BOOK REVIEW reviewing children's classics from an EL point of view

[Mandabplus3]

This thread is a place to review the old classical literature. Many parents here are planning to read through yesterday's classics collection, the Robinson curriculum and Ambleside books in order to extend their child's reading abilities.
In providing a review of these books you can help us select the most appropriate books for our young readers and avoid books containing questionable content.
Please comment on overall writing quality, vocabulary use, religious content, themes of death, violence, fear, bullying, and overall educational value.
Please recommend a minimum age and maximum age based on content rather than writing level. this will be useful as our EL kids can read at higher levels than average for their age.

[Mandabplus3]

BLACK BEAUTY by Anna Sewell
My daughter ( age 8 ) and I read this together. It is a lovely story written from the point of view of the horse and this is the main reason I recommend it. It's a viewpoint that really makes children think. The story itself is underlined with an anti cruelty to animals theme but in order to have that theme the book contains cruelty to animals. It also contains death ( lots!) of a human, many horses and a hunting scene where a rabbit gets caught. I believe it is unsuitable for young readers and 8 would be the minimum age I would tackle it with children. It's maximum age would be to adult hood so no rush for this one  if your child is distressed by the rabbit hunt near the beginning put the book away for later.
The sentence structure and vocabulary are of a high standard and at times stretched even my read aloud ability. ( we buddy read a few chapters) to ensure good comprehension I would recommend discussing each chapter at its conclusion as some themes are written between the words. ( my daughter didn't realise the human had died until we discussed it)
It is set in the days of our grandparents and holds true to their everyday living. A good look at life in that time.

[Mandabplus3]

THE SANDMAN STORIES by William J Hopkins
These are a set of stories all in the same style. We have "his farm stories" "his house stories" "his sea stories" "his ship stories" and "more farm stories" they are public domain and on Gutenberg but also part of the yesterday's classics collection.
These are simple books and perfect for EL children. Minimum age 0 maximum age ....I doubt a teenage would get much from them so maybe 11. I recommend putting these early in your reading list. A chapter reading 4 year old will love them.  I am reading them with my 7 year old and she is learning new vocabulary and about how people used to live on farms ( no supermarkets, grinding flour, making apple cider etc) the books contain historically accurate pictures of machines used during this time to aid understanding of the plot.
The writing and sentence structure is basic. I has it's own recognisable style and uses lots of repetitive phrases. Good for increasing fluency! The stories are sight word rich but do not attempt to remove necessary   big words and context words. So most of the reading is easy with some challenges to make it worthwhile. This is not a challenge for my girl but this is her first foray into classics and its a great place to start. No disturbing themes that we have found yet.

[Mandabplus3]

BEYOND THE FOREST Kate Tenbeth
My 9 year old is reading this by her choice. She LOVES it! It's an easy read, it s funny, lighthearted and contains good themes. It does have a scene where a goblin ( groblin!) hits a bear over the head, they become friends and that's the basis of the book, the bear is subtly teaching the Groblin how to behave. It isn't going to teach your kids anything educational but they will enjoy it.
The sentance structures are sound, words are not simplified and the reader is not belittled. 
" they looked across at the pretty little house and each felt the cold finger of fear run down their spines" is a good example of the level and structure.
Minimum age 2 maximum early teens ( hey I read the first 4 chapters before fining another book to read   its quite good)
Another one for the early part of your lists.

[Skylark]

Mandabplus3,

What a great idea!!! Thank you for starting this thread, I am looking forward to reviews and will contribute as we read smth new. BTW, love your reviews, Manda!

[Wolfwind]

ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIONS by Dodie Smith

This is what the Disney movie is based on, and it's much more fun.  However, the movie is true to the basic plot of the book: puppies are kidnapped and are about to be killed and skinned until they escape, and they are on the run for several days.  We are reading this aloud as a family and my two year old is not bothered, but I would recommend waiting till maybe six before giving it to a kid on her own.  The sentences are pretty complex and there are jokes that they won't get that young, but the heart of the book will be understandable.  There are also themes of revenge (the dogs destroy Cruella's house) and sad experiences (parents losing their children keeps happening, three times I think, though it does all work out happily).  Maximum age - I think I found this in my grandma's basement in my early teens and loved it, and my husband is enjoying listening to it, so none.  Whenever they need a fun dog book to keep them interested in reading.

[Wolfwind]

DR DOLITTLE TALES by Hugh Lofting

An early chapter book, probably minimum age 2 and maximum age 8 or so.  It's a large-print, short book with each chapter as an almost stand-alone story about a doctor who learns the language of animals and helps them.  The science is nonexistent, so you might have to explain some of the incorrect idea (no, there are no two-headed animals) to smaller children.  I can't think of any objectionable themes.  It was a fun first chapter book read-aloud for my two year old.

[Wolfwind]

THE JUNGLE BOOK by Rudyard Kipling

This is on Ambleside Online's Year 3; I can't imagine why.  How old is that, 8?  Maybe with heavy parental involvement that would be OK.  This book is FULL of death, violence, and mayhem.  It's a fun book, for all that, so don't be too put off.  But definitely read it aloud or only read selected stories if you read it before age 10.  In the gentler stories, like "Tiger! Tiger!" Mowgli tramples Shere Khan the tiger under a herd of water buffalo, skins him, and has a wolf threaten the human who gets in his way.  Or in "Kaa's Hunting" Baloo is hitting Mowgli to make him remember his lessons, Kaa hypnotizes hundreds of monkeys into walking right into his mouth, there's a massive fight scene, and Bagheera gives Mowgli a beating for playing with the monkeys.  Or in "Letting in the Jungle" Mowgli's adopted human parents are going to be killed as witches and Mowgli breaks them out and then has the elephants destroy the village.  Don't read "The King's Ankus," in which Mowgli fights a cobra and steals a weapon from an old treasuure trove, then sees ten or so people in turn kill others in order to steal the ankh and then get killed in turn.

It's a good challenging read, full of animals and nature to get kids interested, and exciting, but don't expect it to be like the Disney movie.  And be ready to discuss violence in nature and violence among humans and when violence is justified and when it's not and how different cultures have viewed it over time.  It's a heavy book for our EL kids.

(And I know this because Grandma let Big Girl A watch the Disney movie so I thought I'd read the original aloud.  "Kaa's Hunting" is OK with judicious skipping, even this young.)

[Mandabplus3]

OMG so glad I started this thread, Jungle book was next on our list! Argggggh! Save it for later.

WHY THE CHIMES RANG by Raymond McDonald Alden

I found this is our collection today while I was bored waiting in the car and started reading. I can't wait to read it to my kids!!!
Ok yes the themes are about sneaking away to go to church ( positively evil!  ) and such silly nonsense none of us really should be concerned about but the stories are  the best! They are short stories of morals and good character. These stories promote discussion as the morals are implied not written.
The writing is of an excellent standard and the vocabulary is wonderful and descriptive.
Each chapter is a single story and these would make wonderful bedtime stories for a 4-8 year old age bracket.
Minimum age 3, maximum none. I am absolutely going to read all of them myself.  I don't think 2 year olds will understand the themes behind the stories but they will enjoy them and it won't hurt to listen in. 
Minor religious themes in few stories nothing worth avoiding.  Easter and church services mostly.
Highly recommended.
Edit: still thinking about these stories months later! Go and read them!

[Mela Bala]

Thank You Thank You so much for this and everyone else who has posted a review.  I have to admit I am feeling a bit overwhelmed since there are sooooo many books that came in the yesterday's collection.  I think we will start with The Sandman Stories. 

[Wolfwind]

THE GOOD MASTER by Kate Seredy

I somehow missed this Newberry Honor Book growing up.  That's too bad; I would have loved it.  It's a historical fiction book set in rural Hungary in probably the early 1900s.  It takes you through almost a year on a big ranch/farm, through the eyes of two ten year olds.

I would recommend this for ages 4 and up, with some caveats.  First of all, it's going to be hard for a kid who's not yet good at picking up meaning from context; there are foreign words and lots of ideas that will make no sense to most 21st century kids.  Expect discussion time.  Next, the second main character, Kate, starts off as a very naughty girl.  It probably won't give your kids bad ideas, since she scares the carriage horses into running away, climbs on the rafters to eat sausages, and cuts her skirts so she can go riding (not many of which are feasible for most of us, sadly), and it is always presented as a negative action, but be aware.  There is also the mention that bad behavior could earn "a licking," though it never happens in the book.  Third, there are a few concepts that might bug some parents.  Gypsies come to work on the farm and steal pigs and chickens, and Kate gets taken away with them for a few hours.  And there's a discussion of whether or not Saint Nicholas is real, saying "He is a different person for every child.  He is the one who loves you best in the world."  And then there's a discussion of the historical figure.  They celebrate Easter and Christmas at church, as well.

Maximum age, well, I enjoyed it, but probably early teens.  It's a fun book for kids.

[cokers4life]

Its good to be back on the forum and I think this thread is really great.  My children are ages 1, 3, 4 and 9, so understand I have a mixed audience.   While my children aren't exposed to certain themes found on television, they are exposed to them through literature.  I think that it makes the themes in the books less intense for my kids because the visuals must come from the child's own mind as most of these books generally do not come with extremely detailed and intense artwork.  Please take my reviews with a bucket of salt as I might find certain literature suitable for a younger age group than most.   I also edit out questionable violent descriptions, racial stereotypes and even some highly offensive gender stereotypes as sometimes the book is too good to just not read because of a couple of paragraphs or sentences. 


Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie:  I don't feel comfortable giving a recommended age as this is a great read aloud but there are some subjects and words that you might have to skip over depending on the age.  If you are reading it aloud, you will have to edit Tinker Bell a few times as she has a potty mouth preferring to say things like silly a**.  I was shocked and glad that I was reading it aloud and we weren't listening to a recording.   I think overall its one of the most fun read alouds but it is a bit violent with topics of scalping and killing.   No one actually gets killed but it is mentioned that the Indians do kill and scalp.  There are lots of racial and gender stereotypes.  It however is quiet an imaginative and rich story.  The language is especially rich and its fun to read in an English accent.  It really is the only way to read it.  I would read ahead and highlight areas that might be better skipped for your particular age group. 

Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling  great for all ages.  The language is excellent and the stories are completely age appropriate.  Its a great read aloud.   We got it on cd at the library and listened in the car.    It was a big hit especially the one about the Elephant and the crocodile. 

Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne great for ages 0-7  The language is rich and I found all topics completely age appropriate.  We listened to them in the car as we found them on cd in the library. 

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams  I think this is a classic great for all ages but especially 0-9.   While some concepts are not going to be understood at age 0, its still an excellent book that relates to all ages...Its also a great book to begin any child age 3 and up down a philosophical path of metaphysics...what is real?  what makes something real?  I found a great guide on such a discussion here:  http://www.teachingchildrenphilosophy.org/wiki/Velveteen_Rabbit .  My kids really enjoyed this read and discussion at dinner time. 

The Tales of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter   I think its great for all ages especially 0-7.  We listened to these in the car.   I didn't find anything unsuitable about them, and the language is well done. 

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis  I think it is well suited from 3-on up.   There are some intense scenes and concepts like dying and other violence.   We listened to this one in the car, and it was enjoyed by everyone.   I am not sure if my kids would have sat down and listened to me read, but as a captive audience in the car, it was loved.    Children of a very sensitive nature might find this one too much, and children with severe wiggle worms like mine might be only willing to listen to it in the car or as background noise.  The language is good but it isn't a favorite read aloud by the young children (ages 1-4).   I think an older group of children might find this more enjoyable as the themes and concepts are better suited for ages 5 and up.  I think it was good exposure for my children, but I might have waited until later to introduce it if I could do it all over.  The children didn't hate it but it wasn't as well remembered or requested as Peter Pan or Just So Stories.   

[Wolfwind]

SUMMER PONY by Jean Slaughter Doty

OK, this isn't a classic, but it's what we've been reading this week.  It's a fun book for a horse-crazy girl (or boy - do boys get horse-crazy?).  Other than that, it's not a must-read.  I'd say a minimum age of 2, max of 10 or so.  There's a scene where the pony gets colic and the vet tells her that it might die (it doesn't), and in the end she jumps without her hard hat and gets a concussion.  But there's nothing really objectionable.  The sequel, WINTER PONY, is similar, but the pony is pregnant and there's a fairly accurate birth scene - nothing that would keep me from reading it to my two year old.

[Wolfwind]

FEARLESS GIRLS, WISE WOMEN, AND BELOVED SISTERS by Kathleen Regan

This is an anthology of folktales with female heroes.  I can't recommend it enough for those using a lot of fairy tales and folk tales with their little ones.  If you're reading Grimm or Andersen or Andrew Lang, use this book too.  I'm no feminist, but I think it is important for kids to read stories with boys AND girls as the main characters.  Plus, some of these stories are fabulous!

It is an anthology, so not all of them are great.  But each story is only about the length of a picture book, so you can skim through and decide which to read.  Some include violence, death, lying and cheating on the part of the protagonists, and other possibly-objectionable behavior.  So read the stories silently before reading them aloud.  But then, that's the same with any folk tales, I'd say.  Ages: whatever ages you'd read fairy tales with.

[Wolfwind]

THE THREE MUSKETEERS by Alexandre Dumas

OK, this is a long way off for most people on this forum, but I just read it for a book club and thought I'd review it.  I'd say it's appropriate for teenagers, maybe 12 and up.  There's quite a bit of violence, but it's not as gritty as, say, The Jungle Book.  The violence is more like a comic-action movie.  (During book club, one person remarked, "So this is where THE PRINCESS BRIDE came from!")  There are lots of duels, but very rarely does anyone die (maybe once or twice in 600 pages).  There is a mention of a siege starving out the people inside a city, and an execution at the end that's probably the most creepy part of the whole thing.  There's some sexuality, though it's way less than many modern young adult books.  Mostly a man and a woman end up in the same room, and then it's the next morning and they're still together.  There's quite a bit of drinking, as well, and some inappropriate language in French, which is probably not a problem unless you speak French.

The biggest maturity factor in this book, I would say, is understanding the difference between "heroic" and "morally good."  Especially if the reader has the general American picture of the Three Musketeers, which is that they're heroes and noble and great.  They are not particularly noble.  They are mostly supported financially by their mistresses.  Whenever they get any money, they blow it all on food and drink, and then they mooch food off friends until they get some more money.  They sleep around.  They pick fights constantly.  They're braggarts and idiots, on occasion.

But they do avert a war and save the honor of the queen.  And they're funny and brave and always win.  It's a fun, swashbuckling adventure story for teens.  They should enjoy reading it.  And then it can spark some good discussions on moral questions.

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