One of a group of books suggested by reader Anne to improve the diversity of our list
Last Friday, GeekDad published 67 Books Every Geek Should Read to Their Kids Before Age 10. Consider it the geek section of your own virtual library. The idea was to let GeekDad writers suggest their favorite books to read to their children, and create a list of staff picks for you to use when looking for something to read together.
For me, the comment stream became the most enjoyable part of the whole post. It was like a trip down memory lane! Great suggestion after great suggestion. Frankly, it was too juicy of a peach not to highlight somehow. So here without further ado are your additions to the Books Every Geek Should Read to Their Kids Before Age 10. (The books are grouped in a few pages, categorized by the readers who recommended them.)
Anne commented, “Only two multicultural books on this entire list, one of which (Rikki Tikki Tembo) is horribly stereotypical of Chinese people. Come on, surely you can do better than this.” Frankly, I agreed. In our defense, I will say we had no intention of creating a comprehensive list of books, just like a staff picks wall at a library is not a comprehensive look at any genre of literature. I asked Anne what books she would include to improve the diversity of our list. The text below the gallery are Anne’s own words from our first post.
A Single Shard won the Newbery Medal in 2002. It’s set in Korea in the 1300s and is about a young boy named Tree-ear who wants to become a great potter. However, since pottery is passed down generation to generation, father to son, Tree-ear can’t make his dream come true – he is an orphan. He still loves to watch Min, the village potter, at his craft, and one day, he decides to sneak into Min’s workshop to see how the craft is done. This one is fairly short and would be easily read aloud over the course of a couple weeks, I think, if done as a bedtime read-aloud. Suggested by Anne
Anne also suggested that readers look for books written by Pam Munoz Ryan, Rita Williams-Garcia, Cynthia Leitich Smith (the children’s books), and Yoshiko Uchida. For kids over the age of 10 she suggested authors: Sherman Alexie, Walter Dean Myers, Sandra Cisneros (especially The House on Mango Street), and Laurie M. Carlson.
Gumnos, Sean Kelly, Betsy Nolan and David Gleason-Rohrer each gave us nice meaty reviews…
I would add all the books by David Shannon, particularly A Bad Case of Stripes for all our active, curious, resourceful little geeks who begin to feel very different as they go through school, for their parents so they will know that they are not bewildered and exhausted alone, can embrace how amazing it is to be different and quirky (if they haven’t already), and have kids who are the same. Suggested by Betsy Nolan
and Ken Leonard and his wife gave us a whole page by themselves.
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren. Suggested by Ken Leonard
Both Peter Simpson and Kathryninla recommended Swallows and Amazons, among others.
Swallows and Amazons is old, so it uses wonderful language. The kids (“Swallows”) spend a summer by a lake, and end up camping on an island away from their parents. (Who do check on them regularly.) They get into all kinds of adventures, including a friendly competition with other kids. (“Amazons”) Written by Kathryninla. Suggested by Peter Simpson and Kathryninla
Readers questioned the absence of four prominent series. We responded to some of them. You can find our answers in the original thread.
Several readers wondered how any geek list could exclude this 13 book series. In response to reader Philip duBarry contributor Kevin Makice wrote, “In our family, A Series of Unfortunate Events didn’t sustain any interest. A Whole Nother Story seemed to take that bad-luck-family premise and do a much more entertaining job with the storytelling.”
Jonathan Liu seconded Kevin’s sentiments.
QuinnTheEskimo took me back to my childhood with his suggestions of two books by Virginia Lee Burton. Csanad Novak did the same with his recommendation of Saint-Exupery’s classic, and Frank Light reminded me that I had missed my all time favorite book about rabbits.
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0395181569/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=wwwgeekdadcom-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=0395181569&adid=0EGNW4PW3BMGPMGF5K5V" target="_blank"The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton. Suggested by QuinnTheEskimo
Many others added their great suggestions as well.
Princess Smartypants by Barbett Cole. Suggested by Gumnos
So there you have it. Between the two lists, you have enough geeky material to last you from ages 0 to 10 (and beyond). Happy reading!
You probably learned in school that Lewis and Clark were commissioned by the President to…
As the search for Wally continues, Amanda Waller sets her sights on the Flash Family.
Penguin has returned to Gotham—but his daughter intends him to have a short stay.
Harley has a new purpose—and a first client, in the form of Maxie Zeus.
It's time for Power Girl to enter the House of Brainiac—for a team-up with Crush.
Bruce Wayne finds his escape from prison in the Army—but Vietnam proves to be more…
This website uses cookies.