grade 2 with Aesop, and Aesop needs to be there to access the wonderful Grade 2 Waldorf resources.

[Hunter]

I had a hard time holding Rikki Tikki Tavi off till Kindergarten. I could't wait a second more. Mongooses and snakes and the Indian garden. And the quotes, the wonderful quotes and the language. They just need bits of it and retellings to start. And they can make clay snakes and sleep with a toy mongoose to keep them safe.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CrEX4MxAzA

[Hunter]

Frankly, I don't think you are weird so much as groundbreaking, because you are looking at this through an interesting perspective and questioning a lot of assumptions AND I think your idea is really fantastic.

 

Now, as much as I love books, I have started to wonder if skipping madly from book to book leaves any impact. My kids have forgotten a lot of books, and I've reread some already, but I always feel like I need more! more! more! And so something here resonates with me. I also like the idea of delving into something again and again. I never quite identified with CMason's idea of reading a book once and never again. I think one gains something by encountering a book multiple times.

 

Also I agree with the idea of introducing people to things so they understand references. My kids' eyes lit up when they overheard someone on the news reference the goose that lay the golden egg because they knew that goose!

 

Additionally I love the idea of inspiring play.

 

It's a great idea. I always pay close attention to your ideas.

 

I think less is more when it comes to lit. But how do we choose? It's hard, very hard. The cultural reference thing makes it even harder to choose. The world is so big now and there are so many cultural references. I've learned though, I need to just create my own culture, and make it mine. Sometimes my references will link up with others and sometimes they won't, but at least I will be grounded in me and mine.

 

I have hardly any faith at all in God. That is a side effect of Post Trauma, and I refuse to beat myself up for being symptomatic. But my culture is the Bible and those are the references I know best and teach most. It grounds me. I find it grounds most of my students too.

 

All the lit is just gravy on top of the Bible. Hopefully tasty and rich gravy! :-)

 

I always pay attention to what you say too Stripe!

[Pen]

Ummm. Is it too late to suggest The Velveteen Rabbit?

 

The list you have seems fine if you are giving these all up front so that if the child(ren) get there at a different stage/age it will work fine. I think some things on your list arrive too late.

 

Too late--which may be more of a problem than too early-- include Charlotte's Web and A Christmas Carol, and Narnia, and probably also King Arthur--but it depends exactly what version of that, some would be suited for high school.

 

I strongly recommend introducing Shakespeare at more like K age, by taking the children to see actual plays if possible, and/or movie versions, and then having the actual original plays to read, not short child versions. (Waldorf, btw, since you seem interested in it, has 8th grade perform a Shakespeare play each year, and all the younger children go to see it.) Also children are reading Magic Tree House a lot these days between 1st to 3rd, and one MTH takes them to Shakespeare's England (features Midsummer Night's Dream) and another to Dickens' England (features a Christmas Carol)... so the chances are good that they may encounter that and be ready for that play and at least A Christmas Carol whenever they are ready for MTH. My son loved Oliver Twist this year (3rd), and my whole class was doing it in 2nd grade when I was a child. (No not reading it, but having it read to us, and then acting it out and so on.)

 

I also think The Lion, Witch and Wardrobe are appearing too late on your list. I don't know what the exact Native American Myths you chose are, but that subject to me would start much earlier (It was part of grade K, 2 and 3 at Waldorf if you are looking at that.)

 

SOTW has some Arabian Nights stories in it and children reading that may then be interested in more of the Arabian Nights stories much earlier than that appears on your list also.

 

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, and I hope you'll continue as you work them out more!!! It gives me some ideas for upcoming years.

[Spy Car]

 

All the lit is just gravy on top of the Bible. Hopefully tasty and rich gravy! :-)

 

 

If you can find a hardcover KJV Bible illustrated and designed by Barry Moser (who also did a marvelous Moby Dick) at a price you can endure, strongly consider purchasing it. His edition is an example of beautiful typography and arresting art. It really is a pleasure to read a fine book rather than the unartful editions one typically finds in Bibles printed in small fonts on onion-skin.

 

Moser's work is a very different reading experience that treats the work with respect as an enduring cultural touch-stone.

 

Bill

[nmoira]

I had a hard time holding Rikki Tikki Tavi off till Kindergarten. I could't wait a second more. Mongooses and snakes and the Indian garden. And the quotes, the wonderful quotes and the language. They just need bits of it and retellings to start. And they can make clay snakes and sleep with a toy mongoose to keep them safe.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CrEX4MxAzA

But it's only one story out if what is essentially two books. The Just So Stories are more appropriate as a whole for that age.

[Bula Mama]

What a GREAT thread! Thanks for starting it! I definitely gleaned from it and have also found a bunch of free books for Kindle now that I didn't realize were out there. I got side tracked by recommendations on Amazon and downloaded some classics for myself, too (shhhh!).

[stripe]

I had a hard time holding Rikki Tikki Tavi off till Kindergarten. I could't wait a second more. Mongooses and snakes and the Indian garden. And the quotes, the wonderful quotes and the language. They just need bits of it and retellings to start. And they can make clay snakes and sleep with a toy mongoose to keep them safe.

 

Oh, for crying out loud. I had Rikki Tikki Tavi out of the library for three months and no one read it. I will have to get it back again and make another try!

[Hunter]

Ummm. Is it too late to suggest The Velveteen Rabbit?

 

The list you have seems fine if you are giving these all up front so that if the child(ren) get there at a different stage/age it will work fine. I think some things on your list arrive too late.

 

Too late--which may be more of a problem than too early-- include Charlotte's Web and A Christmas Carol, and Narnia, and probably also King Arthur--but it depends exactly what version of that, some would be suited for high school.

 

I strongly recommend introducing Shakespeare at more like K age, by taking the children to see actual plays if possible, and/or movie versions, and then having the actual original plays to read, not short child versions. (Waldorf, btw, since you seem interested in it, has 8th grade perform a Shakespeare play each year, and all the younger children go to see it.) Also children are reading Magic Tree House a lot these days between 1st to 3rd, and one MTH takes them to Shakespeare's England (features Midsummer Night's Dream) and another to Dickens' England (features a Christmas Carol)... so the chances are good that they may encounter that and be ready for that play and at least A Christmas Carol whenever they are ready for MTH. My son loved Oliver Twist this year (3rd), and my whole class was doing it in 2nd grade when I was a child. (No not reading it, but having it read to us, and then acting it out and so on.)

 

I also think The Lion, Witch and Wardrobe are appearing too late on your list. I don't know what the exact Native American Myths you chose are, but that subject to me would start much earlier (It was part of grade K, 2 and 3 at Waldorf if you are looking at that.)

 

SOTW has some Arabian Nights stories in it and children reading that may then be interested in more of the Arabian Nights stories much earlier than that appears on your list also.

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, and I hope you'll continue as you work them out more!!! It gives me some ideas for upcoming years.

 

Pen, I love Velveteen Rabbit too! :-) I personally had to choose just a couple other longer toy stories though, with just 3 books a year to focus on. I'm sure many others here are glad to be reminded of the tale, that we haven't discussed since the very beginning of the thread.

 

Everyone here has very different world views and different educational and different mental health goals, making each list unique. One of the biggest differences I've noticed is that my list is closer to PS and Waldorf, than the TWTM 4 year history sequence.

 

The Native American myth book I picked is not an easy book. It's been labeled by some as the "Native American Bible". I chose to hold off on it, till the 5th grade which is the strongest PS year for American History, knowing I will have a slew of free online supplements to assist me. And also I try so hard to balance TOPICS.

 

Grade 3 in Waldorf is heavy on the Old Testament and farming. The OT gets done every year with me, so I wanted to really focus on farming in grade 3. I needed Charlotte's Web for that year.

 

Arabian Nights, um...I've been reading that this week. I don't know how to retell these stories at an appropriate level, for young children. Just...wow! It needed to wait, because I personally am stumped on how not to traumatize a child with it.

 

The book I am most sad about presenting so late is Pilgrim's Progress. I remember reading a biography where a little girl comes home from boarding school and reads the book to her preschool siblings and they act out and play the story and it is just hysterical. I remember specifically that toddlers were lugging loaded pillowcases up the stairs.

 

I also remember reading about primary school students playing "Gallic War" in Latin outside a one room school house and being happy to go inside to translate more, to glean bits to add to their play for tomorrow.

 

We cannot choke a child with too much too soon. And with all the educational philosophies we will always be "behind" in one, while focusing on the priorities of another. I am so thankful for the bits I have gleaned from, and continue to glean from Waldorf, but it is not my primary educational influence. Shakespeare just is not as important to ME as living toys, talking animals, warm and cozy homes, certain play props, castles and a few exotic locales. Shakespeare in the 3rd grade is a step up from fairy tale play, adding a new delicious twist, and a relief from the more rustic farmyard and the deserted island of the other 3rd grade books.

 

Spy Car, I am drooling over the Barry Moser Moby Dick. The hard cover is about $50.00. Many tell me that Moby Dick and Pilgrim's Progress are in a whole other playing field, than all the other titles in my list. They are at the end of my list and I have time to dwell on them. They might need a little saving up for. I couldn't find many samples for the Barry Moser Bible, but what I saw was beautiful, but I'm not sure if the mood of the pictures worked for me. I couldn't see enough to tell :-(

 

Stripe and nmoira, Rikki is, well... more than Pooh is to ME. Rikki is nonnegotiable. I can see entirely how others can skip him, and maybe should. All of us need to think about what our priorities are. Most of us here don't need to teach out children to climb a palm tree, hunt seals or read Zulu, but some people do. It's really okay to skip stuff and keep our circle small enough to keep it warm and safe.

 

I'm hoping we will have a new list to read from someone else soon. I especially like to know WHY people picked what they did. This is NOT a right or wrong, or a one size fits all exercise. It's just meant to get us thinking and prioritizing and making sure we don't get so distracted by the little stuff that the truly important big stuff doesn't get done. This is about each family figuring out their OWN literature mission statement.

[DarlaS]

Three isn't workable for pre-school because of the length of the books. So skipping this.

 

I'd purchase a set of the twelve Lang coloured Fairy Books for Grades 1-4 (The Blue Fairy Book, etc.)

 

For the other grades I'd make a list appropriate for each level and pick randomly. However, I'd fix the results for The Wind in the Willows and Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass (these would count as one).

 

It could be if one of them was this one:

 

http://www.amazon.com/20th-Century-Childrens-Book-Treasury-Picture/dp/0679886478/ref=pd_sim_b_2

[Hunter]

It could be if one of them was this one:

 

http://www.amazon.com/20th-Century-Childrens-Book-Treasury-Picture/dp/0679886478/ref=pd_sim_b_2

 

I just ordered a $2.66 copy of this. Thanks! I'm not sure if and where I'll officially change my list, but this is a good book to own, at that price.

 

I was looking again at the Native American myths. As much as I like that book for 5th grade, I'm seeing I have no official INTRODUCTION of Native American peoples before 5th grade and I don't like that.

 

This is really hard!

 

Does Garden of verses have ANYTHING Native American in it? I don't see anything in the above book.

 

I guess I could just read a little bit from the mythology books of the upper grades, without delving too much into them. Just like I intend to revisit the books introduced in the lower grades. Maybe I can visit a tiny bit of the upper grade books the same way but backwards a bit? Ugh! I'm talking in circles.

 

And Arabian Night is the biggest mess for me. How do I wait to read the words "Open Sesame"? But quartering the body and the cobbler sewing it back together and the servant girl killing all the men in the jars by pouring hot oil on them is all just REALLY yucky and the major part of the story, not just a part that can be skipped.

[Hunter]

I've been doing more thinking. I'm calling my list, my "Forever Books" list.

 

I looked again at The 20th-Century Children's Book Treasury and am glad I purchased it, but I know I don't want that as a "Forever Book". This new title of my list is helping me focus and tighten up my literature mission statement some more.

 

I'm realizing that some families might benefit from having 2 separate lists called their "Great Books" list AND their "Forever Books" list. A Great Book could be quickly read one time and not expected to be a "Forever Book".

 

Also an idea can be introduced quickly with a library book, that comes late in the "Forever Books" list, so that the "Forever Book" can be delayed a bit longer.

Edited March 14, 2012 by Hunter

[Hunter]

My sister always buys my girls books for their birthdays and asks me what ones to get them. I am so happy to use this thread to make an awesome book list to give her to pick from. My sister can't have kids so she kind of shares mine, LOL. This will be nice to read these special books to them throughout the year from their favorite Aunt.

 

Sukale, I'm thinking...maybe...with the idea of a "Forever Books" list that you have decided upon, it would be a great honor for an aunt to be allowed to be the one to purchase one of these special books, that you intend to teach your child to love and keep safe through adulthood. Maybe she would like to help you create the list.

[nmoira]

Does Garden of verses have ANYTHING Native American in it? I don't see anything in the above book.

Not unless you count this, but it's not what I'd call a good introduction :001_smile: :

 

 

 

 

Foreign Children

 

 

 

Little Indian, Sioux, or Crow,

 

Little frosty Eskimo,

 

Little Turk or Japanee,

 

Oh! don't you wish that you were me?

 

You have seen the scarlet trees

 

And the lions over seas;

 

You have eaten ostrich eggs,

 

And turned the turtles off their legs.

 

Such a life is very fine,

 

But it's not so nice as mine:

 

You must often as you trod,

 

Have wearied NOT to be abroad.

 

You have curious things to eat,

 

I am fed on proper meat;

 

You must dwell upon the foam,

 

But I am safe and live at home.

 

Little Indian, Sioux or Crow,

 

Little frosty Eskimo,

 

Little Turk or Japanee,

 

Oh! don't you wish that you were me?