About three weeks ago Bug (
my six and a half year old) came home happy. School up to this point has been a sour note in all our songs and I was pleasantly surprised at how happy he was. When I asked him how his day went he told me that he had read a book to one of the kindergarten classes. I told him that was great and asked him why. He then told me that a teacher at school had noticed how much he liked books and had asked him to read aloud to some of the younger classes. He is now being tutored twice a week by a graduate student from Miami University and next week the Principal hopes to include him in one of the third grade reading and composition classes. The change this has brought about in my son is nothing less than a small miracle. This school year has been quite the struggle for him, missing his old friends, having a less-than "with it" teacher and knowing that he should be working harder has resulted in a rather grumpy little boy. I was strongly, and I say strongly, considering Home Schooling him. Which anyone who knows me realizes the desperation there. Luckily, I might not have to, Bug will continue to be tested and he is loving all the time away from his classroom. I want to clarify though that Bug is not a genius, he is not Einstein or Bobby Fisher. He is smart, intelligent and a very aware young child who was sent to parents who have offered and educated him in all things good and lovely. It seems to me that the education of our children is polarizing more and more as parents choose to ignore their duty. Our children learn by watching and interacting with us, so, what I say and expect from my child has created a child that appears to be smarter or "ahead" of his peers. The truth is, all of his classmates are capable of so much more, it's just that those whose influence matters most choose to expect little or nothing. But enough of that soapbox. After talking with trusted friends and drawing from my own memories and resources, I present
The Incomplete List of Books for Boys!
***(Please be mindful that only you as a parent know what is BEST for your son's emotional and social abilities, please choose wisely!)
The Incomplete List of Books for Boys!
1. Nate the Great- Marjorie Sharmat
2. The Indian in the Cupboard- Lynne Reid Banks
3. The Borrowers- Mary Norton
4. The Phantom Toll Booth- Norton Juster
5. Sarah, Plain and Tall- Patricia MacLachlan
6. Mary Poppins- Travers
7. Half Magic- Edward Eager
8. The Mysterious Benedict Society- Trenton Lee Stewart
9. Cam Jansen- David Adler
10. Castle in the Attic- Elizabeth Winthrop
11. Charlotte's Web- E.B. White
12. Trumpet of the Swan- E.B. White
13. Guardians of Ga'Hoole- Kathryn Lasky
14. Roahl Dahl Books
15. Naya Nuki- Kenneth Thomasma
16. The Great Brain- Fitzgerald
17. Encyclopedia Brown-Sobol
18. The Jungle Book and other stories- Kipling
19. Peter Pan- J.M. Barrie
20. Geronimo Stilton- Geronimo Stilton
21. Artemis Fowl- Eoin Colfer
22. How to eat friend worms- Thomas Rockwell
23. My Side of the Mountain- Jean George
24. Shiloh- Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
25. Sideways stories from a Wayside School- Sachar
26. Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing- Judy Blume
27. The Whipping Boy- Sid Fleischman
28. The Lightening Thief- Rick Riordan
29. The Time Warp Trio- Jon Scieszka
30. Frindle- Andrew Clements
31. Harry Potter- J.K. Rowling
32. The Ralph Mouse Collection- Beverly Clearly
33. Henry Huggins- Beverly Clearly
34. Chronicles of Narnia- C.S. Lewis
***Clearly there are more books, please post your suggestions and I will continue to add them to the list. Also, several authors have multiple books that are wonderful, but I did not add all of their books to this list.
12 comments:
If you're going to have My Side of the Mountain, you HAVE to include Hatchet! I insist.
I thought about Hatchet, because it's brillant and amazing, I hesitated because I felt that the opening scene where the pilot has a very accurate and descriptive heart attack might be a bit more than the average little boy could handle. What do you think?
Jack is obsessed with the Narnia series right now--we're on the fourth book--Prince of Caspian (he will not be watching the recent movie adaptation, however. A little dark for him in my opinion). Add it! And I must second the Great Brain--my brothers and my husband loved those.
Man, how did I forget Narnia... such an obvious choice. Bug loved all those too (Lou as well)... so good.
I think the opening scene in Hatchet is alright, but I was reading it as an adult. I guess it would be a judgment call for the parents. I would let Miciah read it, no problem.
Either way, I think it's WAY better than My Side of the Mountain.
So how old were your kids when you started reading chapter books to them? Daniel can barely make it through "The Little Engine that Could" and he LOVES trains. I've been anticipating the day we could sit down and read a "real" book together, so I appreciate the list.
In Hatchet, the worst part is when he dives in the lake and has to swim past the decomposing pilot. Yoink!
In talking to a couple of my daughters teachers (1st and 2nd grade), the gist I got was that they could tell which homes valued education and learning, which is, I think, to your point.
Thanks for the list.
Thanks for the list Rebecca!
HEM- with both of my younger children the trick was to find the right book. E finally lets us read to him after we introduced him to Brown Bear, Brown Bear. Lou was harder and finally it was Fancy Nancy that got her sitting through a whole story. However, my best reading tactic was to buckle them into the car and listen to books on CD when we were running errands. We started with Charlotte's Web and Winnie the Pooh. The kids love it. Shel Silverstein is also a great listen!
So I would have to add the Storm Testament series to the list. Maybe I was a little older when I started reading them, but is was a good blend of mountain man meets cowboys and indians, with a little loose church history thrown in.
The White Mountains by John Christopher
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Edwards
Treasure Island
Bunnicula
Harry's Mad
Okay Heidi,
I have only read Treasure Island... so I need alittle info on the others. Fantasy, Crazy, Hilarious, Educational... which is it?
Thanks
Rebecca
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