Which Ray Bradbury for 11 yo DD?

[shinyhappypeople]

From this list: Ray Bradbury Short Stories

 

These will be read on our Kindle Fire HD and are Whispersync ready.  

  

In my never-ending effort to find fiction that DD will actually read, I'm turning my attention to short stories.  DH suggested Ray Bradbury.  I have NO experience with this author and don't care for sci-fi, but I can see how short sci-fi stories might be right up DD's alley.  So, which one should I pick for her?  What's a good entry point into Ray Bradbury's work?

 

The Kindle - Whispersync combo is mandatory.  DD's a struggling reader (sort of, it's complicated) and it turns our Fire into, as she puts it, "a Leapfrog for adults"   :)

 

I just thought of another advantage of having her read a bunch of short stories by one author.  Authors tend to use the same words and sentence structure in each story.  If she "leapfrogs" her way through a half a dozen RB stories on the Fire and becomes very familiar with his syntax and style, it's a smaller step to transitioning to a full-length novel without whispersync.  Maybe. I think this idea is worth exploring a bit more.

 

 

 

[Lori D.]

Of your linked suggestions, I'd go with The Martian Chronicles. But, I'm not sure Bradbury is that accessible for a struggling reader, and many of his short stories really feel dated — 1950s/60s middle-aged male protagonists in spaceships with a twist end that no longer feels so much like a twist as it did when he wrote this stories 50+ years ago. (And yes, I AM a Bradbury fan; I'm also realistic about the need to keep in mind the context of when he was writing.)

 

Esp. since you mention struggling reader, I do NOT recommend starting with the Bradbury novels in your linked list (Something Wicked This Way Comes, Dandelion Wine). Just me, but another reason I would lean away from starting with Bradbury is his very unique and somewhat difficult style for young and/or struggling readers — unusual metaphors, loads of allusions to historical and literary people and events that are unknown to young readers, main characters break into long philosophical discourses, and often Bradbury intentionally leaves "gaps" or expects the reader to "fill in the dots". All of that is minimized in the short stories, but is still there to a degree.

 

 

I was skimming through the Amazon Kindle-Whispersync list, and was wondering why not go with some of the great kids books in the list? The reading level would be right for a struggling 11yo reader, and many of the books are shorter, so not as overwhelming as a full-length novel.  And much more likely to have similar-aged and more modern protagonists for a "tween-aged" reader to connect with. Here are some that either are shorter, are a series, or have female protagonists:

 

series

- Series of Unfortunate Events

- A to Z mysteries

- The Boxcar Children mysteries

- Nancy Drew mysteries

- Sisters Grimm series

- The Mouse and the Motorcycle; Runaway Ralph; Ralph S. Mouse

- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; The Great Glass Elevator

 

short

- A to Z mysteries

- Sarah Plain and Tall

- Series of Unfortunate Events

- Shiloh

- Frindle; Lunch Money; The Landry News

- The Cay (Taylor)

- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; The Great Glass Elevator

 

female protagonist

- Nancy Drew mysteries

- Sisters Grimm series

- Sarah Plain and Tall

- Caddie Woodlawn (Brink)

 

 

But those are all just guesses, not knowing your DD. What kinds of books interest your DD? That's the genre or area I'd suggest starting with — topics of high interest to encourage getting over the hump of struggling with reading. :)

 

Best of luck in getting over the reading confidence/fluency hump! Warmly, Lori D.

[maize]

I agree with Lori, I would not pick Bradbury for a struggling reader. I read some Bradbury when I was about thirteen and enjoyed it but don't remember it as an easy read; I was a voracious reader and also read War and Peace about the same time, I liked challenging reading.

[lanabug]

If you are looking for classic science fiction, what about Isaac Asimov's short stories?  I don't know if they would be appropriate for a struggling reader, but I remember reading "Rain, Rain, Go Away" around age 12 and enjoying it.  

 

Another possibility might be "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson or "The Lady or the Tiger" by Frank Stockton.

 

Lana

[shinyhappypeople]

She's a reluctant/struggling reader (it's so complicated, I don't fully understand it myself), but she reads solidly at grade level (6th+) with good comprehension (I warned you it was weird) but she does NOT like typical kids books, for the most part.  She's enjoying The Hunger Games at the moment, but it's loooong.  I'm wanting to present her with some semi-instant gratification of short stories.

 

So, in addition to - or instead of - Bradbury, what short stories might she like?  I'm out of my depth.  When I was her age, I like historical fiction and sweet love stories (the longer the better).  She likes.... not that! :)

 

 

[Farrar]

No... I think I disagree with Lori this time. I think Bradbury's stories are perfect for engaging an 11 yo in literature discussion. In general, I wish people would do short stories more often. I think they're the perfect way in to really doing literary analysis. And they're good thinker stories but in exactly the way 11 yos are thinking.

 

The thing I'm unclear about is the struggling vs. not struggling thing. One of the benefits of reading a short story is that you can read it in one sitting. Like, the ones I'm about to mention are stories that my 10 yos have read in a single sitting and they're not voracious or fast readers either. So I guess I don't think the read aloud thing should be a key element. I mean, that's the other point of short stories to me - you can practice reading something a little harder because it's only a few pages long. So even if she's an incredibly slow reader, some of these are literally only about 10-20 pages. They're not even as long as a chapter in Hunger Games.

 

I think the Bradbury story to start with, hands down, is "All Summer in a Day." Best. Short. Story. EVER.

 

"Frost and Fire" is a good option. It's in that Guy's Read collection. In general, those Guy's Read collections are good short story sources - some serious, some very light. They're well chosen, so that might be a good alternate source for short stories in general.

 

"A Sound of Thunder" is another good one. Or "There Will Be Soft Rains." Both of those often make best of for middle schooler lists.

 

There are also good Asimov stories for middle schoolers. In addition to those Guys Read collections (ignore that they're for "guys" - sigh - they're for anyone), there's also a collection by Avi called Best Shorts that's pretty good.

[eternalsummer]

Asimov is probably a better bet in this situation than Bradbury.   

[LaughingCat]

I think the Bradbury story to start with, hands down, is "All Summer in a Day." Best. Short. Story. EVER.

 

I agree 99% with Farrar's post except that I.hated.this.story!   Identified too much with the protagonist I suppose and had too clear a perception of what her emotional reaction would be after the story is over.  Just thinking about the story brings painful feelings to mind so many years later.

[Farrar]

I agree 99% with Farrar's post except that I.hated.this.story!   Identified too much with the protagonist I suppose and had too clear a perception of what her emotional reaction would be after the story is over.  Just thinking about the story brings painful feelings to mind so many years later.

 

Oh, but that's why it's so good. I read it for the first time at about age 9. And then I didn't see it for YEARS but it kept staying with me and it was because of that emotional reaction. At some point, as a young adult it was bugging me and I had to ask someone, like, there was this story I read as a kid... I remembered every detail. And they were like, oh, duh, that's "All Summer in a Day." So that's part of why I feel like it's so good - it evokes so much emotion.

[LaughingCat]

Oh, but that's why it's so good. I read it for the first time at about age 9. And then I didn't see it for YEARS but it kept staying with me and it was because of that emotional reaction. At some point, as a young adult it was bugging me and I had to ask someone, like, there was this story I read as a kid... I remembered every detail. And they were like, oh, duh, that's "All Summer in a Day." So that's part of why I feel like it's so good - it evokes so much emotion.

Well,  I used to agree with that -- but I have read other stories that were equally well remembered for me without being particularly good stories.  Emotionally wrenching ==remembered well.    And these particular emotions are so painful for me still years later (which is why I said I identified too strongly with protaganist).

(note: this is not meant as a comment on whether this particular story is good! I have never read it again since that first time)

[Lori D.]

She's a reluctant/struggling reader (it's so complicated, I don't fully understand it myself), but she reads solidly at grade level (6th+) with good comprehension (I warned you it was weird) but she does NOT like typical kids books, for the most part.  She's enjoying The Hunger Games at the moment, but it's loooong.  I'm wanting to present her with some semi-instant gratification of short stories.

 

So, in addition to - or instead of - Bradbury, what short stories might she like?  I'm out of my depth.  When I was her age, I like historical fiction and sweet love stories (the longer the better).  She likes.... not that! :)

 

Just a thought, but if comprehension is not the problem, I'm wondering if there is a vision problem or an eye convergence problem making the actual act of reading uncomfortable and difficult, and hence, reluctant to do the reading.

 

I definitely agree with Farrar that if you're going for short stories, why not try a regular book? You can do the first story "popcorn style" ("you read a page I read a page") so she can see how short that is. And when she goes "solo" with a short story, she can read just 2-4 pages at a sitting, and take several sittings to finish.

 

I also agree with Farrar about specific Bradbury short stories being great for middle school. It's just that you're not going to get all of the best short stories in one collection. ;) There will still be some "wading" through lesser material. JMO!

 

Some short stories that are great AND short that you can read in one sitting without a Kindle-Whispersync:

 

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Thurber)

The Monkey's Paw (Jacobs)

The Open Door (Saki)

The Lady or the Tiger (Stockton)

There Will Come Soft Rains (Bradbury)

A Sound of Thunder (Bradbury)

All Summer in a Day (Bradbury)

The Lottery (Jackson)

The Red Headed League (and other Sherlock Holmes mystery) (Doyle)

The Black Cat -- or -- The Tell-Tale Heart (Poe)

Story Without an End (Twain)

Lamb to the Slaughter (Dahl)

The Remarkable Rocket (Wilde)

The Nine Billion Names of God (Clarke)

 

Longer short stories

The Ransom of Red Chief (Henry)

The Most Dangerous Game (Connell)

The Catbird Seat (Thurber)

Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (Bierce)

Smith of Wooton Major (Tolkien)

Rikki Tikki Tavi (Kipling)

How Much Land Does a Man Need (Tolstoy)

[shinyhappypeople]

 

The thing I'm unclear about is the struggling vs. not struggling thing.

 

Welcome to my world.

 

::sigh::

 

She'll have her LD evaluation in the next couple of weeks and then maybe then we'll have some more answers.  Sounds awful, but I'll be *so upset* if they tell me "Nothing's wrong, she's fine."  Because clearly something IS wrong, I just can't put my finger on it.

 

Anyway, I do appreciate the story suggestions.  Thank you :)

[shinyhappypeople]

Just a thought, but if comprehension is not the problem, I'm wondering if there is a vision problem or an eye convergence problem making the actual act of reading uncomfortable and difficult, and hence, reluctant to do the reading.

 

I definitely agree with Farrar that if you're going for short stories, why not try a regular book? You can do the first story "popcorn style" ("you read a page I read a page") so she can see how short that is. And when she goes "solo" with a short story, she can read just 2-4 pages at a sitting, and take several sittings to finish.

 

I also agree with Farrar about specific Bradbury short stories being great for middle school. It's just that you're not going to get all of the best short stories in one collection. ;) There will still be some "wading" through lesser material. JMO!

 

Some short stories that are great AND short that you can read in one sitting without a Kindle-Whispersync:

 

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Thurber)

The Monkey's Paw (Jacobs)

The Open Door (Saki)

The Lady or the Tiger (Stockton)

There Will Come Soft Rains (Bradbury)

A Sound of Thunder (Bradbury)

All Summer in a Day (Bradbury)

The Lottery (Jackson)

The Red Headed League (and other Sherlock Holmes mystery) (Doyle)

The Black Cat -- or -- The Tell-Tale Heart (Poe)

Story Without an End (Twain)

Lamb to the Slaughter (Dahl)

The Remarkable Rocket (Wilde)

The Nine Billion Names of God (Clarke)

 

Longer short stories

The Ransom of Red Chief (Henry)

The Most Dangerous Game (Connell)

The Catbird Seat (Thurber)

Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (Bierce)

Smith of Wooton Major (Tolkien)

Rikki Tikki Tavi (Kipling)

How Much Land Does a Man Need (Tolstoy)

 

AWESOME list!  

 

Vision: yes there are issues there, but she's being treated by a COVD and her convergence insufficiency is managed with glasses, which is why continued issues (not just in reading, but in all written output and somewhat in math) is driving me crazy.  I thought fixing the eye issue meant magically fixing EVERY issue, kwim?  

[Lori D.]

Vision: yes there are issues there, but she's being treated by a COVD and her convergence insufficiency is managed with glasses, which is why continued issues (not just in reading, but in all written output and somewhat in math) is driving me crazy.  I thought fixing the eye issue meant magically fixing EVERY issue, kwim?  

 

ug.