I am hoping the dopers can help me out as I search for some different books to add to my curriculum. I’ve been teaching Tom Sawyer, and as much as I love the book, the time has come to admit that the kids don’t get it. It is not the kiddie book most of us think it is–in fact it’s far more sophisticated than an 8th grader can handle. Worst of all it seems to turn them off to Twain, and I can’t let that continue. Before you call me an idiot, go read a chapter and you’ll probably agree. The authorial voice is too subtle. I have been watching kids struggle with it for too long now. It’s time for a change.
So, my question is, do any of you remember a great book you read in 8th grade or thereabouts? One caveat–it needs to be school appropriate. I know that is making the waters a bit muddy, but school appropriate means no, or very little, sex and swearing that would raise hackles. For example, I remember reading The Godfather in 8th grade, and I loved it, but I probably wouldn’t feel comfortable teaching it to my classes.
Think classics maybe, or just books you remember really loving as a kid of about 14.
The Reading Rants site is excellent—some of the titles are probably not school-appropriate, but others are terrific: http://tln.lib.mi.us/~amutch/jen/
My thoughts:
The Outsiders
Running Out of Time (Margaret Peterson Haddix) Singularity (or other William Sleator books) The Green Man:Tales from the Mythic Forest
any Ray Bradbury short stories
any Richard Peck
A “kid’s” book I always reccomend is Orson Scott Card’s <b>Ender’s Game</b>. Kids and adults will enjoy this book, and I seem to remember reading that a Jr. High teacher somewhere was teaching this.
There are no curse words (that I can remember), and the mood is serious and heavy, but I can’t reccomend it enough. Even if you don’t like science fiction you’ll dig this book. BTW, they’re making the movie soon!
Why, The Hobbit, is the number one obvious suggestion of course. That was a book we read in my 8th grade english class, and I remember that I had already read it, and was happy to read it again.
Or possibly, A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L’Engel, another juvenile SF classic.
There are some mature themes in Ender’s Game, but no overtly sexual ones. (There is one scene where Ender advises another cadet on how to walk so his ass doesn’t wiggle so much…) Violence is dealt with, but mostly symbolically or in simulation (e.g., zero-gee laser tag).
Sticking with SF/Fantasy, Dragonriders of Pern is another good one, with perfectly safe content.
Shorter classics from SF include The Lathe of Heaven, by Ursula LeGuin, Podkayne of Mars by Heinlein, and Farenheit 451 by Bradbury.
I would like to recommend “Citizen of the Galaxy” by Robert Heinlein. It’s got big themes - slavery, economics, politics, etc. But it’s definitely accessible to an 8th grade audience, it has no sex or swearing, and it’s a great read.
I don’t think you can go wrong with Watership Down. I think it’s a great book for 8th graders (and everyone else that likes bunnies). I also read To Kill a Mockingbird in 8th grade and I think it was just right for that age.
To Kill a Mockingbird is great. We read Ivanhoe by Scott in my eighth grade class. I thought it was a nice adventure story hidden in literature. We also read Jane Eyre, one of my favorite books, but I can see that it might not interest everyone.
-Lil
I read To Kill a Mockingbird in 7th grade and I remember my dad getting all pissed at me bacause I was reading a “dirty book”. I had to explain to him that it was assigned reading. I think he then said something to the effect of “Never mind”.
Be sure to explain to the kids what a “shifarobe” is. I’m sure I spelled that wrong, but I remember thinking that was one of the weirdest words I’d ever read.
I also like the suggestion of Lord of the Flies. Kids will think it’s cool.
It’s been a long time since I’ve read these and they may aim at too young an age group, but here are some books I read as a youngster:
A Day No Pigs Would Die
The Red Badge of Courage
Old Yeller, Savage Sam, Hound Dog Man all by Fred Gipson Where the Red Fern Grows and Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls.
Lord of the Flies: One of the great books, period, and just right for eighth graders.
To Kill a Mockingbird: Some minor swearing, but nothing that should raise the hackles of a typical eighth grader.
A Day No Pigs Would Die: It takes a while to get used to the language (the book is in first person told in a rural dialect), but it’s a top notch read for this age.
The Giver: I read this with a group of gifted fifth graders, and they loved it; it should be just about right for an average eighth grader.
Fahrenheit 451: This one can cause problems, as it has long stretches of philosophical discussions; on the plus side, the boys love it when Montag finally “confronts” his boss. It has a lot of swearing–many “hell” and “damn” occurrences–but none of the hard core words.
And I’ll add:
Of Mice and Men: Another of the great books, it has a little violence (one fistfight, one accidental killing, one euthanasia), but the reading level is just right for kids this age and the story is simple enough to draw them in; this is the perfect book for teaching story elements.
IMO, Animal Farm and Gulliver’s Travels are a bit too heavy on the symbolism for eighth graders, and should be saved for late high school.
1984 It’s never too early to learn about Big Brother although I know almost no one will agree with me. Probably not school appropriate (although it was at mine).
The House on Mango Street I loved this book at that age.
Cyrano de Bergerac If you can find a translation on their reading level. A rousing good yarn. Cyrano was my hero through high school.
*Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas[\i]Great man, great story. I read and enjoyed this book in the sixth grade, so it shouldn’t give your kids any trouble on the understanding front.
*A Wizard of Earthsea[\i] by Ursula K. LeGuin and *Tailchaser’s Song[\i] by Tad Williams. May get you in trouble with religious parents (especially the former) but have pity on the fantasy loving kids in grade school (I think Earthsea was the only fantasy book I read in my entire time of k-12). Maybe *Haroun and the Sea of Stories[\i] or *The Last Unicorn[\i] as well.
I second Ray Bradbury and *Ender’s Game[\i].
May I suggest *Maus[\i] I and II? A good read, the kids think they’re reading a comic book, and they get some history education as well. Some may find bits disturbing though.
1984 It’s never too early to learn about Big Brother although I know almost no one will agree with me. Probably not school appropriate (although it was at mine).
The House on Mango Street I loved this book at that age.
Cyrano de Bergerac If you can find a translation on their reading level. A rousing good yarn. Cyrano was my hero through high school.
*Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas[\i]Great man, great story. I read and enjoyed this book in the sixth grade, so it shouldn’t give your kids any trouble on the understanding front.
*A Wizard of Earthsea[\i] by Ursula K. LeGuin and *Tailchaser’s Song[\i] by Tad Williams. May get you in trouble with religious parents (especially the former) but have pity on the fantasy loving kids in grade school (I think Earthsea was the only fantasy book I read in my entire time of k-12). Maybe *Haroun and the Sea of Stories[\i] or *The Last Unicorn[\i] as well.
I second Ray Bradbury and *Ender’s Game[\i].
May I suggest *Maus[\i] I and II? A good read, the kids think they’re reading a comic book, and they get some history education as well. Some may find bits disturbing though.