Just checking in. . .
I would like to spend a little more time here, developing thoughts, perhaps even coming to a few conclusions. Who knows what can happen when you put a little time and energy into a thing.
Yesterday afternoon I spent some time compiling a summer reading list for both my thirteen year old brother and my eleven year old sister. I gave them both some options to look at, some challenging and some not so, but all in all I hope that they will find a fun world of entertainment in literature. Plus I think that it would be fun to have something that we could all share together. (as we all grow older, it seems more likely that we all grow apart.)
Now, just two more cents: children's literature is for everyone. I think that if you take a minute and reread one of these books, you'll find yourself pleasantly surprised.
The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. This book is really fantastic and it has a lot of really great illustrations in it. It was originally written in the french language, titled Le Petit Prince. I'm sure that you can find a copy of it in english.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, or James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl. Roald Dahl was one of my favorite
authors when I was younger. He has a lot of really fantastic stories and with either one of these books you should already know the basic story line (I think that movies have been produced from adaptations from both of these books.) In the book, you get a lot of really neat stories that aren't able to be included in the movies.
The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams. I can't remember the last time I read this book, but I do know that it was always one of my favorites and a story that has stuck with me far into my adolescence and adulthood.
Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine. I haven't read this book at all, but it comes highly recommended from a few friends of mine. The storyline is something of a Cinderella story.
The next selections are all by a favorite author of mine, Shel Silverstein. The Giving Tree is more of a story than a book of poems. Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic are two books of poetry that Shel Silverstien put out. These two books were my first introduction to poetry, and like I said, they are really really funny. You should definitely check these books out, even if you don't read much of them, as they are a hoot.
A Wrinkle in Time, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, and A Wind in the Door are all books by Madeline L'Engle. These books are a small series and are of the science fiction genre, but the author is a Christian woman and so she presents some themes dealing with God and the afterlife too (from a scientific prospective.) I first read this series when I was in fifth grade, and the series is still one of my favorites. L'Engle is a great writer.
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven books written by C.S. Lewis. Lewis is another author who writes a lot of non-fiction about Christianity and God and the afterlife. This series is fantasy based (wizard and the like.) Although, there are seven books in the series, it's finished so you won't have to wait for the next book to come out, EVER. The books go in the order: The Magician's Nephew; The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe; The Horse and His Boy; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Silver Chair; and The Last Battle. I think that you would really enjoy this series.
No Promises in the Wind, by Irene Hunt is a book that I first read in the eighth grade. I think that I read it for language arts class, but ended up using it as the basis for a project in social studies. The story takes place in the Great Depression Era and follows two brothers as they strike out to try and make it on their own. This is one of my favorite books of all time.
The last that I'm going to give to you is The Hatchet, by Gary Paulson. You could probably pick up anything by Paulson and it would be pretty good -- he's been a young adult author since before I was in school and he's still writing new books. This is the one that I remember the most out of four or five of his that I read when I was your age. The story's about this boy who gets stranded out in the woods with nothing more than a hatchet and his trials as he attempts survival in the woods alone.
Well, that's my summer reading recommendations for the summer. Maybe next time I'll post more adult selections for the more mature (stuffy) crowd.
later,
-d.
I would like to spend a little more time here, developing thoughts, perhaps even coming to a few conclusions. Who knows what can happen when you put a little time and energy into a thing.
Yesterday afternoon I spent some time compiling a summer reading list for both my thirteen year old brother and my eleven year old sister. I gave them both some options to look at, some challenging and some not so, but all in all I hope that they will find a fun world of entertainment in literature. Plus I think that it would be fun to have something that we could all share together. (as we all grow older, it seems more likely that we all grow apart.)
Now, just two more cents: children's literature is for everyone. I think that if you take a minute and reread one of these books, you'll find yourself pleasantly surprised.
The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. This book is really fantastic and it has a lot of really great illustrations in it. It was originally written in the french language, titled Le Petit Prince. I'm sure that you can find a copy of it in english.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, or James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl. Roald Dahl was one of my favorite
authors when I was younger. He has a lot of really fantastic stories and with either one of these books you should already know the basic story line (I think that movies have been produced from adaptations from both of these books.) In the book, you get a lot of really neat stories that aren't able to be included in the movies.
The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams. I can't remember the last time I read this book, but I do know that it was always one of my favorites and a story that has stuck with me far into my adolescence and adulthood.
Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine. I haven't read this book at all, but it comes highly recommended from a few friends of mine. The storyline is something of a Cinderella story.
The next selections are all by a favorite author of mine, Shel Silverstein. The Giving Tree is more of a story than a book of poems. Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic are two books of poetry that Shel Silverstien put out. These two books were my first introduction to poetry, and like I said, they are really really funny. You should definitely check these books out, even if you don't read much of them, as they are a hoot.
A Wrinkle in Time, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, and A Wind in the Door are all books by Madeline L'Engle. These books are a small series and are of the science fiction genre, but the author is a Christian woman and so she presents some themes dealing with God and the afterlife too (from a scientific prospective.) I first read this series when I was in fifth grade, and the series is still one of my favorites. L'Engle is a great writer.
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven books written by C.S. Lewis. Lewis is another author who writes a lot of non-fiction about Christianity and God and the afterlife. This series is fantasy based (wizard and the like.) Although, there are seven books in the series, it's finished so you won't have to wait for the next book to come out, EVER. The books go in the order: The Magician's Nephew; The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe; The Horse and His Boy; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Silver Chair; and The Last Battle. I think that you would really enjoy this series.
No Promises in the Wind, by Irene Hunt is a book that I first read in the eighth grade. I think that I read it for language arts class, but ended up using it as the basis for a project in social studies. The story takes place in the Great Depression Era and follows two brothers as they strike out to try and make it on their own. This is one of my favorite books of all time.
The last that I'm going to give to you is The Hatchet, by Gary Paulson. You could probably pick up anything by Paulson and it would be pretty good -- he's been a young adult author since before I was in school and he's still writing new books. This is the one that I remember the most out of four or five of his that I read when I was your age. The story's about this boy who gets stranded out in the woods with nothing more than a hatchet and his trials as he attempts survival in the woods alone.
Well, that's my summer reading recommendations for the summer. Maybe next time I'll post more adult selections for the more mature (stuffy) crowd.
later,
-d.
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