From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler is by E. L. Konigsburg … one of my favorite teen/YA writers, though this novel would probably fall into ** Hello Again’s** definition of Intermediate novels.
Another recommendation: The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards (yes - THAT Julie Andrews!) – I read this it sixth grade & finally found it again after (mumbledy-mumble) years. It is a fantasy-type tale with some magic, so you may wish to read it first yourself.
Ooh - how about: Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh? Don’t let the recent movie dissuade you - another favorite from my pre-teen years. It might be a bit long, though.
Most of my childhood favorites are listed here, but some I don’t see mentioned are The Trumpet of the Swan and Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White and Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. The Borrowers were my special favorite, and I re-read them every so often.
Another series I am currently re-reading was not written for young people at all, but I devoured them at this 6th-9th grade age – and made up my mind what I was going to do with my life.* It’s James Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small books and they are masterpieces. I believe there are four in the series, and then other collections. I even have a children’s book drawn from one of the stories in All Things Bright and Beautiful, “Only One Woof.”
(*Of course, I was felled by college calculus and didn’t become a veternarian at all but an English major, then reporter and writer!)
Most of my childhood favorites are listed here, but some I don’t see mentioned are The Trumpet of the Swan and Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White and Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. The Borrowers were my special favorite, and I re-read them every so often.
Another series I am currently re-reading was not written for young people at all, but I devoured them at this 6th-9th grade age – and made up my mind what I was going to do with my life.* It’s James Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small books and they are masterpieces. I believe there are four in the series, and then other collections. I even have a children’s book drawn from one of the stories in All Things Bright and Beautiful, “Only One Woof.”
(*Of course, I was felled by college calculus and didn’t become a veternarian at all but an English major, then reporter and writer!)
Has anyone mentioned Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory or Willy Wonka and the Great Glass Elevator? I didn’t see it, but I could’ve missed it. They might like those.
Although it’s too long based on your requirements, I’m reading The Hobbit to my nine-year-old and he loves it.
In addition to Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot stories might be a good option. Although I don’t like them as much as the Holmes stories, teenagers might like Poirot’s foppishness.
Would the Nancy Drew books be an option? I remember reading them (along with the Hardy Boys series) when I was around 10.
Oooh, Nancy Drew and the Anne series are great! My favorite Anne book is Rilla of Ingleside.
When they get a little older, I cannot endorse Ann Rinaldi enough. She writes historical romantic fiction based on real people and events and her books are heavily researched, very factual and informative, as well as good reads. I have read quite a few and I’m always on the lookout for more.
There a little bit longer thanwha you are looking for, but Lloyd Alexander’s Westmark trilogy is awesome–it’s semi-fantasy, in that it takes place in a made-up country, but there are no fantasy elements: no magic or elves or anything like that. The setting is a kingdom called Westmark, which is at a late-18th C. level of technology. The books detail the transformation of the Kingdom into from a monarchy to a democracy, and while that sound boring, it isn’t. : it’s full of war, and blood, and serious sacrifices made by people for an ideal. And it’s wrritten in very simple, elegant prose. Alexaner’s Prydain Chronicles recieve alot of press, but I think that the Westmark books are one of the great overlooked triumphs of YA lit.
The older girl might enjoy Ender’s game by Orson Scott Card, though again it is a little long. The language and the story are very simple, and I have never known anyone, anywhere, that didn’t love the story.
Lastly, Goldman’s *The Princess Bride is a great book for kids who don’t read: it’s just like the movie, only more so. If they have seen and enjoyed the movie (and it’s a great movie), they will enjoy the book: I think that in this particular case it is a good way for kids to learn how to visualize the things they read–it is easy to picture the actors from the movie acting our the scenes in the book, even the ones never filmed.
It’s funny; I was going to mention Roald Dahl, but his writing, even the children’s stuff, is kind of out there. Willy Wonka seems to be a bit of a sadist hehe
Danny the Champion of the World is pretty good though, telling a story about a boy coming of age and growing closer to his father, albeit by poaching birds
By the way, it’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. You’re confusing them with the movie, which was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
The Annebooks, of course. A Little Princess, or anything else by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Anything by Robin McKinley, particularly Beauty, a retelling of the Beauty and the Beast tale; or The Blue Sword, a fantasy novel with a strong heroine. Sci Fi by Andre Norton, if the kids are inclined toward science fiction. Hatchet and it’s sequels are all good. There are so many great children’s books around.
I’m glad so many people beat me to The Westing Game. It’s a great book and I like to know people are reading it. The other Ellen Raskin books, The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel) and The Tattooed Potatoare also a lot of fun and a little simpler to follow. For some more recently published books, you might try Richard Peck, especially Fair Weather, about the Chicago World’s Fair, which is hilarious, and A Long Way from Chicago and A Year Down Yonder about two city kids staying with the rural grandmother during the Depression. Also Joan Bauer, who writes very funny and lovable novels about kids with unusual interests. My favorites are Squashed, about a girl raising a prize pumpkin, Hope Was Here, about a girl who’s a waitress in a diner, and Rules of the Road, about a girl who sells shoes. These books are all relatively easy to read. The characters are mostly contented and successful oddballs (which may be helpful for a reader with fragile self-esteem), and they’re the kind of books that make you happy when you read them.
There’s a difference between books we enjoyed as children, and what’s good for child development. There’s also a difference between what some school district feels is an elevated book, and one that’s actually much good, in terms of plot, at least.
Your challenge is to find books that have good English, an interesting story, and which are thought-provoking.
The folks in the thread who are suggesting books for older readers are on the beam (in terms of education). When a kid can wrap their heads around a book that’s meant for a hugely more adult audience, good developmental things happen.
Your best bet is to consult a children’s librarian (also, if there’s a children’s section in the local bookstore, they may have insights). They know the options, and what’s possible, and what isn’t. There’s a lot going on in a developing mind. As an example, I was really annoyed with “The Little Prince” growing up. Even more annoyed when I had to read the damn thing in another two classes. Eventually, I learned French. Suddenly, I got it. As an adult, Antoine de Saint Exupery is one of my favorite authors. I can’t imagine not having read him. (“The Little Prince” is a bagatelle, his “adult” writing is superb.)
Unless your charges are having trouble with basic reading skills, I wouldn’t recommend much currently “popular”. For example Harry Potter, or chapter books. Go for something that will blow their minds.
Yay! Thanks everyone! I didn’t check the notification box and missed the replies until today. Sorry about that.
Just to clear up one thing - I’m not against fantasy books - I enjoyed them very much when I was a child and I think they are very useful in teaching reading comprehension because you encounter so many things that aren’t real and it forces you to use the context of the story to figure out what they are.
Yes I recognize this. What I’m trying to do right now is to get them comfortable with reading. To give them something a little easy to build their confidence and interest. Something in which it is fairly easy to recognize sub-plots, themes and conflicts.
I agree wholeheartedly and this is where I intend to go with them. Fortunately, I have more time than their school teachers to pay individual attention to them which will make it possible to tailor the reading selections to each girls’ skill/interest level.
They aren’t having trouble with basic reading skills, but their vocabulary isn’t near their grade level. So I don’t want to introduce something that’s got them scratching their head every other sentence. We’re working on increasing their vocab but it’s a little difficult to make this fun. [sub][sup]Hmmm, wonder if I should start a thread on that?[/sub][/sup]
The oldest girl started reading Animal Farm last night. She got thru the first chapter and half of the second before I stopped her so that she could give me a synopsis of what was happening so far. She said she really liked the book (YAY!) and is going to finish it by next Tuesday. I tried giving her a little historical perspective about the book and we talked about the theme. It seemed to increase her interest. I hope it works.
Anyway - thanks a bunch for the suggestions. I recognize some of these from when I was a voracious young reader. It’s slightly amusing that the same stories that had me on the edge of my seat then don’t do so now, not because I remember the story specifically, but because the foreshadowing is sometimes so much more obvious to me now.
Has anybody mentioned The Phantom Tollbooth? It has a lot of puns, clever illustrations, and promotes appreciation of words and numbers.
This is going to sound a little strange, but for a 9th grader I’d recommend Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. I know it’ll be a shock to the system, but it lets an adolescent know that he or she isn’t the only one with weird, disturbing thoughts.
