pooh bear Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 My ds, 9, has been devouring books lately and I am looking for some good books for him to read. I have a few books that I would like him to read, but not having read them myself, I'm not sure if the are OK for him to read. He has recently read these books: The Thirty-Nine Steps Kidnapped Treasure Island Swallows and Amazons Journey to the Center of the Earth Would the following books be suitable for him? King Solomon's Mines Tarzan The Invisible Man War of the Worlds Tom Brown's School Days Carry On Jeeves (He loves the TV show, and would like to read the books) Prisoner of Zenda Do you have any suggestions for some good classic books for him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyAberlin Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 If you can find them at RR they'll have and age range listed. I think amazon lists age ranges too and so does sonlight. So if you check all those places then you might be able to figure it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 You don't want to pass King Solomon's Mine over without reading it first. Putting it nicely, it has an old fashioned, colonialist tone... I like the book, but I probably wouldn't give it to a 9 year old. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooh bear Posted May 4, 2009 Author Share Posted May 4, 2009 It's not so much the age range as the content. Is there anything inappropriate in them for a 9 yo. Such as extreme violence, "tea" making. With regards to King Solomon's Mines, being old fashioned and colonialist in tone. There are many books out there that are like that. There was a time when England was ruling quite a lot of the globe. Most of the authors of the Victorian era held the same view that any one who was not white was inferior. This is how they wrote their stories. We now know that this view is wrong, but it should not stop us from reading these great books. So long as you know that their views are incorrect and talk them over with your kids, there should be nothing wrong reading these books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Calvin has read all of those except for Tom Brown's School Days and The Prisoner of Zenda. I picked up the former and thought it rather turgid. I might be wrong though. Tarzan has similar colonialist attitudes to King Solomon's Mines, but Calvin and I just talked about them. Other ideas: E Nesbit; Frances Hodgson Burnett; Conan Doyle (both the Sherlock Holmes stories and The Lost World); more Jules Verne (get a modern translation); more Arthur Ransome (there are about ten of the S&A books). More ideas in my Amazon lists. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphabetika Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 You might look at Swiss Family Robinson, and, as Laura said, more Swallows and Amazons books. That's a whole series and they're all great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooh bear Posted May 4, 2009 Author Share Posted May 4, 2009 Thanks for the suggestions. My ds has read quite a few Nesbit books as well as Frances Hodgson Burnett. I will look and see if the library has any Sherlock Homes. I know that the library does not have any of the Swallows and Amazons book, and at the moment I don't have the extra to buy them. Thanks for the link to your lists Laura. Some good books there. Now to see if the library has any of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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