S/O Living Ideas - book recommendations

[Another Lynn]

This is a late spin off of the thread about giving children living ideas (a la Charlotte Mason).  What books do you think have been most useful for giving you and your dc living ideas to discuss together (i.e. when read aloud)?  (My youngest does not love read alouds, so I'm pondering how we can get the most "bang for our buck" next school year.....)  I'm selfishly thinking in the 10year old age range, though feel free to discuss works you love for younger and older.  

[Kfamily]

Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff- because this prepares for The Iliad and I think the Iliad itself offers so much for young people to ponder

Poetry-whatever poetry your young people can enjoy-narrative poetry such as those by Longfellow

Mythology-whichever book versions that your young people enjoy

Classic literature can be difficult to suggest, because only those which your children, in particular, are inspired by will prove to offer the most to grapple with...I can share the books that my girls really liked to discuss....

Heidi, The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, Understood Betsy, Anne of Green Gables-because the stories involve characters who, when exposed to unconditional good and love, become healed or "better" themselves

Children of the New Forest, The Little White Horse, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Swallows and Amazons-because children who become more independent and self-sufficient can find themselves and their own strengths (Understood Betsy and Anne of Green Gables would fit here too)

There are many more modern books that offer big ideas-The Giver, Harry Potter*, The Little Prince, Watership Down*, The Ordinary Princess, Emily of New Moon*, The Last Unicorn*, The Good Master, The Door in the Wall, The Faerie Door, Wrinkle in Time, The Hobbit, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, The String in the Harp*, The Wizard of Earthsea...I'll put stars by some big favorites. 

Of course, many of these include a writing style that is very poetic-beautifully constructed sentences that create images in the mind.

 

 

 

 

[Another Lynn]

Kfamily, thank you so much!  She was kind of young last time we read Understood Betsy as a family, so I was thinking about that one.  She enjoyed Witch of Blackbird Pond last year (after we got into it - she was a little resistant at first).  This is a really helpful list!  

[KeriJ]

They may not be considered fine literature :), but our favorite read alouds have been this past year when we read everything Elizabeth Enright wrote.  My kids age 14 down to 5 loved them.  We're finishing the very last one, and we are all sad.  The 4 books about the Melendy family were the best.  But Gone Away Lake and Return to Gone Away are a close second.  It got my little excited about read aloud time again.

They are fun stories, but are excellent for learning about descriptive writing and literary elements.  And as a bonus, there is TONS of nature woven throughout.

 

[Another Lynn]

Thanks Keri!  We haven't read those, so they might spark some enthusiasm for us!

[Mrs. A]

So many good books listed already! We just recently discovered The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson and they are excellent. Lots to discuss and ponder. I wasn't so sure when I read the first one, but by the end of the second book I was sold. 

[PeterPan]

Hi Lynn! You're right, it was a good thread! I ended up going with this list for my ds https://www.weareteachers.com/15-must-have-picture-books-for-teaching-social-emotional-skills/  I don't know why it says 15 in the web address, because it's actually 50. Maybe they're too young for a typical 10 yo though? My ds is on the ASD spectrum, and for him these books will be about right. If you want to step up the level, you can google more lists like that, like books for young adults or teens or pre-teens dealing with whatever topics. Maybe that WeAreTeachers site will have lists. It's a pretty common thing to want. Like the Wonder book now has a children's version, etc. It's a whole genre, these books that address social/emotional topics. You'd probably find plenty if you just get one or two on amazon to get you started and follow the rabbit trails and recommends. 

There was a book I read with my dd around that age that I really liked. I think this might have been it. It had twists I wasn't expecting. The Man Who Loved Clowns

Ok, this looks really good, and it's brand new. I think I might request it from the library https://www.amazon.com/180-DAYS-Teachers-Empower-Adolescents/dp/0325081131/ref=pd_sim_14_6?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0325081131&pd_rd_r=BRKGXTJV8AWG9CE9BP65&pd_rd_w=AIi0i&pd_rd_wg=dORcI&psc=1&refRID=BRKGXTJV8AWG9CE9BP65

The challenge is that at this age the lit changes from agreeable to everyone (don't lie, be kind, blah blah) to social issues that are more controversial. Like I was clicking on this book that looked really promising (859 glowing reviews on amazon, etc.), seems well-written, and then you get three lines in and it's heady into social issues. So whatever. It gets harder, depending on what ideas you're wanting to inspire with and discuss. To me, some of that I'd rather put into debate, rather than fiction where it's accepted uncritically or unconsciously. I had a 50 debate prompts kind of book that I used with dd around that age.