Children's Book Blegging . . .

I know a little boy who has developed some bad habits by reading funny books his father got him without thinking about the consequences of said little boy emulating the behavior of the main character.

We don't need to go into who the boy is or who his father is.  Let's just say I have a friend!

I would very much like to buy this little boy some books featuring characters who are admirable and who would be great for him to emulate.  Any good recommendations?

Comments

[Wonders for Oyarsa]

Heh. I'm having to heartwrenchingly confiscate Calvin and Hobbes from my absurdly precocious five-year-old. It gives him way too many ideas...

Hunter, have you had the chance to stumble on Howard Pyle? I'm really really enjoying him right now. Right now we are working through "Men of Iron" and I've got all four volumes of King Arthur ready for his Christmas gift. He also did the difinitive Robin Hood.

[Barry Woodward]

If he likes mysteries, Hardy Boys and Boxcar Children series are good.

[Kirsten]

You don't say how old this little fellow is, but there's Matt Christopher's short books about boy's sports books like Shortstop from Tokyo or Baseball Flyhawk if he's fairly young; John and Patricia Beatty's Jayhawker! (any of this couple's books of historical adventure are excellent) if he's older, as well as Jerry Spinelli's Holes and Maniac McGee.

Comics: give him Tintin, of course!

[Respectabiggle]

Define "little boy"? Tolkien & Lewis are easy ones, of course, but my kids really liked the "Little Britches" series by Ralph Moody - great stories of the American West in the early 20th Century.

Also, check out the "1,000 Good Books" at http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/celoop/1000.html

[Hunter Baker]

This little boy is seven years old.

[Kamilla]

Then, definitely, the Narnia books - so long as he is reminded not to immitate Eustace, right?

Kamilla

[JackOfClubs]

The Narnia books might be a little advanced for a 7 year old. I don't think I started them until I was in 5th or 6th grade. At that age, I would think the Frog and Toad books by Lobel and the more advanced Dr. Seuss books might be a better fit. Also the original Winnie the Pooh (NOT the Disney version) and the Velveteen Rabbit.

I would normally recommend the Beverly Cleary books, but not in this case. Many of the characters do exhibit bad behavior which might be counterproductive. On the whole the characters are wholesome and tend to learn their lessons after getting into scrapes, but that might be easily missed without active parental participation.

[Buttercup67k]

I mostly read to my children at this age, here's some we liked: Dominic by William Stieg is good. Harry Potter (at least the first 2 for this age). Freddy the Detective by Walter Brooks. Some of the Beverly Clearly books featuring Henry or Ralph the mouse. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. My son loved a version of the saga of Odysseus by Mary Pope Osborne, too (he never cared for the Magic Tree House series, and neither did I). He liked Dr. Dolittle, too. I also read versions of Tom Sawyer, Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe and White Fang, which he enjoyed.

A lot depends on reading level. Most of these I read to him and now I am reading them to my younger son. He read the Mary Pope Osborne books on his own as well as a series called Secrets of Droon by Tony Abbott. I mostly read books above his level out loud.

[Buttercup67k]

Also, you might try the Famous Five series by Enid Blyton, its a good adventure series.

[Kamilla]

Oh yes - the Famous Five!

Kamilla

[Stonechurch]

"Adventures in the Big Thicket" by Ken Gire. Product description from Amazon: "Follows the adventures of a group of small animals living in a bayou in East Texas. Each adventure concludes with a Bible verse." I don't think there is one particular character for your son - I mean your friend's son - to emulate but there's a moral to each short story. It's no longer in print, but used copies on Amazon start at a dime (plus $3.99 S&H)

[pilgrim kate]

Our son was captivated by the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome.

[Judy K. Warner]

William Bennett, The Children's Book of Heroes and The Children's Book of Virtues. Also Our Country's Founders.

Andrew Lang's Fairy Stories, a series whose books are named for colors, e.g. The Green Fairy Book. These are not about fairies so much as folk tales, often with a strong moral underpinning without being preachy.

George MacDonald, The Princess and Curdie and The Princess and the Goblin.

Kate Seredy, The Good Master.

Historical novels. When he's older he'll probably like G.A. Henty, a late 19th-century author, wrote many books, each featuring a boy having adventures in a historical period. There are a number of age-appropriate books set in American historical periods, but the only ones I can think of right now are Guns for General Washington and Johnny Tremain.

Some of the books mentioned are listed and linked here. You can read them online and get an idea of whether you want to buy them.

The Laura Ingalls Wilder "Little House" books are about girls, but are very good stories that boys might enjoy. One in that series is Farmer Boy, which is about the childhood of Wilder's husband, and boys would definitely like it.

I'd also suggest finding children's biographies of famous men, making sure that they are written before 1970. There's a series I read when I was young, Childhood of Famous Americans. These books are available now, but they have more recent dates so I don't know if they've been updated to suit the feminist book editors who took over in the early 1970s.

Which brings me to the question of the sea change in children's literature. If this little boy is being given books written after 1970, it's no wonder he is being influenced badly. Most recent children's books feature rebelliousness without redemption, fake realism, and trivial themes centered around the protagonist's feelings. Many of the older books have been reprinted, though, so as long as you check the date of original publication you have a good guide.

[Judy K. Warner]

I forgot to add that there are probably some good lives of saints for young people, though I can't think of one offhand. I'm sure somebody here would have a suggestion.

[Clifford Simon]

I grew up on D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths. The illustrations alone are mesmerizing.

For the boy who likes machines, try the illustrated volume called The way things work. If that one gives any boy any ideas, it'll be that he wants to build levers.

I read much of Isaac Asimov's _non_-fiction, essay collections like "Asimov On Numbers." See the customer review here on Amazon. I may have been a bit older then seven, or advanced for my age. (And parents should screen this one--- I remember it containing an immoral tangent or two.)

In the Bible department, you must see this storybook by Madeline L'Engle, illustrated by Giotto (!): The Glorious Impossible. Another one to buy just for the illustrations.

Madeline L'Engle's children's classic "A Wrinkle in Time" is also worth it.

[Philippa]

The Serendipity Books. by Stephen Cosgrove.

[gk]

These always sounded good, and seem they might apply here..."Treasury of Classic Children's Literature":

Link is in the URL spot, also cheaper on amazon.

[Emily-Rose]

Thorton W. Burgess wrote some really fun, southern-style animal adventures.

[Lucy]

My eight-year-old is thoroughly enjoying old Tom Swift books. He also read all the Narnia books and most of the Hardy Boys. He also liked Encyclopedia Brown. For shorter books, he's enjoyed some saint books, particularly ones about warrior saints. He's quite fond of St. Sergius of Radonezh. He liked the abridged version of The Red Badge of Courage. He also loved the Little House on the Prairie books (we read them out loud) and still enjoys a good Winnie the Pooh story. He likes the D'Aulaires' books and the Bennett's books for children listed above. He's also liked biographies.

[MRS]

As popular as it might be, A Wrinkle in Time is a terrible recommendation.

An excellent resource is Michael O'Brien's "A Landscape with Dragons" (Ignatius Press). It is an extended argument about what kinds of literature are most suitable for developing the soul and world-view of a young person, with a particular emphasis on analyzing fantasy works.

But more to the point of the original request: The first part of the book discusses a general approach to literature, but at the end of this book is a list--90 pages worth--of specific recommendations. It starts with picture books and runs all the way to adulthood.

[Mrs. B]

I recommend that you invest in Tending the Heart of Virtue, by Vigen Guroian for your own benefit. The subtitle is "How Classic Stories Awaken a Child's Moral Imagination."

I also recommend the original Bambi, by Felix Salten. Your little boy may be too young to read this on his own, but you can read it to him.

I'd like to point out that a child's listening level is usually several years ahead of his reading level, so don't be afraid of starting to read Bambi, the Narnia books or The Hobbit aloud to your seven year old. Our son is eleven now, and we still read aloud to him. In fact, my husband and I read aloud to each other.

[Firinnteine]

A precocious seven-year-old can handle most of the stuff listed above. :-) Although you should only get the original Boxcar Children books, the first 19 volumes. The later additions (not by the same author) are sub-par.

I second the votes for G. MacDonald -- besides the Curdie books (which are essential), his other children's fairy tales are excellent. (If he likes Narnia, give him The Princess and the Goblin too.)

Stevenson definitely -- Treasure Island, Kidnapped -- these might be a little old, but not much, and certainly acceptable for read-alouds. I also really enjoyed Kipling's Mowgli stories, and the Just So Stories are wonderful out loud. Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer books are good (wait a couple years on Huckleberry Finn), and so is My Side of the Mountain.

But perhaps my chief contribution to this list is THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS. My parents gave me a copy of this when I was, curiously enough, seven years old. It remains one of my absolute favorite books.

[Juli]

The Wind in the Willows, absolutely - a read-aloud, at this age, and one to return to again and again.

At that age (and well beyond), I loved the Mary Poppins books ... she is not a role model in the sense that it would be presumptuous to think of emulating *her* (sniff).

Understood Betsy (maybe for a somewhat older child). Little Men (ditto).

Fairy tales, fairy tales, fairy tales ...