this is the most recent book i’m reading to william and lindsey. i don’t read to them nearly enough, but when we find a book worth sitting down for, we all love it. steve heard this one talked about on npr a few weeks ago, so we bought it and are really enjoying it so far. it’s about a family from, you guessed it, afghanistan. they’re trying to get out because of the taliban and, in the process of their midnight escape, they lose their youngest. we’re not even half way through it yet but i think the rest of the book will be their attempts to get her back. any book dealing with a culture other than our own i think is good for kids. perspective, eh? i lost myself to the kite runner and a thousand splendid suns a few years back. books set in the middle east are almost always at the top of the list for me (another good one for kids is three cups of tea!). so, this one is a winner.
this one was also talked about in the same npr interview. might be the next on the list!
here are some books we’ve enjoyed in the past.
any killer chapter books you’ve read to your kids that i should know about??
I read The Book Seller of Kabul and fell in love with the culture. I don't know about being good for kids, but it definitely was good for me to see beyond my own perspective. This one sounds like a good one.
When I taught Grade 6 we read "The Breadwinner" and the kids loved it! Gave them a great perspective on Afghanistan – very different from the nightly headlines they were used to.
"The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" was also really good but better for kids a bit older.
I'm a sucker for middle east books too-kite runner… thousand splendid suns…three cups of tea I even made required reading for my 7th graders. Zlata's Diary was one I read when I was in middle school. My students (12 and 13 year olds) have also expressed great interest in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and The Devil's Arithmetic.
Aww. I heard that same interview and really wanted to read that book myself.
Freak the Mighty is one of my all time favorite chapter books.
I'm currently rereading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Sherman Alexie is pretty amazing.
I haven't actually read it, but one of my professors (for an adolescent literature class) said When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead is really great. It's on my list for summer reads!
gosh i miss NPR.
"The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart.
The book is genius. Pure genius.
Way back at that age I read The Color Purple which really opened my young eyes. My son is too young for this subject matter but we try to read books about history, different cultures and historical sites until he's ready for these. Three Cups of Tea and Kite Runner were both excellent.
My parents read us Narnia. It was wonderful, even when I didn't always know what was going on. And now, when I (as the gigantic nerd that I am) read them over, it's even better.
I think it's awesome you read to them. mommy points!
Thanks for letting me know about the book. I read the Kite Runner. One of my friends used to stay in the Middle East {Kuwait }.I am always fascinated by the stories she tells me about her past in Kuwait. Now they have moved back to India { where I live }. I feel that to know about cultures and countries other than our own makes us tolerant and compassionate towards the unfamiliar and make us more perspective.
I loved reading your blog, your write ups on a wide ranging topics. You may like to visit my blog if you feel like. I write about lifestyle ,fashion, food ,photography , etc.
Take care,
walk two moons by sharon creech was a favorite of mine was i was around lindsey's age…and i still have memories of it being read to me. and what a great memory for william and lindsey to look back on.
The BFG (big friendly giant)
The last of the really great wangdoodles
Anne of green gables (the whole series is great)
The Hobbit
Mandy
Those are some of my all time favorite books when i was a kid. Anne of green gables and Mandy are more girly but the others are great for both boys and girls.
Yay for book ideas! 🙂 Did you know that there was this whole scandal about the Three Cups of Tea book? I guess the author made a lot of it up and/or stretched the truth a lot. Here is some info about it: http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-18560_162-20054397.html
I'm 22 so not that far removed from adolescent literature and I often pick up young adult books and read them while babysitting! I second the Mysterious Mr. Benedict's Society trilogy-so good! They remind me of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events books (also wonderful!). I read The Book Thief over the Summer and it was good and thought-provoking. I think it would be okay for ages 10+. When I was in 4th grade we read From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and it was wonderful! I also remember reading and liking Holes in late elementary school and that was popular at the time.
Okay, Sold is one you might want to look up too. It's considered YA, but it might be too mature for William and Lindsey still. But I think you'd like it, and you could introduce it later.
Also, The House of the Scorpion is the only YA book I've ever read and truly liked and thought, "I want to read this to my kid one day." So there's that. It's more futuristic though (cloning, using cows for gestation, etc). Maybe William is into that sort of thing with his Legos?
See how I drew that loose connection there?
I second the recommendation of When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. It's time travel for YA and I really liked it.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, and Number the Stars by Lois Lowry are two other favorites that come to mind.
I read a lot growing up, and some of my all-time favorite books from my youth would be:
Stargirl,
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!),
The Witch of Blackbird Pond (not scary),
and Harry Potter (of course! I grew with Harry–very close to my heart. Changed my life. So many underlying themes about good vs. evil.)
I love a good children's book.
They might enjoy these (I'm an elementary school teacher so these have been favorites in my classroom)
– The Incredible Hypnotism of Molly Moon
– Roxie & the Hooligans
– The World According to Humphrey
I loved Witch of Blackbird Pond as a kid
I've been looking for a new book idea! Thank you, thank you! And as a teacher, I think historical fiction and nonfiction books are AWESOME for kids. They can loose themselves in the lives of others all over the world. Not only does this tend to breed awareness, but compassion. 🙂
Interesting. I will have to pick this one up. I'm a sucker for books set in the middle east as well.
You should give (for you vs the kids) Prisoner of Tehran by Marina Nemat a read if you haven't already.
Not set in the middle east, but great exposure to other cultures/times for kids and young adults…
– One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
– Donald Duk
– Number the Stars
– The Book Thief
– Island of the Blue Dolphins
Have you read them The Yearling? It might feel like slow going for the first bit–it's not a modern day, plot driven, written to be a screen play kind of book, it's descriptive–but once you get into it, you will all love it.
My mom read it to us when my brother and I were in elementary school. I've read it numerous times since.
It's one of my all time favorites.
Also:
Where the Red Fern Grows
Mandi by Julie Andrews (your daughter will LOVE this)
Adam of the Road
My Side of the Mountain.
Just a few of my favorites as a kid and still favorites today.
If you read any and like them, please, please share!
Love from,
Greta