Posted on 07/21/2010 9:39:17 AM PDT by Daveinyork
I bought this book — in case it may someday be banned — and plan on keeping it on the shelf until I one day have a son who is entering reading age.
One thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of kids today don’t seem to have been taught that we live in an incredible world and there is so much to explore. As a result, kids don’t seem as curious about the world as I remember being and as my Dad told me he was when he was young.
Whether stargazing, collecting interesting rocks, hiking along a treeline, skipping stones or just being outdoors, it seems that kids today have a harder time entertaining themselves. In some cases they seem to expect others to entertain them and haven’t developed the imagination to seek out their own fun.
Not this is not true for every kid today, but it seems this lack of imagination and curiosity correlates somewhat with the availability of TV, video games, and toys designed to be played with in a limited way.
I’ve been the movie. I like the overthrowing unjust authority part. I don’t like the witchcraft part, but I don’t want to hijack the thread so I’ll leave it at that. Actually, there’s some really good young adult literature out there. A lot are classics from the past, but there’s some good new books too. You just have to be careful to steer clear of social issues that I personally think are inappropriate for such young audiences.
that’s about the point where you tell a teacher where she can go. teachers can’t tell you what you can and can’t do on your own time, and should never discourage reading.
I have visited several libraries and bookstores with my 12 year old son. He loves science fiction. There are no youth science fiction books, but there is a lot of fantasy/harry potter/dungeons and dragons stuff. He found an author he likes, Kenneth Oppel. I recommend him. The problem with adult sci fi is that I will have to read it before I give it to him. I don’t want books to be labeled, (this book is rated e for everyone), but choose to pick books out of the youth/young adult section. If someone were to start writing some good sci fi, aimed at tween/teen boys, this would be fantastic.
I have visited several libraries and bookstores with my 12 year old son. He loves science fiction. There are no youth science fiction books, but there is a lot of fantasy/harry potter/dungeons and dragons stuff. He found an author he likes, Kenneth Oppel. I recommend him. The problem with adult sci fi is that I will have to read it before I give it to him. I don’t want books to be labeled, (this book is rated e for everyone), but choose to pick books out of the youth/young adult section. If someone were to start writing some good sci fi, aimed at tween/teen boys, this would be fantastic.
When I was a teenager, I read mostly nonfiction in my spare time--and I had what were considered weird tastes. They included Up Ship! by Charles E. Rosendahl (Dodd Mead, 1931) by an advocate for the US Navy's air ship program, Way of a Fighter: The Memoirs of Clair Lee Chennault (Putnam, 1949), the autobiography of the commander of the Fourteenth Air Force during World War II, and the serialized version of Cornelius Ryan's The Last Battle in Reader's Digest.
One notable fiction book that I read was The Great Pacific War. A History of the American-Japanese Campaign of 1931-33 by Hector C. Bywater (London: Constable, 1925), which predicted a military conflict that would actually happen a few years later. The only "young adult" book that I read was Don Robertson's The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread (Fawcett, 1967), which is about a disastrous methane gas explosion in Cleveland in 1944. The book was reissued in 2008.
Want boys to read? Publish a book titled “1001 Exciting Ways to Blow Stuff Up!”. It could serve as a great introduction to physics as well as improve reading comprehension.
So true! Our older son was five when I started trying to get his younger brother to stay in his bed to sleep. To do this I would lay down with him, and we'd read together. That son began reading, on his own, a couple of years later. Meanwhile, his older brother lagged in reading. He COULD read, he just didn't find anything interesting to read.
The summer after the 5th grade, we enrolled him in a program offering different fun subjects for six weeks. One of the ones he chose was Role Playing Games, and that got him really interested. We started buying him Dungeons and Dragons books, and he and his younger brother started playing, and got their friends to join them. We monitored everyone with whom they played, so it was safe for them, but it got them reading, and not just piddly kids books!
That son went on to be an English major, and is now a lawyer, a terrific researcher and writer, and still plays role playing games!
Our only daughter has always been a good reader, and enjoys books on lots of subjects. Our youngest son, two years younger than his sister, wasn't much interested, however, until I found the "Redwall" novels, by Brian Jacques. There is enough soft-heartedness in the stories for girls, but they're also blood-thirsty enough for boys! They were also loads of fun for Mom to read aloud to them almost every night during their elementary school years.
Unfortunately, it would probably help fill the gap.
:O
I agree. I have a hard time finding books for my 15 year old to read. He would like good sci fi.
you engineer females? Ae you fom Japan?
Her’s a couple YA SF (young adult science fiction) lists:
http://io9.com/5384382/where-to-start-with-young-adult-science-fiction
http://www.hclibrary.us/pdfs/youth/booklists/yascifi.pdf
While YA is definitely leaning fantasy these days because of Harry Potter there’s definitely SF in that market too.
Hard to do as a 2nd grader.
teachers ... should never discourage reading.
Good ones don't.
teachers can’t tell you what you can and can’t do on your own time
Yeah. She learned that the hard way when she tried to confiscate my personal copy of the book my mom bought me that very night.
That sounds like an excellent reading list, a keeper!
Way to go Mom!
???
Heinlein:
1. Rocket Ship Galileo, 1947Asimov
2. Space Cadet, 1948
3. Red Planet, 1949
4. Farmer in the Sky, 1950
5. Between Planets, 1951
6. The Rolling Stones aka Space Family Stone, 1952
7. Starman Jones, 1953
8. The Star Beast, 1954
9. Tunnel in the Sky, 1955
10. Time for the Stars, 1956
11. Citizen of the Galaxy, 1957
12. Have Space Suit—Will Travel, 1958
13. Podkayne of Mars, 1963
The Menace from Earth
Any of the Lucky Starr series (Under the name Paul French)
I am not up on sci fi, is all of that safe for a 12 yo?
Star Man's Son/Daybreak-2250A.D
The Time Traders (Part of Norton's "Forerunner" universe!)
The Stars Are Ours
Star Flight
Galactic Derelict
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