Books for little men...
A brother in Christ sent this e-mail and I wonder if you dear brothers and sisters of Baylyblog might have a few suggestions? Would you please make comments with your suggestions?
Friends, ...I wonder if you could give me some book suggestions for my son? (He) is seven years old and just starting to read with abandon. He's actually a fairly good reader for his age and is reading at nearly a third grade level (he's finishing up first grade next week).
I'm especially interested in story books that get the male imagination in gear. By no means need it be explicitly "Christian" literature, but definitely literature which teaches character (the virtues). And ideally, too, books where boys are boys, and girls are girls—without apology.
Even if you had a list of great books that David could grow up into (i.e. he might not be quite ready for them now but may be in the next year or two), that also would be super.
If you could suggest anything at all, or could point me towards some Great Books For Kids list, I'd greatly appreciate it. (My wife) and I are eagerly looking for good substitutes for the omnipresent television.
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Comments
The "we were there" series of books and the books by Helen Orton are very good for early readers. The first covers various historical events which somehow find children at the center of what is going on. The second are predominantly children's mysteries. Both can be found on ebay.
The Book Tree by McCallum and Scott (ISBN 1885767714) contains lists of books (by age range) and helpful comments. P & R publish some good stuff aimed at boys (some fiction by Douglas Bond).
With regard to the TV, have you considered just watching DVDs and making it a bit of a family night (burgers, hot dogs, fizzy drinks and popcorn...invite some neighbours)...
In my circle, Ambleside is considered to be the comprehensive "good books" list. To make it even better, the books are all old classics, and the list is broken down into age groups. I think this is the best place to start--you can choose books based on your son's reading level and particular interests. You can choose books for him to read on his own, and some to read together. This page is technically a "curriculum list", so it's not strictly book titles. Don't be put off.
http://www.amblesideonline.org/01bks.shtml
My boys are not reading on their own yet (ages 3 and 5) but I'll give a few of my favorite read-aloud books:
Chronicles of Narnia: We're halfway through these books and they're written at a level that young children can understand.
Hobbit: We started this with the boys last year, then decided it was still a little too advanced for them. Maybe next year?
Saint George and the Dragon, by M. Hodges: My boys nearly have this memorized.
The Wind in the Willows: There's a great audiobook of this on librivox.org, read by A. Preatzellis, for long car rides.
Books I can't wait to read with my boys:
Treasure Island: Another great adventure book with a great recording on librivox.org, also by A. Praetzellis.
Kidnapped: Ben and I read this together last year, and loved it.
The Coral Islands, by Ballantyne: This is one of the best books I've ever read. It's everything that Swiss Family Robinson should have been and wasn't.
Robinson Crusoe: Make sure your copy is unabridged, otherwise all the Christianity is edited out.
No favorites list is complete without a least-favorite, right? We hated Swiss Family Robinson. We thought the writing was terrible, and wondered how it ever became a "classic." We love the old Disney version of Swiss Family Robinson; must be the only example of a movie-better-than-book.
Sorry for the lengthy reply; it's one of my favorite topics of conversation. I read most of adventure books as a girl, and never read Little Women until I was in college. I'm playing catch-up with girly books, though.
I agree with Michal on the Ambleside list. We have used it extensively for our boys (10,9, 7) and have found it an invaluable resource. I would also recommend many of the Billy and Blaze books. Our boys loved those. Look at the Boxcar Children series too. I know that our older two tore through those.
Here is a short but good list of suggested authors to look for, from my friend Cindy who has 8 boys: http://circeinstitute.org/2012/01/good-books-for-great-readers/. Douglas Bond has also written some historical fiction that is good for boys, though maybe a bit challenging at 7. I would recommend LOTS of reading aloud at that age, then he can enjoy books that are still beyond his reading ability but not beyond his comprehension. You might enjoy it, too :-).
A good place to start might be with the 1st - 8th grade book list that Justin Taylor posted several weeks ago.
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2012/05/18/classical-school-reading-list-grades-1-8/
Also my son was a voracious reader and loved the G. A. Henty books. If cost is an issue, you might want to think about an ereader since many of the older good books are now public domain and many are in ebook format. You do not need to get an ereader with wifi; it can be just a simple reader.
If you need to purchase an ereader, make sure that model can handle the formats of the ebooks you would desire to download.
There are a wealth of Puritan books and older reformed theological books in free ebook formats too. (CCEL)
The Henty books as free ebooks just scroll down to the correct author’s name - http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/h
My wonderful mother just posted a great list of books she has used with my brothers on her blog. It's a great list with explanations for each book.
http://nonniesnotes.blogspot.com/2012/05/read-aloud-books-with-boy-appeal.html
I love books and some of my favorites have already been mentioned. My sister and husband both mentioned the ambleside list. I'm the one that has read the books from years 1-3 with my 2 oldest sons and I've been blown away by how amazing the booklist is for raising boys. Be aware that they are mostly for reading aloud with your sons though and that they're well above normal reading level.
Here are some from a list of the earliest books my boys enjoyed reading (first as read-alouds, then to themselves):
Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little
all books by Thornton Burgess (ie. The Adventures of Jerry Muskrat)
My Side of the Mountain (very enjoyable account of a boy running away from his home in NYC to live on old family land in the Catskill Mountains-lives off the land, trains falcon to hunt for him, etc.)
Balto and the Great Race, Kimmel
Mouse and the Motorcycle, Cleary
Paddle to the Sea, Holling
The Boxcar Children, Warner (the first 17 are by the original author. Usually best to skip the rest of series that get taken over just for a publisher to make money)
Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang, Fleming (all our kids loved hearing this. the books was very disappointing in comparison--doesn't follow the book at all)
Mappo the Merry Monkey, Barnum (This is one of the few I'm recommending that your son could likely just pick up and read on his own right now. It's a 17-book series copyright 1915 if you can find any of them or maybe they're in the public domain and available electronically.)
Children's poetry read aloud to them is very valuable for a developing sense of the beauty of language and building vocabulary, etc. A.A. Milne is the best to start with.
Pippi Longstocking, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Dr. Dolittle, Paddington are other good early books for kids to enjoy.
Also good books of fairy tales are really good for this age.
The Biggest Bear on Earth by Harold McCracken (LOVE this old book if you can find it!! excellent book about Alaskan Brown Bears by man who lived among the bears for some time)
Mr. Popper's Penguins, Atwater
Best series ever for boys: Little Britches by Ralph Moody. Read these aloud as you won't want to miss them yourself. Autobiographical and similar to Little House but written for a higher reading level and about a boy.
OK, I'll stop there. You can probably tell this is a favorite topic :)
Great recommendations! I would just add one more suggestion, and that is to keep reading aloud to your son even though he is already an avid reader. As you read to him, you will discover authors you find particularly appealing and helpful, and also those that you and he don't enjoy so much. Additionally, you can't beat the family times that come from shared literature. My kids still play "Pooh sticks" when we are hiking and come to a bridge, a game they picked up from hearing the Milne books as little people.
Posted by Eleanor Rice on facebook:
"I am not sure how to put this on the blog but figure someone will do it for me. These are for older boys. 1) Men of Destiny and 2) Men of Purpose both by Dr.Peter Masters. Also the Lamplighter Series has many reprints of the old classics."
One more....The Dangerous Journey, which is a children's version of Pilgrim's Progress but with a lot of original language. Great pictures, especially for boys.
I recommend the Hardy Boys series by Franklin W. Dixon (third or fourth grade reading level). Make sure you get the originals; I've seen modernizations, but I'm sure they're not as good.
I enjoyed the Little House series when I was younger, but my favorite was Farmer Boy, mostly because the protagonist was a boy. Another good book is Holes; it's probably a fourth or fifth grade reading level.
For reading aloud, I would try Redwall (or any other book in that series). The author, Brian Jacques, originally intended for the books to be read out loud at a school for blind children. They are long, but your son will likely enjoy reading them on his own when he gets a little older.
Sincerely,
A good Christian series is the Trailblazer series by Dave and Neta Jackson. They are fictional accounts of great Christians. They are well written
Boys should read lots of fairy tales. They are, as Chesterton pointed out, the only really sane stories. Also, every boy should have at least four books on mythology, particularly the Greeks and Norse. Edith Hamilton is good, but I liked the ones with more pictures. Also, I wish I had had better Arthur (the king, not the Aardvark) books. The Once and Future King is good but I'm sure there are some updates that don't wink and nod quite as much.
As others have said, Narnia and the Hobbit are tops. I read them every year or two. The Princess and The Goblin by George MacDonald is also fantastic--I've heard the other Curdie books are also very good.
On a more hands-on note, The Dangerous Book for Boys is pretty good; so is The Way Things Work. Britannica had a children's encyclopedia of science that I enjoyed so much as a second-grader that I would wake up before school to go read it--perhaps, I'm exceptional, but I doubt it.
There is a series of books called Horrible Histories; they're entertaining introductions to various periods of history. There's a similar science series.
I also loved the poetry of Ogden Nash and James Whitcomb Riley.
A major regret that I have is that I didn't read more books to our children when they were younger. Do it while you can.
I would highly recommend the <em>Redwall</em> series by Brian Jacques. I read it through primary school, and they're rollicking fun. Lots of adventures, battles, heroes and villains. And not a human being in sight. Would be fun to read together, if he's not up to it on his own.
At risk of offending the sophisticates among us, I must second Elliot's recommendation of the Hardy Boys books. I have six sons, and all of the older four are avid readers. Seriously, my 17 year old twins, my 15 year old, and my 14 year old read constantly, and have for years.
What got them started? The Hardy Boys. No doubt about it. Action. Friendship. Brotherly camaraderie. Respect for their father. Intrigue. Heroism. Fistfights.
What more could a boy ask for?
But Elliot is right to warn against the new ones. Avoid anything after 1962-64. Too modern.
Books:
* Any of Stephen Meader’s older books (before 1960). Especially Bulldozer and Boy With a Pack. Both books are stories of teen boys’ initiative, diligence, and perseverance.
*Brighty of the Grand Canyon, by Marguerite Henry
*Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls. The story of a boy and his dogs.
*The Prince and the Pauper, by Mark Twain
*The Little Lame Prince, by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik
Poetry to read and memorize:
* “The Village Blacksmith”
* “Casey at the Bat”
* “The Star-Spangled Banner,” all 4 verses, but especially the 4th.
Children’s hymns to sing and memorize:
* “Dare to be a Daniel”
* “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus,” by William Parker
* . . . and many others.
Another suggestion: Buy your son his own dictionary so he can look up unfamiliar words and mark them with the date he learns them. I recommend Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Series: Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, or Tenth edition. These dictionaries are a few years old, but that’s OK. They have etymologies (their best feature) and are a manageable size. Many copies are available used and inexpensively ($1) on the internet – I just checked on abebooks.com. These dictionaries can also be found in thrift shops, library sales, and used book stores.
Re: e-books -- I would also suggest buying your son *real books* -- not e-versions – so he can mark words that he learns, as well as notes and comments (all in pencil, of course), and begin to accumulate his own library that he will then pass on to his own children.
Michal, comment #3, I agree with your comments about _Robinson Crusoe,_ but would add that the same principles apply to _Swiss Family Robinson._ Are you sure that you were reading the *unabridged* version? I saw the Disney video about 10 years ago and thought it was a travesty, compared to the unabridged book. –But then, maybe more than one video has been made.
“He that loves reading has everything within his reach.”
—William Godwin
The flying Dutchman and the angels command are some of my favorites from red wall.They are sure to trigger up child's imagination.:)
Bed bug extermination nyc
Dear Elliot,
Just don't commend the Hardy Boys in Tim's or my hearing. Mud wouldn't have them in her home. No child of hers would read such tripe if she had her way.
Love,
David
I read them all. Mud got wiser as she got older. Love,
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy, to read aloud as a family for ages 7+. Don't read the plot spoilers, experience it together!
The Scarlet Pimpernel was a good book and contains one of my favorite literary scenes. Still, the only reason I managed to slog through all that boring romance stuff was because my mom made me :-) It might be more advanced than age 7, even read aloud. I think I read it in middle school and I still remember it being a little difficult to follow.
I second Mr. Michael Buschbacher's recommendation of Ogden Nash. His poems are lots of fun, although you may want to practice some in your head a few times before reading them out loud.
Sincerely,
Johnny Tremain
The Avion my Uncle Flew
Twenty-One Balloons
And for a slightly older young man, Jules Verne! Around the World in 80 days is such a fun read.
I concur with Archie, Mrs. Wegener, and Elliot.
The Billy and Blaze series are great, with outstanding pencil drawings too. Where did you guys find them, Doug? I haven't seen those since we lived in Owen Co.
Motion Seconded on AA Milne and The Hardy Boys.
The only additions I would make to the lists already present are:
Sherlock Holmes (complete set on Kindle for only a couple bucks)
Tarzan (you can get all 24 on Kindle for $5)
Rascal is also another good book for young boys.
Right, when I said 7 I was speculating based on my eldest, a 7-year-old girl. Come to think of it, my boys aren't at all likely to be ready for the complexity of all that by age 7. My wife and I sure enjoyed it though.
"Old Yeller" might be another book of interest, even to read together (since I'm not sure if the reading level would be appropriate for his age group). The older brother is the book surely is a good example of a young man coming of age and taking the responsibility given him by his father during his father's absence from the home.
Blessings,
Nancy
I think it will benefit your son to read books about noble men and youths. So in addition to books in this genre that have been mentioned already (e.g. Henty's historical fiction) I was surprised no one mentioned:
Horatio Hornblower (series) by C.S. Forester (as always, there are parts to skip)
I second:
The Scarlet Pimpernel (series)...it's even written by a real countess!
Henty's books (not always so accurate historically though)
Sherlock Holmes series (with attendant warnings about the pride of the mind, and remember that the author is a Spiritualist)
While I see great value in books with serious moral shortcomings like The Count of Monte Christo, Moby Dick, etc... I think they are best for a later, more discerning, age. Also, while greats like Don Quixote de La Mancha are far too complex to be properly appreciated at this age, the actual biography of Cervantes reads like a heroic knights tale, and is highly recommended and should be read before-hand anyway.
I must add two warnings in light of what others have said:
One, stay clear of fantasy and especially that which contains witchcraft (including C.S. Lewis' Narnia series and Tolkien's Hobbit and LOTR). Besides the what should be the obvious scriptural injunctions, and based partly on my own experience of having read some of these as a boy, I view this type of literature as gateway drugs. One obvious consequence is that they make a certain type of less than worthless entertainment and video game attractive.
Second, reading is not a substitute for pondering and more active thinking and creativity and construction. Reading is still leisure, just much better leisure than most activities that pass for this. I'd personally prefer that my sons spend more time puzzling and building and exploring for real, especially if they repeatedly failed only to suddenly succeed!
May the Lord Bless your efforts and oversight.
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