Some of you may gasp and shriek, avert your eyes from the carelessness and obvious disdain of all things listworthy. You may find this hard to believe, but the none the less… I (the listmaker) have never really made a Reading List for school.
*shrieeeek!*
Before you click away and run to Google Reader or wherever to unsubscribe, allow me a moment of self-defense…Princess loves to read. She checks out tons of books from the library and buys cheap ones at the thrift store. It’s never really been an issue. And it isn’t really an “issue” now either..
I just feel that we’ve reached an age and grade level where I *do* want to assign specific books to read.
Enter the 2009-2010 Reading List:
Oh, it’s blank. You noticed that huh??
Yeah, see, that’s the thing. I haven’t actually MADE the list yet. I need a bit of help with that. You’ll help me won’t you?? I don’t want to pick a bunch of random books, I want to choose good ones that come recommended from other mothers. I want a variety of styles and I wouldn’ t mind if some of them raised questions. In the end I’m going to select 10 (for starters — we’ll see how long it takes her to read that many) and when she gets to the end she’ll earn a reward.
So you see, they need to be good. Oh, and somewhere around 5th/6th grade reading level. Don’t want them to be TOO easy for her. Off the top of my head, it occurs to me that I don’t believe she’s ever read Black Beauty and I recall a friend telling me recently that her same-aged daughter was reading the Diary of Anne Frank.
What titles can you offer up for the list?
Which books did your children enjoy? Which ones did you enjoy as a kid?
Leave your suggestions in the comments — pretty please? Thanks, y’all!
I like the book The Giver by Lois Lowry
http://www.loislowry.com/giver.html
I checked the book wizard and it is reading level 5.9, but interest level 7 – 12.
http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/viewWorkDetail.do?workId=4096
That is such a cool site! I ran a reading level search and saw The Wheel on the School
by Meindert De Jong, illustrated by Maurice Sendak that I remembered reading around 4th or 5th grade and really liked. Good luck!
That’s a cool tool – THANKS! I’ll check out The Giver and The Wheel on the School – I’ve never heard of either of those.
A link to some books that we’re wanting: http://www.powells.com/prizes/caldecott.html
We’re currently loving Please Say Please!
Thanks for the link! I think that list will help find books for all of my kids. =)
What about Little Women?
Good one! It’s been a long time since I read it, I’ll have to check into the reading level, I can’t recall. I do remember liking it though. =)
Boo’ful what about the Secret Garden and the Wizard of Oz? mmmmm, still thinking of others
I already have the Secret Garden on our possible list. 😉 I hadn’t thought of the wizard of Oz… still I think we’ll save it for the next reading list.
Well… when I’m looking for new material for my eldest bookworm… I tend to consult cbd.com and narrow my search by age group… #1 is very interested in biography/autobiography, sci-fi/mystery, vintage comics… ‘nerdy’ stuff…
The other three are typically interested in cartoon character related literature 😀 Ya know… Anyways… hope that helps at least a bit!
Cartoon character books – HA! I know what you mean. I told princess those weren’t going to cut it for the reading list. 😉
I’m going to make a list for drama queen too and there will probably be a few of those on there. 🙂
Cracker, the Best Dog in VietNam
The Golden Goblet by McGraw
The Wheel on the School by Dejong
Heidi
And my daughter’s currently devouring anything Nancy Drew.
Well, that’s the second recommendation for The Wheel on the School so I guess I definitely need to check that one out! =)
I. LOVED. Nancy Drew as a young girl and I still have a large collection of the hardbacks in the attic. I have added the first one to the reading list for this year, though she may decide to read more in addition to that, and that’s fine by me! 😉
My favorite book as a kid was Madeleine Engle’s Wrinkle in Time. I don’t remember if it was a difficult read. I just remember checking it out in the school library in the fourth or fifth grade. It’s scif-fi, so I don’t know if she’ll like it. I loved Bunnicula books like the Celery Stalks at Midnight. The first book I read that was more than 400 pages (I was so proud) was called Homecoming. I checked it out in fourth grade and I remember that book still. It’s serious and I don’t know if she’ll like it. It’s about… Read more »
I don’t know why I never replied to this comment before.. I’m almost convinced I missed it because I’m sure I’d have mentioned that I owned/read/loved ALL of the Bunnicula books! I still have them and tried to get Princess to read them. I also had Homecoming. It was a big book!
I’ve never read Wrinkle in Time but the kids have seen a movie made from it. I’m going to be looking for this at the library this week!
I LOVE Draw into the Heart of Reading by Heart of Dakota; it suggests books based on reading level, recommended by . . ., & genre. It is also ties in reading activities & Godly character traits to focus on throughout each genre. With that said, here are my picks: Biography: Carry on Mr. Bowditch Adventure: Call It Courage, Hans Brinker (or The Silver Skates), Around the World in 80 Days Historical Fiction: Paddle to the Sea, The Cabin Faced West, Caddie Woodlawn, The Secret Garden, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Where the Red Fern Grows, Anne of Green Gables,… Read more »
WOW, awesome list!!
I had thought about Around the World in 80 Days, but thought I’d save it for the next book list. I do have the Secret Garden and the first Anne of Green Gables book on there. She’s already reading Charlotte’s Web.I’ll have to check out your other suggestions. I’ll post the final list once we get it all together.
I don’t remember when I read the series, but I LOVED Little house on the prairie.
One of my favorite books when I was younger was “The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle” by Avi. It is about a little girl who becomes part of the crew on a ship. There are ship diagrams in the beginning of the book to help with ship terminology and I found it a fascinating read back then. I is on my shelf still and I can’t wait for my kids to get their hands on it when the time comes.
Corrie Ten Boom? Good books listed above…………
saw the list on the books you have chosen. When she reads the Little House books, tell her that we are related to the Fred Gilbert in some of them. He was a post man, when they moved to Minnesota I believe.