I adore this. I also have a book club with my mom ❤️ we started it a few years ago during her chemo treatment, and it’s still going strong (and she’s doing well!)
Great idea and tips. My children are already grown but I have one grandson. Nineteen months= Good Night Moon. Does that old lady represent some aspect of fleeting time? And why is she eating mush?
I have another grandchild on the way. It would be great to read books with them as they get older. So thanks for the idea and tips.
This is an amazing endeavor you have embarked on . It a sad fact that you have to do this in America for the children to progress with the classics. Hopefully they will fall in love with them and the word will spread.
I love this! I have two middle school boys and, like you, have felt the need to supplement their literary education. I started by volunteering to run book discussions at their class and was shocked at how thoughtful they were (see underestimating your kids) and how ready they were to dive into Jane Eyre with me. I’ve tried to keep it going by assigning them a book list challenge over the summer, which is going well, but I’ve been reluctant to actually try a discussion. Your post is inspiring!
Jane Eyre is such a good one to middle school and high school. Her sense of self, determination and integrity. I reread it every year so they wouldn’t go for it. ( Mom, you’d cry the whole time. You love that book too much )
Luckily I had not yet read it, due to having been a Jane Austen fan all my life (still am) and having been sorely disappointed at my single foray into Brontë world with Wuthering Heights. Anyway, I had just never felt that I needed Jane Eyre in my life, but I’m so glad we got to read it for the first time together and it is one of my new absolute favorites of all time. I like the idea of having them pick. Did you give them a list to pick from, or how did you establish criteria?
I too am big Austen fan and not a fan of Wuthering. We chose simply by what came up in conversation through out the year...."Wouldn't it be amazing to read all of Brothers K?...Maybe we should do an American book since we've read British and Russian." I wonder what next year will hold. I hope they continue with it!
How about a Danish one? I read it a long time ago, but The Boys from St. Petri, by Bjarne Reuter is available in a well-written English translation. It’s about two brothers and their friends becoming involved in opposing the Nazis in WW II Denmark. It’s not quite Dostoevsky, but it’s very emotionally intense in places (though not overly violent). I still remember a line when the younger brother is thinking about how other people believed he might feel overshadowed by his old brother. His response was, “I wasn’t standing in his shadow. I was standing in his light.” Spoiler Alert—this is not a happy-ending kind of book, but it is inspiring.
Or how about Italian? I found that Italo Calivno’s Baron in the Trees worked well with high school students. Calvino was nearly a Nobel Prize winner, who died during the year he was considered to be a likely recipient. The book is an example of magical realism (the events are possible, unlike in a fantasy book, but highly unlikely). The MC is the son in a wildly dysfunctional noble family. At one point, the MC climbs a tree in protest over something (I forget exactly what.) He never comes down again, though he moves from tree to tree in the large forest nearby. He falls in love, inherits his father’s title, fights in wars—lives his whole life in the trees. There’s some sexual innuendo but I think otherwise nothing that would be an issue.
Both of those are shorter than what you've been reading. If you need something else to fill in, how about a selection of Greek tragedies? (There are many more characters, but Greek tragedies were actually performed by only two or three actors, plus chorus, so they lend themselves to small group readings.
I love all these recommendations. The Danish one sounds so my style. I don't think I could wait a year to read that. Putting it on my list. They have read much Greek and Roman mythologies, a play would be a good idea. Who knows what will surface next summer!
I've read Moby Dick three times. What a life-changing book! And that particular edition might be my all-time favorite. I hope this gives you a rich rich summer! ❤️📚🐳
Great idea. When both of my daughters were younger, we read and discussed the same books. I believe all parents should read with their children. I read The Hobbit to both girls when they were five.
WOW! Loved this piece. I am past having young children and was blessed with a son that enjoyed reading. This would have been a fantastic way to do it together.
This is amazing and makes me so excited/hopeful for the future. I always get excited when I share books with my Mom even now, so having the hope to do so with my kids when they’re older is wonderful
I adore this. I also have a book club with my mom ❤️ we started it a few years ago during her chemo treatment, and it’s still going strong (and she’s doing well!)
How beautiful!
Great idea and tips. My children are already grown but I have one grandson. Nineteen months= Good Night Moon. Does that old lady represent some aspect of fleeting time? And why is she eating mush?
I have another grandchild on the way. It would be great to read books with them as they get older. So thanks for the idea and tips.
I like to read Good Night Moon to MYSELF after a tough day.
I like to read "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" by Judith Viorst. Sometimes, moving to Australia is the only option. 😆
This is an amazing endeavor you have embarked on . It a sad fact that you have to do this in America for the children to progress with the classics. Hopefully they will fall in love with them and the word will spread.
I love this! I have two middle school boys and, like you, have felt the need to supplement their literary education. I started by volunteering to run book discussions at their class and was shocked at how thoughtful they were (see underestimating your kids) and how ready they were to dive into Jane Eyre with me. I’ve tried to keep it going by assigning them a book list challenge over the summer, which is going well, but I’ve been reluctant to actually try a discussion. Your post is inspiring!
Jane Eyre is such a good one to middle school and high school. Her sense of self, determination and integrity. I reread it every year so they wouldn’t go for it. ( Mom, you’d cry the whole time. You love that book too much )
Luckily I had not yet read it, due to having been a Jane Austen fan all my life (still am) and having been sorely disappointed at my single foray into Brontë world with Wuthering Heights. Anyway, I had just never felt that I needed Jane Eyre in my life, but I’m so glad we got to read it for the first time together and it is one of my new absolute favorites of all time. I like the idea of having them pick. Did you give them a list to pick from, or how did you establish criteria?
I too am big Austen fan and not a fan of Wuthering. We chose simply by what came up in conversation through out the year...."Wouldn't it be amazing to read all of Brothers K?...Maybe we should do an American book since we've read British and Russian." I wonder what next year will hold. I hope they continue with it!
Me too! I hope you post about how it goes 😊
Interesting to read and actionable (if I had kids).
Great job picking up on what your sons were looking for and finding ways to give it to them. The best reading experiences are so often organic.
Thank you! I look forward to it each summer now. What’s next? A French book?
How about a Danish one? I read it a long time ago, but The Boys from St. Petri, by Bjarne Reuter is available in a well-written English translation. It’s about two brothers and their friends becoming involved in opposing the Nazis in WW II Denmark. It’s not quite Dostoevsky, but it’s very emotionally intense in places (though not overly violent). I still remember a line when the younger brother is thinking about how other people believed he might feel overshadowed by his old brother. His response was, “I wasn’t standing in his shadow. I was standing in his light.” Spoiler Alert—this is not a happy-ending kind of book, but it is inspiring.
Or how about Italian? I found that Italo Calivno’s Baron in the Trees worked well with high school students. Calvino was nearly a Nobel Prize winner, who died during the year he was considered to be a likely recipient. The book is an example of magical realism (the events are possible, unlike in a fantasy book, but highly unlikely). The MC is the son in a wildly dysfunctional noble family. At one point, the MC climbs a tree in protest over something (I forget exactly what.) He never comes down again, though he moves from tree to tree in the large forest nearby. He falls in love, inherits his father’s title, fights in wars—lives his whole life in the trees. There’s some sexual innuendo but I think otherwise nothing that would be an issue.
Both of those are shorter than what you've been reading. If you need something else to fill in, how about a selection of Greek tragedies? (There are many more characters, but Greek tragedies were actually performed by only two or three actors, plus chorus, so they lend themselves to small group readings.
I love all these recommendations. The Danish one sounds so my style. I don't think I could wait a year to read that. Putting it on my list. They have read much Greek and Roman mythologies, a play would be a good idea. Who knows what will surface next summer!
I've read Moby Dick three times. What a life-changing book! And that particular edition might be my all-time favorite. I hope this gives you a rich rich summer! ❤️📚🐳
I’m a sucker for purty covers
This is really great!
I can’t ❤️ this post enough. I wish I had my own kids to do this with!
Great idea. When both of my daughters were younger, we read and discussed the same books. I believe all parents should read with their children. I read The Hobbit to both girls when they were five.
How inspiring!
WOW! Loved this piece. I am past having young children and was blessed with a son that enjoyed reading. This would have been a fantastic way to do it together.
This is amazing and makes me so excited/hopeful for the future. I always get excited when I share books with my Mom even now, so having the hope to do so with my kids when they’re older is wonderful
@Shemaiah Gonzalez this is the best!
Absolutely loved this idea - and seeing how enjoyable and doable such things really can be!
This is great!
I love this! I'm only just a tiny bit envious of your kids. Maybe I should do this to convert my mom into becoming a bookworm with me.