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Two Confessions and a Pledge of a Teacher Mom by Elisa Waingort
My son carries a book with him wherever he goes. If he doesn’t have a book handy, he carries around my Kindle instead, which he has aptly named “Nini and Mami’s Kindle.” (Nini is our family nickname for him.)
My son has read the entire Harry Potter series several times and he claims Jonathan Auxier as one of his favourite authors. He looks forward to my coming home after NCTE conferences because he knows I will be loaded down with new books from his favourite series or new-to-him authors. But my son doesn’t only read print and digital books. He also spends a good deal of time reading on the Internet. And, this is often a conundrum for me.
As a parent and a teacher I have always believed that children’s access to books and digital resources should not be censored or limited by adults…except in the case of my child. Now, this is not a situation of it’s-OK-for-everyone-else’s-kid-except-my-own, but I am finding that my soon-to-be 10-year-old is being exposed to many things on the Internet he doesn’t understand, mostly because of his age. So, I’ve started using parental controls on our screens at home. I don’t want to police everything that he reads there because, truth be told, most of the time he is learning amazing things; he is a very curious and resourceful kid. So, confession #1: I sometimes censor what my child reads because my instincts as a parent and teacher tell me it’s the right thing to do for HIM. However, this is making me reflect on how I might handle similar situations in the classroom, including why it’s important to know my students well and to maintain close communication between home and school.
My son has gone through many phases as a reader and viewer – Dora the Explorer, Titanic, Harry Potter, Roald Dahl, among others. He uses the Internet to read and quench his curiosity about his current obsession, which ranges from movies, books and music. (He is currently becoming an expert on all things related to The Beatles.) He knows an incredible amount of facts and trivia about many topics that make for extended dinner conversations and further research on his part. I’m surprised he hasn’t been investigating about earthquakes, tremors and aftershocks since we’ve been experiencing these here in Quito over the past week. Maybe he has and we’re sure to find out what he’s uncovered soon enough.
I also worry about my son’s pile of to read books. Although he is capable of reading books by authors such as Laurie Halse Anderson, the topics are too mature for his current level of social development. So, confession #2: I have not been very successful lately at recommending a new series or author to my son. Instead he continues to reread all of the other books that he loves and has read multiple times before: Harry Potter, Big Nate, and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid are current favourites. Although rereading is highly commendable, I also think he would benefit from expanding his reading repertoire. (Maybe there’s a reading gap challenge in his future.) And, as I think about my new students, I worry that I might not be able to make effective book recommendations.
Despite my worries and frustrations about not being able to read enough to support all of my students, I will not give up even if it takes me all year to find that one book that will hook a reader for life. I plan to turn to Donalyn Miller’s Reading in the Wild often this year as I reflect on how to guide all of my students to become wild readers. I welcome any and all book recommendations for middle school readers in the comments section. And, if you know of a true and tried series that I can introduce to my son, please share that also. Many thanks!
Elisa Waingort has been teaching for close to 30 years in a variety of settings in North and South America. Currently she is starting a new assignment teaching Language Arts and Social Studies to 6th and 7th graders at Academia Cotopaxi, an International School in Quito, Ecuador. Elisa always has a book or her Kindle at hand…just in case. You can find her online at ateachersruminations.blogspot.com and on Twitter as @elisaw5.
Nerdy Book Club 
Part of parenting is censoring. At least it should be.
I SO agree!!! Even if I myself don’t believe in censorship but there really are things that kids of certain ages just shouldn’t be exposed to. 🙂
Thanks for the vote of confidence. Sometimes, I notice my teacher self and my parent self colliding at full speed. I’m trying to align these a little better by wearing the opposite shoe depending on the situation.
Has he tried Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins?
If I was a writer I totally could’ve written this! As a parent I’m struggling with the same thing with my 12yo. When do we let go? I’m so anxious that I rarely let him online! He re-reads favorites and loves graphic novels (still in the ‘juvenile’ section of our library NOT the teen section! 😳) and I too am struggling to get him to read some of my favorites or my other students’ favorites. He has a phenomenol ELA teacher this year who he adores so I’m hoping that her suggestions will be taken to heart even if mine aren’t 😊
Some favorite series books at my school for older readers are ‘The Kingdom Keepers’ ‘Artemis Fowl’ ‘the Ranger’s Apprentice’ and the ‘Middle School’ books by James Patterson.
I will face this same dilemma as a teacher parent. Although, I do agree with the other commenter. Part of our job as parents is to censor when appropriate.
My 5th grade boys love Smile (the graphic novel), the Percy Jackson series, the I survived series, Swindle, the James Patterson middle school books, Lunch Lady (graphic novels) and I’m in the works of purchasing the Guys Read series, which I’m thinking they will love!
Good luck! It looks like you’re already raising a wild reader!
My son loves the I Survived
series! I’ve read a few with him and really like then, as well. I hope they keep ‘me coming! I know the titles you mention above but I haven’t tried then all. Time to get reading!
For your son: my 5th graders loved and devoured both the Alex Rider (Horowitz) & CHERUB (Muchamore) series.
Thanks for the recommendations!
Has he read Wonder or Because of Mr. Terupt yet? Both of these are my students’ favorites!
We’re going through much the same dilemma with my 10 year old. He has devoured the obvious choices and doesn’t like to re- read much.
There are some good suggestions listed here in previous comments. Take a look. Maybe some will appeal to your 10 year-old.
I recommend Leslie Bulion’s Universe of Fair and Leslie Connor’s Crunch for ten year olds. I’ve interviewed both these authors on my Lupine Seeds blog, which you can link to via my website at http://www.lindacrottabrennan.com
Thanks for the suggestion and the link. I will take a look at your review and add this book to my ever growing list.
The Underland Chronicles series by Suzanne Collins is a great one. The first book is Gregor the Overlander. I retired in June as an elementary librarian and I always had the same concern as you. I could never read all the books I wanted to provide recommendations. But we do the best we can and children are lucky to have teachers and librarians always ready to suggest the next book. One of our fifth grade teachers told a class that the best part of finishing a book is that you now get to start another one!
Thanks for the suggestions! I love that line from the 5th grade teacher. I think I might just steal it! LOL!
Check out “the great Benedict society” series.
Also, “Winston Breen” series.
My 11 old was all about “the 39 clues ” series.
Will do! Thanks for the suggestions!
The Mysterious Benedict Society is great and also all of the Eva Ibbotson books, and I highly recommend the Charles and Emma book about Darwin and his wife. Also, don’t worry about the re-reading. My brilliant college age daughter re-read Harry Potter for the umpteenth time this summer, but also gobbled up some dense history books.
LOL! Love it! I don’t worry about the rereading; I know it’s a valuable thing to do. What I would like is for him to read widely and explore different genres and authors. Thanks for the snippet about your daughter. There is something about Harry Potter, isn’t there?
Check out the Aldo Zelnick series. They are similar to Wimpy Kid and Big Nate!
Thanks for suggesting this series. I’ve never heard of it. It’s going to take me a while to put all these suggestions together so that I can put in some orders! Can’t wait to get started.
I think your son would love the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series!
I’ll suggest Percy Jackson again but he hasn’t gone wow over that in the past.
An oldie, but new to and loved by my 10-year-old son: the Gregor the Overlander series by Suzanne Collins (yes, that SC).
Thank. Another commenter suggested it. I’ll definitely look into it.
My past 5th graders have loved the Stranded series by Jeff Probst. I also had a student really love The London Eye Mystery. I’ve read all of these as well and highly recommend them.
Thanks for the recommendations. I’m loving these. I knew I could count on the Nerdy Book Club readers for some new titles.
I have a ten year old girl, but they sound like similar readers. She is reading the second Percy Jackson series (The Lost Hero), but we have read two great books recently on NetGalley. One is coming out tomorrow: Gabriel Finley and the Raven’s Riddle. The other is Cynthia Voight’s series Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things. I thought these had just the right amount of adventure, without being over-the-top scary or trying to be “edgy”. I would call them gentle if I didn’t think that would offend my 10 year old!
Thank you for the suggestions. I don’t know NetGalley but I will get on the Internet now and investigate. I like gentle and I understand your caution.
For young nerdy readers: some of the classics. For example, Treasure Island, Swiss Family Robinson, The Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe Series, King Arthur Legends, Robin Hood, My Side Of the Mountain, Windows for the Crown Prince, Ann and the King of Siam, any and all of the Newbery Award books.
There are several advantages, I can think of: advanced vocabulary (I still find words from Howard Pyle’s Robin Hood vocab useful in Scrabble and WWF.); history absorbed that now with an Internet connection can be expanded; advanced sentence structure……
I’m sure you can expand, exponentially, the list of this type of book.
gm, librarian and Nerdy Reader beginning in 2nd grade. (Credentials: I raised 3 nerdy book readers!)
Great suggestions! I don’t usually go to these titles but I think my son, and other nerdy readers in my class, might enjoy some of them.
I’m in a similar situation with my son. He’s 9 1/2, but reads well above grade level. I find that he’s hesitant to read books I recommend, even though he ends up liking (loving) most of them. He knows that as a school librarian, I make recommendations to students all the time, so I can’t figure out why he’s so reluctant, when he knows how well I know his reading tastes. Anyway, the books/series he’s loved include James Patterson’s “Dangerous Days of Daniel X,” Suzanne Collins’ “Gregor the Overlander” (he’s asking for the subsequent titles now), any and all “Percy Jackson” books by Rick Riordan, “Un Lun Dun” by China Mieville, and the “Leviathan” series by Scott Westerfeld.Those are the few I can think of at the moment. I’m enjoying noting the recommendations from others. Thank you!
It’s one thing to say, “My kid is not ready for this book,” or “Most kids of this age are not ready for this subject matter.” That’s fine to me. If you say, “No one should read this book and I want it banned,” that’s something else.
Ah, no I don’t believe in banning books. I hope you didn’t read that into my post. It’s more about not being ready for a book primarily because of advanced subject matter. Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to clarify this point.
You may want to try Paperboy by Vince Vawter, Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper, Wonder by RJ Palacio, Okay For Now by Gary Schmidt, The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan, Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine, or Hound Dog True by Linda Urba.
Again, amazing suggestions. I know many of these titles but they’re not always the ones I go to for a student or my son. Thanks for mentioning them.
I have worked with a lot of parents that have precocious readers and they can exhaust many a library. Classics can be your friend- Thousand Leagues under the Sea, Three Musketeers, Peter Pan. But also think Mary Sutcliff’s Roman Series and Arthurian tales. My 12 year old loves the Manga Shakespeare which takes the actual language of Shakespeare and incorporates it into a manga style graphic novel. I also always use this list by the Center for Teaching and Learning Kids Recommend List. It is great because they have it broken down by age and gender.
http://www.c-t-l.org/kids_recommend.html
Finally try more non-fiction- Citizen Scientists series are great.
Fabulous! Thanks for the link. I think I will be set for quite a few months!
I think another thing to remember is you are not saying he (or a student) can’t read a particular book. Instead you are saying you can’t read it now. I have a very nerdy book reader son who is a senior in college and I censored his reading when he was in elementary school. This is a particular problem for children who read far above grade level. I love many of the suggestons given.
ANYTHING by Brandon Mull. He has three series of his own and he came up with the Spirit Animals series where each book is written by a different author.
Loved your post, and all the great suggestions from previous commenters! I’d second many of those: Winston Breen, Paper Boy, Okay for Now, My Side of the Mountain, Chronicles of Narnia. I’d also add the Airborn trilogy by Kenneth Oppel; The 21 Balloons by William Pene du Bois; The Pushcart War by Jean Merrill. Crossover by Kwame Alexander; The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson; Airball: My Life in Briefs by Harkrader.
I love The Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan.
I second (or third) the Percy Jackson recommendation. Two great series, very meaty, with the potential to inspire lots of wider reading and research. Also try the Henderson’s Boys series by Robert Muchamore. Great action, with lots of history thrown in. For your students, and the commenter above who has a daughter with a similar problem, try the Kiki Strike series. Fabulous, intelligent girl characters. And maybe in a year or two (or sooner, if he’s ready for something really challenging) I recommend the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica by James A Owen. The first book is Here There Be Dragons. It’s a wonderfully complex story woven from history, fable and folklore. The vocabulary is wonderful. I still remember having to stop and look up the word ‘incunabula’ and I probably should have known that one!
Thanks for the suggestions. Some we’ve already read, some he’s previously rejected, and some are new and we’ll check them out.
Elisa, I’m so impressed by your son and his capacity and voracity for reading! 😀 Yay! I saw a lot of great suggestions here, certainly the classics. Since his taste doesn’t seem too limited, I would suggest anything by Kate DiCamillo, for sure. The woman’s stories, imo, are amazing, funny and filled with heart. There are plenty of stand-alones that are great, too. I just finished Absolutely Almost and recently read Circa Now and loved them both. There’s The One and Only Ivan, One for the Murphys, probably anything by Neil Gaiman. Those are just a few of many that come to mind. Of course, there’s not much that holds a candle to the Harry Potter series 😀 😀 😀
How about The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen?
We have been working our way through both the Artemis Fowl series and the H.I.V.E series. They both have a number of similar aspects to Harry Potter. My boys are 11 and 13.
I have yet to recommend Suzanne Collins’ Gregor the Overlander series to a boy or girl and not have them enjoy it — especially those who had read all the Harry Potter books. Great fantasy series with no taboo subject matter for younger readers.
For some reason (probably HP), all my recs are MG fantasy. And all, except Farmer, are hilarious Brits: the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage, The Sea of Trolls Trilogy by Nancy Farmer, Howl’s Moving Castle (or anything) by Diana Wynne-Jones, and Which Witch? and The Abominables by Eva Ibbotson.
My son loved several of the books mentioned above. He also adored the H.I.V.E. series by Mark Walden, the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan, the Samurai Kids series, and the Lovecraft Middle School series.
He will also read any of the non-fictional “You Wouldn’t Want to….” books that our library carries. They range in topic from ancient civilizations and people to more modern American history. He also loves to read the biographies by Mike Venezia on American presidents, artists, and musicians. They are picture books, but packed with lots of information.