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Design A Study-World Literature

abecedarian

abecedarian

Well-Known Member
I'm piecing together a world literature course to go along with a geography course for all the kids. I'm needing recomendations for ages 9+. The two teenaged boys are so different in their maturity levels..the younger being a more adventuresome reader than the older...by that I mean he's more willing to read more challenging material than his older brother, who is just as happy sticking with dragons and swords..

For Africa, at the moment, I'm thinking of using Beast of No Nations for the high schoolers, and trying to decide between Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness. There are some great teacher-friendly guides available for both of those. I'm not sure what to use for Africa for the younger students, but there's so many great options...

For North America for the older kids, I am looking at one of Steinbeck's shorter novels, and Farley Mowat's Never Cry Wolf..but To Kill a Mockingbird is always an option too.


Asia: I'm open to suggestions for various ages here.


Europe: Where to start and where to stop?? Too many great books.. I think I'll have the boys read One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich..but again, I'm open for new ideas for all ages here. I think I'll also have them read Hamlet; again, I can get a really great study guide.

Oceana:not got that far yet..

South America: wide open too!


So, if you were designing a course like this, what books would you want included? I'm thinking I'll have a few that we study in depth, and just have a ready list for them to choose from for spare time reading or extra credit.

Note: This does NOT have to be just fiction..nonfiction works great too.
 
If i remember right you are homeschooling your kids so you can tailor the recommendations to your kids, but generally its hard to make recommendations for ages 9+ as the maturity level varies a lot. It also depends a bit on your purpose with the course. Since you combine it with a geography course perhaps you want books that reflect the local culture, or local history?

As for the books you mentioned I think i'd stay away from Heart of Darkness

Anyway here is some recommendations:

Astrid Lindgren: For the younger kids you cant go wrong with this swedish childrens book author. A large number of classics that i remember loving both as a kid and as a adult. Try "The brothers lionheart".

Odon von Horvath - Jugend ohne gott: I'm not sure if you can get this in english but its a very powerful and chilling book set in the period before WW2. Its a story about a teacher on a camping trip with his all-boy class, with the intent of teaching them the new ideology. The story written in the period before WW2 gives a very interesting premonition about the advancing Nazism. A easy read but a book its hard to forget.

Egil's Saga: Possibly written by Snorre Sturlason this i one of the best viking sagas. Its the life story of Egil Skallagrimson known as a very skilled poet. In the story its said he started writing poetry at the age of 3 and took his first life at the age of 10 if i remember right. Its a rather violent story, but the violence is without emotion as is typical for the sagas. Egils poetry is a big part of the saga, so you should try and get a good translation.

I'll see if i can think of something more but I mostly know european books.
 
Zolipara said:
If i remember right you are homeschooling your kids so you can tailor the recommendations to your kids, but generally its hard to make recommendations for ages 9+ as the maturity level varies a lot. It also depends a bit on your purpose with the course. Since you combine it with a geography course perhaps you want books that reflect the local culture, or local history?

As for the books you mentioned I think i'd stay away from Heart of Darkness

Anyway here is some recommendations:

Astrid Lindgren: For the younger kids you cant go wrong with this swedish childrens book author. A large number of classics that i remember loving both as a kid and as a adult. Try "The brothers lionheart".

Odon von Horvath - Jugend ohne gott: I'm not sure if you can get this in english but its a very powerful and chilling book set in the period before WW2. Its a story about a teacher on a camping trip with his all-boy class, with the intent of teaching them the new ideology. The story written in the period before WW2 gives a very interesting premonition about the advancing Nazism. A easy read but a book its hard to forget.

Egil's Saga: Possibly written by Snorre Sturlason this i one of the best viking sagas. Its the life story of Egil Skallagrimson known as a very skilled poet. In the story its said he started writing poetry at the age of 3 and took his first life at the age of 10 if i remember right. Its a rather violent story, but the violence is without emotion as is typical for the sagas. Egils poetry is a big part of the saga, so you should try and get a good translation.

I'll see if i can think of something more but I mostly know european books.
Click to expand...


Thanks Zoli! What I have are actually three separate age groups to consider. The youngest two are aged 6 and 8. Their needs are easily met with picture books and a well-placed read aloud(by mom). The next two are 9 and 11, followed by the older high school aged boys..I'd thought of Astrid Lindgren too..we have Pippi Longstocking and Children of Noisy Village in our collection, and Flower recently recommended Brothers Lionhart and it's late getting back to the library. My 20 year old dd ran off with it and read it before I could.. Our geography curriculum focuses on various parts of Europe per week or two-depending on how long we choose to linger, so I was hoping for Northern European ideas too. I'll check out your other suggestions since they sound interesting to me! I say this is for the kids, but I get to enjoy this process too. Too bad field trips are so cost-prohibitive:p Thank goodness for the net..
 
Any specific time period you are looking for?

Thoughts:

I'd say Things Fall Apart over Heart of Darkness, but the two together can make an interesting comparison.

To Kill A Mockingbird is one of the few books I liked that I read sophomore year of high school. Steinbeck's literature is good, too, though harder and I didn't think it was as interesting.

Asia: Last semester, I read part of Monkey by Wu Ch 'Eng En during the China section of my World Cultures Class. I think it would work well for your high schoolers. It's not a hard read, but it has a lot of cultural/religious/historical stuff you can integrate it with. Plus, it's fairly popular in China. Arabian Nights or the Ramayana could also work for your high schoolers. I haven't read too much Asian literature, though, so I can't think of anything for your younger children.

North America/Europe: Oh goodnes, there are so many for all ages! This is one where time periods would definitely help.

South America: The House of Spirits by Isabelle Allende is a good read for your high school age students.

...And that's all I can think of for now. It's not much, but school's pretty much fried my brain. I will come back if I think of more!
 
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