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Read Aloud Suggestions for 7 and 9 year old boys



 
 
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  #1  
Old October 26th 04, 07:18 PM
Beth Kevles
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Default Read Aloud Suggestions for 7 and 9 year old boys

Hi --

The thread on reading the classics brought to mind my current dilemma.

When I read aloud to my kids, I aim for books that they're not quite
able to read independently, usually because they lack the vocabulary,
but sometimes the the kids lack historical context. Recent successful
reads have included __Tom Sawyer__ and __Alice in Wonderland__. On the
other hand, __Treasure Island__ was a loser and we gave it up after
three chapters.

I want to avoid SF/Fantasy, because my older son reads that to the
exclusion of other forms of literature.

I've thought of __A Midsummer's Night Dream__, but think my younger son
might not be ready yet, even though the elder boy would probably eat it
up.

Any suggestions would be welcome.
--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.

  #2  
Old October 26th 04, 07:34 PM
Robyn Kozierok
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In article ,
Beth Kevles wrote:


When I read aloud to my kids, I aim for books that they're not quite
able to read independently, usually because they lack the vocabulary,
but sometimes the the kids lack historical context. Recent successful
reads have included __Tom Sawyer__ and __Alice in Wonderland__. On the
other hand, __Treasure Island__ was a loser and we gave it up after
three chapters.


Hi Beth!

With my 8- and 11yo boys, we've had excellent luck with stories from
__The Arabian Nights__ -- we have a lovely book with nice pictures and
apparently the original language, which they certainly couldn't
understand on their own. Another one that they liked a while back was
__Mary Poppins__. My boys have also read themselves some of the OZ books.
All of these have some fairly challenging language. Greek Mythology also
fits in well here. So do folk tales from other cultures (and these have the
advantage of often being short enough to read in a single session in families
where consistent reading-together time is hard to achieve).

I want to avoid SF/Fantasy, because my older son reads that to the
exclusion of other forms of literature.


It occurs to me that most of my suggestions would, I think,
technically fall under the "Fantasy" label, though they're a bit
different than the dragons and wizards fare I typically think of
under that heading.

I've thought of __A Midsummer's Night Dream__, but think my younger son
might not be ready yet, even though the elder boy would probably eat it
up.


Jim Weiss does a simplified version of that (and Taming of the Shrew)
on one of his story tapes/cds, which my now-8yo has enjoyed for some
time. I'd guess you're not far from your 7yo being able to enjoy the
original with some guidance from you as you read through it.

Good luck, and nice thread! I'll be watching for other replies, though
I admit that between homework, activities and a 3yo who needs only as
much sleep as the 8yo does, we don't read aloud to the older boys as
much as we'd like to.

--Robyn

  #3  
Old October 26th 04, 08:14 PM
H Schinske
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Beth ) wrote:

I want to avoid SF/Fantasy, because my older son reads that to the
exclusion of other forms of literature.


You might try _Gone-Away Lake_ and _Return to Gone-Away_ by Elizabeth Enright.
(I'm very fond of her Melendy family books, too, but the first one is fairly
dated and not as good for a read-aloud IMO.) It might be a tad easy compared to
some stuff your 9-year-old could read, but the level of writing is definitely
worth slowing down for, if you see what I mean (there are all kinds of
well-phrased descriptions that repay reading aloud).

My daughters didn't take to _Gone-Away_ as a read-aloud in first grade (they
did get around to liking it later), but my son did (we're almost done with it
now).

You might consider nonfiction -- e.g., biographies or natural history.

I wonder if _Swallows and Amazons_ would do, or if that might be too
longwinded?

--Helen

  #4  
Old October 26th 04, 11:36 PM
Kevin Karplus
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In article ,
Beth Kevles wrote:
The thread on reading the classics brought to mind my current dilemma.

When I read aloud to my kids, I aim for books that they're not quite
able to read independently, usually because they lack the vocabulary,
but sometimes the the kids lack historical context. Recent successful
reads have included __Tom Sawyer__ and __Alice in Wonderland__. On the
other hand, __Treasure Island__ was a loser and we gave it up after
three chapters.

I want to avoid SF/Fantasy, because my older son reads that to the
exclusion of other forms of literature.


This is very limiting---a lot of the best children's literature is
fantasy---particularly books suitable for reading aloud. Perhaps you
could just pick a different subgenre or concentrate on classics like
Nesbit and Eager that your son may not find on his own.

I've thought of __A Midsummer's Night Dream__, but think my younger son
might not be ready yet, even though the elder boy would probably eat it
up.


We took our son to a performance of this when he was 7 and another when
he was 8. He enjoyed it both times. We did read to him (or have him
read, I forget which) one of the "stories from Shakespeare" short retellings
the first time, so that he could follow the story. Plays like this
are better understood when performed rather than read, at least if the
actors understand the jokes and come up with the appropriate gestures
and stage business to make them clearer to the audience.

This year (when he was 8) we took him to a performance of The Taming
of the Shrew, which is a somewhat more difficult play for an
8-year-old. We did not take him to John Fletcher's "The Tamer Tamed"
which Shakespeare Santa Cruz did in the same season (the two plays fit
very well together), but I think, in retrospect, that he would have
enjoyed it also.



------------------------------------------------------------
Kevin Karplus http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~karplus
Professor of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz
Undergraduate and Graduate Director, Bioinformatics
Senior member, IEEE Board of Directors, ISCB (starting Jan 2005)
life member (LAB, Adventure Cycling, American Youth Hostels)
Effective Cycling Instructor #218-ck (lapsed)
Affiliations for identification only.

  #6  
Old October 28th 04, 03:30 AM
Beth Kevles
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Hi -

Your responses have been interesting, and I'll definitely have a look at
some of the books suggested. More suggestions are welcome since I
expect to read about a dozen books aloud this year, maybe more.

Thanks so much!
--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.

  #7  
Old October 28th 04, 11:02 AM
Sarah Dixon
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I loved the Swallows & Amazons series at that age, I also enjoyed the
Williard Price Adventure books, the Hardy Boys series and Biggles. All
of which may be a little old fashioned but are good adventure stories.
(I had older boy cousins who gave me their books!)

sarah

  #8  
Old November 6th 04, 12:56 AM
Rivka W
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Beth Kevles wrote:

When I read aloud to my kids, I aim for books that they're not quite
able to read independently, usually because they lack the
vocabulary,
but sometimes the the kids lack historical context. [..]
I want to avoid SF/Fantasy, because my older son reads that to the
exclusion of other forms of literature.


Joan Aiken might be a good choice. _Black Hearts in Battersea_ is
slightly-alternate history, set in 19th century England, with a lot of
mysterious plots. That's the first book in an extended series, so if
you and your kids like it, you'd have a lot of reading-aloud fodder.

_Midnight is a Place_ is historical fiction set during the Industrial
Revolution, and has a Dickensian feel - orphans, oppressive factories,
melodrama. I loved it as a kid.

Rivka

--
Visit my weblog at http://respectfulofotters.blogspot.com


  #9  
Old November 9th 04, 12:48 PM
Nevermind
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(Beth Kevles) wrote in message ...
Hi --

The thread on reading the classics brought to mind my current dilemma.

When I read aloud to my kids, I aim for books that they're not quite
able to read independently, usually because they lack the vocabulary,
but sometimes the the kids lack historical context. Recent successful
reads have included __Tom Sawyer__ and __Alice in Wonderland__. On the
other hand, __Treasure Island__ was a loser and we gave it up after
three chapters.

I want to avoid SF/Fantasy, because my older son reads that to the
exclusion of other forms of literature.

I've thought of __A Midsummer's Night Dream__, but think my younger son
might not be ready yet, even though the elder boy would probably eat it
up.


I think I just lost my first attempt to answer this one -- shoot. here
goes again.

We have the same type of standard for reading aloud to my 9 YO DS and
6 YO DD -- try to pick books that are challenging. That's getting hard
with my 9 YO, as he is a very advanced reader. We almost always
separate the two for read-alouds, as the 9 YO has already read or been
read to most of the kid's classics and can handle much more advanced
material than the 6 YO.

With mostly the 9 YO in mind, I would suggest

The Three Musketeers -- Puffin classics abridged. I ABHOR abridged
stuff, but this is a great one, and still an advanced read. SO FUN!

Robin Hood (doing this one now). It's LONG and somewhat repetitive but
also fun.

Huck Finn.

Some I read to both kids together that were not so much too difficult
for my 9 YO (or 8 YO or 7 YO, as the case may have been) as just
really fun to all read together: 101 Dalmations, Peter Pan, Mary
Poppins. Peter Pan, especially, struck me as a sophisticated, if not
"hard," read.

The Borrowers books: The Victoriana makes them feel advanced to me.

The F H. Burnett books. The dialect may make them challenging for
manye 9 YOs and put them out of reach (as an independent read) for
almost all 7 YOs. My son, at 6 and 7 (resp.), loved Secret Garden and
Little Lord...

It's SF, but noone ever seems to know about it, so I will mention it
as one my DH raved about when he read it to my son: The Ear, the Eye,
and the Arm. A dystopia about a brother and sister in far-future
Africa. Sounds like a "young adult" selection.

Oh, I gotta go. I have a sick one coming down. . . Bye!

Any suggestions would be welcome.
--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.


  #10  
Old November 9th 04, 02:24 PM
Beth Kevles
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Hi -

Thanks for the suggestions. __THe Three Musketeers_, I think, will go
over pretty well. We've settled on Oliver Twist for the next read.
(We've read the first two chapters and the kids LOVE it. Requires lots
of parental commentary, of course.)

We're debating whether to read aloud Huck Finn (as the "sequel" to Tom
Sawyer) or let our older son read it on his own.

The other suggestions are great, too.

THanks,
--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.

 




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