Short Novels for Boys on a 6th-10th grade level

[mom2bee]

I have a 14yo boy who greatly enjoyed Animal Farm. He enjoyed Old Yeller more than Big Red, but he liked them both. He enjoyed Animal Farm so much that his dad has decided to read the book as well so that they might discuss it. He requested another lit-book instead of nonfiction.
I went to purchase Lord of the Flies for him--I only know the premise, I've never read it--but the font is tiny so I'm going to go look at several copies at the library and try to find one that isn't such tiny print.

I looked at The Old Man and The Sea, but I am not as familiar with it and I couldn't judge. The font was much better though, but I don't know if he'd like the story. I'm going to read it to get a better feel for the book. I remember enjoying Of Mice and Men, but I didn't see that book on the shelf either. I remember it being a thin, short book.

Any recommendations? Nothing intimidatingly thick or with frustratingly tiny print. Please, I think I have seen lists of short novels recommended by someone ( @Lori D. ?) but I can't find it and maybe it's the wrong user?

I'd like to get 5-8 short novels that I can recommend. We'll be blending in lighter 4th-6th grade books, between the "deeper" books. He really liked Old Yeller, The Lemonade War + The Lemonade Crime and I'm planning to do Frindle with him next, but I could use some neat 4th-6th grade books as well.

[Lori D.]

Definitely that will be a matter of looking for large print editions (or at least, not "micro print" editions, LOL!) You also might consider trying an e-reader or an online version, which allows you to make the type as big as needed. Also, if type size and spacing is a problem for him, you may want to have his eyes checked -- for normal vision issues (needs glasses), but also for vision convergence issues (need a COVD specialist for that), or stealth dyslexia, or other possible vision processing issue.

Also, you might consider doing "buddy reading" ("you read a page, I read a page") for longer works. Or listen together to a good audio book version. Both of those options can extend a slow or delayed reader's stamina, while allowing you to experience the book together and discuss together in the moment. 😄 

And for later on, when getting into the bigger classics, consider first watching a film version that is faithful to the classic novel, to help get the plot and the characters sorted out; then read for the language and nuances and depth in the novel. And have fun discussing a comparison of film/novel versions. 😉

I believe this might be the thread you were looking for: "Short, thought-provoking novels for middle school".

re: books you mentioned in your post as possibilities
Personally, NOT a big fan of Of Mice and Men (it's pretty ugly and fatalistic), but you know your child best. My boys loved The Old Man and the Sea at that age. It's short, easy to read, and has meat for discussion. People on these boards either love or hate Lord of the Flies -- my boys and I thoroughly enjoyed discussing this one, but we did wait and do it a little later in high school, when DSs were older teens. I'll be doing this one in my homeschool high school Lit. & Comp. co-op class in just a few weeks -- students range in age from 14-18, so we'll see how it goes! 😉 

Some shorter YA books to work into discussion that have gone over well with my middle schoolers include:
- A Long Walk to Water (Park)
- Tuck Everlasting (Babbit)
- The Cay (Taylor) -- there is a Caribbean accent that is a bit of work to read, but if you listen to an audio version WHILE reading, it's fine; my class loved this one
- A Wrinkle in Time (L'Engle) -- class split on this one -- about half liked it, and half hated it, lol)

Short stories are SUPER for this age -- automatically short, and to the point for discussing, since there isn't a lot of room in a short story for waste. See these past threads for some short story ideas (many can be found online with a search of the title plus the words "full text"):

"Short stories for an 11yo girl?"
"Short stories every middle school student should read"
"Best short stories for middle grades"
"Favorite Short Storis for 6th-8th"
"Suggestions for Short Stories for Literary Analysis -- 7th/8th grade level?"
"Middle School Literature Using Short Stories?"

Also, if you're using Figuratively Speaking for learning about literary elements to help with literary analysis later on, check out this past thread: "Figuratively Speaking paired with short stories".

Edited February 27, 2020 by Lori D.