Green, Roger Lancelyn. Tales of the Greek Heroes. Puffin Classics, 2009 (this edition). ISBN: 978-0141325286

“Before Luke Skywalker, before Batman, before even King Arthur, there were the Greek heroes. Those guys knew how to fight!”

And so begins author Rick Riordan’s introduction to Greek Heroes. In this simple sentence we can see that our love of super heroes—those who excel beyond the limits of mere mortals—comes from a long, rich history of mythological stories.

Green writes a fine anthology. It is the perfect introduction for any middle grade reader who may be enticed by modern tales of Olympians to learn more about the roots of the genre.

The book opens with the beginning—when Zeus fought the Titans and with the Cyclops made thunderbolts for thrusting at foes, a trident for Poseidon to stir up the sea, and a helmet of invisibility for Hades, so he could sneak up on his enemy.

Is that exciting, or what?

With short chapters and extra features that include a “Who’s Who” of mythological beings and a map, Green keeps this work within reach of young readers, and not overly wordy or detailed.

Riordan goes on to say that this book “was one of my first introductions to the amazing world of Greek mythology. If it weren’t for this book, I probably never would have written my own books about a modern-day demigod, Percy Jackson.”

 

101 (Plus) Read - Alouds

There is an interesting blurring when it comes to the audience of a middle grade book. Initially, one would think a book like Chronicles of Narnia or A Wrinkle In Time would be appropriate for eight and up (roughly). 

However, many GREAT middle grade classics also make excellent read aloud books for kids! 

One of my first literary memories are of sitting outside and hearing my mother read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, and of lying in bed as she tucked me in with a chapter from The Mouse and the Motorcycle. 

At the time, these books were above my reading level. But that does not mean I wouldn't enjoy listening to them as a child, reading them as a middle grade, and then rediscovering them as an adult. 

Here is a list of 101+ read aloud books that a mother compiled, and I am happy to say nearly all of them are titles I would recommend as well.

http://www.graspingforobjectivity.com/2012/05/read-aloud.html

Chapter Books

A good chapter book is hard to find. This, the reader's first introduction to long-form books, must have a quality mixture of entertainment, depth and reading challenge. If it is too wordy or deep, the young reader will give up. If it is too shallow or cheesy, he or she will lose interest just as easily. 

Here are three I just finished reading that I think do a pretty decent job of finding the Chapter Book sweet spot:

Bayars, Betsy. Keeper of the Doves. Puffin, 2004 
ISBN 0142400637

It is not an easy task for an author to write a story dealing with heavy subjects (family discord, mental illness, death) that is aimed at 7 to 10 year olds. However, Bayars does an excellent job of not only covering them, but embracing them as an intricate and necessary part of the story. What I loved about this book was that it came from the point of view of a child, as she would see it. Life just seems to come at her from nowhere (family members just show up. Mom is suddenly pregnant and about to give birth. Discoveries about her own story, told through other people...) and yet she has a playfulness and overall contentment throughout. 

Amie, the protagonist, has a way with words, and sees the world through her poems. This gives her a special connection to her father and grandmother, and allows her to notice many things others miss. Especially when it comes to the strange old man who lives on their property and takes care of the doves (whom her twin sisters are afraid of, and make up wild tales about). 

This story held my interest, and was not overly heavy. It would also be a great story to read aloud to younger readers who are not quite ready to tackle a Chapter Book on their own. 

Gannett, Ruth Stiles. My Father's Dragon. Illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett. CreateSpage, 2010 (originally published in 1948) ISBN 1453782052 

As an adult, this tale was a tad boring due to the predictive, redundant nature of the story. However, this redundancy is also a useful tool when creating a Chapter Book. Predictability is comforting, and often helps beginner readers push through when the text may seem long. 

Still, the characters were fun and interesting. A young boy ("my father" as the narrator of the story begins) finds a talking cat. His mother hates the cat and throws it out, but feeling sorry for the cat, the boy befriends him and agrees to go on an adventure on the cat's behalf in order to save a dragon who is enslaved by talking animals on a wild island. 

The creatures are creative, and as the boy meets set after set of them, each time he is afforded the opportunity to use his cleverness to outsmart them, and eventually save the dragon. The illustrations definitely help the story along, as some parts are a bit tough to grasp, and they also provide a bit of comic relief. 

  

 Evans, Douglas. Apple Island, or The Truth About
Teachers. Illustrated by Larry Di Fiori. Scholastic, 2002
ASIN: B000VHE3CI 

I loved this book! I found it highly entertaining, funny, and extremely clever. 

As a kid, did you ever think that there was no possible way your teachers were ever kids, or did normal things outside of school? They practically lived at school, right? And furthermore, they never seemed to age. Some were crabby, and some were nice, and that was that. 

In The Truth About Teachers, we discover that this is exactly right! Teachers come from an island, where half live on the nice side and half live on the crabby side. The island is full of school-isms: Chalk Mountain, "Shhhh" Canyon, Office Palace, where Prince Apple ("principal") lives, a Big Book Building where Miss Library rides her motorized sliding ladder from section to section and never sees the light of day...everything that defines school was created and exists on Apple Island. 

When a group of students are kidnapped to this island, it is up to one of them to discover the truth about teachers and find a way to bring them all home. A truly fun read.  

Adoption Classics

In my search for classics for boys, I came across a very clever site. Never having considered it before, I came to realize through this website that many of the classics we know and love are indeed about adoption (two of the books I mentioned in my first post about classics were exactly that!).

Adoption.com, a website devoted to helping adoptive parents, gives a wonderful list of classics about adoption. These are geared toward both males and females, and can be loved by children (when read aloud), tweens, and teens alike.

http://books.adoption.com/recommended-reading/adoption-books-classics-for-young-readers.html

Classics (And Other Books) for Boys

Since the previous post about classics tended towards books tween girls would love (since I was drawing from my own experiences as a tween, my mind naturally went there), I wanted to make to make sure to include some resources for male tweens.

Of course, there is always the resource website Guys Read (see previous post). On the site is a list of "Classics that Actually Hold Up." I would not necessarily agree that all these titles are classics in the true sense of the word, but they are good stories exhibiting the traits of classics, recommended by guys, to guys:

http://www.guysread.com/books/categories/category/classics_that_actually_hold_up

Another website I found enjoyable was Unshelved Answers and their online dialogue/wiki about "Books Teen Boys Would Read (If They Actually Knew They Existed)". Although, once again, many of these are not classics, the classics WILL indelibly pop up from time to time, simply because the stories are great.

http://answers.unshelved.com/questions/1434/books-teen-boys-would-read-if-they-knew-they-existed

Classics for Girls

Spyri, Johanna. Heidi. Children's Classics, 1998 (originally written in 1881). ISBN: 978-0517189672

Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women. Signet Classics, 2004 (originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869). ISBN: 978-0451529305

 Montgomery, L. M. Anne of Green Gables. Watermill Classic, 1985 (originally published in 1908). ISBN: 0-8167-0465-1

Often, when a classic becomes re-done so many times, in various formats (movies, TV shows, multiple adaptions), it actually causes readers to NOT want to enjoy the original (I already know the story, right?). This has been my experience on several occasions, when trying to decide my next book to devour. I will hold the classic in one hand and the fresh-off-the-press exciting, current tween or YA novel in the other. Usually I choose the newer book.

However, those times (especially back when I was a tween) when I finally sat down and cracked open a classic, such as the ones listed above, my mind was opened like a flower to the joys, sorrows, triumphs and cleverness of years gone-by. I learned that young girls and boys a hundred years ago where not so different than me, and I was able to see the world for a brief time through their lenses.

Furthermore, I learned that there is a reason a book becomes a classic: It is simply a good tale. The writing is excellent, the pace is perfect and the characters are unforgettable. It is the nature of storytelling all writers should aspire to achieve at least once in their careers, and that readers should enjoy throughout a lifetime.

Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Death and Dementia

Poe, Edgar Allan. Tales of Death and Dementia.(Compilation). Illustrated by Gris Grimly. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2009. ISBN: 978-1-4169-5025-7

The jacket description reads: "While the original stories have been neatly nipped and tucked, the dread, the gore, and the horror still reaches otherworldly heights." I must heartily agree with this description.

Poe's works are not typically thought of as the stuff fit for middle readers, but Grimly's illustrations help change that. Laid out in a fashion that is part comic-book, part narrative (with no dialogue bubbles), the goulash cartoon drawings create a world that is both fiction yet ethereal. (See example below).

Not for the faint-of-heart, but most definitely for fans of dark humor and classic tragedies, this collection illuminates the first glimpse of a twisted classic for young readers. Companion to Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Mystery and Madness, the last stanza may say it best: "Upon the bed, before the whole company, there lay a nearly liquid mass of loathsome -- of detestable putridity."

No one says it quite like Poe.

Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Adaption

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451: the Authorized Adaptions. Illustrated and adapted by Tim Hamilton. (Graphic novel) Hill and Wang, 2009. ISBN 978-0-8090-5101-4

The beauty of Graphic Novels is that they can bring an entirely new dimension to stories that a simple text cannot convey. In one sense, it may be frustrating, as the reader may have imagined the story differently than the illustrator, and therefore has to struggle with his or her imagination being invaded by the images from another person's brain. However, if one can take it in stride, they will understand that while he or she has their own mental pictures attached to the text, it is also interesting to see a creative adaption form another point of view and, therefore, well worth the read. Another element of Graphic Novels is that they represent a different type of literacy. Not just a literacy of decoding words, but a literacy of images and symbols. Furthermore, it is an art form that can be appreciated in its own right.

These are several reasons why Ray Bradbury may have agreed to this adaption of his most famous novel, but the reason I am including this novel on my blog is because the Graphic Novel adaption will simply make it easier to read, and will make a great classic story within the comprehension grasp of middle readers.

There are a few parts of the dialogue that are somewhat difficult to follow, especially when the characters are speaking in riddles and quotes. However, in these instances, the illustrations convey the mood and setting, and the expressions on each face convey the emotions despite the confusing language. Furthermore, the story is broken into three concise sections that clearly carry the plot and help the reader understand when a transition or new phase is approaching.

There are several adult themes that may not be suitable for very young tweens (substance abuse, political oppression, war and violence) but due to the format and the adaption of the text, it is not as intense or as drawn out as the book. Tweens who already read Graphic Novels will most likely not find anything particularly offensive, and the dark consequences for said actions are clearly defined.

The Long Winter

Wilder, Laura Ingalls. The Long Winter. Illustrated by Garth Williams. HaperCollins Publishers, 1940. ISBN 0-06-026460-8
Many are familiar with The Little House on the Prairie series. However, I would argue that this title is by far the most exciting of the series. There is no need to read the rest of the series, as this book does well standing alone as a complete story.

Based off of the life of the author, this book describes the struggle, depression, persistence, courage and hunger experienced during one of the worst winters on record for the Dakota territories. Young readers will gain a first-hand look at what life was like for pioneers and homesteaders on the harsh prairies during a difficult winter. Images of waking up with nails in the ceiling frosted over, white-out blizzards that killed people, the warnings and natural signs from wildlife and native peoples, and even starvation.

However, a young audience is in mind, and this book is anything but dark. Wilder does a superb job of describing her love for her family, the simple joys and pastimes of the pioneer life, her admiration for those who risk their lives to protect others, and the awe-inspiring power of nature and weather.

Five Little Peppers and How They Grew

Sidney, Margaret. Five Little Peppers and How They Grew. Watermill Press, 1988. ISBN 0-8164-1460-6
This book will only appeal to a certain type of tween. I have known ten and eleven year-olds who have both loved and lost interest in this book. A classic, written in 1881, focuses primarily on the daily lives of five poor children living with their widowed mother in a small, dilapidated house. As is typical of novels written for children about poverty, the Pepper children knew they were poor, but did not feel poor, as they were constantly surrounded by love and family.

Small joys, generosity, overcoming illness, and making new friends are all themes visited in this book, the first in the Five Little Peppers series. Anyone who has read the Anne of Green Gables series will understand the ability of an author to take something seemingly mundane to adults (such as baking a birthday cake) and turning it into quite a comical, emotional ride with witty remarks and clever storytelling.

Peppers stands out as a classic, written in simple sentence structure for young readers, that will surely enlighten the reader, teaching moral values and the simple joys of life.

The book can be viewed in its entirety via Project Gutenberg at http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=2770