A Required Reading List

[Barb_D]

My daughter is 12, and she does not have a required reading list for the summer from school. So, her mom is going to provide her with one.

I'd like to give her a list of six books and have her read four of them over the summer.

She's a good reader, but she's 12... so appropriate subject matter can be a problem. She has read all the Harry Potter books and the Rick Reardon books.

The one title for sure is The Little Prince.

What suggestions would you have for her? Age-appropriate but still something to make her think a bit.

Your suggestions will be appreciated! (And maybe people learning English might enjoy the reading list as well.)

Thanks!

[konungursvia]

Has she read The Hobbit? I read that, and the Lord of the Rings, some time between 10 and 12.

There are also Watership Down, A Wrinkle in Time, Mrs. Brisby and the Rats of NIMH, and The Chronicles of Narnia.

[5jj]

Perhaps too British, but there are interesting references to the American way of life, in Back Home by Michelle Magorian.

It's the story of a girl (your daughter's age) returning to her anal British family after spending the war years in the USA.

I also second most of konungursvia's choices. The Narnia books are too Christian for my taste, but the recent films may make them interesting for your daughter. K's other choices are wonderful; at the age of 65 I have just re-read NIMH, as has my daughter (35). If our adult pleasure in the book puts you off, I must add that both my offspring loved it when they were your daughter's age.

[Barb_D]

Great suggestions... she's read quite a few but the Hobbit is a great one that she hasn't read. Sadly her sister had Watership Down for school this year and nothing ruins a good book faster than vocabulary tests and chapter quizzes. I will look for the others.

Thanks! And more suggestions welcome.

(All of us have enjoyed Nesbitt's books so British is okay!!)

[BobK]

Great suggestions... she's read quite a few but the Hobbit is a great one that she hasn't read. Sadly her sister had Watership Down for school this year and nothing ruins a good book faster than vocabulary tests and chapter quizzes. I will look for the others.

Thanks! And more suggestions welcome.

(All of us have enjoyed Nesbitt's books so British is okay!!)

My son enjoyed Haroun and the Sea of Stories (Salman Rushdie) when I read it to him (partly, I guess, because I did); I'm not sure whether it's suitable for self-reading at that age, but it's very good.

b

[birdeen's call]

I haven't had much to do with 12-year-olds for quite some time, so my suggestions may be completely wrong, but, for what they're worth:

- Burnett's The Secret Garden is a bit old, but perhaps still a good book?

- The Oz books?

- Tom Sawyer?

- Anne of Green Gables?

All terribly old...

[Barb_D]

Oldies are goodies! I know she's read Anne and the Secret Garden (which was made into a musical with very beautiful music). I'll put Oz on the list. I won't make her write an essay on how the movie and Wicked differ from the original story, though!

All great suggestions, everyone. Thanks so much!

[emsr2d2]

The Lovely Bones
Of Mice And Men
1984
Animal Farm
The Curious Case of the Dog in the Nighttime

[konungursvia]

I wouldn't recommend 1984 or Animal Farm for a 12-year old girl; these two are dated, politically biassed, simplistic polemics against a now-defunct ideology. I found them pretty boring at 17.

[Corinne Floyd]

Reading the "oldies" is great. However, I also encourage ESL students and older students who struggle with reading to read books that are easy to read, have exciting story lines, and age appropriate. Teens and adult students are not usually interested in the perils of a fourth grader or in talking animals.