|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
Pooh-Bah
|
OP
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819 |
Here at work the clinic is buying Christmas gifts for a couple kids, an 8 year old girl and a 12 year old boy. The girl requested books but didn't specify any titles. Can anyone recommend any good children's books for her and maybe for her brother too?
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
Do you know the children? Are they reading at age level?
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
I expect to have stones thrown at me, but I think Kipling's The Jungle Book and the Just So Stories are good for those ages.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,004
old hand
|
old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,004 |
Dear Doc
I think Kipling's The Jungle Book and the Just So Stories are good for those ages
No stone throwing here. Just recommending also, by Kipling:
Captain's Courageous
Stalky and Co. (though perhaps for slightly older readers - best school stories ever written, Wodehouse included).
cheer
the sunshine warrior
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189 |
With E. B. White's Charlotte's Web you can't go wrong. Perfect for the 8 year old. The 12 year old might feel a little "too old" for the tome, but I secretly read it at 12 because I missed it when I was "younger" (secretly from my friends, that is), and I loved it!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
Pooh-Bah
|
OP
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819 |
I do not know the kids and can only hope that they are reading at age level. Thanks for the suggestions.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 428
addict
|
addict
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 428 |
For the boy, I'd recommend Daniel Pinkwater. Some of his stuff is more for high school kids, but all of it would be great if he is at all sophisticated. His stuff is hilarious, thought-provoking, and wonderfully subversive. A more recent recommendation would be Michael Chabon's Summerland -- a fantastic novel about friendship, family, tradition, magic and baseball. Again, it may be a bit intimidating for a 12-year-old, but if he could handle Harry Potter, this will be no problem.
For the girl, I have to recommend Cat, What Is That? by Tony Johnston (Author), Wendell Minor (Illustrator). It is a beautiful poem about just what a cat is, with passages like:
It is the Slink. It is the Sneak on velvet toes stalking the Squeak.
The words are rivalled by the amazing paintings, which could carry the book all by themselves. I'll look through my daughter's bookshelf tonight for more.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230 |
Well, I was almost an eight year old boy by the time I finished LOTR for the first time, and had started on Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, so there might be a couple of options.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
Max, don't skew the curve any more than you absolutely *have to. Alex, since The Cat in the Hat has become Disney-pervasive (well, even if it hadn't), I'd recommend that and maybe another Seuss book for the 8-year-old. For the boy, maybe the Harry Potter books? Anything by Daniel Pinkwater, as FlatL suggested, is a great choice, too.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230 |
I second the Seuss recommendation - The Lorax should be mandatory (except in those states of the US where it is proscribed).
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,580
Members9,187
|
Most Online3,341 Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
0 members (),
332
guests, and
0
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|