Enough of Harry Potter already
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- November
- 14
Don’t get me wrong, I love that my son got so absorbed in J.K. Rowling’s book series about the boy wizard. It’s just that I want my son to read some of the classics as well.
Now, I love that he’s an avid reader, with a particular attraction to non-fiction and “fact books” like encyclopedias and atlases. He’s also read a number of childrens’ series, including Dan Gutman’s series of baseball biographies. When he was younger, he also read an abridged version of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain and enjoyed it.
But I think there’s great value for a child to read classic literature, and I’ve been nudging him and his mom for months to get him to try out some of those. Last week, he started to read Stephen Crane’s Red Badge of Courage, which I thought would tap into his interests in American history. Here’s the short follow-up list I put together for him:
• Call of the Wild by Jack London
• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
I figure that’s a short enough list, and I’m waiting to assess how he does with Crane. I’d also like to hear some other suggestions out there, particularly from parents who have older children. Let me know.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, November 14th, 2007 at 3:37 pm by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon.
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It’s hard to assess your list because you don’t mention how old your son is. But it looks like a good one—but those books might be a challenge for those under 12. I’m not a huge fan of the Potter books either, but I think the backlash has gotten a bit too strong for my liking:
http://darkpartyreview.blogspot.com/2007/11/essay-banning-harry.html
GFS3;
Well, I agree on the level of the backlash being excessive, particular over the issue mentioned in the link you offered. I don’t really have an objection over the books: It’s more frustration that children aren’t spending more time on the classics as well. That’s what I’m trying to rectify.
As for my son, he turns 10 this month. So far, he is thoroughly enjoying Red Badge of Courage. I suspect Verne may be too much for him, but I believe Treasure Island will be a hit with him. I’m hoping Huckleberry Finn is also.
The way I see it, if he reads two of the works on the list, it’ll be a positive experience for him. I’ll take it from there and see what comes along next.
Thanks for reading and for your input.
My son is a big fan of harry potter, I am glad that he loves reading very much! I am a single mom and have not very much time to be with her, Once I saw someone show some good books’ link on singleparentdate.com, I bought them to my gal, she loves them, I will show some of them for you later.
Kate;
Thank you for responding. Reading is important, and if your son is driven to read by the Harry Potter series, it is a wonderful thing. Hopefully, you can encourage him to read beyond that.
Also, I would love to see the reading list you refer to from singleparentdate.com. Could you post it here?