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Bella
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| Posted: Dec 13 2008 at 4:49pm | IP Logged
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My 12yo dd has been fixed on Mystery Series. First the Boxcar Children, then Trixie Belden,then Nancy Drew. She is a fast reader,and reads 1-4 hours per day. She always has a book with her,where ever we go.
About two weeks ago, she said she wanted to read something other than mysteries.  She checked out some books that a very virtuous friend suggested. Fine. This past week we were at the library,when she asked to check out a book called _Twelve_. I read the brief description, skimmed through the book, and stupidly declared it okay. She read the book in one day,and said it was the best book she has ever read.
That got my curiosity going, so I read it. And then I cried that horrible,ugly cry. There was SO much more to the book,my DH and I are sick to death about it. I talked to her about it, and urged her to go
to Confession. She is angry and saying she is such a bad person,and how I make such a huge deal of little things.   
I now feel like I need to read every book she reads-before she reads it.
She balks at all things old fashioned, including real history. She is a very smart girl, very sweet,too. I know she is lashing out at me due to frustration and confusion.
After several weeks of searching formy "Guide to books,etc.." I finally found them. So, here is what I own....
Honey for A Child's Heart
The most recent edition of The Read Aloud Handbook
Best Books for Children(?)
Real Learning
The Well Trained Mind
For now, DH said to check any books out, that she is interested in, bring them home,look them up on Amazon for reviews(or is there someplace better?) and if there is even one red flag-forget it.
I feel like I have let her down...not protected her enough. I don't want to make this mistake again.
I could use some advice,or BTDT.
Thank you....
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Peace and Blessings,
Bella
Wife and Mom to my sweeties!
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Erin
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| Posted: Dec 15 2008 at 12:41am | IP Logged
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Bella
I'm afraid there is no easy way at this age, you do have to pre-read, ask advice of like minded friends (and you may find minor differences there too), get to know your authors and then sometimes you're caught out. One good advice I received from an older mother was; and has always worked is to say a prayer and flip the book open randomly, it has never failed that if there is something that is unsuitable or said child is not ready for I arrive on that page. 
I love Honey for a Child's heart but heads up on Honey for a Teen's Heart. I'd be uncomfortable with many of the books recommended there.
Are you wanting book titles? My dd15 who can read 3-4 books a day suggests a few; The Three Investigators and Enid Blyton are mysteries, and EB has Adventure series too. Adventure series recommended are Swallows and Amazons (Arthur Ransome), Redwall (Brian Jacques)and my dc's favourites are Ranger's Apprentice (John Flanagan). Dc are firing titles at me as I type they've just suggested Jean Craighead George's My Side of the Mountain, a trilogy of a boy living in the wilds and his falcon. Have you looked at the Bethlehem books? Not all are historical. Hilda Van Stockum's books aren't too old fashioned.
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mimmyof5
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| Posted: Dec 15 2008 at 1:10pm | IP Logged
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I've never heard of the book Twelve , but thanks for the heads up.
My dd, 11, enjoys Bethlehem books. She just finished the Letzenstein Chronicles. I second the suggestions made by Erin. Books by Joan Aiken and Scott O'Dell have been favorites lately. Oh, and she loves Narnia. We also use the Sonlight Catalog for book recommendations.
She's recently started reading some Sherlock Holmes on her own. Classics I tend to read out loud.
Janet
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Bella
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| Posted: Dec 16 2008 at 9:32am | IP Logged
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Thank you, Erin! I appreciate the heads up!
We did Sonlight core 3+4 last year, and it was....not her cup of tea. I'm not terribly familiar with Sonlight,however. I will look in the Language Arts sections.
She's read Narnia with DH. She is juuuust lukewarm on Hilda Van Stockum's books.
She prefers books that have girls as main characters, or family life.
We will ckeck out the other suggestions! Thank you!
Oh! We had a better talk,after I chilled for awhile. I told her that I cannot always be her "Eyes" for her, and she needs to step up,and take some responsibility-if she's uncertain about content-to ASK ME.
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Bella
Wife and Mom to my sweeties!
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LeeAnn
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My 11yo Fiona is now reading "Olivia and the Little Way" which we got from CHC and she's enjoying it a lot. The Regina Doman modern fantasy books might work for her but they do deal with some serious subject matter from a Catholic perspective, so please pre-read. Same with "Catholic Reluctantly" which deals with real-world tough issues.
Also the Betsy-Tacy series, which starts out with the girls about 6 or 7 years old and matures through the 7 or 8 books in the series to "Betsy's Wedding." Very wholesome and one of Betsy's friends is a Catholic who attends a convent school. Fun and entertaining too.
Up until this year my daughter was extremely reluctant to real "old" fiction, but somehow she has mostly gotten over that prejudice and has read through all the Little House books and is working through Little Women. I think she noticed that there was some romance in them and decided to stick it out to see who the heroine marries! 
Also, she really liked "The Mysterious Benedict Society" and its sequel and "The Penderwicks" and its sequel and also the four books in the "Mistmantle Chronicles."
You might also try the nonfiction "All Things Girl" series just recently released by Teresa Tomeo and others. There are five titles and a journal, I think. My daughter saw them over my shoulder and was definitely interested!
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my four children are 17, 15, 11 & 8 - all now attend public school - we read many 4Real recommended books at home
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LeeAnn
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| Posted: Dec 16 2008 at 6:21pm | IP Logged
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Bella, if this is the book "Twelve" you are referring to:
http://www.amazon.com/Twelve-Lauren-Myracle/dp/0142410918/re f=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229473040&sr=1-1
I sympathize. I saw some of these at Target and the packaging makes them look very innocent. However, they are not. Read the reviews--there are some similarly irate parents.
However, my philosophy is that if your child gets one horrible book to balance that out with about ten good ones and hopefully the child will begin to see the difference. Also, taking the time to make up a list of books to look for at the library saves a lot of wandering.
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my four children are 17, 15, 11 & 8 - all now attend public school - we read many 4Real recommended books at home
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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: Dec 17 2008 at 2:44pm | IP Logged
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I always preread or use a list from someone I trust (there are tons). I also don't let my kids just wander the library, unfortunately. There's too much garbage out there. We call ahead to the library for what we are looking for and pick them up. I read some books as a 12 yr old girl that I would NEVER let my children read. They all came from the 6th grade public school library. 
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mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and  due 9/10
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Bella
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| Posted: Dec 17 2008 at 11:39pm | IP Logged
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Thank you, LeeAnn.Yes, that's the book!
I think a problem(for lack of a better way to put it), is that I introduced the good,classic books,too early. My DD read the LH series in third grade. I regret that,as I feel she really missed the richness of them. Same with the Betsy-Tacy books, but I will look for the ones that come later in the series. She did like the Penderwicks! And...I ordered the series All Things Girl, for Christmas!  I'll look into the others! Thank you!!
Books- me too. Umm....Are You There God,comes to mind. A few others from Judy Blume,too.
After reading these posts,and taking this issue to God and DH, I am actually putting on a good attitude,and looking forward to some easy reads! And,I will admit, one night, when I was really stressing about life, I actually read a Nancy Drew!  Yes, I enjoyed it!
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Peace and Blessings,
Bella
Wife and Mom to my sweeties!
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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: Dec 18 2008 at 8:23am | IP Logged
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Bella wrote:
Books- me too. Umm....Are You There God,comes to mind. A few others from Judy Blume,too.
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 uh huh...along with a really creepy book called The Egypt Game (totally freaked me out when I was that age, and I wasn't even raised in a religious home)...and those horrible Flowers in the Attic books
I read all this stuff by the time I was 12 (total bookworm). I'm 38 and I *still* remember them!
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mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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4Real Forums : Living Literature
Topic: Frustrationin finding books for dd.....
