Help needed! Selecting literature for 12-15 year old (reading-phobic) girls

[ereks mom]

I want to tie our literature in with our history.  For history, we will be using BJU Heritage Studies 6 (best for their reading level and also because they do well with workbook pages and notebooking/lapbooking, which will be easy to incorporate). The topics covered in the text are below, with the literature I'm considering below each topic.   

 

We will not be spending a lot of time on most of the first few topics listed (Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India) because some of the girls studied Ancients with me last year (through early Greece). But I do want to cover these briefly as a review for the returning students and also as an overview for the new students.  We'll probably spend only a week or so on each of those topics, and then 2-3 weeks each on Early China, Greece, Mayas, Africa, Japan/China/India, and the Byzantine era, as well as Israel (because I want to do a brief study of the Biblical feasts), but I anticipate spending at least 4 weeks each on Rome and the Middle Ages.

 

Keep in mind that these girls DO NOT like to read.  They think being assigned 10 pages per night is sheer torture.  Books will need to be 4th-6th grade reading level with a modern, straightforward style of language--not flowery, so 19th century literature is out, except as adaptations. Think ESL. They aren't, but they do well with that type of materials. And in case you're concerned that I won't be challenging them enough because these books are so EASY, you should know that we will do skills work with some of the "Jumpstarters for..."  series, including the ones for Figurative Language, Writing, and Grammar.  These books give "bite-sized" practice in some important skills. So, literature needs to be as enjoyable as possible.  Therefore, easier is better. Some of the books I've selected are picture books. One thing I am excited about is that I plan to have them read Cinderella stories from each of the different cultures we will study (or as many as I can find, anyway). Please give suggestions for others!

 

We will be reading through the history textbook, which is obviously non-fiction, so for literature, I would prefer to use mostly fiction. I plan to have the girls read mainly folktales, but will use some novels, which we will read aloud together for the most part. We read 1-2 chapters in class each day, and they are assigned a chapter to read each day for homework.

 

I'm pretty well decided on the resources for most topics except Middle Ages, which, as you will see below, is a LONG list of "maybe's". Except notice that I have NOTHING for India! Help!

 

Mesopotamia

Foster: City of Rainbows (picture book)

 

Egypt

Bower: The Shipwrecked Sailor (picture book)

Pirotta: The Golden Slipper (picture book, Cinderella theme)

 

Israel (Biblical Feasts)

Sampson: A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays

Wertheim: Walk With Y'Shua Through the Jewish Year

 

India

(I need something for India!)

 

[Early] China

Collier: Chinese Mythology

Herbert: Marco Polo for Kids

 

Greece

McGovern: Aesop's Fables

Spies: The Iliad and the Odyssey in Greek Mythology

(We read Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff last year, and they found it quite difficult as far as vocabulary and comprehension--reading level, according to Amazon, is 7th & up.)

 

Rome

Foster: Augustus Caesar's World

Lively: In Search of a Homeland

Shakespeare: Julius Caesar (Sparknotes No Fear Shakespeare or Barron's Shakespeare Made Easy)

Speare: The Bronze Bow

Wolfson: Roman Mythology

 

Mayas

Eboch: The Well of Sacrifice

Schuman: Mayan and Aztec Mythology

 

Africa

Altman: African Mythology

Steptoe: Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters (picture book, Cinderella theme)

Vernon-Jackson: African Folk Tales

Woodson: African Myths and Folk Tales

 

Japan, China, India

Ji-Li Jiang: The Magical Monkey King

McAlpine: Tales From Japan

(I need something else for India!)

 

Byzantine era

Cohen: Seven Daughter and Seven Sons

Coolidge: Tales of the Crusades

Demi: Muhammad (picture book)

McCaughrean: 1001 Arabian Nights

 

Middle Ages [primarily Europe]

This is the unit that is giving me grief because it's such a huge topic and there are SO MANY things to choose from! I know that my choices are too Anglo-centric (if that's even a word). I need some books about the Franks, Goths, Gauls, Celts, and Germanic people.

 

Ashby: Cædmon's Song (picture book)

Buff: The Apple and the Arrow

Crossley-Holland: The World of King Arthur and His Court

Cushman: Catherine Called Birdy

Gray: Adam of the Road

Green: The Adventures of Robin Hood

Lovett: The Great and Terrible Quest

McCaughrean: The Canterbury Tales

McGovern: Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest

McGraw, Eloise: The Striped Ships (may be too difficult; reading level is 6th-10th)

Meyer: Young Royals Series

Morpurgo: Arthur, High King of Britain

Morpurgo: Beowulf

Morpurgo: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

O'Dell: The Road to Damietta (I like the sound of this one, but it's probably too difficult for them; Amazon says 7th & up)

Rinaldi: Nine Days a Queen (may be too difficult; reading level is 6th-8th)

Temple: The Ramsay Scallop(may be too difficult; one reviewer suggests 8th & up)

Tusuiani: Dante's Divine Comedy as Told for Young People

Wolfson: King Arthur and His Knights in Mythology

 

And thanks to LoriD, I've also added these to my to-be-considered list  :o:

Favorite Medieval Tales (Osborne)

Favorite Norse Myths (Osborne)

Joan of Arc (Stanley)

A Medieval Feast (Aliki)

Castle Diary (Platt)

"Farmer Giles of Ham" (Tolkien)

"Smith of Wooton Major" (Tolkien)

Knight's Castle (Eager)

[almondbutterandjelly]

I am seconding Mary Pope Osbourne's Favorite Medieval Tales.  I liked D'Aulaire Norse Myths. http://www.amazon.com/DAulaires-Norse-Myths-Ingri-dAulaire/dp/159017125X

 

I liked Usborne's Arabian Nights and also Illustrated Stories from Shakespeare.  Here are links for description and samples, but you can buy them from Book Depository.  http://www.usborne.com/catalogue/book/1~CG~CGI~6416/illustrated-arabian-nights.aspx

http://www.usborne.com/catalogue/book/1~FC~FC7~4668/illustrated-stories-from-shakespeare.aspx

 

Real Reads Dante's Inferno.  http://www.bookdepository.com/Inferno-Dante-Alighieri/9781906230524

 

Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges

 

For India, I had found a copy of Mahabarata for Children at the used book store, and it was okay.  If you search for that at Amazon, you get lots of Indian picture books.

[almondbutterandjelly]

For a fun overview of Greek mythology, my dd loved Townsend's Amazing Greek Myths of Wonder and Blunders.  In fact, it got her hooked on greek mythology.

http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Greek-Myths-Wonder-Blunders/dp/0147510694/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404836118&sr=1-1&keywords=amazing+greek+myths+of+wonder+and+blunders

 

 

During our medieval studies, we read a good "playscript" version of Doctor Faustus by Geraldine Mccaughrean.  That could be fun with the girls. they tend to like reader's theater at that age.  http://www.bookdepository.com/Oxford-Playscripts-Doctor-Faustus-Geraldine-Mccaughrean/9780198320869

 

[almondbutterandjelly]

For Celts, we read The Magic of the Mabinogion by Ifans,  http://www.bookdepository.com/Magic-Mabinogion-Rhiannon-Ifans/9780862431747

 

Stories from Ireland by Ita Daly,  http://www.bookdepository.com/Stories-from-Ireland-Ita-Daly/9780192736611

 

Fin M'Coul:The Giant of Knockmany Hill by Tomie dePaola  http://www.amazon.com/Fin-Mcoul-Giant-Knockmany-Hill/dp/0823403858/ref=sr_1_47?ie=UTF8&qid=1404836691&sr=8-47&keywords=tomie+depaola+childrens+books

 

Island of the Mighty  by Middleton http://www.amazon.com/Island-Mighty-Oxford-Myths-Legends/dp/0192741330/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1404836741&sr=8-3&keywords=island+of+the+mighty

 

I actually had my dd color (yes, she was in 7th grade) from Dover Publications Celtic Gods and Heroes while I read outloud from some of the above books.

 

(We're part irish so I wanted to do a bunch of Celtic mythology.)

 

Oh, I haven't read it yet, but I dearly want the nonfiction, Usborne beginners book Celts:  http://www.amazon.com/Celts-Usborne-Beginners/dp/0746074735/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404836927&sr=8-1&keywords=usborne+celts

 

I love the Usborne books.

[almondbutterandjelly]

Oh, and for the Renaissance, Mike Venezia has some fun reads of the various artists.  Here's his DaVinci book:

http://www.amazon.com/Vinci-Getting-Worlds-Greatest-Artists/dp/0516422758/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404837038&sr=8-1&keywords=mike+venezia+da+vinci

 

And his Michelangelo book:

http://www.amazon.com/Michelangelo-Getting-Worlds-Greatest-Artists/dp/0516422936/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404837066&sr=8-1&keywords=mike+venezia+michelangelo

 

My dd has read a graphic novel about DaVinci several times:  http://www.amazon.com/Life-Leonardo-Vinci-Stories-History/dp/0769646980/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1404837217&sr=8-5&keywords=graphic+novel+leonardo+davinci

 

Timberdoodle.com carries a Gutenberg and the Printing Press graphic novel that is quite good.  http://www.timberdoodle.com/Johann_Gutenberg_p/273-208.htm

and a Marco Polo graphic novel that is quite good also:  http://www.timberdoodle.com/The_Adventures_of_Marco_Polo_p/273-310.htm

 

 

[HS Mom in NC]

All Through the Ages  http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/017073/3807acd5d968a4bbe66c9c2f  has thousands of books from dozens of lists organized by historical era and reading level.  It's an excellent resource for anyone wanting to use or add living books into their homeschooling.

[ereks mom]

All Through the Ages  http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/017073/3807acd5d968a4bbe66c9c2f  has thousands of books from dozens of lists organized by historical era and reading level.  It's an excellent resource for anyone wanting to use or add living books into their homeschooling.

I own this one, and I find it daunting. :-/

[ereks mom]

Thanks, everybody!  I'm checking into a bunch of these.  :)

[ereks mom]

I found these illustrated Stories from India online: http://www.indolink.com/kidz/mythology.html

Comments?

[Cleopatra]

I've started a children's literature blog and I'm in the middle of compiling a list of chronological literature.  You can go there and see if you can get some ideas. It's called Children's Classic Book Carousel.  Right now I only have the ancient's period up but I'll try to work on it some more in the next week to add more books.  The books are listed chronologically rather than by country, but it's pretty easy to pick out the ones based on different countries.  Perhaps a country list is the next one I should work on!  :)

[HS Mom in NC]

I own this one, and I find it daunting. :-/

 

How so?

 

 

In the OP's case I would suggest looking in the Historical Fiction section for the reading level she thinks is the best fit for her kids in each era she wants to cover, read the short descriptions and pick several that cover the type of information she thinks is most valuable.  If her library catalog is online, she can see which are available and she can go in person to flip through them before she makes a final decision.

 

[ereks mom]

How so?

 

 

In the OP's case I would suggest looking in the Historical Fiction section for the reading level she thinks is the best fit for her kids in each era she wants to cover, read the short descriptions and pick several that cover the type of information she thinks is most valuable.  If her library catalog is online, she can see which are available and she can go in person to flip through them before she makes a final decision.

 

 

I'm the OP, and I do like this resource (I have the first edition, so maybe an updated edition would be better?), but there's SO MUCH to choose from, and the short descriptions are just that--short--so they don't really help me narrow the field much.  I still have to research to find out what the books are about.  Also, the grade level recommendations given in the book don't work well for me. 

 

[HS Mom in NC]

I'm the OP, and I do like this resource (I have the first edition, so maybe an updated edition would be better?), but there's SO MUCH to choose from, and the short descriptions are just that--short--so they don't really help me narrow the field much.  I still have to research to find out what the books are about.  Also, the grade level recommendations given in the book don't work well for me. 

 

 

I know lots of people use this resource differently, so for future reference,  I'm wondering in what way it isn't a good fit for you.

Are the grade level recommendations too high?  Too low?  To wide a span? Inaccurate?

 

Are you not sure what sub topics you want to cover for each era, or do you know what sub topics you want to cover and you require more details from the book descriptions so you can choose between several books that cover the same sub topic?

 

Is it possible you need a spine first so you can use it to help you narrow down what sub topics to cover more specifically?

[ereks mom]

I know lots of people use this resource differently, so for future reference,  I'm wondering in what way it isn't a good fit for you.

Are the grade level recommendations too high?  Too low?  To wide a span? Inaccurate?

 

Are you not sure what sub topics you want to cover for each era, or do you know what sub topics you want to cover and you require more details from the book descriptions so you can choose between several books that cover the same sub topic?

 

Is it possible you need a spine first so you can use it to help you narrow down what sub topics to cover more specifically?

 

I feel that the grade level recommendations are a bit high, or maybe it's just too wide a span.  Again, I'm not sure if the newest edition of the book is different from my first edition (which I'm not looking at right now, so I'm going from memory), but I think my book lumps together K-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12.  IMO, those spans are enormous, especially in the K-3 and 7-9 lists. 

 

I have a spine book, so narrowing down what I want isn't a problem.  The problem is that I can't tell enough about the books that are listed to make heads or tails of what it's about and what it *looks* like.  I'm intensely visual, and I guess I just need to *see* a book and hold it in my hand in order to know if it's what I'm looking for.   

 

[Cleopatra]

I feel that the grade level recommendations are a bit high, or maybe it's just too wide a span.  Again, I'm not sure if the newest edition of the book is different from my first edition (which I'm not looking at right now, so I'm going from memory), but I think my book lumps together K-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12.  IMO, those spans are enormous, especially in the K-3 and 7-9 lists. 

 

I have a spine book, so narrowing down what I want isn't a problem.  The problem is that I can't tell enough about the books that are listed to make heads or tails of what it's about and what it *looks* like.  I'm intensely visual, and I guess I just need to *see* a book and hold it in my hand in order to know if it's what I'm looking for.   

 

 

I know what you mean.  I have a dd who is a good reader, but when I look at the levels in All Through the Ages, the book choices can, at times, feel arbitrary.  What I tried to do is familiarize myself with the books as much as possible, and authors as well.  That way you can make a better judgement when narrowing it down.  

 

Honestly, I feel that you'll find this problem with many book lists (Veritas Press' literature curriculum springs to mind).  Even when trying to attach age levels to the books I'm reviewing for my blog, it is so HARD!  One book may be easy for one child, but be difficult for another the same age.  Two children could read the same book and one be able to easily pin-point the themes of the book and the other not.  I think books are often listed for the youngest age that can read them, but that really doesn't help the people whose children may take more time to acquire reading skills. 

[ereks mom]

Honestly, I feel that you'll find this problem with many book lists (Veritas Press' literature curriculum springs to mind). Even when trying to attach age levels to the books I'm reviewing for my blog, it is so HARD! One book may be easy for one child, but be difficult for another the same age.

I agree about that! Especially about Veritas Press. Black Ships Before Troy is listed on their 3rd grade literature list, but I doubt I've ever met more than a couple of 3rd graders who could handle that one. The publisher suggests 7th & up, which seems a lot more on target. I had my high school students (9th & 12th grades) read it last year--actually, we read most of it aloud together--and it was beyond them. Granted, I am teaching below-average learners, but I still don't believe that most 3rd graders are ready for Black Ships Before Troy.