It's We Recommend, in which we use our superpowers to find readers the perfect book. And before I forget, like I did last time: got a kid who needs a recommendation?
Write us at thediamondinthewindow (at) gmail (dot) com with the age,
reading tastes, favorite books, and any other relevant (or irrelevant)
information, and we'll give it a shot. And really? All the good
suggestions are in the comments.
Write us at thediamondinthewindow (at) gmail (dot) com with the age,
reading tastes, favorite books, and any other relevant (or irrelevant)
information, and we'll give it a shot. And really? All the good
suggestions are in the comments.
OK, this one will ring bells of recognition (is that actually a thing? Maybe not). But what I mean is: you will know what she is talking about. But! WILL YOU KNOW WHAT SHE SHOULD READ? That's the question, right?
I have a 9-year-old who is a strong reader, but has veered off into
reading a lot of light series and graphic novels. And endless Harry
Potter. I'd like to get her brain working a little harder and want to
lure her back to the glory of books with deep stories and fabulous
characters. She loved Bridge to Terebithia and Mrs. Frisby & the
Rats of NIHM, though listened to both on audiobook before reading it
herself. I'm trying to
interest her in Island of the Blue Dolphins right now. Wrinkle in Time is
too advanced and she doesn't like anything that involves scary or mushy
stuff. She liked Half Magic, Ella Enchanted, Cricket in Times Square.
OK, now you know, those of you who read here often, that I am about to go off on my usual rant about Let the Children Read What They WANT! For extended diatribe, complete with Dr. Who references, see here.
However. While I am hesitant about the focus on juding reading material on its ability to "challenge" readers, I also know the frustration of having seen my brilliant amazing 8-year-old bring home Mary-Kate and Ashley detective stories.
Those…books. Were. HORRIBLE.
So.
Here are some things I think, with the caveat that I am just a random person who has taken it upon herself to write a blog about books and I have no expertise at all, or education that's about reading or reading levels.
1. The way to get children inspired by what they read is to let them follow their own crazy hearts.
2. But, you know, there's no law against putting awesome books out on the coffee table to see if they will catch someone's eye.
3. Some kids have a much easier time listening to audiobooks and then reading them. This seems entirely fine to me. Even better than fine, actually.
4. As a reading grown up, you are in for heartbreak as you watch your children cavalierly dismiss books you KNOW to be great.
5. We should all be used to heartbreak by now.
6. Reading = Pleasure, and like all pleasures, it grows and changes and transforms over time.
OK, on to the books. I talked to both Diana and Chestnut. Diana thought long and hard, and came up with the Tiffany Aching series by Terry Pratchett. However, she also thought Chestnut might be a better source, given the (longer in the actual email) description of the child. So I asked Chestnut. She didn't think long and hard AT ALL. She knew, all at once, as though the truth sprang into her head.
I have not read this book. It may not be complex and amazing. I fear it is not. But it came from the heart. And I think that getting excited about a book makes you want to read another book and then another and then another and then all of sudden you're reading Darwin and you're 27 and you have no idea how you got there.
Also? Maybe The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?
But we all know this is merely prelude. So have at it in the comments: find this kid a whole slew of books that will delight her.
And for heartbreak company: I STILL have not gotten Diana to read Watership Down. And I don't think I ever will.
marcialerner.com 
This is my life! My daughter is 10 and she is very picky when I suggest any book. Our best luck is going to the local children’s book store. The owner and other women make suggestions and she listens to them. I love it since they have read the books. Then when we go back in she stands around and talks about them. It is cool. We still cannot get any of the “classics” to be of interest. But there are so many great newer books out. Now that she is in 4th grade she is into wonder, rules etc anything about a kid or family facing a challenge. And her teacher says to read what she wants. Kids have literature in school and guided reading. Her concern is reading ahead too far. She said just because they can read the text is is sinking in and do they understand the vocabulary and complexities. She said if kids want to use a dictionary while reading but that is not fun to a 10 year old. My only other suggestion is to take turns reading chapters or read to her in general kids love that at any age.
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My two boys (10 and 6) and I are *loving* William Joyce’s Guardians of Childhood series.
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I loved the Whangdoodles as a kid, and how can you go wrong with Julie Andrews, so I think Chestnut is right on the money.
I will also offer some of my all too familiar suggestions:
The Saturdays, by Elizabeth Enright
Harriet the Spy
Caddie Woodlawn
And, while they are not Great Literature, she might like American Girl books.
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If she likes Harry Potter, I’d *strongly* recommend trying her out on Diana Wynne Jones’s Chrestomanci books, starting with either Witch Week or Charmed Life. Charmed Life was the first one, but Witch Week is often an easy sell to HP fans bc it’s set in a school. Wonderful and funny and imaginative and true to the reality of what it’s like to be a kid.
Also, The Secret of Platform Thirteen and other books by Eva Ibbotson.
And if she liked Half Magic, she might enjoy the E. Nesbit books which inspired its author: Five Children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet, and The Story of The Amulet.
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I was just about to recommend the E. Nesbit books, but Els beat me to it. I will mention that they are probably available on Libravox, the site that has audio recordings of classics for free. Here are some more overdone suggestions: the Narnia books, Wind in the Willows, and Meet the Austins, which is the first in one of L’engle’s great series of books, and easier reading than A Wrinkle in Time. I also remember being fascinated by My Side of the Mountain around that age.
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I will second (third?) the Whangdoodle book – I adored it as a kid.
If she liked Mrs. Frisby, how about another by O’Brien – “The Silver Crown?” I know a nine year old who would stop every twenty minutes or so of reading this to say “What a great book!”
Two other thoughts: The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder and The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Jane Aiken.
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The familiars has been described as the animal Harry potter.
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My daughter was wishy-washy on the Whangdoodles. I do like the Eva Ibbotson suggestion above. The Island of the Aunts is a good place to start with those.
I also struggle with having kids who are brilliant and excellent and voracious readers of utter garbage. One thing that has helped me is to realize that the current generation of kids is just more visual. And the graphic novel is their medium. And maybe there’s nothing wrong with that. A GOOD graphic novel can have lots of depth and character development and can introduce the child to new worlds and ideas in just the same way as a regular novel can. I have been trying to see them not as a dumbed-down version of regular literature but as intrinsically worthy themselves.
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I am there, too. I don’t feel particularly inclined to push Brynna to read to “her level,” but I hate to see her reading crap. And when she reads something she loves, she really devours it and when she’s reading something just because, it takes her forever to get through it, so I’d rather her read really amazing things. She just finished Bridge to Terabithia, too. I am going to suggest From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and Harriet the Spy because they were two of my favorites when I was a kid.
Brynna also just read the first Percy Jackson book and she ate it up, but couldn’t get through the second one. We just finished reading together The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (which has some cussing, but nothing you can’t edit out on the fly) and now we’re reading The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
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Beauty by Robin McKinley was my go-to book at that age. Her other fairy tale retllings were good too. Also, what about The Hobbit in audio book?
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It also occurs to me that Sideways Stories from Wayside School might do the trick, what with their utter craziness.
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I am going to quibble with some of the above. I actually think the Nesbitt books might be a little too difficult because of there old fashioned language and structure. I’d wait on those until she is a bit more advanced.
I was going to recommend My Side of the Mountain, Island of the Aunts and Harriet the Spy (same as above). But suggest different Enright titles (because The Saturdays is a little more dated), so I would try Four Story Mistake or Gone Away Lake first.
She could try Understood Betsy. Or all of the other Eager books but especially Time Garden, or Magic by the Lake.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks and All of a Kind Family are fun, too.
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their not there. Sigh. Sorry.
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Yes, to anything by Ibbotson. Also the Wayside school stories. And if she hasn’t read them, the “Popularity Papers” series (graphic novels, yes–but far better than Dork Diaries) are lots of fun.
Also, do you know that Peggy Orenstein just recommended your blog on fb?
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That was about the age when my daughter read the Enchanted Forest books over and over (Dealing with Dragons is the first one – there are four), and read all the Narnia books. I think the Phantom Tollbooth would also be great (but it’s probably my favorite kids’ book ever, so I always think that), although maybe as a read-aloud first.
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Caddie Woodlawn
The Egypt Game (I adored that book when I was about nine–but there are a few scary moments, I think)
The Phantom Tollbooth
Ginger Pye
Thimble Summer
The Westing Game
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Diamond: what about Watership as an audio book? Maybe sneakily snuck in as a family listen on a car trip? I just reread (listened) to it as a way to make my walk to and from work a little nicer, and the reader is really pretty good. And then maybe the copy of the print book is somewhere accessible (maybe in the bathroom?) for someone who might want to read ahead, in private, without letting certain parties know they are enjoying it?
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Lauren, I appreciate your sneaky ingenuity, but given that she is a reader of this blog (and a sometime commenter—can you spot her?) any subterfuge is no longer an option for me. I can only hope for the random vacation house/library bookshelf to help me now.
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Well then here’s my direct approach:
http://jennysbooks.wordpress.com/2012/02/02/review-watership-down-richard-adams/
Relevant pull quote from this review: “My mother told me about Watership Down when I was in my early-to-mid teens, and I was like, “Oh, it’s about a psychic bunny rabbit and his bunny rabbit pals? Well I’m just going to rush right the h*** out to read that one!”
However, if you haven’t read Watership Down, you should rush right the h*** out to read it. It is the best ever.”
As you can see from the above quote, there is some mild profanity but… apparently you read mimi smartypants. So I’m not too worried about you.
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Well then here is my direct plea to Diana:
http://jennysbooks.wordpress.com/2012/02/02/review-watership-down-richard-adams/
Relevant pull quote from this review: “My mother told me about Watership Down when I was in my early-to-mid teens, and I was like, “Oh, it’s about a psychic bunny rabbit and his bunny rabbit pals? Well I’m just going to rush right the h— out to read that one!”
However, if you haven’t read Watership Down, you should rush right the h— out to read it. It is the best ever.”
Mild profanity in the review but for a kid that reads mimi smartypants I’m…not worried.
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darn sorry about double posting 😦
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I second (and third and fourth) The Egypt Game. Just the right amount of spooky moments, I think.
And I know the Nesbit books have archaic language, but my my 5 year old enjoys them as a read aloud, and adopts the crazy words into his language, so I still think its an excellent choice. 🙂
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I spent hours and hours in later childhood devouring series romances to the despair of my literature-teacher father. Eventually, though, I did read those classics he’d harped on about.
My suggestions:The Penderwicks (Jeanne Birdsall)
Ivy and Bean (might be too young perhaps but good if she wants to whip through things quickly) (Annie Barrows)
Nanny Piggens (silly and funny) (R A Spratt)
Clementine (Sara Pennypacker)
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Late addition- Once Upon a Marigold?
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Someone should write an ode to the throwaway series. I think we all know that there is nothing wrong with reading them, but actually there is something RIGHT with reading them! Michael Chabon writes about this in his essay collection Manhood for Amateurs. Part of the pleasure comes PRECISELY from the knowledge that your parents don’t approve…
That said, what about Cornelia Funke, on audiobook, readaloud, or regular old solitary reading? My now-8-year-old loves Igraine the Brave, and together we just adored Inkheart–which is about falling into books.
For throwaway series, my daughter is really into Thea Stilton (more so than Geronimo Stilton), as well as the Time Warp Trio.
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My 10 year old daughter recommends Wildwood, by Colin Meloy. (And also went into near paroxysms when we looked up the author on Amazon and saw that there was a sequel. So, yeah. She likes it.)
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I think of Behind the Attic Wall by Sylvia Cassedy–not the least mushy (though most covers look fairly cheesy, don’t judge blah blah blah), mysterious but not scary, and the heroine is spectacularly badly-behaved and very funny.
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How about the Mary Poppins books? They are at the same time delightfully acerbic, wonderfully funny, and, at times, incredibly touching and sweet.
And I think I suggest this series all the time, but how about the Moomintroll books?
Watership Down did nothing for me…too many stupid bunnies. And I loved animals and fantasy so I don’t know what the problem was.
Oh, how about The Wolves of Willoughby Chase? Which would open up that whole series of Joan Aiken books.
And, my very favorite book, Tom’s Midnight Garden.
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