This is great! I'm definitely printing the list for our next library trip. I cannot keep up with my oldest, and some of my favorites are not always his. They just listened to "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" and loved it. Another recent favorite was "From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler". My oldest has started reading one of the Redwall books to me out loud, and he's actually so good at doing the voices. It's pretty amazing.
WOW! I am so honored that this list was worth printing.
The other day, Brian Jacques's voice started following my own book as I was writing. It was simultaneously spooky and amazing. If your oldest is anywhere near Brian Jacques level, he can start taking that show on the road.
thanks for the list! Have a 9-year old boy (plus 11- and 9-year old girls), and I'm always looking for book suggestions. Lewis & Tolkien are staples of course, and we've read through the Chronicles of Prydain. when he was younger he loved the children's abridged version of Treasure Island, and I wondered the other day if he might be up for the "regular" version.
Of all the books here, I might pick Treasure Island as one of the most volatile. Some boys stop after the first chapter, and others can't put it down from page one. If he can tackle Tolkien, Stevenson should be well within their wheelhouse though. In the next few years, he might be ready for Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde's spookiness, and Kidnapped could be another book to try. I'd always love to hear updates on how they go.
James, have you ever heard of the Outlaws of Ravenhurst? It’s a historical fiction about a boy who was smuggled from Scotland to Maryland to avoid the Reformation in Scotland, and who then returns to rescue his Catholic parents from his Protestant uncle; definitely would fit in on this list!
YES! I LOVED IT. Our 6th grade class reads that as one of their literature books. It didn't quite make the list because I was trying to keep the topics more interdenominational (aside maybe from Tom Playfair). Expect a HEAVY on the Catholic side list of books for boys and girls as well as exclusively fun reads list upcoming (all for younger age groups).
That said, all of these books were picked because they support the more Tokienian mission of creating a Catholic imagination in myth while not directly addressing Catholicism. Like I imagine you are, I tend toward wearing my Catholicism on my sleeve and want children to have DEEP Catholic literature addressing topics we encounter in our faith, but there is true merit in books that tangentially support our Catholicism through truth, goodness, and beauty. They form the framework for our Christian imagination to live within while also delighting the mind. Knowing about Jesus's resurrection from the dead without knowing the more earthy experience of grain being planted and bearing fruit would ultimately strip his mission of its universal character. Maybe you don't struggle with that temptation, but I have to have a battle within myself every time my mind entertains the question of why we read anything other than the bible in the first place. Here you have the sparknotes.
Thank you so much for this James!! I’m so delighted to see many classics I’d loved as a child and forgotten about, and many I’ve never read.
This is great! I'm definitely printing the list for our next library trip. I cannot keep up with my oldest, and some of my favorites are not always his. They just listened to "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" and loved it. Another recent favorite was "From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler". My oldest has started reading one of the Redwall books to me out loud, and he's actually so good at doing the voices. It's pretty amazing.
WOW! I am so honored that this list was worth printing.
The other day, Brian Jacques's voice started following my own book as I was writing. It was simultaneously spooky and amazing. If your oldest is anywhere near Brian Jacques level, he can start taking that show on the road.
thanks for the list! Have a 9-year old boy (plus 11- and 9-year old girls), and I'm always looking for book suggestions. Lewis & Tolkien are staples of course, and we've read through the Chronicles of Prydain. when he was younger he loved the children's abridged version of Treasure Island, and I wondered the other day if he might be up for the "regular" version.
My boys and I listened to an audiobook, I think if yours have read or been read Lewis and Tolkien they could handle the unabridged TI!
Of all the books here, I might pick Treasure Island as one of the most volatile. Some boys stop after the first chapter, and others can't put it down from page one. If he can tackle Tolkien, Stevenson should be well within their wheelhouse though. In the next few years, he might be ready for Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde's spookiness, and Kidnapped could be another book to try. I'd always love to hear updates on how they go.
What a great list!! I'm bookmarking!
This is incredible. So well done! This could cover Birthday, Christmas, and Easter for years.
I love these book lists!!! Now one for 8 year old boys!!!
Thank you for this list! I can’t wait to share these with my godson.
James, have you ever heard of the Outlaws of Ravenhurst? It’s a historical fiction about a boy who was smuggled from Scotland to Maryland to avoid the Reformation in Scotland, and who then returns to rescue his Catholic parents from his Protestant uncle; definitely would fit in on this list!
YES! I LOVED IT. Our 6th grade class reads that as one of their literature books. It didn't quite make the list because I was trying to keep the topics more interdenominational (aside maybe from Tom Playfair). Expect a HEAVY on the Catholic side list of books for boys and girls as well as exclusively fun reads list upcoming (all for younger age groups).
I didn’t read it until I was in my twenties and it made me ache for a proper Catholic childhood 😂 Looking forward to that list!
That said, all of these books were picked because they support the more Tokienian mission of creating a Catholic imagination in myth while not directly addressing Catholicism. Like I imagine you are, I tend toward wearing my Catholicism on my sleeve and want children to have DEEP Catholic literature addressing topics we encounter in our faith, but there is true merit in books that tangentially support our Catholicism through truth, goodness, and beauty. They form the framework for our Christian imagination to live within while also delighting the mind. Knowing about Jesus's resurrection from the dead without knowing the more earthy experience of grain being planted and bearing fruit would ultimately strip his mission of its universal character. Maybe you don't struggle with that temptation, but I have to have a battle within myself every time my mind entertains the question of why we read anything other than the bible in the first place. Here you have the sparknotes.