M.C. Higgins, the Great
by Virginia Hamilton
Age: 9 +
Interests: nature, family history, mountain life, superstition, coming of age stories
M.C. Higgins, the Great
03 Oct 2018 Leave a comment
in Books, books 9+, Uncategorized Tags: coming of age, country life, family, family history, mountains, nature, superstition
Moon Over Manifest
25 Sep 2017 Leave a comment
in Books, books 10+, Uncategorized Tags: American history, crime, family history, Great Depression, history, mystery, prohibition, small town life, strong girls, violence, WWI
Finding Winnie
24 Oct 2016 2 Comments
in Books, books 4+ Tags: bears, family history, history, nonfiction, zoo
Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear
by Lindsay Mattick
illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Age: 4+
Interests: bears, Winnie-the-Pooh books, history, family history, nonfiction
Tamar
30 Apr 2014 Leave a comment
in Books, books 13+ Tags: family history, grandparents, Holland, mystery, occupation, romance, spies, suicide, violence, war, WWII
Tamar
by Mal Peet
Age: 13+
Interests: war, WWII, violence, Holland, spies, occupation, romance, grandparents, family history, mystery
Grandpa Green
04 Mar 2014 Leave a comment
in Books, books 4+ Tags: biography, family history, gardening, grandparents
Grandpa Green
by Lane Smith
Age: 4+
Interests: grandparents, family history, history, biography, gardening
Why Do I Have to Make My Bed?
18 Oct 2013 Leave a comment
in Books, books 4+ Tags: family, family history, history
Why Do I Have to Make My Bed?
by Wade Bradford
illustrated by Johanna van der Sterre
Age: 4+ (right up to age 7 or 8)
Interests: history, families, chores More
Holes (2003)
05 Mar 2013 2 Comments
in Movies, movies 9+ Tags: cowboys, crime, curse, desert, family, family history, friendship, jail, mystery, racial tension, treasure, violence
released: 2003
rated: PG for violence, mild language and some thematic elements
length: 117 min.
age: 10+
scary factor: suspenseful scenes with rattlesnake, deadly lizards – nothing a 10 yr old couldn’t handle
violence: two boys fight; one boy whacks a provoking guard in the head with his shovel, knocking him out; in flashback a man is shot (in extreme wide shot – no closeups); Kate then shoots the sheriff in revenge; guards in work camp have guns, but only a lizard is actually shot
language: authentic but rather mild, for teenage boys: damn, hell, crap, Oh, my God… that kind of thing. (According to imdb.com there is one “jackass” but I didn’t even notice it.)
other: flashbacks depict scenes of racial hatred (burning down the school) and vague threat of sexual violence (drunken sheriff tries to force Kate to kiss him)
interests: mystery, desert, prison work camps, bad luck, family history, curses, cowboys, crime and punishment, buried treasure
next: read the book if you haven’t! Holes by Louis Sachar
The Little White Horse
04 Mar 2013 Leave a comment
in Books, books 7+ Tags: animals, castle, cats, country life, dogs, England, family history, Magic, morality, mystery, Princess, religion, romance, strong girls
WINNER OF THE CARNEGIE MEDAL – 1946
by Elizabeth Goudge
University of London Press: 1946
238 pages – 12 chapters
Age: 7 (read to); 9 (independent reading)
Interests: magic, mystery, animals, castles, princesses, England, aristocracy, religion, family history, romance
NB: This book was adapted into a 1994 BBC series entitled Moonacre and a 2009 movie The Secret of Moonacre.
Next: The Secret Garden or A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Also by this author: Island Magic
Holes
13 Feb 2013 3 Comments
in Books, books 10+ Tags: desert, family history, friendship, jail, mystery
NEWBERY MEDAL WINNER – 1999
by Louis Sachar
Random House: 1998
233 pp.
Age: 10 +
Interests: mystery, fate, jail, desert, survival, friendship
Also by this author: Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Marvin Redpost series, and Small Steps – a sequel of sorts to Holes, following some of the other boys from Camp Green Lake
Next: the movie version Holes (2003) is very good, and quite faithful to the novel
Boy: Tales of Childhood
01 Oct 2012 Leave a comment
in Books, books 9+ Tags: autobiography, boarding school, England, family history, nonfiction, school
by Roald Dahl
London: Jonathan Cape, 1984
160 pp.
Age: 9+
Interests: biography, history, nonfiction, British boarding schools, family history
Next: Going Solo (the sequel to this book), also War Boy: A Country Childhood by Michael Foreman
Related Posts: A Roald Dahl Reading List
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