Reply to MoCo Middle School assigned books are so depressing!

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[quote=Anonymous]I agree that MS books were incredibly depressing.  For years, the running joke when DC was assigned a new book was "Who dies in this one?" In HS,  there was an emphasis on books focusing on racism, but I think there was more variety.

While I agree that death and racism are important issues for literature to explore, literature is a lot broader than this.  If Middle School teaches that "literature" is depressing, kids may not explore on their own and discover there's something for everyone.

When I was in MS and HS we had literature textbooks that presented a wide range of classic literature, which were supplemented by novels. We read stories addressing racism and we certainly read tragedies, but there was balance.

I absolutely agree that students should read the classics which have both influenced and reflected the development of civilization over the years.  Not only do they provide context, but they give us common reference points.  (That being said, I think a lot of our great classic literature was just the popfiction of the day that was popular enough to survive.  I can easily see that in 500 years, Harry Potter may be presented as one of the great masterpieces of the 21st century.)

Here are some alternatives to consider:

Mark Twain
O Henry
Washington Irving
H. G. Wells
Jules Verne
Shakespeare (The Tempest, comedies, sonnets)
The Odessey - lots of death, but more in an action-movie sense than a gut-wrenching personally emotional type
Madeleine L'Engle
Louisa May Alcott - Little Women does have a significant death, but there's still a lot of joy in the book.   I don't remember death in her other books.
Survival books like Call It Courage, Julie of the Wolves, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Robinson Crusoe, etc.
Isaac Asimov
Robert Heinlein (for MS I'd suggest his juveniles)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinlein_juveniles
The Westing Game
12 Angry Men
Gulliver's Travels (it's not just Lilliput)
Animal Farm
Robert Louis Stevenson
Alexandre Dumas

The Newberry award winners are generally great, although some may be depressing.

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