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Maggie
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| Posted: June 18 2014 at 8:25pm | IP Logged
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Hi Moms~
I was thinking of using Angelicum as a guide or a spine this year for my 4th grader. However, I did not read most of these books as a child (aside from CS Lewis).
We are very sensitive about maintaining innocence in our children. ie: We don't like to introduce romance at a young age. So while I LOVE "Little Women", I don't want my 9yo reading it...maybe when she is 13 or so...I am ok with the "violence" in Narnia, but anything excessive or graphic I am not ok with.
Any thoughts to this list? You won't hurt my feelings.  Honesty greatly appreciated.
Conversely, if you see a "must read", please let me know. I think I will also trim this list down considerably. Too much for a child; however, she is a voracious reader.
LITERATURE – THE GOOD BOOKS PROGRAM
Complete Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott
Captain’s Courageous by Rudyard Kipling
Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle
Call of the Wild by Jack London
Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
Kidnapped! by Robert Louis Stevenson
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Chessmen of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Knight of the White Cross by G. A. Henty
Story of a Bad Boy by Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Cat of Bubastes by G. A. Henty
Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
Tale of the Western Plains by G. A. Henty
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR ADVICE!!!! 
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Wife to dh (12 years) Mama to dd (10) ds (8), dd (1), ds (nb) and to Philip Mary (5/26/09), Lucy Joy (12/6/09), and Margaret Mary (3/6/10) who entered Heaven before we had a chance to hold them.
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organiclilac
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| Posted: June 18 2014 at 8:45pm | IP Logged
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Call of the Wild is pretty violent - people abusing dogs, fights between dogs, wolf attacks. My son liked it at that age, and so did I! But it sounds like it might not be what you are looking for.
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Tracy, wife to Shawn, mama to Samuel (4/01) and Joseph (11/11), and Thomas (2/15)
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guitarnan
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| Posted: June 18 2014 at 11:53pm | IP Logged
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Honestly, I think you could cut this list in half and still exceed the 4th grade reading requirements. This gives you miles of latitude.
The Chronicles of Narnia will be just fine.
I've read all of the Alcott books listed, but it sounds like you would like to put those off until a later grade, which is also fine. (Although - Eight Cousins might be okay - I can't recall, because I read it a long time ago.)
Jules Verne is a stretch for many 4th graders.
If I could suggest some alternatives, in case you need them:
Anne of Green Gables
The "Little House" books (I read them all by age 9 - you might want to limit your daughter's reading to everything through By The Shores on Silver Lake for this year, and add the other books in as she matures)
The Betsy-Tacy books (again, you'd want to focus on the earlier books, ending with Betsy-Tacy Go Downtown, and then add the high school stories - lovely, family-friendly, etc. - in during future years)
Were I you, I'd make a top 10 list and a following 5 list...and if you get through the top 10, yay! Getting through the following 5...even better.
Honestly - fourth graders are NINE. They can't read zillions of books. You can read some aloud (and I hope you'll consider that option), but it is perfectly fine to choose reading selections you think your DD will love (or that you loved and want to share). She may fall in love with cryptology or ballet stories halfway through the school year and ask to read about those topics, and that is all fine, too. (Keep a list of titles and let her find her way through the library!)
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: June 19 2014 at 1:04am | IP Logged
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Eight cousins is probably fine. There's a bit of silliness with the mistletoe.. which the main character ends up outsmarting and puts it into the fire. But her disdain for the silly romantic notions comes through well.
And if I remember right Little Men is younger kids as well and so not romantic but there is some bad behavior from some of the characters.. but I can't seperate out Little Men and Jo's Boys in my head.
Under the Lilacs may also suit.
I think I recall that there's bad language in Call of the Wild (less since it's the dog returning to the wild than there is in White Fang which is the wolf becoming tame.. just more men in the story to use the bad language) If you want some Jack London, I use the short story "To Build a Fire" as a read aloud with my boys about that age. I can edit on the fly the few words and it really helps with boys going into Boy Scouts that there's reasons to do things the right way.
Anne of Green Gables.. wouldn't go past the first or you start running into some romantic notions. Jane of Lantern Hill might suit better.. or Magic for Marigold.
And perhaps The Hobbit
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SeaStar
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| Posted: June 19 2014 at 6:03am | IP Logged
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"Around the World in 80 Days"....
great story! But it does cover a lot of themes: slavery, opium addiction, violence- none of this is done in the lurid TV way we have these days, but it may not be what you want.
Also, if I remember right, "Robinson Crusoe" includes cannibalism.
My dc did not care for "The Prince and the Pauper" when we listened to it on cd. I thought it was very funny- but I think the humor was meant for adults.
My favorite line was the reference to food tasters- the prince is wondering why the palace would waste a valuable person on this job when someone else like a plumber would be ideal.
FWIW, I don't think the romance in "LIttle Women" is over the top for a nine year old.
I think "The Moffats" series would be a good read for a 4th grader.
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Maggie
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| Posted: June 19 2014 at 7:00am | IP Logged
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Thank you all for your comments. I think I did not elaborate enough and might be misunderstood. She is definitely emotionally a nine-year-old. With that being said she reads at a very advanced level, but that is an incredibly tricky combination. She is constantly asking me for more and more and more books. However, I am finding it increasingly difficult to find something age-appropriate yet a good challenge for her.
Like I said, I have not read most of these books aside from the Narnia series. We have read the Little House books more than once. We did the entire little house series last year as a read aloud for the family. This year we focused very much on Rosemary Sutcliff's the Odyssey and Black Ships from Troy. And we just finished reading aloud George MacDonald's the Princess and the Goblin and the Princess and Curdi, which my children have thoroughly enjoyed and think are the best books in the world. :). I agree. I had never read them either and found a treasure trove for the imagination!
Most of the above books will probably be for read aloud purposes since I have not read them myself. I firmly believe in doing a lot of read alouds. The challenging list comes from my daughters own spoken desire for two years now that the "curriculum"I have used in the past has not been challenging enough for her. She is asking for a greater challenge, and I am not familiar with more challenging books that are Also age appropriate. I was looking towards Angelicum's literature list as a guide--but it seems to be more than a bit disappointing in the "emotional" department.
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Maggie
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| Posted: June 19 2014 at 7:25am | IP Logged
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SeaStar wrote:
"Around the World in 80 Days"....
great story! But it does cover a lot of themes: slavery, opium addiction, violence- none of this is done in the lurid TV way we have these days, but it may not be what you want.
Also, if I remember right, "Robinson Crusoe" includes cannibalism.
I think "The Moffats" series would be a good read for a 4th grader. |
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Slavery, opium and cannibalism?!?! Yikes??!!? I'm surprised that book was ever recommended to 4th graders at all. We won't be reading that this year. Thank you for the heads up!
I will definitely look into "the Moffats".
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: June 19 2014 at 7:29am | IP Logged
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My advanced reader son LOVED Jules Verne. The Mysterious Island is his favorite, but I admittedly did not pre-read and am not a huge Jules Verne fan. My son really enjoys the science. I don't think there is any romance, either.
Have you looked at the Yesterday's Classics books? Perhaps a good place to challenge your daughter would be with some of the good histories and natural science options they have? And have you looked at the younger years from Angelicum? I think that many of the titles they list would still be challenging for a 4th grader, even an advanced one. The Andrew Lang Fairy Tales, Arabian Nights, etc... would be challenging to read on their own. I also like looking at the recommended "free reading" lists from Ambleside. Lots of challenging but age appropriate recommendations there. The Nathaniel Hawthorne Tales come to mind as well. You might also consider the short story collections from St. Nicholas Magazine.
For fun, we have really been enjoying Elizabeth Enright of late. Highly recommend them. I also know lots of people enjoy Noel Streatfield (I have not tried her yet since all of the main characters are girls), and I don't recall any of the Nesbit books having romantic themes. Swallows and Amazons is another challenging series that is devoid of romance as I recall.
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Maggie
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| Posted: June 19 2014 at 7:34am | IP Logged
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guitarnan wrote:
Honestly - fourth graders are NINE. They can't read zillions of books. You can read some aloud (and I hope you'll consider that option), but it is perfectly fine to choose reading selections you think your DD will love (or that you loved and want to share). She may fall in love with cryptology or ballet stories halfway through the school year and ask to read about those topics, and that is all fine, too. (Keep a list of titles and let her find her way through the library!)
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I quite agree! The librarians joke that my dd knows the library system and card catalog better than they do. She LOVES the library.
I should also add that she has a great affinity for the "American Girl" Series--though, I won't let her read them all due to content in some...BUT...she peels through books like these. She can read an AG book in an hour. And while it is great for historical fiction and pairing with studying an era (ie: Felicity and the Boston Tea Party), they aren't the most well-written books. However, she enjoys them, and I'm fine with that.
I may attempt "Anne of Green Gables"--but I am wary of all the silliness with the school girls regarding Ruby Gillis and Josie and boys--ie: Gilbert.
On the other side, she absolutely LOVES George MacDonald's "The Princess and the Goblin" and "The Princess and Curdie". These are more her speed. These are what really fill her "moral imagination" and her appetite for reading.
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Maggie
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| Posted: June 19 2014 at 7:50am | IP Logged
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CrunchyMom wrote:
My advanced reader son LOVED Jules Verne. The Mysterious Island is his favorite, but I admittedly did not pre-read and am not a huge Jules Verne fan. My son really enjoys the science. I don't think there is any romance, either.
Have you looked at the Yesterday's Classics books? Perhaps a good place to challenge your daughter would be with some of the good histories and natural science options they have? And have you looked at the younger years from Angelicum? I think that many of the titles they list would still be challenging for a 4th grader, even an advanced one. The Andrew Lang Fairy Tales, Arabian Nights, etc... would be challenging to read on their own. I also like looking at the recommended "free reading" lists from Ambleside. Lots of challenging but age appropriate recommendations there. The Nathaniel Hawthorne Tales come to mind as well. You might also consider the short story collections from St. Nicholas Magazine.
For fun, we have really been enjoying Elizabeth Enright of late. Highly recommend them. I also know lots of people enjoy Noel Streatfield (I have not tried her yet since all of the main characters are girls), and I don't recall any of the Nesbit books having romantic themes. Swallows and Amazons is another challenging series that is devoid of romance as I recall. |
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Excellent recommendations! I have not read any of the books you mentioned. Going to the natural sciences never occurred to me.
Interestingly enough, our librarian recently suggest E. Nesbitt! But I did not check the book out because the binding was so poor and the print utterly tiny--as in--it would strain anyone's eyes to read it.
I will look into them all.
And thank you for recommending AO. I often forget what an awesome resource AO and Mater Amabilis are--and I think they are quite challenging.
Thank you, Lindsay!
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Wife to dh (12 years) Mama to dd (10) ds (8), dd (1), ds (nb) and to Philip Mary (5/26/09), Lucy Joy (12/6/09), and Margaret Mary (3/6/10) who entered Heaven before we had a chance to hold them.
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Maggie
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| Posted: June 19 2014 at 8:10am | IP Logged
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Just visited Ambleside Online! WOW! This is totally up her alley! I can't believe I forgot that!
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Wife to dh (12 years) Mama to dd (10) ds (8), dd (1), ds (nb) and to Philip Mary (5/26/09), Lucy Joy (12/6/09), and Margaret Mary (3/6/10) who entered Heaven before we had a chance to hold them.
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Aagot
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| Posted: June 19 2014 at 9:19am | IP Logged
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Mother of Divine Grace also has great book suggestions. For fun free reading have you considered The Happy Hollisters. 5 loving siblings, daily life with a mystery to solve.
Just to add, looking at your originial list i would wait on all of them. They seem better suited for 6 grade and up.
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: June 19 2014 at 10:09am | IP Logged
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Terhune's dog books might be a possiblity
Horse books maybe? the Margarite Henry books? Black Beauty (though there is cruelty in it)? My Friend Flicka and Thunderhead?
It's been a while since I've read those.
You might also look into the Ranger's Apprentice series I haven't looked at them for that age but they're no more romantic than Little House books and I can't think of anything about them being any more violent than Narnia.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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Willa
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I would not recommend Burroughs' "Mars" series for a pre-teen such as you describe your daughter. They are great adventure yarns but with more than a touch of vulgarity -- just something about the tone, eg the Mars fashion of wearing few clothes and some comments upon the role of women and men, not toxic, just not sensitively presented for younger readers. Ages 14 and up is more like it.
Henty is usually straight historical adventure with little romance if any. However, in my family, I usually find 12 year olds like them more than 9 year olds, and boys more than girls. THere is a strong Victorian pro-British slant that could potentially be annoying for Catholics and ethnic minorities.
Robert Louis Stevenson is good reading but possibly scary for younger readers. Kidnapped and Treasure Island scared me when I read them at about age 10. I read Otto of the SIlver Hand to my son when he was about 9 or 10, and I grew up on Howard Pyle -- King Arthur, RObin Hood -- but there are some understated romance elements in those ones.
Angelicum's book choices are based on the late John Senior's booklists of the "1000 Good Books" and they are on the robust side -- he believed that the Good Books help prepare the reader for the "Great Books".
You can find more about his point of view here. It sounds like your educational goals for your daughter's reading are somewhat different from his especially since she is younger than the teenage age he was mostly talking about, and so maybe looking at lists like Ambleside's and "Honey for a CHild's Heart" and places like that might make for a better fit.
I look at Angelicum's booklists for ideas but usually push the recommended age ahead by about 3 years and sometimes further. My kids read well but I like to soak them in the age-appropriate literature not push them ahead to things that would be more formative (IMO) at a later age.
Narnia is perfect for that age! I almost memorized them when I was between ages 8 and 12. I can still remember long passages. I enjoyed reading Tolkien's Hobbit to 9 year olds.
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Willa
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4Real Forums : Living Literature
Topic: Are these books appropriate?
