I am going to be using Drawn Into the Heart of Reading for my 9th grader this coming year. I need help picking books because I didn't read books in High School so I'm not sure what to pick. Can you give me your favorite(s) in the following categories? Sorry I really know little about books, but I am trying to change this. TIA Historical Fiction Adventure: (He will be reading The Swiss Family Robinson. Does this count for Adventure?) Biography Fantasy Mystery Folk Tales Nonfiction Humor Realistic Fiction
Historical Fiction: The Chestry Oak, The Three Musketeers, The Scarlet Pimpernel, possibly Last of the Mohicans, and Zane Gray's three books about the Ohio Territory...Betty Zane, Spirit of the Border, and Deathwind. To Kill a Mockingbird, Dickens, A Separate Peace, The Chosen Adventure: Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Biography: Not sure Fantasy: Lord of the Rings (of course!!!), Ray Bradbury Mystery: Sherlock Holmes, Lord Peter Wimsey (The Moonstone, but that's such a long, drawn-out BORING read!) Father Brown Folk Tales: Uncle Remus Stories Non-fiction: The Hiding Place Humor: Mark Twain, Wooster and Jeeves Realistic Fiction: not sure
Adventure - I think Swiss Family Robinson would work here, though I've never read it. My 9th grader recently commented to me that she loved the book My Side of the Mountain. I loved True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle - may or may not be too young for your 9th grader. Old Man and the Sea. Biography - Diary of Anne Frank Fantasy - Feed by MT Anderson!!!!! 1984, Animal Farm Folk Tales - The Pearl by Steinbeck. Nonfiction - many books by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. Favorite probably the one about the Irish Potato Famine (I think it's called Black Potatoes). David McCullough is wonderful also - I loved his book The Johnstown Flood - whether a 9th graader would love it as much will depend on your 9th grader. Humor - Adventure of Huckleberry Finn Realistic Fiction - Grapes of Wrath, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Octavian Nothing, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Crucible (I can't pick just one of these. I loved, loved, loved them all. Truly.)
Oops I missed the historical fiction category. I guess Octavian Nothing and The Crucible would fit there. I also recommend The Scarlet Letter
Thanks for starting this thread! I am having trouble finding readers for Ems this year. She is also starting 9th grade.
Have Ems read Shadow Dancer. It's one of my favorite books. It's about a young girl growing up during the time of the Arabian Nights. Shaharazad is coming to the end of the 101 nights. She's desperate to keep her story going, and this young lady has a "new" story the queen wants to tell her husband. Plus, the young lady's mother intenionally maimed her daughter to save her life. The girl needs to come to grips with that, and learn how to forgive.
LOL!!! I was trying to look for the correct book and decided to return to this thread for the title again. LOL Glad I did! I found numerous of Shadow Dancers. Some not so teen friendly. :lol: Thanks!
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as humor? Quick throwout to one of my favorite sites, Goodreads, which is what I call "facebook for bookworms," where you can connect with your friends and read their reviews of books, as well as other people's reviews. Hmm: Historical Fiction: The Three Musketeers, by Alexander Dumas; All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway, Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens Adventure: The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, White Fang and other stories by Jack London Biography: The Miracle Worker, Black Boy, by Richard Wright Fantasy: The Belgariad series by David Eddings is good, albeit not classic Frankenstein, Mary Shelley - I couldn't find another genre to put it in lol Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, Dracula, by Braham Stoker, Dune by Frank Herbert, The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury, The Time Machine, by H G Wells Mystery: Second the Sherlock Holmes books, the Hardy Boys might also be an interesting read if you're not looking for classics (though they probably should be considered classics now) Folk Tales: can't think of any off the top of my head Nonfiction: soo many to choose from, I'd go with w/e your other subjects are about, tbh, or what interests him Humor: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's court, Mark Twain, Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (it's satire, so make sure you discuss it); Swift also did an essay on eating Irish baby, heavily satire Realistic Fiction : Island of the Blue Dolphin, Julie of the Wolves but be aware there is a maritial rape scene, My Name is Not Angelica (also kind of emotionally charged but about slaves), The Chosen, by Chaim Potok (good read for a homeschooling mom), Flowers for Algernon, Anthem, by Ayn Rand, doesn't fit in any genre
I must be bad... I am doing a lit program that has a book already with it.. so I don't have to come up with lit novels... some of these sounds interesting. I may just have to read these for myself.. I tend to just read books I get from the Christian book store...
Octavian Nothing is an absolutely fabulous book. It is about a slave boy that was raised in a household with his mother during the time right before the American Revolution. This was also the age of Enlightenment, so he doesn't realize it at first but he is being raised by a group of philosophers to see if black people could actually be capable of learning just like white folks. So his life is an experiment. He is taught classics and violin. Things seem okay to him at first but as he gets older, things get darker. It's fascinating because the question of liberty is being talked about a lot during this time and yet here he is, a slave. It is so well written. I think it's labelled as young adult, and it's a super book for teens, but it would be enjoyed by adults just as much (or even more, especially for anyone with a classical education because there are lots of references to classical works). Highly recommended!
