Top Ten Tuesdays is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This weeks it's books that teens should be required to read. I took this literally, as in I think schools should put these books on their lists and make kids read them in a classroom setting. If I were doing books not to be read in school, I think a few things would be different.
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo: While it may not be the easiest read, Les Mis has some important points about morality, judgement, and government, wrapped up in a darn good story. Also, having read this made it a lot easier to learn about the French Revolutions in History.
Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens: This actually was part of my required reading, for sophomore year, I think. For one thing, though I may not seek out Dickens, you cannot deny that he is a powerful writer. I also think that Tale of Two Cities and Les Mis should be read in the same year, for comparison.
Looking for Alaska by John Green: I thought it would be very hard to pick one John Green book. While An Abundance of Katherines is my favorite, I choose Alaska quite easily because it's the 'grown-up' version of a book that I think should be required reading for kids, so it's like two stages of the same story. (I won't say which kids book I'm thinking of, as it gives away an important spoiler.)
The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley: Outlaws has a pretty wide appeal; it's a classic tale retold in a light that grabs the attention of romantics and the rebellious, and the basic twistedness of the Robin Hood morality would be fun for discussions.
Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare: I like Shakespeare okay, but I feel like more teens would like him if we got to read the fun plays, like Taming of the Shrew and Midsummer Night's, as well as the tragedies and historicals. Also, Midsummer would be wonderfully fun for acting projects - Julius Caesar was okay, but I'd love a chance to play Puck.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: Beautiful, unique, and compelling, the least of this book's charms is that it'll help you care about history. One of the best things about this one - it can be read in conjecture with another common required reading book, The Diary of Anne Frank. (I'm a firm believer in reading more than one book on a subject, if you haven't noticed.)
A Separate Peace by John Knowles: Another that was actually on my required reading. A few kids in my class really enjoyed this, and the discussions about motive and friendship got pretty lively, so I think it's a good book to get teens talking.
Rumble Fish by S. E. Hinton: To go with the above, another book about betrayal with a bit more of a contemporary setting and attitude. Also, I'm sure you could spend weeks trying to root out all the symbolism and references used in this book. I understand why The Outsiders is the most popular of her books, but for classroom purposes I think Rumble Fish is great for discussion, even though it's harder to grasp. And it's short, which is appreciated in school assignments.
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton: If I hadn't had to read this book going into seventh grade, I'm not quite sure I would've written my first manuscript that year. It really turned me into a reader and got me interested in the authors behind the words for the first time. Everyone should read the Outsiders.
Only one left? I guess I'll choose The Best-Loved Folktales of the World by Joanna Cole. This compilation of folk and fairy tales has a bunch of great stories, both familiar and obscure. The reason I chose this over other fairytale books is that it has the greatest mix of origins I have ever seen in such a compilation, as far as countries go. The lack of world lit in my English class has always kind of bugged me. And besides, I think teens need to realize that just because Disney strips them down doesn't mean fairy tales don't have things to offer as you grow older (not that I have or ever will outgrow Disney.)
And that's my list! Did you read any books for school that you really loved or hated? Any that you wish you'd read? Comment or leave a link to your own post.
Midsummer's is my favorite Shakespeare as well. Although parts of Romeo and Juliet are really funny, I think teens could use more exposure to the comedies as well.
ReplyDeleteCome visit me at The Scarlet Letter.
+JMJ+
ReplyDeleteA Midsummer Night's Dream was my Shakespeare pick, too! =) I agree that we need more of the Bard's Comedies in the classroom, and not just all those Tragedies and Histories all the time.
Les Miserables is a more ambitious choice. I read an abridged translation on my own in high school and liked it. How nice it would have been to have studied it properly . . . but I don't think French history and culture was a priority in my school. =P
In general, though, I think students should read at least one really good Historical novel.
My mother insisted I read Les Mis - I think I may have been twelve - but I never did get to study it in high school. I was very disappointed. Historicals are fantastic because they're often far-reaching. You can track how people have reacted and responded to them over the years.
ReplyDeleteI didn't read Les Mis until I was at University (and I did it for fun!) but boy, every word of those thousand-odd pages changed my life. Good choice.
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