Well, sort of.
My son is 12, but he reads at a level of about 11th grade. For his class he needs: historical fiction and poetry. Any suggestions?
He also has to read a biography, which I think we can cover in the library but the historical fiction and poetry really have me stumped!
Thanks!
2007-09-24 17:08:02 · 8 answers · asked by Laptop Jesus 3.9 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Hmm.
Summer of my German Soldier (Bette Greene) is a really great book. Also, anything by Mark Twain.
Here's some Young Adult historical fiction -
Island of the Blue Dolphins (Scott O'Dell)
A Night to Remember (Walter Lloyd)
Witch of Blackbird Pond (Elizabeth George Speare)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee) I know, this one's played out already, but if he's never read it, he might like it.
Some more advanced books -
The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne)
Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe)
Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
All Quiet on the Western Front (Erich Maria Remarque)
Beloved (Toni Morrison)
The Color Purple (Alice Walker)
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
A Farewell to Arms (Ernest Hemingway)
Murder in the Cathedral (T.S. Elliot)
A Passage to India (EM Forster)
The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
Dances With Wolves (Michael Blake)
The poetry - any poetry, or should it also be historical?
Try this site for some funny poetry -
http://www.gigglepoetry.com/
2007-09-24 17:15:50 · answer #1 · answered by Snark 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Hi I'm a public librarian who specializes in teen books. Here are a few suggestions.
If he likes adventure try,
Bloody Jack : being an account of the curious adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, ship's boy / L.A. Meyer
Run Boy Run / Uri Orlev
Private Peaceful / Michael Morpurgo
If he prefers sports try,
Farm Team / Will Weaver
Last Days of Summer / Steve Kluger
As for poetry, it gets trickier here.
If he likes rap you might try Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes. This is a novel about kids learning poetry and it includes a large number of excellent poems written with a great gritty feel. There are also sports poetry books, animal poetry books well as other modern poetry. You should take him to the library and get the Teen Librarian there to help you find something. In the end though, I have found if the kid needs to read a poem Edgar Allen Poe is the best choice. Most teen boys enjoy a little horror and Poe's scarier poems are short and lyrical.
Hope that helps
Randy
2007-09-25 10:00:41 · answer #2 · answered by Roland E 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The Epic of Gilgamesh should cover all the bases from historical fiction to poetry.
2007-09-25 00:11:22 · answer #3 · answered by Meow 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Denise Levertov (first link)
Billy Collins (past poet laureate, champion of the Poetry 180 project for getting poetry into schools - second link)
The third link is to poetswest, which has brief bios of poets with Pacific Northwest connections, as well as examples and other stuff.
2007-09-25 01:09:00 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hmm - he's reading that advanced, but how advanced ummm- "socially" do you want the reading material to be?
The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory is good, but could have scenes you have to explain.
Moby Dick would work.
This Might be good - http://www.amazon.com/Am-Lavina-Cumming-American-Historical/dp/1571316558/ref=pd_bbs_11/103-4330423-1370228?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190694841&sr=8-11
and his teacher mnight be looking more for something like the Dear America Series - which he'll finish one of those books in an hour, basically.
This might be better - http://www.amazon.com/Red-Cap-G-Clifton-Wisler/dp/0140369368/ref=pd_sim_b_5_img/103-4330423-1370228?ie=UTF8&qid=1190694841&sr=8-11
Aboout a 13 year old boy who lies about his age so he can join the Union army during the Civil War
2007-09-25 00:38:06 · answer #5 · answered by Cheese Fairy - Mummified 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
poetry:
The songs of Solomon
Emily Dickinson
Longfellow
John Berryman
T.S. Eliot
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Victor Hugo
Historical Fiction:
http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/easy_find/592497455?category=Fiction&N=1031258&Ne=1000000&Nso=1&Nu=product%2Eendeca%5Frollup&format=1014644&Ns=product%2Enumber%5Fsold
2007-09-25 00:21:48 · answer #6 · answered by DrMichael 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You could kill three birds with one stone by reading the Icelandic Sagas. They are poetry, describe the history of the settlement of Iceland (but were written well after it happened, and are therefore fictionalized), and tell the life-stories of the early settlers.
2007-09-25 00:16:42 · answer #7 · answered by scifiguy 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Theres plenty of poetry in the Bible. If I were to grow up again I would love for someone to teach me all the stories and symbolisms of the bible.
2007-09-25 00:13:27 · answer #8 · answered by pljohnson2 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋