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CatholicMommy
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My 6 1/2 year old is reading everything in sight - he LOVES to read; he reads fast, yet "gets it", and loves to re-read again and again and again. At last check-up he was easily reading at a 6th grade reading level.
We pulled out our CHC 2nd grade plans for the sake of record keeping and love their reading charts by type of book (listing the books read by the child).
My son started to fill them in (and color the pictures) and we discovered that we are lacking in a few areas - I've got them all covered with reading selections here at home except one: HISTORICAL FICTION.
I need ideas!
We have all but one of the entire set of Little House books, prequels and sequels (see some of my previous posts for that adventure! I'm still seeking out that one last book!).
Other than that, I'm not sure what I have or what books we could ask for lending that fit the genre of historical fiction. I'd REALLY like a variety - not just the Little House books and that's it. But ancient history, modern history, other cultures....
We do have saints' stories, but I want those to count as non-fiction of course, even the fictionalized ones I'm just not comfortable *calling* fiction.
I could pull lots of book lists from all over the place, but I'd rather ask you all here first - what books (or book lists) would be great living books for historical fiction that a little boy who loves mystery, and adventure, and fantasy and, well, just about everything would enjoy?
OOOH!!!! Does King Arthur count????
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JodieLyn
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Childhood of Famous Americans series tends to be good.
I think of historical fiction as being a fictional story in an accurate historical setting.
Read aloud lists are great for ideas for advanced readers.. because the stories are appropriate for the age but the reading level tends to be higher than typical for that age.
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guitarnan
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If you can get it, the Great Brain series is fun. It's about a Catholic family (three sons, middle one is kind of a genius/con artist type) in late 1800s Utah.
It's not mystery or adventure, but The Mitchells - Five for Victory and the other books about the Mitchell family were great favorites around here. (World War II)
Pre-read all biographies - even some of the Childhood of Famous Americans series (Wilma Rudolph leaps to mind) have "adult" issues in them that you might want to know about before handing the book over to your young reader.
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CatholicMommy
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| Posted: Oct 23 2010 at 9:16am | IP Logged
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Thank you ladies!
My son loves series and collections :)
Is there a list anywhere for good historical fiction (and even non-fiction) LIVING books for various periods of history? For his raeding right now, a general sampling is great to get him exposure and intrigue some interest, but soon we'll officially start history studies and it would be great to just pull from a good list on particular periods that we want to study.
This just keeps building for us ;)
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MaryM
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CatholicMommy wrote:
Is there a list anywhere for good historical fiction (and even non-fiction) LIVING books for various periods of history? Right now a general sampling is great, but soon we'll officially start history studies and it would be great to just pull from a good list.
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Michael O'Brien's A Landscape with Dragons has great lists and a good portion of the titles are historical fiction. He groups them first by age group/reading level (there are 3 levels, I believe) then within those lists the books are listed by author. Each title he lists he indicates time period if it is a book of historical fiction. I used these listings a lot for my oldest, who was a voracious historical fiction reader.
Also the Bethlehem Books site has a chronological history listing of its titles, most of which are historical fiction. These are only the titles that they have reprinted, but it is getting pretty extensive as they have reprinted a lot of old classics.
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JennGM
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My son is 7, and eats up all I put before him, although he doesn't yet want to sit reading a longer book.
Besides the lists Mary mentions, I get ideas from other places. You'll see many overlap with suggestions, but that's good, because it usually means to me the book is really good and timeless.
History Book ideas
I have found these booklists: Books to Supplement History and Valerie's Living Books very helpful. These are not Catholic lists, but still helpful.
Maureen Wittmann's For the Love of Literature has a great list of books for each period.
Love2Learn's History Index
Penny Gardner's Approach to History
I use a lot of Mater Amabilis for our year, but also use the site for for the recommended books at different levels. I also look at programs like Ambleside Online, Sonlight, and MODG. Emmanuel Books in their catalogs lists all the books used for each level in MODG, plus carries a great collection of history books.
If you are searching for out-of-print series, the "Step-Up Books" by Random House were great (preview first).
Elizabeth Yank puts up lists and books here. Great ideas.
Oh, and I picked up a discard from my library: A Critical History of Children’s Literature: A Survey of Children’s Books in English prepared in Four Parts under the Editorship of Cornelia Meigs, Revised Edition, By Cornelia Meigs, Anne Thaxter Eaton, Elizabeth Nesbitt, Ruth Hill Viguers. Copyright 1953, revised 1969.
It is a history of children's literature, but each chapter highlights some authors and books that are exceptional for each genre. I was delighted to recognize so many titles, and then find out about so many more! The only downside is that it doesn't come with a list, or multiple lists, so I was making copious notes.
Historical Fiction Ideas
Marguerite d'Angeli and Lois Lenski both wrote books of historical fiction giving a glimpse of Americana/culture/history. Lois Lenski wrote series, first the American Regional, and then for younger readers the Roundabout America Books.
Has your son read the Story of Doctor Dolittle? I'm not sure if you want to embrace that with the animals talking, but technically they are speaking their own language and Dr. Dolittle understands them. The books are in keeping with the characteristics of animals, describing their mannerisms and traits. I recently found out that there are 12 books in the series.
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Servant2theKing
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CatholicMommy, I don't have anything to add by way of suggestions and lists, but wanted to share with you that one of our sons is very similar to your ds. He read his first "real" book, at age six, (emphatically informing us, "we can't count the little paper books from Little Stories for Little Folks as "real books", althought they were a great starting point). For his very first "real book" he chose King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, edited by Sidbey Lanier, illustrated by Florian (we just ordered a replacement copy, since our original has been misplaced through the years)...he sailed through it, completely understanding the Old English words, which are still challenging for for us to read....he hasn't come up for air since!
This son, now 19, has gleaned such an incredible wealth of knowledge simply by having exposure to the very types of books you're seeking. He always enjoyed Bethlehem Books and Landmark Books...we used the chronological lists of historical fiction in Emmanuel Books' catalogue, as well as other booklists already shared, especially for making requests from our local library and state interloan. Used book sales have been an incredible blessing for keeping our own voracious reader supplied with reading material, particularly anything and everything historical. If the library doesn't have a desired book, or we can't buy it used, books have always been welcome and treasured gifts for special occasions. If you find used books that are currently beyond his level, you might do well to start picking them up now. It always helps to let family and friends know you'd be happy to accept their cast-offs, especially elderly acquaintances who would love to see their treasures well-loved and appeciated. In our early days, I would even put the word out at church that we were looking for good books for our ever-growing homeschool library.
One caution...just because a child is capable of reading a book, does not mean they are always emotionally mature enough to handle its content...we've always previewed books with that in mind. It can be especially challenging to capture a voracious reader's interest, while still keeping the reading material age-appropriate. Your ds is so blessed that you are able to homeschool him. The son I mentioned would have been bored to tears in a classroom and would have driven everyone nuts with his insatiable desire to read, read, read whatever he could get his hands on...I'm incredibly grateful we've been the ones guiding his choices and helping him travel that path. May God bless you and your ds immensely all throughout your homeschooling journey and adventure!
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CatholicMommy
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Servant - Thank you for your words :) They sum up everything I was feeling, hoping and expecting :)
We have a large "library" in my bedroom through which I have already carefully combed and moved some books to a "when you're older" shelf. And I've always sought books of all reading levels and interests to assure I had enough on hand. I don't mind using interlibrary loans, but I really don't like just letting him browse the shelves at the library - non-fiction is mostly ok for right now (he gravitates to drawing books, realistic accounts of particular events (ie his fascination with the Titanic), and the like. The other stuff is like needle-treasures found in a haystack. Very sad.
And we had a confirmation experience today about the blessings of homeschooling. I've let my son know that if he were in school here are the things that would be expected of him and here are the limitations (I'm very honest about the benefits and the drawbacks - leaving the conclusion to him).
He is part of a parish atrium one afternoon a week and today the catechist divided the children by school grade to give a presentation to small groups at a time. Now my son is enrolled as a 2nd grader (just to pick a grade!) but is the age of the 1st graders and had previously attended a part time preschool program with some of the children in the atrium. So when the catechist took him with the older kids, they were flabbergasted! "But you're with US!" they kept saying. The older ones were astounded too - especially when my son was helping them with pronunciation of some words - they only commented that he is "small for a 2nd grader." (hey - he's small for a 1st grader too! Because he's just small!)
So afterwards, one of the 1st grade boys was talking with him about the schoolwork he does at school, asking my son if he'd already done that work. "Yes" was the typical response. Then they compared what kind of books they've read - this other boy is a very good reader for his age as well, and he was very clear with my son that his (public) school is very boring because the work is so easy most of the time and how he would love to be able to just move ahead when he was ready. He said, "I like recess and all; and I love learning new stuff, it's just SO SLOW!"
Of course, this same child also says he loves what they learn in the atrium because it actually means something, and grades don't matter.
And this from a first grader!
:)
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4Real Forums : Living Literature
Topic: Historical Fiction for "voracious reader"
