Looking for that PERFECT book...kickoff to 9th grade lit

[MorningGlory]

My husband and I are putting together our own lit program (not history-based) for our rising 9th grade son. We cannot seem to agree on what the very first book should be! :D

 

We want a novel that is exciting, a bit challenging, and good for discussion. A great kickoff book! One that will interest our math/science son and hopefully give his high school lit journey a good start. Our 9th grade plans are eclectic; we are including 8 full-length novels/plays (4 for analysis, 4 for just reading), some shorter works or novellas (like Old Man & The Sea), lots of essays and short stories, and poems. We have 7 of the 8 novels picked out...we just need that first "hook" book! LOL!

 

My husband had chosen Rocket Boys by Homer Hickman. In all respects (but one), this is the perfect book for this son. He would love the science/math aspects with all the rockets and stuff...and I think he would enjoy the father/son and brother/brother interactions. But *I* cannot get past how the boys talk about and "interact" with the girls. My husband says it is reality. I KNOW it is reality...but I don't want my son reading it and fueling the fire, so to speak. At least not yet. Maybe in a couple more years. So understand that I am a bit conservative in this area.

 

So that is kind of what I'm looking for...an exciting novel that would appeal to a STEM boy.

 

Please throw suggestions my way.

[Lori D.]

Setting aside your concerns about Rocket Boys (the language/attitudes of the boys towards girls) for just a moment... Could you list what works you ARE using -- at least the novels/plays? Then we won't be repeating with ideas of things you are already planning on. ;)

 

Not personally familiar with Rocket Boys, but if you are just looking to get DS reading and want a work he would enjoy, it sounds like Rocket Boys would achieve that goal of enjoyable, straight-forward story-telling. My question: From your post, it sounds like you ALSO want to take your DS the next step beyond just reading, into beginning literary analysis (you mentioned wanting a work that was "a bit challenging, and good for discussion"). Is there enough "below the surface" of Rocket Boys to also help your DS make the transition into Literature?

 

Typically a classic piece of Literature has "meat" to it:

- Timeless themes -- some more on the surface, others woven subtly underneath.

- Universality -- regardless of when it was written, the work should hold meaning for people in any culture

- Morality -- should say something of value, drawing attention to the human condition

- Connections -- as you read a classic, you discover connections and influences from other writers and other great works

- Social/Political commentary -- the author often addresses prevailing traditions and social conditions of the times in the work

- Unforgettable, believable characters

- Setting -- not only well-described with original and creative language, but often the setting subtly reflects (or is paradoxical to) the choices and moods of the characters.

- Layered, complex, and skilled writing -- varied and effective use of literary elements such as symbolism, irony, imagery, etc.

- Keeps you thinking throughout the reading

- "Sticks" with you -- think about it long after reading it; often use it as a comparison for other works, films, real life...

- Can be reread again and again, each time finding new meanings and depths

 

 

Again, not familiar with Rocket Boys to be able to determine if it will do what you want as an introduction into Classic Literature (what about using it as a great Dad/Son bonding time/evening read aloud -- and opportunity to DISCUSS why those boy attitudes towards girls are inappropriate??). And, in case, whether due to the objections you raised about it, or for other reasons, and you still want some ideas of novels to "hook" DS's interest, here are a few -- alas, none of them are very STEM-related, BUT: they would not be hard reads, they are more boy-oriented, and they would be fairly easy for getting started with literary analysis:

 

How about starting with a really fun, exciting classic short story from your list?

 

Or, if you really want to start with a longer work:

- Animal Farm (Orwell) -- novella; lit. guide ideas: Glencoe Lit. Library; Penguin Group; Sparknotes

- The Time Machine (Wells) -- novella; lit guide ideas: Penguin Group; Sparknotes; The Best Notes

- The Giver (Lowry) -- novella; suggested lit. guide, PLUS this guide

- Something Wicked This Way Comes (Bradbury) -- lit. guide ideas: Sparknotes; The Best Notes

- The Hobbit (Tolkien) -- suggested lit. guide, PLUS this one

- Call of the Wild (London) -- short novel; suggested lit. guide

- To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee) -- suggested lit. guide, plus this one

- Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Twain) -- lit. guide ideas: Glencoe Lit. Library; Sparknotes

- Out of the Silent Planet (Lewis) -- suggested lit. guide

 

 

And one last thought -- 8 novels/plays PLUS several novellas PLUS lots of essays, short stories, and poetry -- even if "just reading" some of these without discussion/analysis -- that might be a bit much to start with! Consider dividing that list in half and have your "A" list (will do) and your "B" list (do if there is time). High school seems to take a lot more time than one might guess, and if Literature is not high on DS's list, you want to be careful to keep it to a manageable amount so he doesn't end up being overwhelmed by it and resenting/hating those Great Books... Just a thought, FWIW! :) BEST of luck, whatever you decide to go with! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited April 14, 2012 by Lori D.
added info

[MorningGlory]

I am so delighted that you answered, Lori! I know you can help me find that "perfect book".

 

It might help to let you know our GOAL for this son's lit plan. He is a very strong reader...but he CHOOSES non-fiction. It has driven me crazy since he was in 2nd grade! I can count on one hand the times in his life when HE has picked up a fiction book and read it because HE wanted to. I've assigned many, many, many fiction choices through the years to make up for this. So our overarching goal for high school lit is to try to get this boy to want to read more "books"! Not science texts or encyclopedias! :)

 

Could you list what works you ARE using -- at least the novels/plays? Then we won't be repeating with ideas of things you are already planning on. ;)

 

This ds has completed Lightning Lit 7 and 8, so he has read all the books associated with those programs. His favorite book in those 2 years was Treasure Island with The Hobbit a close second (he went on to read LOTR afterwards).

This is our plan for 9th lit at this moment: (copied from a word doc...by "reader" we mean the book he is just to read during the quarter)

Summer Novel 1: April Morning – Howard Fast

Summer Novel 2: A Day No Pigs Would Die – Robert Peck

 

First Quarter:

· Novel (four weeks): Rocket Boys - Homer Hickham, Jr.

· Reader: Watership Down – Richard Adams

· Shorter Works (two weeks): The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway

· Poetry (one week): Art of Poetry

 

Second Quarter:

· Novel (four weeks): Henry V– Shakespeare (synopsis, movie, then play)

· Reader: Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie

· Shorter Works (two weeks): The Bet – Anton Chekov and A Christmas Memory – Truman Capote

· Essay (one week): Once More to the Lake – E.B. White

 

Third Quarter:

· Novel (four weeks): Great Expectations – Charles Dickens

· Reader: Peace Like a River – Leif Enger

· Shorter Works (two weeks): A White Heron – Sarah Orne Jewett and How Much Land Does a Man Need? – Leo Tolstoy

· Poetry (one week): Art of Poetry

 

Fourth Quarter:

· Novel (four weeks): The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain

· Reader: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams

· Shorter Works (two weeks): The Pearl – John Steinbeck

· Essay (one week): Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu – John Updike

 

it sounds like Rocket Boys would achieve that goal of enjoyable, straight-forward story-telling. s there enough "below the surface" of Rocket Boys to also help your DS make the transition into Literature?

Yes, the book is fabulous. But if I start listing all its positive attributes...and there are many (it meets most, if not all, of your list of ingredients for meaty lit)...then I may convince myself that ds is ready to read it! So I better not go there. :D

 

you still want some ideas of novels to "hook" DS's interest, here are a few -- alas, none of them are very STEM-related, BUT: they would not be hard reads, they are more boy-oriented, and they would be fairly easy for getting started with literary analysis:

Or, if you really want to start with a longer work:

- Animal Farm (Orwell) -- novella; lit. guide ideas: Glencoe Lit. Library; Penguin Group; Sparknotes

- The Time Machine (Wells) -- novella; lit guide ideas: Penguin Group; Sparknotes; The Best Notes

- The Giver (Lowry) -- novella; suggested lit. guide, PLUS this guide

- Something Wicked This Way Comes (Bradbury) -- lit. guide ideas: Sparknotes; The Best Notes

- The Hobbit (Tolkien) -- suggested lit. guide, PLUS this one

- Call of the Wild (London) -- short novel; suggested lit. guide

- To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee) -- suggested lit. guide, plus this one

- Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Twain) -- lit. guide ideas: Glencoe Lit. Library; Sparknotes

- Out of the Silent Planet (Lewis) -- suggested lit. guide

We have Animal Farm planned for 10th. My husband read Something Wicked This Way Comes a few weeks ago...he thought most of that book would go over ds's head. We do have Bradbury's Dandelion Wine planned for 10th. Son read Call of the Wild in 6th. I've got White Fang on my short list for the "hook book".

 

From your list, that leaves a couple of choices. I know nothing about Time Machine. I think I will read it to check it out. Son likes science fiction (when it is assigned...LOL!). Okay, I stayed up late last night and read The Giver. What a GREAT book!! This is definitely going on my short list for the hook book...but I ask: Is it too easy for a hs lit list? The reading is easy, but the themes and ideas are NOT. DS has not read any kind of "dystopian" novel...this might be a good choice.

 

And one last thought -- 8 novels/plays PLUS several novellas PLUS lots of essays, short stories, and poetry -- even if "just reading" some of these without discussion/analysis -- that might be a bit much to start with!

I think when you look at the list above and how we have planned it, the choices are not too much. Again, this son is a very strong (and fast) reader. He read The Hobbit in under 24 hours...with complete understanding. Do you see why he makes me want to put my head through a wall?

 

Thank you again for your help! If you think of anymore suggestions, please let me know! And anyone else, too!

[Chris in VA]

Does he like dystopian lit? A lot of it is science-y. (If that makes any sense...lol)

 

Personally, I think The Giver is too easy, but if he hasn't read it, could be good.

 

 

I'm not much help. :lol:

 

I will say you might want to save Watership Down as a discussion book when you hit Gov't studies later. There's tons of discussion material there that makes different forms of gov't come alive. (It is one of my favs...)

[TheApprentice]

A book that has not been mentioned, but still a great book: Fahrenheit 451. Great read to start the year.

[MorningGlory]

Bumping my own thread. :) Thank you for the suggestions! My husband read The Giver last night; we both really liked it. I think we are going to assign it as a summer read...just to introduce this son to that genre.

 

Newest short list for our 9th grade "hook book"...in no certain order:

White Fang

Fahrenheit 451

...great idea, Apprentice!

Watership Down

...good to hear that it is a favorite of yours, Chris! My husband loves it, too. It is next on my reading list.

Time Machine

Any other ideas?

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Bumping my own thread. :) Thank you for the suggestions! My husband read The Giver last night; we both really liked it. I think we are going to assign it as a summer read...just to introduce this son to that genre.

 

Newest short list for our 9th grade "hook book"...in no certain order:

White Fang

Fahrenheit 451

...great idea, Apprentice!

Watership Down

...good to hear that it is a favorite of yours, Chris! My husband loves it, too. It is next on my reading list.

Time Machine

Any other ideas?

 

Has he read much Poe? What about Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles. It is a set of connected short stories about the rise and fall of the Mars Colony. It explores some interesting themes of race, loss, revenge, technology. Some of the stories are quite creepy/thought provoking. I asked about Poe because the story The Fall of the House of Usher has many allusions to Poe stories.

 

World War Z is another science fiction book where more is happening than the surface plot. The Zombie War is used as a framework to discuss many questions about civilization, humanity and what you will do if cornered. (It's good enough that it is now on one of the US Navy reading lists and the author did a presentation at the Naval War College before a class of command level officers.) Our family heard Brooks speak and he's great. (Relative to your concerns with Rocket Boys, there are some glancing references to s3x, but none that I would call graphic or that dwell on the subject. It is a tough dystopian topic. One of the harder chapters has a recollection of mothers poisoning their children when surrounded by zombies. Another mentions a group that had high numbers of suicides because of the stress of listening to radio broadcasts as cities fell. Yet, despite this, I would say it is a book that is hopeful about man's ability to survive and stay human.)

[Lori D.]

Sounds like you've got a great, detailed plan, with lots of variety! Looks like you're good to go!

 

 

However, if you want any thoughts or comments, here you go:

 

There's a LOT in Watership Down and Peace Like a River for discussion, so I just find it personally hard to see those scheduled as "just" readers ;) ... I do strongly suggest shifting at least Watership Down to 10th grade and reading it in conjunction with Animal Farm -- they would make SUCH an excellent team up for discussion and compare/contrast! You might even consider adding "Below the Root" (by Zylpha Keatly Snyder), or a dystopian work in there at that time, too, as it would fit VERY well...

 

I only suggested Something Wicked as I think it is easier than Farenheit 451 :lol: But, I come from a Literature background, so I can see that Farenheit 451 might be a better first outing with Bradbury for a math/science/non-fiction kinda guy. ;) While I haven't personally read it, I believe Dandelion Wine (if it's the work I'm thinking of) is more poetic reflections through random events over the course of a boy's summer -- so it is far less of a straight up plot line with well-defined characters than Something Wicked, which may make Dandelion Wine a bit more of a stretch for a non-Literature type than Farenheit 451... How did your DS do with "A Day of Pleasure" in LL8? I'm guessing Dandelion Wine will be a bit similar.

 

Speaking of Farenheit 451: your DS might really enjoy doing a whole year of Classic Sci-Fi works. We did that when our DS, who was really into Worldview at the same time, was in 10th grade, and he still says that (next to Lit. Lessons from the Lord of the Rings) it was his all-time favorite Literature year!

 

Agree with you about The Giver -- while the reading level is not hard, the meat is in the themes you have to wrestle with. WELL worthwhile -- and definitely at a high school level! And I *highly* recommend that Discovering Literature guide to go with it -- lots of meat in that guide! And you can balance it with a Christian worldview with the much less meaty but helpful Progeny Press guide.

 

 

 

I think when you look at the list above and how we have planned it, the choices are not too much. Again, this son is a very strong (and fast) reader. He read The Hobbit in under 24 hours...with complete understanding.

 

 

But being a quick reader with complete understanding of what happens in the plot is a VERY different type of reading and type of experience than what you'll be doing with books by really studying them as Literature to understand what is going on UNDER the surface -- the themes, symbolism, and deeper issues -- and how the work fits in with an author's whole body of work, and how the work may be commenting on/rebelling against other works of the time, or on the social/political/religious/economic situation of the times... That takes doing some reading/research about the author and the times. That takes going back and re-reading slowly and annotating what "sticks out" to you; to go slowly, one chapter at a time, to be able to delve deep and discuss... But, sounds like you already know that; it will just be a matter of getting DS to learn a new, additional way of reading. ;)

 

 

Wishing you wonderful Literature adventures as a family! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited April 16, 2012 by Lori D.

[MorningGlory]

Thank you, Sebastian, for the suggestions. It seems that Bradbury is a recurring theme here! And no, I don't think we have any Poe (other than poems) on our lists...I will have to draw my husband's attention to this. I'm also writing down World War Z...for later. ;)

 

There's a LOT in Watership Down and Peace Like a River for discussion, so I just find it personally hard to see those scheduled as "just" readers ;)

Isn't this just the truth!! So many books...so little time. Only 4 more years with this wonderful son. Some of them are going to just HAVE to be readers. LOL!

 

Agree with you about The Giver -- while the reading level is not hard, the meat is in the themes you have to wrestle with. WELL worthwhile -- and definitely at a high school level! And I *highly* recommend that Discovering Literature guide to go with it -- lots of meat in that guide! And you can balance it with a Christian worldview with the much less meaty but helpful Progeny Press guide.

I'm honestly leaning towards The Giver. It has been several days since I read it...and scenes from it are still coming back to me repeatedly. My dh and I have had several great discussions about it. I really appreciate the suggestion to look at this book...I would have never considered it on my own.

 

One more book that I've since thought of...The Chosen. This son DID enjoy Day of Pleasure in LL8, so The Chosen might be a good follow-up.

 

it will just be a matter of getting DS to learn a new, additional way of reading. ;)

So funny...but so true! Again...I come back to The Giver. Since the book is an "easier" read, it would be a good one to use for "learning to dig". I'm going to check into that Discovering Literature guide.

 

Thank you again to all who answered!