Juvenile Literature

[Dragon Lady]

My nephew is an avid reader. He loves, loves, loves books., He'll be 12 this summer. Recently his parents discovered that the series he was reading has lots of swears in it, and they're not ok with that. So she's wanting to get some recommendations for books for him that are clean. I'm making her a google doc with books and series that I can think of. Can you guys help me add to that list? Thanks!

[Humble Master]

Bone!

[Humble Master]

Oh, and have you heard of this series called Harry Potter? I think it's gonna be big!

[Dead Cat]

I participated in Battle of the Books from 5th to 12th grade. Instead of typing out the dozen or so titles per year, the Battle website has kept track of all the titles they've ever used.

Here's the link:

http://akla.org/akasl/bb/previoustitles-2011.xls

[vorpal blade]

Well, the Narnia series would be good, for starters. I read those books a couple of times to my children, and wished I had read them as a child. The Scarlet Pimpernel series is good. He's probably too young for Jane Austen, and...probably not so interested in that sort of stuff. I enjoyed the Freddie the pig series at a somewhat younger age.

[Katya]

Out of curiosity, what was the offensive series?

[Dragon Lady]

Oh, and have you heard of this series called Harry Potter? I think it's gonna be big!

I'm trying on that one. It was originally nixed from their house because of all the bad things Sister had heard. Then B (the boy) decided he didn't want to read it anyway, because things like that would give him nightmares. (Like, he didn't like The Princess and the Frog because of the voodoo.) But apparently that's all changed because he read The Hunger Games for school (What school requires that for 11-year olds?!) and loved it. And now I'm trying to convince Sister that if he read Hunger Games, he's allowed to read Harry Potter.

It's complicated.

[Dragon Lady]

Out of curiosity, what was the offensive series?

She couldn't remember. I just asked her again, now that B should be home from school. I'll let you know when I figure it out.

[C is for]

I don't remember Percy Jackson having a lot of swears...I hope it's not that one. My brother is 12 and he LOVES those books. He was reading one of them again just last week. Lightning Thief for 12-yr-old boy win.

Let's see, he also likes...Obert Skye books (Pillage, Leven Thumps, etc.) ... and Calvin and Hobbes. He lives and breathes Calvin and Hobbes. (Not very many swears in that one, just a couple spirals.)

[Dragon Lady]

It was the Red Pyramid. Same author as Percy Jackson. Turns out his dad freaked out when he found out there was 1 swear. So… I'm not sure how that's gonna work. There's no way they'll be able to screen every book he reads. He reads like crazy. Sister agrees that they can't keep every swear away from him. But how to convince her husband? It's a tough line.

[C is for]

Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians maybe? If they're opposed to one swear they might be opposed to sarcasm too...

[Dead Cat]

I know that Artemis Fowl has no foul language (other than "D'Arvit," which doesn't count). If the kid hasn't started Alcatraz, get him on that.

[Dragon Lady]

Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians maybe? If they're opposed to one swear they might be opposed to sarcasm too...

He LOVES those books. We got him hooked a few months ago.

[Humble Master]

I was about to come back and recommend the Percy Jackson books and the Red Pyramid book...but apparently I should not.

[Dragon Lady]

I was about to come back and recommend the Percy Jackson books and the Red Pyramid book...but apparently I should not.

Well, having found out that the Dad freaked at one swear word, I'm changing my tactics to, "Teach him correct principles and let him govern himself." Like, still talk about the books he reads, but seriously, you can't be that stringent about your kids' books. You can't screen every book to that depth. My sister agrees. So I can't really do much more. But I'll keep reading the books on the list I'm making and make notes about content anyway. It'll be a good list to have when my kids are older.

[Humble Master]

I'm pretty sure Bone is swear-free.

[Whistler]

maybe a bit too juvenile, but still fun, are the Mysterious Benedict Society books. I liked the Dr. Dolittle books when I was a bit younger... Out of curiosity I got out my journal from when I was 12 to see what I was reading: Tolkien, Jane Yolen, Tamora Pierce, and Piers Anthony (heavens... the Xanth books are not appropriate for 12-year-olds). I guess it's tricky to let your 12-year-old run rampant in the library.

[Imogen]

The Giver is good. Or Enchantment by Orson Scott Card, though I don't remember if there's any swearing in it or not.

i don't remember there being a swear word in the red pyramid at all....either way, it's a great book and really focuses on loyalty and family ties...so....i don't see how that can be bad.

[Yarjka]

I was reading Stephen King at twelve ... he's still one of my favorite authors when I just want to read something for fun. My dad thought it was just a phase I'd grow out of ... he was wrong.

[Marduk]

My favorite author in the sixth grade was John Grisham.... that might be a little problematic, in this case.

How about the Great Brain series? Or is that too juvenile?