Summer Reading for the Kids
Thanks to Drew Klavan, Rob Long, Ursula Hennessey, and the many Ricochet readers who have made suggestions, the summer reading list for the three teenaged Robinson males has begun taking shape:
The mandatory pile
One brand new copy, purchased at the full retail price, of Andrew Klavan's most recent book for young adults, The Long Way Home
Hatchet
Graveyard Book
Microbe Hunters (One of my boys loves science. We'll see if he loves science writing.)
Sink the Bismarck (The best way to introduce the boys to history, I figure, is by way of the Department of Blowing Things Up.)
The Once and Future King (I've been meaning to read it myself since I was about 15.)
The optional pile
Two additional copies, used, of Andrew Klavan's most recent novel for young adults, The Long Way Home
A couple of books from the Hornblower series
Another couple from the Great Brain series
Kim. Also a collection of Kipling short stories, most certainly to include "The Man Who Would be King."
Chronicles of Narnia
If I may, a few remaining questions, the first of which goes to Mrs. Hennesey: Ursula, you spent a decade as a professional sports writer. What sports books would you recommend? Books in which teenaged boys could lose themselves (which is what they'll have in mind) while being exposed to clean, straightforward prose and a skillful narrative (which is what their father has in mind)? Sports books--it's tricky ground, I find. Sports writers tend to write for newspapers and magazines, getting their work into print while their audience still recalls the game or match or contest about which they're writing. Books? Not so much. There's John McPhee on Arthur Ashe and Bill Bradley, and then there's David Halberstam on rowing. But those aren't books by sports writers. They're books by writers who happened to take six months off to write about sports.
As you'll see, Ursula, I'm desperate.
My next question I direct to my esteemed colleague, Mr. R.C.B. Long. Kim? Really, Rob? Jeepers. The story is set in a world, the Raj, that went out of existence seven decades ago, the narrative makes heavy use of dialect, and the story line (as I recall) is pretty darned complicated. Maybe some Kipling short stories instead? Or would you contend--and who knows? You've met all three of them--that my not particularly literate boys could pull themselves together and make it through Kim on their own, unflogged by their male parent? I'm asking for summer reading suggestions here. If you insist on Kim I will certainly pick up a copy--but let the boys know that it was your idea.
This is your last chance to take it back.
- Comment (27)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (5)
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
Comments :
May '10
Re: Summer Reading for the Kids
Oh, good grief, I can't believe I left out Robert A. Heinlein's "juveniles." The best is "Have Space Suit, Will Travel," but any and all of them are cracking good adventure stories with more than a little solid instruction in science, history, and ethics tucked in for the ride.
May '10
Re: Summer Reading for the Kids
I remain a fan of Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. I re-read it last summer and found it just as charming then as I did when I first read it, along with the rest of my fourth-grade class (what a teacher I had, to assign that book!). L'Engle wove a lot of Christian themes into the book, though not quite as obviously as Lewis did in his Narnia books. It might split the difference between Narnia and Middle Earth for your boys.
I also recommend The Three Investigators series of books. You'll have to pick them up secondhand, or off of eBay, but they're worth the small amount of extra work to get them. They are geared for younger teenaged boys, used Alfred Hitchcock as a recurring character, and are quick reads.
If either of your sons are baseball fans, George Will's Men at Work is a fantastic book, perhaps the best book on baseball ever written.
May '10
Re: Summer Reading for the Kids
We had a similar reading system in the summers, and I believe there may have been a reward system involved as well. (No we did not use the word "bribe") First of all, all of my boys liked "Hatchet" and read most of what Gary Paulsen wrote. 2 of the 3 devoured the Harry Potter series, though one won't admit it now. I am sure that by now you have more than enough suggestions, but I thought I would throw out a couple more that I don't think anyone else mentioned. I seem to remember the boys enjoying "Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara. And for something a little different, "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson. "A Walk in the Woods" is a great read although it is also a good one for books on tape in the car, especially with Bryson reading it.
May '10
Re: Summer Reading for the Kids
And a word of advice....In our eagerness to get them reading and to share our favorites with them I think we sometimes suggested books too early. "Caine Mutiny," by Herman Wouk, was a good example in our household. They read it in high school, but they appreciated it later on in college. I think "Moby Dick" is like that for many people. Being capable of reading the book and having an appreciation for the book are not necessarily the same thing. The timeline varies from child to child, and from book to book, but I think it is an important consideration.
May '10
Re: Summer Reading for the Kids
Finally, a response from from son (recently graduated from college):
He did mention "Caine Mutiny," he felt that you should read it more than once in life anyway....
"The Right Stuff" by Tom Wolfe
Although Fitzgerald is often on high school reading lists, "This Side of Paradise," wasn't on his and he thought it was the best one for them to read.
Same for Steinbeck's "Cannery Row."
Sports (rowing of course):"The Amatuers: The Story of Four Young Men and their Quest for an Olympic Gold Medal," by David Halberstam
"Assault on Lake Casitas," by Brad Alan Lewis
May '10
Re: Summer Reading for the Kids
"Oh noooooooo! My precious, precious Harry Potter! I'm sorry, baby, mama still love you. You'll always live in my heart now matter what those other people say about you."
Okay, now that I've soothed, Harry's wounded pride. Yes, Harry does have feelings because he is real. He came alive for me when I first listened to Jim Dale reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Prior to that, I'd been very leery of the series since I'd heard so many religious people expound on the demonic properties of the franchise. But when I had a chance to check out the audio book from the library, Jim Dale (perhaps the best reader who ever lived) made that world come alive. I was hooked and went...
May '10
Re: Summer Reading for the Kids
...and bought the next two books. After I consumed those in a week, I started jonesin' for the 4th book and had to wait a god-awful year until it came out. Thus began a pattern of consume a book in 2 days. Buy the audio book. Listen to the audio book. Wait 2 years for the next one. Re-listen to the audio books right before the new book came out. Wait on edge the day the book came out and jump at the sound of the doorbell hoping it was the book being delivered.
The beauty of the series is that each book grows in maturity with the character. The first book is simpler. The main character is just turning 11. As he get's older, the writing gets more complex, the topics heavier, the characters more nuanced.
Do I compare Harry to LOR or CON? No way! They're different. As to conservative values, I was pretty amazed that a Brit like Rowling could illuminate so many flaws in modern leftist thinking. The battle against evil is hard and many times solitary with unimaginable sacrifices. Denial of evil or appeasement don't work. Rowling was not afraid to illustrate that.