WWYD- Finish the book or let him quit?

[DragonFaerie]

What do you do when your child hates the book you've assigned for reading?  For the most part, DS does fairly well with reading.  He has to read a certain amount each day and then write a short summary about what he read, and he generally does fine with it.  Unless I choose a book that he doesn't like.  Then it can take him hours to finish his daily reading because he'd rather be doing ANYTHING else.  

 

Several weeks ago, I gave him Cheaper by the Dozen because I thought he'd enjoy it and find it funny.  Turns out that he hated it, and I think, given that the book is older and contains quite a few references that DS wouldn't understand yet, it was probably not a good choice.  So, we put that one back on the shelf for when he's older and went with something else.  

 

Now I'm running into a problem again with The Jungle Book.  He loves animals but says he just can't get into this book.  He says, "It's boring!"  This is my child who is not a huge reader, so I really, REALLY don't want to do anything that's going to kill reading for him.  So should I let him quit and move on to another book or should I make him finish?  I don't want to encourage him to give up on things, but personally, I hate trying to push through reading a book I find boring.  WWYD?

[Tsuga]

Give him a book list and have him choose a book. He can half-read whatever he wants, but in the end he must read ONE book from that list.

[DragonFaerie]

Give him a book list and have him choose a book. He can half-read whatever he wants, but in the end he must read ONE book from that list.

 

I do have several books on the shelf that are for reading this year, so we could easily just move on to the next one.  I just don't want to encourage the idea that he can just toss whatever he finds "boring."  But really, with the exception of these two books, we haven't had any trouble.  He's read everything else he was assigned and really enjoyed a lot of it.

[krismoose]

I run into the same thing here with ds10. I've been looking at "classics", both modern and older, a bit below his reading level and just picking a few to require him to read. If there's dated language and I really want him to hear it, I read it aloud to everyone. If it still bombs, I shelve it until later. The Secret Garden was like that. Everyone tolerated it, but it's pretty slow so we've shelved it for a bit. This year he's read The Door in the Wall, The Great Brain, Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Farmer Boy, Cricket in Times Square, Dangerous Journey and Castle Diary. Adam of the Road bombed. I'm going to have him finish the year with Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi. I'm just trying to expand the genres he's exposed to at this point, as he reads dozens of nonfiction and Star wars, mine craft, my weird school series type books on his own. Next year we're trying for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, A Wrinkle in Time, Holes, My Side of The Mountain, Hoot, Sherlock Files Book 1 and Johnny Tremain. We'll see what happens. ;-)

[DragonFaerie]

I run into the same thing here with ds10. I've been looking at "classics", both modern and older, a bit below his reading level and just picking a few to require him to read. If there's dated language and I really want him to hear it, I read it aloud to everyone. If it still bombs, I shelve it until later. The Secret Garden was like that. Everyone tolerated it, but it's pretty slow so we've shelved it for a bit. This year he's read The Door in the Wall, The Great Brain, Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Farmer Boy, Cricket in Times Square, Dangerous Journey and Castle Diary. Adam of the Road bombed. I'm going to have him finish the year with Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi. I'm just trying to expand the genres he's exposed to at this point, as he reads dozens of nonfiction and Star wars, mine craft, my weird school series type books on his own. Next year we're trying for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, A Wrinkle in Time, Holes, My Side of The Mountain, Hoot, Sherlock Files Book 1 and Johnny Tremain. We'll see what happens. ;-)

 

DS has already read (or listened to me read) quite a few of these.  He thought A Wrinkle in Time was "a little fuzzy," but he liked it.  He LOVED My Side of the Mountain and has read all three books in that series.  He liked A Cricket in Times Square and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.  When he reads by his own volition, he reads the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (over and over and over) and the Fudge books by Judy Blume.  He also loves the Harry Potter series.

 

Maybe I'm just making too much out of this.  Why do we homeschool if not for the option of dropping things that aren't working for us?  He can force his way through other stuff when he gets to college :D

[Tsuga]

I do have several books on the shelf that are for reading this year, so we could easily just move on to the next one.  I just don't want to encourage the idea that he can just toss whatever he finds "boring."  But really, with the exception of these two books, we haven't had any trouble.  He's read everything else he was assigned and really enjoyed a lot of it.

 

For fiction, I do toss aside everything I see as boring, though.

 

When I was in school, I just read the Cliff's Notes for the tests, or we'd switch off chapters and review together. I love to read but life is short. So I'd force myself to read non-fiction for information, but fiction? No way.

 

I often think many 19th and 20th century authors would cringe to know that their books were required reading for schoolchildren. It's the main reason any book I ever write will have the f-word spattered throughout, with at least one or two lascivious sex scenes. No way will schoolchildren ever be required to read it. I'm pretty sure that's why Kurt Vonnegut put what he did in Slaughterhouse Five. It wasn't necessary. It was just to keep it off the required reading lists. :D

[DragonFaerie]

For fiction, I do toss aside everything I see as boring, though.

 

When I was in school, I just read the Cliff's Notes for the tests, or we'd switch off chapters and review together. I love to read but life is short. So I'd force myself to read non-fiction for information, but fiction? No way.

 

I often think many 19th and 20th century authors would cringe to know that their books were required reading for schoolchildren. It's the main reason any book I ever write will have the f-word spattered throughout, with at least one or two lascivious sex scenes. No way will schoolchildren ever be required to read it. I'm pretty sure that's why Kurt Vonnegut put what he did in Slaughterhouse Five. It wasn't necessary. It was just to keep it off the required reading lists. :D

 

:lol:

[73349]

The Jungle Book is boring. Dump it.

[Lori D.]

What do you do when your child hates the book you've assigned for reading?...

 

...Cheaper by the Dozen… the book is older and contains quite a few references that DS wouldn't understand yet, it was probably not a good choice.  So, we put that one back...

 

...Now I'm running into a problem again with The Jungle Book.  He loves animals but says he just can't get into this book..

 

...I really, REALLY don't want to do anything that's going to kill reading for him...

 

 WWYD?

 

VWWYD?

 

Just me, but when a second older classic is not clicking, I would guess that my student wasn't ready for solo reading older classics, and I would either:

 

1. if really important to finish it: turn it into a read aloud

2. if really important to finish it: read it aloud together "popcorn" style ("you read a page, I read a page")

3. or most likely option: I'd set it aside/try again in a few years, and for now, go for all the wonderful age-appropriate books at the student's developmental timetable and interest

 

Age 11 is still young for the classics, and still just inside the range of where it's a very good idea to keep feeding books at their level and of high interest for lots of stabilization of reading comprehension and building patterns, and to help feed an enjoyment of reading. You don't *always* want reading that forces them to have to stretch -- and when we DID incorporate those books, we usually did them like option #2 above.

 

Again, just what I would do, but I'd hold off on starting those older classics until around age 13-14, and then go for the easier-to-read and high-interest/adventure classics at that later age/stage: Call of the Wild, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Sherlock Holmes short stories, The Hobbit, Ivanhoe, Tom Saywer, Treasure Island, Ben Hur, Around the World in Eighty Days,...

 

So, all that said, below are some book title ideas for the 10-12yo stage to keep going with books at his level, that are well-written, high interest, and many you can start some very gentle, occasional discussions about to start the process of *thinking* about what's going on in the work beyond just plot.

 

BEST of luck in your reading adventures, whatever you decide! Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

 

Books in the Style of Classic Authors

- Wolves of Willoughby Chase (Aiken) -- Charles Dickens-like

- The Twenty-One Balloons (duBois) -- Jules Verne-like

 

Animal Adventures

- My Side of the Mountain (George)

- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (O-Brien)

- The Black Stallion (Farley)

- Summer of the Monkeys (Rawls)

- The Incredible Journey (Burnford)

- Rascal (North)

- Shiloh (Naylor)

- Hundred and One Dalmatians (Smith)

- The Cat Who Went to Heaven (Coatsworth)

- Gentle Ben (Morey)

- Big Red (Kjelgaard)

 

Realistic Adventure

- The Cay (Taylor)

- Call It Courage (Armstrong)

- The Land I Lost (Huynh)

- Island of the Blue Dolphins (O'Dell)

 

Realistic Misadventure

- The Toothpaste Millionaire (Merrill)

- The Great Brain (Fitzgerald)

- The Seventeenth Swap (McGraw)

 

Tall Tale Adventure

- Holes (Sacher)

- By the Great Horn Spoon (Fleischman)

 

Mystery

- The Westing Game (Rankin)

- From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (Konigsberg)

- Detectives in Togas; Roman Ransom (Winterfeld)

 

Historical Fiction Adventure

- The Golden Goblet (Macgraw)

- Eagle of the Ninth (Sutcliff)

- Hittite Warrior (Williamson)

- Johnny Tremain (Forbes)

- The Great Turkey Walk (Karr)

- The Fighting Prince of Donegal (Reilly) -- original title: Red Hugh

- The Master Puppeteer (Paterson)

- Adam of the Road (Grey)

- The Shakespeare Stealer (Blackwood)

 

Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Speculative Fiction Adventure

- Book of Three (Alexander)

- Knight's Castle (Eager) -- read alongside with Ivanhoe (Scott) and/or Robin Hood (Pyle, or other author)

- The Thirteen Clocks (Thurber)

- Enchantress from the Stars (Engdahl)

- Gregor the Overlander (Collins)

- The Phantom Tollbooth (Juster)

- A Wrinkle in Time (L'Engle)

- The Green Book (Walch)

- City of Ember, People of Spark, Diamond of Darkhold (duPrau)

 

"Food for Thought" Books

- Below the Root (Snyder)

- The Pushcart War (Merrill)

- Tuck Everlasting (Babbitt)

- Maniac Magee (Spinnelli)

[SparklyUnicorn]

I sometimes let my kid quit.  He rarely asks to quit.  There are so many books.  Ya know?

 

 

[crazyforlatin]

If you really want him to finish it, maybe use the audiobook version (you may even find it too boring to read aloud). I allow Dd to listen to audiobooks when she is doing work that is not a high level priority for me (she is able to listen and do work at the same time oddly enough) or when she is playing or drawing.

[Bocky]

My dd 10 just rejected The Jungle Book, after reading through the Just So Stories with no complaints. It must really be boring  :leaving:

 

Animal adventure stories she has really enjoyed include Wind in the Willows and Redwall.

[Ewe Mama]

Definitely try an audiobook. If he still thinks it sucks lemons, ditch it.

[DragonFaerie]

VWWYD?

 

Just me, but when a second older classic is not clicking, I would guess that my student wasn't ready for solo reading older classics, and I would either:

 

1. if really important to finish it: turn it into a read aloud

2. if really important to finish it: read it aloud together "popcorn" style ("you read a page, I read a page")

3. or most likely option: I'd set it aside/try again in a few years, and for now, go for all the wonderful age-appropriate books at the student's developmental timetable and interest

 

Age 11 is still young for the classics, and still just inside the range of where it's a very good idea to keep feeding books at their level and of high interest for lots of stabilization of reading comprehension and building patterns, and to help feed an enjoyment of reading. You don't *always* want reading that forces them to have to stretch -- and when we DID incorporate those books, we usually did them like option #2 above.

 

Again, just what I would do, but I'd hold off on starting those older classics until around age 13-14, and then go for the easier-to-read and high-interest/adventure classics at that later age/stage: Call of the Wild, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Sherlock Holmes short stories, The Hobbit, Ivanhoe, Tom Saywer, Treasure Island, Ben Hur, Around the World in Eighty Days,...

 

So, all that said, below are some book title ideas for the 10-12yo stage to keep going with books at his level, that are well-written, high interest, and many you can start some very gentle, occasional discussions about to start the process of *thinking* about what's going on in the work beyond just plot.

 

BEST of luck in your reading adventures, whatever you decide! Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

 

Books in the Style of Classic Authors

- Wolves of Willoughby Chase (Aiken) -- Charles Dickens-like

- The Twenty-One Balloons (duBois) -- Jules Verne-like

 

Animal Adventures

- My Side of the Mountain (George)

- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (O-Brien)

- The Black Stallion (Farley)

- Summer of the Monkeys (Rawls)

- The Incredible Journey (Burnford)

- Rascal (North)

- Shiloh (Naylor)

- Hundred and One Dalmatians (Smith)

- The Cat Who Went to Heaven (Coatsworth)

- Gentle Ben (Morey)

- Big Red (Kjelgaard)

 

Realistic Adventure

- The Cay (Taylor)

- Call It Courage (Armstrong)

- The Land I Lost (Huynh)

- Island of the Blue Dolphins (O'Dell)

 

Realistic Misadventure

- The Toothpaste Millionaire (Merrill)

- The Great Brain (Fitzgerald)

- The Seventeenth Swap (McGraw)

 

Tall Tale Adventure

- Holes (Sacher)

- By the Great Horn Spoon (Fleischman)

 

Mystery

- The Westing Game (Rankin)

- From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (Konigsberg)

- Detectives in Togas; Roman Ransom (Winterfeld)

 

Historical Fiction Adventure

- The Golden Goblet (Macgraw)

- Eagle of the Ninth (Sutcliff)

- Hittite Warrior (Williamson)

- Johnny Tremain (Forbes)

- The Great Turkey Walk (Karr)

- The Fighting Prince of Donegal (Reilly) -- original title: Red Hugh

- The Master Puppeteer (Paterson)

- Adam of the Road (Grey)

- The Shakespeare Stealer (Blackwood)

 

Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Speculative Fiction Adventure

- Book of Three (Alexander)

- Knight's Castle (Eager) -- read alongside with Ivanhoe (Scott) and/or Robin Hood (Pyle, or other author)

- The Thirteen Clocks (Thurber)

- Enchantress from the Stars (Engdahl)

- Gregor the Overlander (Collins)

- The Phantom Tollbooth (Juster)

- A Wrinkle in Time (L'Engle)

- The Green Book (Walch)

- City of Ember, People of Spark, Diamond of Darkhold (duPrau)

 

"Food for Thought" Books

- Below the Root (Snyder)

- The Pushcart War (Merrill)

- Tuck Everlasting (Babbitt)

- Maniac Magee (Spinnelli)

 

Thank you so much for such a thoughtful, helpful post!  You've offered up some great suggestions here.  Much appreciated!

[Pen]

Let him quit.

 

I didn't assign readings anyway, just offered books I thought might be liked.

 

Age 11-12 had a lot of current modern action-adventure--such as, Ranger's Apprentice, Brotherband, all the Hiaasen books for children (Hoot etc.), with a bit of classics that fit that genre Hobbit, LotR, Huckleberry Finn, Treasure Island etc.

[OneStepAtATime]

Are these assigned readings supposed to be for fun or part of a specific Lit study or LA study?  Is there a specific purpose to the reading choice?  If not, then I agree, just ditch the book or let him listen to it as an audio book, maybe while he does something else.  DS likes to build with Legos or play Minecraft or cook while he listens to audio books.  DS is far more likely to get through a lot more books if many are audio books and he is allowed to do other things while he listens.  (He has headsets and a Kindle so it gives him a sense of control and portability as well as intimacy with the book).

 

Or let him pick something else to read for fun and you convert this to a read aloud or pop-corn read, as others have suggested.

 

 

[DragonFaerie]

He's not ready for real literature study yet, so for this year, I've just been having him read and then write a short summary of the day's reading.  Nothing formal.  We're going to do Lightning Lit 7 next year.  

 

That said, I've decided to let him quit this book.  He's not making a habit of it, and I know that not every book is good for everybody.  We'll move on.  Thanks for all the suggestions, y'all!