5 fiction and 5 non fiction for 15yo boy

[chazzeek]

not trying to judge, but i think its entirely possible that the teacher just wants to get the kids thinking about reading as something they can actually do for fun, not just for school. The teacher may also be just trying to get the kids to experiment at the library, you would be surprised at how many young adults don't have a clue how to utilize the library.

when i was that age I had a teacher who let us do book reports on books of our choosing, you would believe how foreign the concept of choosing a book for pleasure was. I would almost recommend steering clear of the "classics" because although they are good, they are also old. speech patterns have changed and teenagers will pick up on that, they will get bored with a story that is written in a style that requires them to concentrate on the meaning of words rather than the story.

I think the idea it to introduce books as entertainment, and to do that they need to be what the kid likes, not what his parents liked when they were his age, or even worse not the books that were considered classics when his parents were his age.

 

[shortbun]

Maybe I should turn him loose on some Janet Evanavich!!! quick, bawdy reads and he'll think he's got something bad, real bad!

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

I teach younger kids, but I think this is a brilliant assignment (although a little weird for a child on homebound instruction -- was it given to the whole class?)

We talk a lot at work about building the habits that good readers have. One thing that good readers do is they plan and think in advance about what they're going to read. They have the stack on their bedside table of books they haven't started yet, or a wishlist at Amazon. This does a couple of things. One is that planning in advance means that you're thinking about that book, activating your schema, getting ready to read etc . . . The other is that there is no downtime. If they've got an hour free to read and finish a book in 20 minutes, they simply pick up the next one and keep going.

So, choosing a whole stack of books, even if you don't end up reading all of them, makes a lot of sense to me as a way to build that habit.

As far as suggestions, it seems like all the nonfiction that people are suggestion are related to social studies, and mostly narrative. If that's what he likes, then great, but a lot of boys that age may also want to read something scientific or more technical. My 11 year old has asked me to find him a book about vampire bats, for example, and I got my brother the pilot a book with photographs of the controls of famous airplanes from history with a detailed description of how they work. I don't know his interests, but I wonder if something like that would work.

 

[LIDisneyFan]

For non-fiction, "Manhunt" by James Swenson is factual tale of the capture of John Wilkes Booth - but it is written almost like an action novel, not an historical study - about 370 pages-but it's a good one.

Fiction- The Outsiders and That was then, this is now are both great 1 5yo boy reads IF he hasnt read them already

 

[minniecarousel]

The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, is a freshman read here in our area of California. It was published in 2005 (or '04). The kids seem to like it.

Good luck. I agree that having your son peruse the library's on-line catalogue would help him pick out some tiotles.

Sorry to hear that he's been out of school for so long.

 

[tink1978]

When is this assignment due? Is the assignment just to check out 10 books he would want to read or to check them out and read them?

 

[Liberty Belle]

I should have clarified that my son is sick and can not go to the library. Thanks for the judgement guys. Wish he COULD go on his own; I dream of that day. He's been out of school this whole grading period. I've gotten a couple of ideas from him but I'm looking for others. And -10 books in 30 days with the other classwork he has would be nearly impossible, not easy. That's a book every 3 days. He's chosen Dickens', A Tale of Two Cities and The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell thus far. I suggested Peter Pan and he agreed because he thinks it will go pretty fast.
I also put Ishmail on his list. The non fiction will be hard without him there. I'm going to choose one biography, maybe Winston Churchill as he's very interested in England and the World Wars.

I love to read, have been known to read 3 or 4 books in a day when I'm bored and I think 10 books in 30 days is just too much for a young teen who is busy with other things, too.

I hope he gets better soon!

 

[disneychrista]

Sounds like the teacher simply want him to pick out books not actually get them & read them. I would have him go to the library and WRITE DOWN the names & authors of the books he would like to read and check out only ONE fiction, ONE non-fiction.

 

[sharbear]

The Kite Runner is good, also The Autobiography of Malcom X. For non fiction pick something by John Krakauer very good non fiction writer, Into the Wild is great, I just read When Men Win Glory about Pat Tilman and it's very good. Erik Larson is also a great non fiction writer. I loved The Devil in the White City but Isaac's Storm is a very fast read.

 

[surfgirl]

a good nonfiction: Eats, Shoots and Leaves

also: Freakonomics


what are his interests ? Any good sports bio's ? Has he read the mysteries by John Feinstein (might be too young ?) ?

 

[HSMndLKfan92]

If he's into sci-fi, I reccomend Brave New World. I read it when I was 16 and read it in about 2 days because it really interested me.

 

[Cindy B]

If he's into sci-fi, I reccomend Brave New World. I read it when I was 16 and read it in about 2 days because it really interested me.

That is a great one. Fahrenheit 451 is also fascinatin.

 

[MrsPete]

My son has been assigned to go to the library and pickout 10 books he wants to read. I'm tempted to go to half-priced books because no way is he going to read 10 novels in 30days. I'm going to try to direct him toward short books incase this teacher expects many to be read over break. My son swears he doesn't know what his teacher's expectations are and two of his classmates agree. Weird assignment. I can see instructing them to pick out two books or even three but 10? Any recommendations?

I suggest you email the teacher and ask for an explaination of the assignment.

I agree that it sounds kind of weird. I'm wondering if either the assignment was made way-long time ago and he's just now getting serious about it, or if he's supposed to pick 10 books which'll be read between now and June.

My girls'll get more than 10 books each tomorrow on Christmas day, and they'll have finished them by the time they go back to school on January 3rd. By the end of January, they'll each have finished one another's books. But they aren't typical students.

 

[rkandmjsmommy]

HEHE I just started the "Harry Potter" series...I just finished book 1 and liked it, seems most younger kids do also

"The boy in the striped Pajamas" was also good, seems like a good book for a 15 year old boy, its about the Holocaust

My sister in law said "Hunger Games" was good and from what she said its about 12-18 year olds, but she also said it was a bit distrubing

My son age 9 LOVES "The Lightening Thief" series

Catch in the Rye is also good

I am 35 so not sure if any of these are not good for 15 year olds, although I woudl allow my kids to read them

good luck and let us know what he picks!