There is a lot of great literature out there. There is also a lot of sleaze as well. I have to admit that for me it has gotten to a point that I am pretty afraid to buy a book written for adults, because so many of them have...adult content, that is not the kind of content this particular adult wants to read. Its not just romance novels that are full of sleaze now, and even books that are not full of sleaze have an awful lot of swearing. Personally, if I am not going to watch an R rated movie (which I won't...no matter how good someone says it is) I am not going to want to read a book that has the F word in every chapter. Its bad enough to have to hear people saying it at the grocery store, I don't want to be reading it on purpose.
I have taken up collecting Newberry Award authors. Even then, I am less than thrilled with some of those. I do tend to read books from the children's or young adult sections of the Library. I am not ashamed of it. Occasionally, if it is recommended to me, and I have enough information on a book to know that it is not overly sleazy, I will read a book written for grown ups, but that is rare. This list is one that I would feel okay letting my kids read, so here goes.
Here is the list...in no particular order...
Robin McKinley: One of my all time favorite books is The Blue Sword. Other books of Robin McKinley's that I enjoy are The Hero and the Crown, and Spindle's End (a retooling of the Sleeping Beauty story). I also have a collection of her short stories entitled A Knot in the Grain. She has several other books that I am interested in getting.
Gail Carson Levine: Is a wonderful writer, whose book Ella Enchanted is nothing close to the Disney movie of the same title. So if you saw the movie and hated it, please give the book a chance. Disney has a habit of remaking stories in their own image, and they took a wonderful book and really dumbed it up. Another of her books that I love is The Two Princesses of Bamarre. She has also written several short books that can be bought separately or in a collection of stories that are her versions of various fairy tales. They are called The Princess Tales.
Jean Craighead George: Writes wonderful books that have a great nature element, and survival and love for the outdoors. My favorites of hers are Julie of the Wolves and its sequels including Julie and Julie's Wolf Pack; My Side of the Mountain, and Tree Castle Island. Her books are wonderful reads for animal and nature lovers.
Suzanne Collins: I am in the middle of reading her Gregor Overlander series about a little boy who discovers an underground world beneath New York City and has many adventures there. So far I have the first three of five books in the series, but have loved every one of them so far. I recommend starting with Gregor Overlander and continuing on from there.
Susan Cooper: My favorites of hers are the books in The Dark is Rising sequence. They include Over Sea, Under Stone; The Dark is Rising, Greenwitch, The Grey King, and Silver on the Tree. They have roots in Arthurian legend, and I have read them multiple times. I am currently working on reading her book Green Boy as well.
Lloyd Alexander: The Prydain Chronicles. I was first introduced to Lloyd Alexander's work in the fourth grade when my teacher read The Book of Three out loud to us. I checked out the rest of the series from the library and read them in Grade school. I now have the complete set in my library. They include The Book of Three, The Black Cauldron (again...not quite the same as the Disney movie), The Castle of Llyr, Taran Wanderer, and The High King. I also read his book Time Cat when I was still in school and enjoyed it.
Gary Paulsen: Again...survival stories abound in his works. Favorites are Hatchet and related books. The Voyage of the Frog was also a good read.
Jane Langton: The Hall Family Chronicles. These include The Diamond in the Window, The Astonishing Stereoscope, The Swing in the Summerhouse, The Fledgling, The Fragile Flag, and Time Bike. I have read those six, and was very pleased to find out that a seventh book has been released called The Mysterious Circus. I will have to check it out!
Eoin Colfer: I have enjoyed reading the Artemis Fowl books. Some people compare them to Harry Potter but to me the only thing they really have in common with that series is that the main character is a teen aged boy. In addition to all of the Artemis Fowl books, I have also read The Supernaturalist and enjoyed it.
Cornelia Funke: I have enjoyed every book I have read of hers. Inkeart, Inkspell, The Thief Lord, and Dragonrider.
Other books I have enjoyed reading include:
Magyk by Angie Sage
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
Enchantress from the Stars by Sylvia Engdahl
Peter and the Starcatchers and Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson.
Peter Pan in Scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean (an authorized sequel to Peter Pan)
The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw
The Ugly Princess and the Wise Fool by Margaret Gray
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett (a great mystery story involving art)
I could go on and on with books that I enjoy, but I think that I will stop for now. We have more than 1200 books in our library (although many of them are picture books, and early reader books) but I am always looking for a good read. I would love to hear about your favorite non-sleazy books so let me know!
I have taken up collecting Newberry Award authors. Even then, I am less than thrilled with some of those. I do tend to read books from the children's or young adult sections of the Library. I am not ashamed of it. Occasionally, if it is recommended to me, and I have enough information on a book to know that it is not overly sleazy, I will read a book written for grown ups, but that is rare. This list is one that I would feel okay letting my kids read, so here goes.
Here is the list...in no particular order...
Robin McKinley: One of my all time favorite books is The Blue Sword. Other books of Robin McKinley's that I enjoy are The Hero and the Crown, and Spindle's End (a retooling of the Sleeping Beauty story). I also have a collection of her short stories entitled A Knot in the Grain. She has several other books that I am interested in getting.
Gail Carson Levine: Is a wonderful writer, whose book Ella Enchanted is nothing close to the Disney movie of the same title. So if you saw the movie and hated it, please give the book a chance. Disney has a habit of remaking stories in their own image, and they took a wonderful book and really dumbed it up. Another of her books that I love is The Two Princesses of Bamarre. She has also written several short books that can be bought separately or in a collection of stories that are her versions of various fairy tales. They are called The Princess Tales.
Jean Craighead George: Writes wonderful books that have a great nature element, and survival and love for the outdoors. My favorites of hers are Julie of the Wolves and its sequels including Julie and Julie's Wolf Pack; My Side of the Mountain, and Tree Castle Island. Her books are wonderful reads for animal and nature lovers.
Suzanne Collins: I am in the middle of reading her Gregor Overlander series about a little boy who discovers an underground world beneath New York City and has many adventures there. So far I have the first three of five books in the series, but have loved every one of them so far. I recommend starting with Gregor Overlander and continuing on from there.
Susan Cooper: My favorites of hers are the books in The Dark is Rising sequence. They include Over Sea, Under Stone; The Dark is Rising, Greenwitch, The Grey King, and Silver on the Tree. They have roots in Arthurian legend, and I have read them multiple times. I am currently working on reading her book Green Boy as well.
Lloyd Alexander: The Prydain Chronicles. I was first introduced to Lloyd Alexander's work in the fourth grade when my teacher read The Book of Three out loud to us. I checked out the rest of the series from the library and read them in Grade school. I now have the complete set in my library. They include The Book of Three, The Black Cauldron (again...not quite the same as the Disney movie), The Castle of Llyr, Taran Wanderer, and The High King. I also read his book Time Cat when I was still in school and enjoyed it.
Gary Paulsen: Again...survival stories abound in his works. Favorites are Hatchet and related books. The Voyage of the Frog was also a good read.
Jane Langton: The Hall Family Chronicles. These include The Diamond in the Window, The Astonishing Stereoscope, The Swing in the Summerhouse, The Fledgling, The Fragile Flag, and Time Bike. I have read those six, and was very pleased to find out that a seventh book has been released called The Mysterious Circus. I will have to check it out!
Eoin Colfer: I have enjoyed reading the Artemis Fowl books. Some people compare them to Harry Potter but to me the only thing they really have in common with that series is that the main character is a teen aged boy. In addition to all of the Artemis Fowl books, I have also read The Supernaturalist and enjoyed it.
Cornelia Funke: I have enjoyed every book I have read of hers. Inkeart, Inkspell, The Thief Lord, and Dragonrider.
Other books I have enjoyed reading include:
Magyk by Angie Sage
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
Enchantress from the Stars by Sylvia Engdahl
Peter and the Starcatchers and Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson.
Peter Pan in Scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean (an authorized sequel to Peter Pan)
The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw
The Ugly Princess and the Wise Fool by Margaret Gray
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett (a great mystery story involving art)
I could go on and on with books that I enjoy, but I think that I will stop for now. We have more than 1200 books in our library (although many of them are picture books, and early reader books) but I am always looking for a good read. I would love to hear about your favorite non-sleazy books so let me know!
3 comments:
I remember my teacher reading to me from John Christopher. The first book in his trilogy was The White Mountains and ended with The Pool of Fire. Very good. I'm not a fan of science fiction or fantasy, but I somehow really enjoyed it.
I have read all of the Robin M. books, but I don't think I have read any of these others...what do you think of the Unfortuanate series (what happened to my spell checker???) What books are your sons reading now? Mine love mysteries. Hardy boys (not the new ones, but the old series) and The alphabet mysteries. Box Car Children....
My oldest is reading the Artemis Fowl books, and Harry Potter of course. He also likes Calvin and Hobbes, and he will still read things like Bailey School kids, A to Z mysteries, Boxcar children and he does like the Unfortunate event books. I only read the first book of that series, and I liked it okay, it just didn't really capture my attention much, so I never read any more of them. #2 is currently into Star Wars young apprentice books, and outdoor adventure books like Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. He also likes Bailey School kids and etc.
#3 likes reading Junie B. Jones and starwars books.
#4 and #5 will take anything we will read to them.
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