"My [son] is in [sixth] grade but supposedly reads at the eighth-grade level. Some teachers say it is hard to find fiction that is content-appropriate for younger readers who are able to read above their expected age and grade. Recently I have been trying to supply my [son] with some classic and/or older (pre-1960s), best-loved novels to read in place of the too-easy, age-inappropriate, or scuzzy "contemporary" novels supplied by teachers or libraries."
I stumbled upon these words from an article during my search to find a list of classic literature for Julian. I immediately started "Mm-hmm"ing and sucking my teeth.
{Does anyone know what that means? Guess what? I READ IT IN A BOOK. It's the sound when you suck your tongue away from your 2 front teeth, also written as "tsk tsk" I bet 99% of you just tried it.}
Back to my original thought. I am so tired of these trashy, easy-read books that stuff the shelves of the library. It's like the tabloids and romance novels at the supermarket checkout--but for preteens!! I might as well blow Marshmallow Fluff into Julian's ear canal.
Don't get me wrong. I adore the fact that he is such an excellent, avid, and advanced reader. I love that he'll pickup a book when he's bored, and pours over the ones he likes. I love having him settle in with a book before he goes to bed.
But I've made a resolve to counter-balance the BCB's (brain-candy books) with a medicinal dose of classic literature. Julian wasn't too warm with the idea, so I decided to start with something easy like Edgar Allen Poe. Kidding~I'm kidding, people. I started with E.B. White's Trumpet of the Swan. After reading the first few pages, he said to me, "Mom, is this book exciting? I mean, does anything at all exciting happen in it??" It was a desperate plea from a BCB addict, desperately hoping that he'd get his fix via Louis the Trumpeter Swan.
I thought I was clever when I responded "Co ho! Co ho!" I thought it would intrigue him as to what this phrase meant, and perhaps he should dive into the book to find out. The plan backfired, as you probably surmised.
"MO-OOOOOOM!"
Stay tuned next week when I hand him Little Women.
