Most homeschoolers I know, including myself, are continually looking for reading lists with ideas for books their children can and should read.
A good friend of mine gave me this book by Leslie Raynor and Christopher Perrin to peruse and asked me my opinion of it. I read through all of the lists in the books and found it to be problematic. It tries to do too much in a small space. The lists are divided into K, Lower Grammar (1-3), Upper Grammar (4-6), Rhetoric (7-9) and Dialectic (10-12). Within the lists, books are classified by genre and then by level (1-3--easy, normal, challenging).
I discovered as I read that book that I would not recommend this book for several reasons.
1. There is almost no realistic fiction in this book. I only found 2 books--From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenwiler and Bridge to Terabithia in the 4-9 lists. Dickens is considered realistic fiction by these authors.
2. The way the books were leveled didn't seem appropriate for several books. So, if you do purchase this book, don't depend on the levels. Wind in the Willows was given a 1 for grades 4-6. Wind in the Willows has an enormous amount of vocabulary that is appropriate for a much higher reading level (7th or 8th grade), though the story line is appropriate for a much younger child. It is good for grades 4-6, but is not an easy reading level. I don't consider the Lord of the Rings Trilogy appropriate reading level wise for grades 4-6. There were many other books that I did not think were either as hard or easy as the authors judged them to be. The Redwall series was rated as easy for grades 4-6, I think--I was quite surprised by this!
3. The Giver Series, Ender's Game, Science Fiction (except for the Perelandra Series) were notably missing. None of Cynthia Voit's books were included for older ages. The lists also did not give a well rounded education about the world. The older lists focused primarily on European literature and didn't seem to include books about Asia, Africa, and South America. I did not notice books about the Civil Rights Movement in the US either. Maniac Magee and Hatchet--two classic middle school reads were not included.
4. The lack of realistic fiction to help kids make sense of the world they are living in stood out to me. Homecoming (by Cynthia Voigt), Paper Things, Flipped, The View from Saturday, and Hope was Here are some examples of good modern-day realistic fiction.
5. Harry Potter, books 1-7 were all lumped together for grades 4-6. Books 1-4 are understandable, but after that the books start getting much darker and are more appropriate for older children, I think.
6. Lastly, the older lists for grades 7-9 and 10-12 didn't include a lot of what I'd call "fun" books. They are scholarly classics. So, if that's the kind of list you're looking for, then you'll find it here. Also, the list for grades 10-12 did not seem to include many books that would appeal to most girls I know.
Rather than purchasing this book, I'd send you over to Gladys' Hunts books: Honey for a Teen's Heart and Honey for a Child's Heart. These are much thicker books and include a ton more helpful information. The book for Teen's is very helpful once your child hits a 5th grade reading level (no matter the age) because she rated books by both reading level and maturity. I do recommend that you purchase new editions of these books and not older ones, though.
Reading lists are helpful and if you want a list of just the classics, you'll find it in this book. Just watch out for how it groups books and rates them for reading level. You'll probably find that you have to make those decisions yourself for any given book.
If you're looking for another list of books to peruse for ideas, I have my own list that I add to when my kids find books they love and when I find books I want them to read HERE.
A good friend of mine gave me this book by Leslie Raynor and Christopher Perrin to peruse and asked me my opinion of it. I read through all of the lists in the books and found it to be problematic. It tries to do too much in a small space. The lists are divided into K, Lower Grammar (1-3), Upper Grammar (4-6), Rhetoric (7-9) and Dialectic (10-12). Within the lists, books are classified by genre and then by level (1-3--easy, normal, challenging).I discovered as I read that book that I would not recommend this book for several reasons.
1. There is almost no realistic fiction in this book. I only found 2 books--From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenwiler and Bridge to Terabithia in the 4-9 lists. Dickens is considered realistic fiction by these authors.
2. The way the books were leveled didn't seem appropriate for several books. So, if you do purchase this book, don't depend on the levels. Wind in the Willows was given a 1 for grades 4-6. Wind in the Willows has an enormous amount of vocabulary that is appropriate for a much higher reading level (7th or 8th grade), though the story line is appropriate for a much younger child. It is good for grades 4-6, but is not an easy reading level. I don't consider the Lord of the Rings Trilogy appropriate reading level wise for grades 4-6. There were many other books that I did not think were either as hard or easy as the authors judged them to be. The Redwall series was rated as easy for grades 4-6, I think--I was quite surprised by this!
3. The Giver Series, Ender's Game, Science Fiction (except for the Perelandra Series) were notably missing. None of Cynthia Voit's books were included for older ages. The lists also did not give a well rounded education about the world. The older lists focused primarily on European literature and didn't seem to include books about Asia, Africa, and South America. I did not notice books about the Civil Rights Movement in the US either. Maniac Magee and Hatchet--two classic middle school reads were not included.
4. The lack of realistic fiction to help kids make sense of the world they are living in stood out to me. Homecoming (by Cynthia Voigt), Paper Things, Flipped, The View from Saturday, and Hope was Here are some examples of good modern-day realistic fiction.
5. Harry Potter, books 1-7 were all lumped together for grades 4-6. Books 1-4 are understandable, but after that the books start getting much darker and are more appropriate for older children, I think.
6. Lastly, the older lists for grades 7-9 and 10-12 didn't include a lot of what I'd call "fun" books. They are scholarly classics. So, if that's the kind of list you're looking for, then you'll find it here. Also, the list for grades 10-12 did not seem to include many books that would appeal to most girls I know.
Rather than purchasing this book, I'd send you over to Gladys' Hunts books: Honey for a Teen's Heart and Honey for a Child's Heart. These are much thicker books and include a ton more helpful information. The book for Teen's is very helpful once your child hits a 5th grade reading level (no matter the age) because she rated books by both reading level and maturity. I do recommend that you purchase new editions of these books and not older ones, though.
Reading lists are helpful and if you want a list of just the classics, you'll find it in this book. Just watch out for how it groups books and rates them for reading level. You'll probably find that you have to make those decisions yourself for any given book.
If you're looking for another list of books to peruse for ideas, I have my own list that I add to when my kids find books they love and when I find books I want them to read HERE.
Comments
I haven't introduced The Giver, Ender's Game, or any of Cynthia Voit's books either. I think next year we're going to do The Giver and Ender's Game as we will be studying modern times. We're going to try to cover more contemporary realistic fiction too like the The Breadwinner Trilogy and Paper Things and Hope was Here. I've discouraged Harry Potter entirely, but all of my children have read or listened to the Lord of the Rings a zillion times. I'm looking forward to perusing your reading list.
What grades are your children now? Mine are just turned 3, rising 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 9th graders next year! I am not ready to homeschool highschool! I just don't have time for that. But I supposed I don't have the heart for the alternative either.