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MUST read books WW2 and beyond....


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Hi,

One more post here before I begin putting things into place.  We will begin WW2 after our break and I am having difficult time picking out lit/history books for our time period.  There are SO MANY good books that I get bogged down with the choices!  What I want is people's ideas of the best, must read books for the time period of WW 2 to the present time.  I am hoping we will get through the 2000, but we will see  :)  Anyways, what do you consider the best literature books for this time period.  Oh yeah, my kids are 13.......

 

Thanks so much for taking time to help me out....I know we are all very busy but I sure appreciate being able to come here and glean so much wisdom!

 

pj

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nonfiction too, or just fiction?

 

For literary fiction, I don't have a ton of post WWII must-reads for a 13 year old.  Animal Farm and To Kill  a Mockingbird for sure, but those are earlier.  A lot of "literature" for the modern era isn't really directed at the typical 13 year old, I'd wait for a lot of that stuff till high school.  I notice that in WTM, almost none of the lit suggestions for 8th grade modern era are post WW2.  She has The Hiding Place, and Number the Stars and Anne of Green Gables, but that's about it.

 

We liked Ellen Foster and The Lions of LIttle Rock for fiction.

 

We read some good nonfiction, though, and here were the highlights:

1.       Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow

2.       The Story of the Van Trapp Family Singers – Maria Van Trapp

3.       Farewell to Manzanar

4.      When the Wall Came Down: The Berlin Wall and the Fall of Soviet Communism – Schmemann

5.       Cornerstones of Freedom: Brown vs. Board of Education

6.       Rosa Parks, My Story – Rosa Parks

7.      Dancing to Freedom: The True Story of Mao’s Last Dancer – Li Cunxin

8.      The Land I Lost: Adventures of a Boy in Vietnam – Nhuong

9.      Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – abridged by Chris Van Wyk

10.  Black Gold: The Story of Oil in Our Lives – Albert Marrin

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Well known classics for a 13 year old (so easier content and language than the GREAT books):

Catch 22

Cat's Cradle

To Kill a Mockingbird

Lord of the Flies

Catcher in the Rye

Foundation series (azimov, not a MUST, but if kid likes sci fi, it is a classic)

Lord of the Rings

My Family and Other Animals

 

 

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