"Shorter" "Easier Classics" & Getting bored with Wind in the Willows

[Ting Tang]

My son is using MCT Town for 5th grade ELA.  I admit, we are both getting bored of Wind in the Willows. It is a difficult read, and it is very long.  At first, we both liked it.  I know students sometimes have to push through and read long books, but then again, he is only in the 5th grade.

I was considering doing more Charlotte Mason type of homeschooling next year. I am not sure.  Would a book like Farmer Boy be beneath a 6th grader who is pretty bright?  It is scheduled for 3rd grade Memoria Press.  I am thinking I need to find "easier" books to enjoy with the kids for literature, but I still want them to be classics.  

[HomeAgain]

Mine didn't like the Wind in the Willows, either.

Ones he did enjoy enough to keep on his shelf were these:

• Tom Sawyer
• The Ransom of Red Chief (selection of short stories, but this was his favorite)
• Around the World in 80 Days
• The Reluctant Dragon
• Heidi
• The Great Brain
• The Wizard of Oz and sequels
• The Canterville Ghost

[Clarita]

You may look at Bravewriter and what literature they use for their Literature Singles. I find those recommendations are more typical age appropriate. With some of the Memoria Press and other "classical" and Charlotte Mason, the book lists tend to be a bit above level. The books they recommend are not necessarily classics just because they haven't been around long enough, but they are well written books. Some of the recommended books are classics.

[ScoutTN]

The Wind in the Willows is good as an audiobook!

[Farrar]

Farmer Boy is definitely not beneath a kid. It's just a good little book with scrumptious descriptions of food.

[Mona]

My ds asked me to please stop reading “The Wind in the Willows”. 😕 He said it was too boring.

I read “Farmer Boy” to my older kids in 2nd and 3rd grade (with MFW) and they loved it. I plan to read it again with my youngest son next year because it’s scheduled with his ELA (LLATL 5th/purple). I think your son could benefit from reading it in sixth. My oldest learned about negotiating prices and bartering which is something you can use your whole life. They enjoyed trying the popcorn in the milk experiment, too.

My ds is currently reading The Boxcar Children series. I was shocked that there were 162 books in this series. I think he loves the adventure and mystery genre. It’s probably a bit young for him, but he enjoys them.

[Lori D.]

Wind in the Willows is really an adult book IMO 😉 -- very poetic in writing style, and has a large slice of adult nostalgia and musings, so not likely to connect so much with kids. BUT, YMMV, as different families enjoy different kinds of lit. 😉 

Not sure what exactly fits your definition of "classic", but these are ones our 5th/6th grade boys enjoyed as read-alouds (and a few as readers):

- Knight's Castle (Eager) -- and the first 2 books, Half Magic and Magic by the Lake, if you've not read those
- Five Children and It (Nesbit) -- the book Half Magic is an homage to! 😄 
- The Phoenix and the Carpet (Nesbit) -- sequel to Five Children and It
- The Book of Dragons (Nesbit)
- The Reluctant Dragon (Grahame)
- The Hobbit (Tolkien)
- The Twenty-One Balloons (DuBois)
- The Black Stallion (Farley)
- The Phantom Tollbooth (Juster)
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Carroll)
- Tanglewood Tales; Wonderbook (Hawthorne)
- The Princess and the Goblin (MacDonald)
- The Light Princess (MacDonald)
- The Master Puppeteer (Paterson)
- Island of the Blue Dolphins (O'Dell)
- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (O'Brien)
- The Incredible Journey (Burnford)
- The Chronicles of Narnia (Lewis)

This came out long after DSs graduated, but it looks lovely:
- Pax (Pennypacker)

Edited April 7, 2023 by Lori D.

[ScoutTN]

1 hour ago, Farrar said:

Farmer Boy is definitely not beneath a kid. It's just a good little book with scrumptious descriptions of food.

Oh, the food! We ended up finding some recipes to cook! Doughnuts were so good! 

[wisdomandtreasures]

Regarding 'Farmer Boy', or any bok for that matter, being "beneath" someone... I like this quote from CS Lewis: "No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally – and often far more – worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond." 🙂

[Ting Tang]

Thank you all so much! He read an excerpt from Farmer Boy a few years ago when we started with Abeka. All the advanced “stuff” looks good on paper, but we’re just not enjoying all of it. I feel he needs more books that are fun to pick up and read. He also likes Roald Dahl books. The Wind in the Willows just seems to be dragged out, from our perspective. 

[Green Bean]

Classic Starts book series is a major hit here.

[Ting Tang]

4 hours ago, Green Bean said:

Classic Starts book series is a major hit here.

I'll check that out! Thanks!

 

[Nichola]

Farmer Boy is great! Other suggestions: The Cricket in Times Square and Homer Price are classics that are on both AO and Memoria Press book lists. I would consider them fun reads, and they are somewhat shorter than Farmer Boy.

Wind in the Willows is good too though if you decide to stay with it. I read it aloud to my kids last year. There were some slow bits, but the parts with Toad kept them interested. Afterward we watched a few of the movie versions for fun, and they enjoyed that a lot. 

ETA: I thought you were wanting books he could read himself, but after re-reading your original post, maybe you’re looking for read alouds? If so, The Reluctant Dragon (by the same author as WitW but much shorter) and Farmer Giles of Ham by Tolkien are classics with more difficult language, but they are short and funny.

Edited April 24 by Nichola

[Nm.]

@Ting Tang “looking better on paper” -oh so true for lots of the CM ideas here 😂.  They’ll be fine.  

[Ting Tang]

15 hours ago, Nichola said:

Farmer Boy is great! Other suggestions: The Cricket in Times Square and Homer Price are classics that are on both AO and Memoria Press book lists. I would consider them fun reads, and they are somewhat shorter than Farmer Boy. My oldest (age 9, for reference) read and enjoyed all three this year. Homer Price was a favorite because it’s funny. 

Wind in the Willows is good too though if you decide to stay with it. I read it aloud to my kids last year. There were some slow bits, but the parts with Toad kept them interested. Afterward we watched a few of the movie versions for fun, and they enjoyed that a lot. 

ETA: I thought you were wanting books he could read himself, but after re-reading your original post, maybe you’re looking for read alouds? If so, The Reluctant Dragon (by the same author as WitW but much shorter) and Farmer Giles of Ham by Tolkien are classics with more difficult language, but they are short and funny.

We did read Cricket in Times Square last year, and he loved that!  We also have the Reluctant Dragon, which I read with another, but perhaps he would like it?  I'm really looking for anything he can read on his own but that I can read with him, too, as his literature curriculum.  

[Ting Tang]

9 hours ago, Lovinglife123 said:

@Ting Tang “looking better on paper” -oh so true for lots of the CM ideas here 😂.  They’ll be fine.  

ha ha!  I mean, it sounds great to say he did this or that in the 5th grade, but I do feel with literature, it should be memorable.  My favorite classic novel was Winnie the Pooh, which I read in the 4th grade.  I do wish I could find premade literature studies in more grade levels.  Easier books, but more thorough studies for the higher levels, if that makes sense.  Or maybe we don't even have to do the studies.  I am not sure!

[ScoutTN]

Books my Ds read and enjoyed in 5th:

The Jungle Book
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Hobbit
Five Children and It
Big Red
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

The Black Stallion
Little Britches
The Shakespeare Stealer

eta: We did not do any literature “studies” until about 6th-7th and very gentle then. We mostly just read and discuss. And not all books got discussed for school. Homeschool does not need to imitate school. 

Edited March 25, 2023 by ScoutTN

[Ting Tang]

6 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

Books my Ds read and enjoyed in 5th:

The Jungle Book
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Hobbit
Five Children and It
Big Red
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

The Black Stallion
Little Britches
The Shakespeare Stealer

eta: We did not do any literature “studies” until about 6th-7th and very gentle then. We mostly just read and discuss. And not all books got discussed for school. Homeschool does not need to imitate school. 

Thanks very much for this list!  He did read The Magician's Nephew last year for a Memoria Press winter intensive class, so we should probably try Narnia.  I like the studies for vocabulary and other assignments, but maybe it really is enough to do assignments in other classes?  I really need to find a way to make things easier on myself next year so that I do not get frantic and overwhelmed.  I'd love for the kids to all do some of the same literature next year without it being too much or too little for someone.

[ScoutTN]

25 minutes ago, Ting Tang said:

Thanks very much for this list!  He did read The Magician's Nephew last year for a Memoria Press winter intensive class, so we should probably try Narnia.  I like the studies for vocabulary and other assignments, but maybe it really is enough to do assignments in other classes?  I really need to find a way to make things easier on myself next year so that I do not get frantic and overwhelmed.  I'd love for the kids to all do some of the same literature next year without it being too much or too little for someone.

Just let him read good books. Don’t make it all lessons - that kills the love of reading. Discuss, yes. Some occasional vocabulary work, sure. But in elementary, just let them read. You choose some, he chooses some, some areRA or audiobooks. Don’t forget the poetry! 

He reads books, you read some aloud with some discussion. Consistent composition work  - writing is important. (SWB’s talks on teaching writing are great!) Do some grammar and spelling (as needed, not all kids need spelling at his age and grammar needn’t be intensive every year) That is enough. 
 

You might like Cindy Rollins’ The New Mason Jar Podcast and her book on Morning Time. 

[ScoutTN]

The Center for Lit a good list of socratic discussion questions for any book in their Teaching the Classics. Good if you don’t know where to start a discussion. 

[Ting Tang]

9 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

The Center for Lit a good list of socratic discussion questions for any book in their Teaching the Classics. Good if you don’t know where to start a discussion. 

Thank you so very much.  I will look at this.  I want my children to enjoy reading, first and foremost.  I also want to make sure they are covering what they need to in their academics.  🙂

[Eilonwy]

Not trying to discourage you from putting aside a book that isn’t working, but I found there was a section in the middle with less action and that it picked up from there again.  I like the book quite a bit, though, so if you aren’t personally liking it then it’s probably best to find something else. I read Wind in the Willows aloud this year with my 11 year old and it took a month, so it is a long (and challenging) book.  I would not give my son this book to read himself. He enjoyed the adventures of Toad chapters the most. 
We really like Farmer Boy here, as well as many of the Narnia books and the Book of Three. 

[Rosie_0801]

I hated 'Wind in the Willows' and gave up on it when I was about that age. Then I read it to dd in the early years and we both enjoyed it so much I went and bought the sequels, including the one I hadn't formerly known existed.

That said, it's hardly a necessary cultural reference here in the 21st century.

[Nm.]

So for CM she uses narration instead of literature studies right?  It’s okay to just read aloud.  Seems like a lot of people start the literature guides closer to high school, and only a couple per year. 

Edited March 29, 2023 by Lovinglife123

[Ting Tang]

On 3/28/2023 at 5:55 PM, Eilonwy said:

Not trying to discourage you from putting aside a book that isn’t working, but I found there was a section in the middle with less action and that it picked up from there again.  I like the book quite a bit, though, so if you aren’t personally liking it then it’s probably best to find something else. I read Wind in the Willows aloud this year with my 11 year old and it took a month, so it is a long (and challenging) book.  I would not give my son this book to read himself. He enjoyed the adventures of Toad chapters the most. 
We really like Farmer Boy here, as well as many of the Narnia books and the Book of Three. 

Thanks so much for this perspective! We try to read together, but sometimes I’d have him read a bit due to time. I think we’re just going to set it to the side for now. 😞 I think I need to know he can read on his own. He’s an excellent reader and narrates well back to me, so for now, he’s going to focus on My Side of the Mountain. 

[Ting Tang]

19 hours ago, Lovinglife123 said:

So for CM she uses narration instead of literature studies right?  It’s okay to just read aloud.  Seems like a lot of people start the literature guides closer to high school, and only a couple per year. 

Yes. 😊 Sometimes I wonder if no curriculum is best for us… since I like to ponder so many of them. It might be freeing, haha! 

[Eilonwy]

7 hours ago, Ting Tang said:

Thanks so much for this perspective! We try to read together, but sometimes I’d have him read a bit due to time. I think we’re just going to set it to the side for now. 😞 I think I need to know he can read on his own. He’s an excellent reader and narrates well back to me, so for now, he’s going to focus on My Side of the Mountain. 

I’ve come across books that didn’t work at the time (I tried Anne of Green Gables with my kids too early) and they worked great later. I built up to Wind in the Willows by reading a graphic novel version with him first.  If you wanted to do it later, maybe an audio book version or a read-aloud from you? But, I worked up to it because I like the book.  If you find it dull, don’t hesitate to leave it and just move on. Hope My side of the Mountain works out well!

[HomeAgain]

7 hours ago, Ting Tang said:

 He’s an excellent reader and narrates well back to me, so for now, he’s going to focus on My Side of the Mountain. 

This is a novel that pairs really well with the American Boys Handy Book. My oldest physically wore out his copy doing things inspired by My Side of the Mountain.

[Ting Tang]

11 hours ago, Eilonwy said:

I’ve come across books that didn’t work at the time (I tried Anne of Green Gables with my kids too early) and they worked great later. I built up to Wind in the Willows by reading a graphic novel version with him first.  If you wanted to do it later, maybe an audio book version or a read-aloud from you? But, I worked up to it because I like the book.  If you find it dull, don’t hesitate to leave it and just move on. Hope My side of the Mountain works out well!

Already, his narrating of MSM is so much better. But we may revisit it! I’m anxious to read Anne myself, but I’m not sure my sons will enjoy it? But I will wait!

[Ting Tang]

10 hours ago, HomeAgain said:

This is a novel that pairs really well with the American Boys Handy Book. My oldest physically wore out his copy doing things inspired by My Side of the Mountain.

Oh wow, I have never seen this! Thank you! Very cool. 

[Eilonwy]

On 3/30/2023 at 6:42 PM, Ting Tang said:

I’m anxious to read Anne myself, but I’m not sure my sons will enjoy it? But I will wait!

I asked my son (11) if he liked Anne of Green Gables, and he said yes but he liked Wind in the Willows better because there was more adventure.  Somewhere around 9 or 10 worked well for us for that book. 

[stripe]

I rather like Wind in the Willows, but I have never read it to my kids all at once, as a novel. Except for Toad’s shenanigans, the chapters don’t really depend on each other — at least the first half is independent anyway. I would read one chapter then come back around at another time; I think they work well when coordinated with the seasons, e.g. the first chapter (The River Bank) in the spring, the segment around Mr. Badger in the late fall or early winter, etc. You do NOT have to read them all. You can skip the dreamy or scary parts. But the parts with Mr Toad are pretty action packed, what with a car being stolen, a prison break, and so on, not to mention the dramatic finale. I think it’s more of a cultural reference than Farmer Boy, but you don’t need much to get the idea. The chapters are also super long. Break them up over a few days!

We liked Farmer Boy. I don’t enjoy Little House books particularly but that one was a hit. I loved the ice cream making (while the kids are left at home for the parents to have a vacation, with no real way to be reached, no less).

We enjoyed E. Nesbit and Edward Eager books. There are quite a few!

Just a note about Cricket in Times Square and Homer Price. They both have brief interludes of stereotypical ethnic “dialect” (Black in Homer) / “accent” (Chinese in Cricket). I didn’t read these parts aloud as written. Homer Price is another episodic book so you can read them out of order and as many or few as you want.

Alice in Wonderland was reasonably popular too. It’s a very important cultural reference as is Wizard of Oz. Have you read any Paddington Bear books? They’re funny and action / caper filled if you want to lighten things up.

If you want a book that has an unbelievable number of cultural references and movie versions (I’ve been truly surprised!), read Treasure Island. The book is hard to understand in parts, has advanced language, and is very very slow at first, but if at some point, you can work it in, it’s really worth it.

Edited April 5, 2023 by stripe

[Ting Tang]

11 hours ago, stripe said:

I rather like Wind in the Willows, but I have never read it to my kids all at once, as a novel. Except for Toad’s shenanigans, the chapters don’t really depend on each other — at least the first half is independent anyway. I would read one chapter then come back around at another time; I think they work well when coordinated with the seasons, e.g. the first chapter (The River Bank) in the spring, the segment around Mr. Badger in the late fall or early winter, etc. You do NOT have to read them all. You can skip the dreamy or scary parts. But the parts with Mr Toad are pretty action packed, what with a car being stolen, a prison break, and so on, not to mention the dramatic finale. I think it’s more of a cultural reference than Farmer Boy, but you don’t need much to get the idea. The chapters are also super long. Break them up over a few days!

We liked Farmer Boy. I don’t enjoy Little House books particularly but that one was a hit. I loved the ice cream making (while the kids are left at home for the parents to have a vacation, with no real way to be reached, no less).

We enjoyed E. Nesbit and Edward Eager books. There are quite a few!

Just a note about Cricket in Times Square and Homer Price. They both have brief interludes of stereotypical ethnic “dialect” (Black in Homer) / “accent” (Chinese in Cricket). I didn’t read these parts aloud as written. Homer Price is another episodic book so you can read them out of order and as many or few as you want.

Alice in Wonderland was reasonably popular too. It’s a very important cultural reference as is Wizard of Oz. Have you read any Paddington Bear books? They’re funny and action / caper filled if you want to lighten things up.

If you want a book that has an unbelievable number of cultural references and movie versions (I’ve been truly surprised!), read Treasure Island. The book is hard to understand in parts, has advanced language, and is very very slow at first, but if at some point, you can work it in, it’s really worth it.

Thanks very much! He’s read a few of the titles you mentioned. I’ve stayed away from Homer Price because we read an excerpt, and I just didn’t like it myself. Ironically, I think Treasure Island is scheduled next year if we continue MCT. I’m just worried we won’t use enough of that curriculum. And I’m worried the books will be harder than this year’s books. 

[ScoutTN]

Treasure Island is great as an audiobook. We have the one read by Alfred Molina. Fosters “talk like a pirate” for weeks! Lol! 
 

Books with lots of dialect or that need a particular accent to be read aloud well almost always end up as audiobooks here. 

Edited April 5, 2023 by ScoutTN

[ScoutTN]

Seconding Edward Eager’s books. Half Magic is hilarious and the basis for the others. My 15 and 17 yo still quote from it. 

[stripe]

3 hours ago, Ting Tang said:

I’ve stayed away from Homer Price because we read an excerpt, and I just didn’t like it myself. 

“The Doughnuts” is probably the best story.

[Ting Tang]

2 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

Seconding Edward Eager’s books. Half Magic is hilarious and the basis for the others. My 15 and 17 yo still quote from it. 

I just took a glance.  I think something like this might work for him!  Thank you.

[Lori D.]

5 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

Seconding Edward Eager’s books. Half Magic is hilarious and the basis for the others. My 15 and 17 yo still quote from it. 

3 hours ago, Ting Tang said:

I just took a glance.  I think something like this might work for him!  Thank you.

Our DSs loved these too. I linked online versions of these in my post above.

And if your DS enjoys those, Half Magic references Five Children and It by E. Nesbit (another big favorite here) -- which was written in the late 1800s, so older Victorian language/sentence structure. That specific book of Nesbit's was Edward Eager's inspiration for writing his own magic book series. (Apparently to entertain his son who was recovering from a long illness.)

Edited April 5, 2023 by Lori D.

[Ting Tang]

4 minutes ago, Lori D. said:

Our DSs loved these too. I linked online versions of these in my post above.

And if your DS enjoys those, Half Magic references Five Children and It by E. Nesbit (another big favorite here) -- which was written in the late 1800s, so older Victorian language/sentence structure. That specific book of Nesbit's was Edward Eager's inspiration for writing his own magic book series. (Apparently to entertain his son who was recovering from a long illness.)

Ooh I like that.  I really prefer to stick with classics or anything that is not considered too new, for school, anyway.  I realize some are a bit problematic due to the way we have evolved, but the language is usually enriching.  Thank you!

[Lori D.]

On 4/5/2023 at 1:05 PM, Ting Tang said:

Ooh I like that.  I really prefer to stick with classics or anything that is not considered too new, for school, anyway.  I realize some are a bit problematic due to the way we have evolved, but the language is usually enriching.  Thank you!

I personally would consider several of Edward Eager's magic books to be 20th century classic children's literature (most were published in the 1950s -- so now 60-70+ years old and we can see they have stood the test of time). Well-written, great vocabulary, allusions to other works of literature, and light/effortless humor -- which is a hallmark sign of a GOOD writer, IMO. Humor that is natural, light, and effortless is some of the most difficult type of writing to do, IMO.

So, you might start with Half Magic as a great stepping stone that then eases you into E. Nesbit's Five Children and It (which I also linked in my above 1st post).

As a side note -- there are a NUMBER of high quality American children's book authors who were writing in the 1950s-1960s. All were college-educated in the 1920s-1930s, when classic literature was a rich part of the college curriculum in both England and the US. Which in turn, shows up in the quality of their writing.

Edward Eager attended Harvard in the early 1930s, so he had a tremendous classics-influenced education, and it definitely shows up in very positive ways in several of his children's books.

Edited April 7, 2023 by Lori D.

[ScoutTN]

❤️ Five Children and It

[Quarter Note]

@Ting Tang, I've avoided responding to this thread because we love-love-love-love-love The Wind in the Willows here (and have loved it even when my kids were really little), but I guess I'll just add a few other thoughts:  

Homeschool literature just works best when the teacher loves what she's teaching, especially in the early years, despite all those lists of you-must-read-this-book.  So it's a balance:  On the one hand, you should "trust the canon" (even the children's lit canon), as many Classical education types say - and WitW is definitely in the children's lit canon.  But on the other hand, it's you and your kids, and you know your kids best.

Specifically, if you want to introduce a classic piece of literature and it just isn't working, I second @ScoutTN's suggestion of an audiobook.  There is so much subtle humor in Wind that comes out when the right narrator is reading.  It's okay if you, as Homeschool Mom, are not the right narrator!

Next, if you are trying to get into a classic and it's just not working for you, ask for help!  Someone who already loves the book may be able to open up a door to you and make it enjoyable.  I think that many of us on this forum love to talk about our favorite books.

Lastly, put it away for a while, but don't shut the door on returning to it later.  I love @Rosie_0801's story of coming back to Wind as an adult and loving it.

Edited April 7, 2023 by Quarter Note
clarity

[Ting Tang]

23 minutes ago, Quarter Note said:

@Ting Tang, I've avoided responding to this thread because we love-love-love-love-love The Wind in the Willows here (and have loved it even when my kids were really little), but I guess I'll just add a few other thoughts:  

Homeschool literature just works best when the teacher loves what she's teaching, especially in the early years, despite all those lists of you-must-read-this-book.  So it's a balance:  On the one hand, you should "trust the canon" (even the children's lit canon), as many Classical education types say - and WitW is definitely in the children's lit canon.  But on the other hand, it's you and your kids, and you know your kids best.

Specifically, if you want to introduce a classic piece of literature and it just isn't working, I second @ScoutTN's suggestion of an audiobook.  There is so much subtle humor in Wind that comes out when the right narrator is reading.  It's okay if you, as Homeschool Mom, are not the right narrator!

Next, if you are trying to get into a classic and it's just not working for you, ask for help!  Someone who already loves the book may be able to open up a door to you and make it enjoyable.  I think that many of us on this forum love to talk about our favorite books.

Lastly, put it away for a while, but don't shut the door on returning to it later.  I love @Rosie_0801's story of coming back to Wind as an adult and loving it.

Aww, thank you for responding!  We wanted to love this book, but I think it is difficult for him, and honestly, I just haven't been in the mood for such a challenging book with him.  I like the idea of being able to read parts of it, but my husband and I agreed, we can return to it later.  I want to do all the academic stuff with literature, but I also want my children look back on their childhoods and remember their favorite stories!  🙂  

[ScoutTN]

Imo, with kids younger than middle school, there isn’t any “academic stuff” with literature. Just reading books and having some informal discussion is building the foundation they will need later. Just read and enjoy the books!