CookIslandsMommy Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 I am trying to decided between a few novel studies for DD11 & it is very difficult to pick from the small blurb on amazon. If anyone has read these books as they are winners please advise :) They are Progeny Pres Novel Studies: Crispin: The Cross of Lead OR Door in the Wall Then which of these have you enjoyed reading: Shadow Spinner The Giver (is this appropriate for an 11 year old?) Tuck Everlasting The Cay The Hobbit Which books did you enjoy? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 Of the books listed I like The Cay and Shadow Spinner best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenaInTexas Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 Just in case no one else chimes in --- All I can add is that The Giver is on several local Christian private school reading lists for 5th/6th graders; so I guess it is appropriate for the average 11-year-old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insertcreativenamehere Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 We loved Tuck Everlasting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 I liked the Door in the Wall. I struggle with Avi, can't consistently enjoy his books. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 I just picked up the Door in the Wall to preview for next year's middle ages study. It looks good. Of the others, my dd really loved the Hobbit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 The Giver is appropriate for that age range (unless your child is really unusually sensitive) but, honestly, I think it's overrated. Also, Lois Lowry can't do math. If you're looking specifically for Newbery winners, might I suggest that you expand your look a little? The Newberys have not, historically, been a diverse group of books, though you can find a few Newberys with minority protagonists and/or authors - such as Bud, Not Buddy, Elijah of Buxton, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, or The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm - if you look carefully. There are other book awards that focus specifically on different ethnic groups, or disabilities, or so on. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 The Giver is appropriate for that age range (unless your child is really unusually sensitive) but, honestly, I think it's overrated. Also, Lois Lowry can't do math. If you're looking specifically for Newbery winners, might I suggest that you expand your look a little? The Newberys have not, historically, been a diverse group of books, though you can find a few Newberys with minority protagonists and/or authors - such as Bud, Not Buddy, Elijah of Buxton, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, or The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm - if you look carefully. There are other book awards that focus specifically on different ethnic groups, or disabilities, or so on. :lol: About the math. JK Rowling struggles with math too. I also am not wild for The Giver, but my kids liked it a lot. Shrug. There's a non-explicitly described bit about infanticide. Otherwise, it's very tame, even by YA dystopian standards. I second trying to get some diversity in there. Some books that might fit that bill that we've done for middle school have included Sounder, A Long Walk to Water, and Chains. But obviously there are many other possibilities. As for Crispin vs. The Door in the Wall, I tried to do Door in the Wall with middle schoolers ages ago and it bombed with a whole class. The next time I did Middle Ages and literature, we did Crispin and I liked it so much better. Not that it was a wild success with every kid, but it was good. I think the themes have a lot more discussion potential. I actually like Catherine, Called Birdy much better than either of them though. Tuck, The Cay, and The Hobbit were all not liked by my kids. But that is probably a function of my kids more than anything. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 (edited) Crispin Cross of Lead Haven't read this one, but Avi is a good writer, and this particular book is often highly praised of Avi's works. Door in the Wall While I loved this book, our DDs (at the time, 2nd and 3rd grades) thought it was slow and they weren't that in to it. We did it as a read-aloud. A 6th-7th grader would certainly be able to handle it solo. I don't think I would actively study it for middle school literature. Alternatives for medieval that might be a better fit for a middle school are Adam of the Road by Gray, and then especially for a girl are The Midwife's Apprentice or Catherine Called Birdy, both by Cushman. I actually like Midwife better, as the tween/young-teenaged protagonist is really has a chip on her shoulder and is not as nice as she thinks she is, and over the course of the book begins to realize that and to change positively. I think tween/teen girls may prefer Catherine Called Birdy as she is a very typical teen girl writing a diary and it looks like she may be forced to marry an older man to solidify her upper class family's position/fortune. If wanting literature to study as literature (rather than just "good reads"), another option for a middle schooler would be a medieval classic -- a retelling of King Arthur, or Beowulf, or other. Shadow Spinner I thought it was okay. The writing is a bit better than adequate, but not at classic level. I have DSs so they were "meh" about it. A tween/teen girl may find it more interesting, what with a female protagonist and a fantasy/Arabian Nights setting. If just doing this as a "for fun" read, it's fine. If planning on digging deeper/studying this one, you'd really want to do it more as a supplement or expansion to reading the classic Thousand and One Arabian Nights. There's not so much in this one for studying as Literature. The Giver I did this one with DSs in early high school, and also did it with that a co-op class of 7th-12th graders 3 years ago. It went over well with lots of discussion both with my DSs and then later on with my co-op class. While there are clearly problems in the logic of the writing, and it's not the best-written work out there, the dystopian world is very compelling, and it is simply written and very straight-forward, so this makes for a very useful first exposure to a dystopian world. And there's plenty to talk about in it, even though it is a flawed book. This one does have a disturbing scene of a healthy baby being euthanized with an injection and then basically put into a drawer that leads to a disposal chute. It is not graphically written, but it is clear enough what is happening, and the idea alone is disturbing. If you have a sensitive child, I wouldn't do this one until well into high school. If your child is ready for a first step to talk about difficult issues, then 7th-8th grade can work for this book. Esp. if doing it in middle school, it's a book to study/discuss together, and not hand off as a solo for fun reading book. JMO. Tuck Everlasting I did this with a co-op class of 7th-12th graders 3 years ago, and it sparked a lot of great conversation and thinking. The students all seemed to really enjoy the book, and I think it is quite well-written -- deceptively simple, but lots of meat, both thematically, but also literary elements. Definitely worth studying as literature, but it could be done just as a solo reading book. The Cay Very much enjoyed as a solo read by DSs here when they were 5th/6th grade. A shipwreck survival story. If you want one with a bit more "literary meat" for studying with a middle schooler, then you might substitute Island of the Blue Dolphins. The Hobbit Again, boys here who adore adventure and sword-fighting etc., and who first heard and loved The Hobbit as a read-aloud back in kindergarten. The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy have been loved and read-aloud together multiple times over the years here. Both DSs did Lightning Lit. 8, which includes The Hobbit as part of the program, and they enjoyed studying it a bit more formally through the program as well. I am planning a middle school Lit. & Comp. class for next year, and am planning on including this one in the reading list. All that to say: we are very biased in our love of this one, but there are a LOT of people who do NOT connect with Tolkien's writing style, or with fantasy, and that's fine too. For a middle schooler, The Hobbit could be done as a fun family read-aloud, or as a solo-reading book, or as a book to study more formally. Or, if you would prefer to substitute some other work of fantasy, there are quite a few good ones out there. Edited October 2, 2018 by Lori D. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 I also am not wild for The Giver, but my kids liked it a lot. Shrug. There's a non-explicitly described bit about infanticide. Otherwise, it's very tame, even by YA dystopian standards. I liked it a lot more when I was that age, so that's a valid point... but then, I liked a lot of books back then. I also liked the Baby-Sitters Club an awful lot. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 Lori, thanks for reminding us of Island of the Blue Dolphins. It is my dd's favorite book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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