The Child Reading Dilemma Thread

[JJSCOTT2]

Snow Treasure was one of my favorites when I was a kid. And as someone else said, Where the Red Fern Grows is always awesome.

[doppelganger]

Watership Down
Where the Red Fern Grows
White Fang

[kerowo]

Heinlein's juvinals are all good reads without being objectionable. They do lead to his adult novels which I read in grade/high school and don't have a problem with but can see how others could.

Terry Pratchett's Discworld books are a pretty tame version of satire that are probably fine for all ages as well.

[octopi]

Oh man, I can tell a million tales of reading questionable material when I was younger. Getting free reign at the library from an early age and being in foreign countries where ANY type of English reading material was hard to come by really amplified the range of text I was allowed access to, whether my parents knew or not I am unsure of. I do know that if they had cut me off, I would have tried all the harder to find these illicit books. I'm pretty sure most kids would be the same, and I was definitely 'tamer' than most in my youth.

When I was younger I read a lot of series, devoured them even. Roald Dahl and Laura Ingalls Wilder's books were very popular in my roster, I read and reread them over and over. Later on (age 13 and up), Agatha Christie mysteries and VC Andrews 'romances' were my trashiest reading. Although when I was around 13 I definitely was reading some pornographic type material or things that were a little beyond what my parents would have liked me to read (well, my ultra conservative Catholic mother, anyhow!) they still served a purpose and I'm glad my reading list wasn't completely sterile.

Some more suggestions:
- Eragorn and the books in that series
- Non fiction! Travel, autobiographies, historical, scientific books are all great for vocabulary and enhancing the fiction being read. I also got really into occult type and paranormal books, as well.
- Short story compilations. I found this a great way to find new authors with styles I enjoyed reading.
- Kenneth Oppel books (think I've seen it mentioned already here), Beverly Cleary books, Judy Blume. Farley Mowat for nature books, Monica Hughes does great science fiction.
- Wind in the Willows and books about the Knights of the Round table etc. I really got hooked on English fiction when we lived in east England.

[PanchoVilla]

Don't forget the Hardy Boys! Encyclopedia brown is good stuff too.

['Chair]

how to eat fried worms
where the red fern grows
hatchet

[robracing]

[ QUOTE ]
Give them some Tolkein...

[/ QUOTE ]

This was a joke, right?

For the love of God, don't inflict that pompous self-indulgent nonsense upon your kids, unless you want them to swear-off books for life, and devote the rest of their childhood years to the PS3/Wii!

[kerowo]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Give them some Tolkein...

[/ QUOTE ]

This was a joke, right?

For the love of God, don't inflict that pompous self-indulgent nonsense upon your kids, unless you want them to swear-off books for life, and devote the rest of their childhood years to the PS3/Wii!

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, please don't encourage them to read some of the best literature of the last century, that would be a shame. Get them used to twitching their thumbs instead of reading.

Oh, has anyone mentioned The Great Brain books?

[lastchance]

Weird suggestion:
Animal Farm.

[gumpzilla]

[ QUOTE ]
Weird suggestion:
Animal Farm.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, that is a weird suggestion. I don't know how much of that you could realistically expect 5 and 7 year olds to get; not that that's necessarily important, but with Animal Farm I'm not sure what else is left.

Watership Down would probably be difficult but manageable, and is an awesome, awesome book. L'Engle is a good suggestion, as well.