Halcyon Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 I am looking to compile a list of books for my rising 8th grader that focus on other cultures, their struggles, unusual life situations that require grit and determination, minorities, etc. More contemporary books are absolutely fine. He is a HUGE fan of dystopian novels so I am trying to seque him into other books that have that sense of dread and excitement but are perhaps more well-written than the ones he's been choosing ;) When I say he is socially mature, I mean that mature themes don't bother him-he understands them, can talk about them with me and doesn't get put off by them. Here's my very tentative list: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Don’t Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight by ALexandra Fuller 1984 by Orwell The Watsons Go to Birmingham The Absolutely True Diary of Part-Time Indian Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor Roll of Thunder Hear my Cry The Hiding Place Corrie Ten-Boom Year of Impossible Goodbyes Watership Down THe Outsiders THe Red Kayak Tangerine by Edward Bloor Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis The Endless Steppe 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Rabbit Proof Fence? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted July 11, 2015 Author Share Posted July 11, 2015 I loved that movie-didn't even realize there was a book. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Of those books that I've read, I enjoyed all of them (including Rabbit Proof Fence), although for some "enjoy" isn't quite the word I mean. (Yes, I just love reading about a boot grinding a human face forever! I mean, who doesn't?) I will say that Tangerine seems geared towards a slightly younger audience than most of those choices. It's still a good book, it just stands out to me for that reason. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted July 11, 2015 Author Share Posted July 11, 2015 Thanks-we might do Tangerine as an audio book during our car rides, so ds10 will be listening in. I want to throw in a few books that he can handle (he is the opposite of DS12--very advanced reader but cannot handle disturbing topics at all). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted July 11, 2015 Author Share Posted July 11, 2015 Any Charles Dickens that would be appropriate for 8th grade, IYO? Great Expectations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisabees Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 How do you feel about non-fiction? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 A few more off the top of my head... A Long Walk to Water I Am Malala Brown Girl Dreaming Red Scarf Girl Home of the Brave Seedfolks Breaking Stalin's Nose The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian American Born Chinese Monster The Crossover I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Journey to Jo'Berg Cry, the Beloved Country Since you have Year of Impossible Goodbyes down, I'll add... it's okay and I've taught it (to 8th graders), but I sort of like When My Name was Keoko better. Covers some of the same history (it doesn't go into the communist era like the second half of Year of Impossible Goodbyes) but is much more focused on identity and difficult decisions - the decisions they make in Year of Impossible Goodbyes are hard, but it feels like they're inevitable and unequivocally good, as opposed to some of the moral ambiguity in Keoko. It's just a more nuanced book overall, IMHO. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Any Charles Dickens that would be appropriate for 8th grade, IYO? Great Expectations? I enjoyed A Tale of Two Cities in 8th grade; it was part of my English class. I can still remember wondering how it was known that the broken cask of wine foreshadowed the spilling of blood. Regards, Kareni 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted July 12, 2015 Author Share Posted July 12, 2015 Thank you for all the suggestions--keep em coming. I am going to try and get through a few of these myself to determine if they're a fit for ds before school starts....which is sooner than i realized :mellow: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Any Charles Dickens that would be appropriate for 8th grade, IYO? Great Expectations? A Dickens audio book? I just got finished listening to Great Expectations and it was particularly fantastic as a listen - well done voices/accents for each character. It's a less gritty book than some Dickens, but a nice one to start with. Oliver Twist or David Copperfield or another one might be more gritty, more about the living conditions of the poor. But I'm thinking a great audio is a good way to start a kid on Dickens, maybe. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 And if you are open to some nonfiction too, Shannon read a couple of great things last year that did prove to be very consciousness-raising. The Omnivore's Dilemma has a young people's edition. It was great, she kept talking about it, learned a lot about industrial food. She also read a young people's edition of The Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond, all about human anthropology, and Eyes Wide Open: Going Beyond the Environmental Headlines. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 I had my kids read the kid's version of the Morgan Spurlock McDonald's book as 3rd/4th graders. They haven't eaten there since. :-) Wonder Counting by 7s I'd also check out Sonlight lists - they love social books with emotional connections. I did NOT like (and did not finish, and would not recommend) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian The Thing about Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Any Charles Dickens that would be appropriate for 8th grade, IYO? Great Expectations? I'd recommend David Copperfield or Tale of Two Cities. Both of those have movies too. You could start with the book, and then watch the film. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildiris Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 What about Uglies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenL Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Oliver Twist Wonder (a definite for all, imho) Night A Long Walk to Water Between Shades of Grey Homeless Bird (easy, but a good read) The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime Shooting Kabul Freak the Mighty *These are just some I used when I taught a middle school lit class. They loved them and yielded excellent discussions. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime As an autistic individual, I do not recommend this book. This review sums up many of my concerns. To be honest, real-world fictional portrayals of autism (not speculative fiction) where the disability is clearly mentioned are so frequently bad that I think it's a lot easier to read an autobiography. Many autistics have written autobiographies and memoirs nowadays, not just Temple Grandin, so we shouldn't have to rely on books written by people with no connection to the spectrum, who acknowledge they did very little research beforehand. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian I enjoyed that enough, and thought it was thought-provoking, although it does contain some material that some parents might prefer not to discuss with a middle-schooler. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I enjoyed that enough, and thought it was thought-provoking, although it does contain some material that some parents might prefer not to discuss with a middle-schooler. I think it's a good 8th-9th grade book. I don't think I'd recommend it for younger. But, yeah, not everyone would agree. Ditto the Maya Angeleu. I was looking at the young readers edition of The Boy Who Harnassed the Wind the other day and it looked really easy, but also really engaging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio, by Peg Kehret http://readkiddoread.com/books/small-steps-the-year-i-got-polio Through My Eyes, by Ruby Bridges http://readkiddoread.com/books/through-my-eyes The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, by Peter Sis http://readkiddoread.com/books/the-wall-growing-up-behind-the-iron-curtain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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