Are there any classic novels that your pre-teen loves?

[Anonymous]

If you think she might like historical fiction, I loved novels by Elizabeth George Speare--in particular Calico Captive and the Witch of Blackbird Pond. She has several others that are also very good. Also, there are a lot of interesting young adult memoirs out there dealing with serious themes like the Holocaust or those exiled to Siberia during the Stalin years. Not everyone's cup of team, but may be worth checking out. My favorite as a preteen was one called The Endless Steppe and it was serious but not too dark for a reader that age.

FWIW I don't have a preteen yet and am recommending what I enjoyed at that age (I'm in my 30s now) so take it with a grain of salt. But I was an avid reader and there are a lot of wonderful books for preteen readers that might not be as well known now...

[Anonymous]

Water ship down

[Anonymous]

My 12 yr old son read Huckleberry Finn for fun (someone gave him a hardback copy for a gift) and he LOVED it. Just loved it. He is now 15 and knows he will likely have to read it for class in highschool and is looking forward to seeing it through new eyes.

[Anonymous]

Shabanu. +1 to where the red fern grows. That book will still make me weep.

[Anonymous]

Princess Academy series
Three Times Lucky series
Harry Potter series
Gormenghast series
Bradbury, or SciFi of that ilk
Chronicles of Narnia

[Anonymous]

This article is a review of teen/YA reading picks for 2016. Some (like Ivory and Bone) are literally being released today.

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/9428436

[Anonymous]

There's an illustrated Odyssey that my son loved.

[Anonymous]

I'm a big Science Fiction fan, but as a child growing up in the 80's, didn't have as much available to read in that genre as there is now. However, if you are looking for classic books, I recall particularly liking "Swiss Family Robinson" - sort of a reality/survival type book, full of facts and adventure, and "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court," - a time traveling book by Mark Twain.

[Anonymous]

My DD loved Gone With the Wind

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you think she might like historical fiction, I loved novels by Elizabeth George Speare--in particular Calico Captive and the Witch of Blackbird Pond. She has several others that are also very good. Also, there are a lot of interesting young adult memoirs out there dealing with serious themes like the Holocaust or those exiled to Siberia during the Stalin years. Not everyone's cup of team, but may be worth checking out. My favorite as a preteen was one called The Endless Steppe and it was serious but not too dark for a reader that age.

FWIW I don't have a preteen yet and am recommending what I enjoyed at that age (I'm in my 30s now) so take it with a grain of salt. But I was an avid reader and there are a lot of wonderful books for preteen readers that might not be as well known now...

Loved The Witch of Blackbird Pond!

Also:

Anne of Green Gables
Summer of My German Soldier
Bridge to Terebithia
Island of the Blue Dolphin


Lots of books for preteens into sci fi/fantasy:

A Wrinkle in Time
The Dark is Rising series
Books by Robin McKinley (The Hero and the Crown, The Blue Sword, Beauty)
Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain

[Anonymous]

The Hounds of the Morrigan by Pat O'Shea

[Anonymous]

Rebecca

[Anonymous]

What a fun walk down memory lane reading these titles. I'll add:

My Darling, My Hamburger (and the one by same author about marigolds)
The Cat Ate My Gymsuit (and many other Paula Danzinger books)
Judy Blume books for older kids like Tiger Eyes, Starring Sally J Freedman As Herself
A Little Princess
Heidi
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
The Westing Game
Lois Duncan books

intense topics:
I'm Dancing As Fast As I Can
Go Ask Alice

[Anonymous]

Children of Captain Grant (Jules Vernes)
Sherlock Holmes
The Three Musketeers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I loved Sci Fi growing up. Especially Ray Bradbury. The Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451, the Illustrated Man. Short stories. Just amazing.

+1 my school offered genre specific and author specific literature courses. I took a sci Fi class, Tolkien, Mark Twain, and Hemingway.