Classic Literature Recommendations

[Anonymous]

I need some classic (traditional) literature recommendations for my child. What authors and books would you recommend for 5th and 6th graders?

[Anonymous]

Narnia
Hobbit / Lord of the Rings
Little Women
Heidi
Of Mice and Men
Cannery Row

[Anonymous]

My 5th grade DD just read Moby Dick, and before that The Grapes of Wrath. Also..the Mutiny on the Bounty trilogy.

a nice one is The Secret Garden.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 5th grade DD just read Moby Dick, and before that The Grapes of Wrath. Also..the Mutiny on the Bounty trilogy.

a nice one is The Secret Garden.

I hope your child retreads these when old enough to have had some life experience.

[Anonymous]

EB White, Roald Dahl, Frances Hodgson Burnett, LM Montgomery, Laura Ingalls Wilder, for a start.

[Anonymous]

And JK Rowling, soon to be a classic.

[Anonymous]

I hope your child retreads these when old enough to have had some life experience.

I still hate Moby Dick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I hope your child retreads these when old enough to have had some life experience.

I still hate Moby Dick.

Yeah, that's a tough one. I read it sr year with a very good English teacher guiding us through and letting us skip the cataloguing. I ended up enjoying it.

[Anonymous]

I love Moby Dick, but I didn't read it when I was 10.

And, really -- Of Mice and Men and Cannery Row for 10-year-olds?! My personal opinion is that there is no right age for reading Steinbeck, but if you must read Steinbeck, at least wait until high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:EB White, Roald Dahl, Frances Hodgson Burnett, LM Montgomery, Laura Ingalls Wilder, for a start.

Meaning: The Secret Garden and A Little Princess. Somehow nobody ever recommends Little Lord Fauntleroy.

[Anonymous]

Boy or Girl? Personal Interests? Them reading or you reading aloud? You can read books about 3-4 grade levels above their reading level so it would be very different books.

Little House Series, Anne of Green Gables, Betsy-Tacy, Little Women, Misty of Chincoteague, Beatrix Potter, etc.

Wind in the Willows, Narnia Books, Harry Potter, Wizard of Oz series, Winnie-the-Pooh, Jack London (White Fang/Call of the Wild), etc.

Depending on your particular philosophies on appropriate books and whether you would be willing to read/discuss with them: Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn, Kiplings Just So Stories,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love Moby Dick, but I didn't read it when I was 10.

And, really -- Of Mice and Men and Cannery Row for 10-year-olds?! My personal opinion is that there is no right age for reading Steinbeck, but if you must read Steinbeck, at least wait until high school.

As a fan of Steinbeck -- I totally agree with this PP that I'd wait on reading his work. My DD read "Of Mice and Men" in ninth grade and that was about right for her.

OP, think about your child as a reader, and your goals with classic lit. Is your child already a big reader, or are you trying to get your child to read more if he or she is reluctant to read? Does your child currently gravitate more toward fantasy or realistic stories? You know your kid best -- is your child likely to be turned off by a huge adventure tale but might love a more intimate story focused on one kid who is similar to your child in age or interests? Those things do matter at younger ages. You don't want to turn a kid off classic literature if the kid ends up associating that term with a long, hard slog, or with books that were never finished because they seemed dull at the time, or because the child just wasn't experienced enough to relate to the characters or story.

I would really ask your school's librarian and the children's librarian at the local library for advice, and tell the librarian about your child's current "non-classic" reading interests, which can be a good guide. We parents often forget about the school librarians as a great resource. I volunteered in the elementary school library for years and really came to see that the librarian knew a vast amount about recommending the right books for kids at the right time, if she knew enough about the child's interests. And most librarians would be thrilled for a parent to come to them with your question!

An online look at "classic literature for fifth graders" turned up these titles--asked for by teachers--and they're not "classic" in the "Moby Dick" sense, but considered staples of excellent, thoughtful fiction for kids in late elementary:
My Side of the Mountain, Frindle, Hatchet, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Roald Dahl's books appear "easy" but are pretty subversive), Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Cay, The Shakespeare Stealer, Number the Stars....Maybe think in terms of "classic" elementary/middle school lit, not just "classic" as in, famed works by adult authors for adults. Well-written books like these are kind of the gateway into the typical adult classics. Definitely talk with the school librarian....

[Anonymous]

I love My Side of the Mountain!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love Moby Dick, but I didn't read it when I was 10.

And, really -- Of Mice and Men and Cannery Row for 10-year-olds?! My personal opinion is that there is no right age for reading Steinbeck, but if you must read Steinbeck, at least wait until high school.

I read these when I was just 11 and I loved them. And I was in public school (!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love Moby Dick, but I didn't read it when I was 10.

And, really -- Of Mice and Men and Cannery Row for 10-year-olds?! My personal opinion is that there is no right age for reading Steinbeck, but if you must read Steinbeck, at least wait until high school.

I read these when I was just 11 and I loved them. And I was in public school (!)

Well, that gets us back to the unanswerable question, which comes up every single time on these threads -- is it a good thing if a kid reads a book and loves it, even though the kid really doesn't understand the first thing about the book?