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April 28, 2008
Drew and Porter Recommend
The boys have discovered some popular new books and toys I thought I’d pass along in case you’re looking for ideas.
If you’d told me both of my third-graders would be devouring Beowulf, I’d have told you that my boys are not child prodigies, and that you had us confused with another family. Maybe one that home-schools.
Kick me in the rear and call me crazy. While Finn was at drums, Bill and the twins spent an hour at the bookstore, where he let each of them pick out a book. Porter was immediately captivated by the cover of Beowulf, which features Grendel looking suitably green and menacing.
Bill tried everything he could to dissuade him, including, “I think it’s written in Ye Olde Englysh” and “I didn’t read that until college, and even then I only made it through because it was required,” but Porter was steadfast in his desire to read “the monster book.”
And he did, in two nights. Then Drew picked it up, and was equally entranced by “the oldest surviving epic in English literature” (yo– Harvard, Yale– are you digging this? Reading Beowulf and scrambling their own eggs!)
I did some detective work and discovered that Kingfisher Epics has a few other works translated for kids at this reading level, and their covers are also eye catching:
I ordered all of them and once the twins stopped fighting over the Trojan horse the house grew silent except for the sound of turning pages.
It turned out that The Iliad was too violent for Porter, our pacifist, as there were too many descriptions of swords severing limbs and decapitating soldiers. He shuddered the other night when Drew busted his head during a pillowfight (that confused me, too) and bled profusely from his room to ours. Skulls are just bleedy (or vascular in medical parlance); the actual wound was the size of a pencil eraser.
Anyway, Porter is now reading King Arthur and is much happier. So far there is less slaughter and bloodshed.
Last night he also confessed that he didn’t see why a woman was worth fighting an entire war over, and Drew agreed, but Finn said, “Guys, when you get into sixth grade you’ll understand it better.”
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I’m always plugging Legos and K’Nex and I’m still of the opinion that if you can’t think of anything else to buy a boy between the ages of five and ten, either of these will be a hit. Imagine the boys’ delight when they were confronted with the latest offering from K’Nex– a kit that makes toy cars complete with batteries.
They come in a box that looks like this:
You can make all sorts of contraptions, from the mundane
to the more exotic,
and you can incorporate Legos in the designs as well.
But the toy wouldn’t be perfect unless it could also do this:
Feathers seemed to enjoy the speed. I suppose you could describe this as a birdy dune buggy.
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One year ago in My Tiny Kingdom: Sergeant Mom Gets Mushy
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April 28th, 2008 at 10:53 pm, jen Says:
A battery powered building set? Hooboy, my7 year old is going to go insane…especially if it’s compatible with Legos! Happy day!
jen’s last blog post..Screaming into the wind
April 29th, 2008 at 8:46 am, Lauren Says:
I’m very impressed wiith their reading interests! I didn’t read Beowulf until college either, and only because I was required to. I think it’s great that a publisher is publishing books like this on a younger reading level.
Lauren’s last blog post..See You in a Hundred Years
April 29th, 2008 at 9:09 am, nandango Says:
I vaguely remembered reading Beowulf in high school so I picked it back up a few months ago. I was almost bored to actual tears! But I do remember finding a series of books when I was younger that had taken all the classics and simplified them for kids. I was in heaven! Kudos to your sons for having such an interest.
nandango’s last blog post..Possibly an Announcement
April 29th, 2008 at 9:15 am, Wendy Tatum Says:
My third grader is reading Little Women. She asked me if I’d read it and I lied before I could stop my self and said yes. Now we are having nightly book discussions that are way over my head. I think she’s on to me.
Wendy Tatum’s last blog post..The Judge/Mental Manicurist
April 29th, 2008 at 9:46 am, Emily R Says:
As a Harvard recruiter, I think we have some definites on our list for 2015 now! We love students who take initiative and, okay, I’m no kind of recruiter. I work in a cubicle in North Carolina. But I’m still impressed.
Emily R’s last blog post..Here’s What I’ve Been Doing
April 29th, 2008 at 11:06 am, Jenny Says:
My son loves K’Nex too. And, in my humble opinion, there are very few hobbies as awesome as reading! Keep it up, boys!
Jenny’s last blog post..American Idol Top 6
April 29th, 2008 at 11:06 am, Candy Says:
I really loved Beowulf (and it’s more modern counterpart, Grendel) but nope, didn’t read that till college. I’m now wondering if my 15 year old boy would have any interest, or if it’s just too late for him.
Candy’s last blog post..No, it’s not a skin tag!
April 29th, 2008 at 11:31 am, A Mom Says:
For boys between the ages of five and ten? My first grader’s only problem with his Legos is that his 40-something father keeps swiping them!
Thanks for the pointer on the books, too. Your gift lists are among my favorites on the web. (It’s how I originally discovered you.) Here are a few of our favorites….
Lego Crazy Action Contraptions by Klutz
Beakman’s World DVD–science meets fart and booger jokes
moon shoes–a trampoline for your feet
bungee jumper–a pogo stick for the rest of us
bike light and speedometer
pulleys and rope from the local hardware store–limitless options when hung from a swingset
Forbidden Lego: Build the Models Your Parents Warned You About (a deviously delightful book that should be rated PG…but tons of fun if it’s a good fit for your family!)
Will eagerly await your next list of favorites so I can start my holiday shopping.
April 29th, 2008 at 11:43 am, Friend of the Author Says:
If your boys like those classic adaptations, they are sure to love what Gareth Hinds has been writing an illustrating. Plus, there is the added benefit of promoting literature that has actually saved kids:
“When you’re in a booth and people are repeatedly coming by to marvel at your books, remark about how much they love them, and hand you cold hard cash with which to purchase them, you can’t help but get high from the experience. Time and again teachers came by our booth with praise for Gareth’s Beowulf graphic novel, explaining how much their students loved it and how much easier it made the task of enticing them to read full-text versions of the book. Many others came by having not yet seen Gareth’s books and most of them were thrilled with what they saw. This was especially gratifying because so many of them are purists—Shakespeare and Beowulf afficionados if ever there were. Watching these folks be won over by Gareth’s talents was deeply satisfying.
And then there was the teacher who came by the booth looking visibly moved. She said she could hardly believe that Gareth was there—that she’d been wanting to meet him in person for a couple years now, to tell him that he’d literally saved one of her student’s lives. This kid had been a gangbanger, she said, who was pretty well lost to the streets and completely uninterested in school. After she noticed him doodling on the pages of his notebooks on several occasions, she went looking for something that might interest him artistically and get him hooked enough to take some interest in what she was teaching. An online search brought up Gareth’s self-published edition of Beowulf, which she then ordered multiple copies of for her class. The student she’d been trying to reach was impressed enough by Gareth’s artwork to go looking for his web site, where he read that Gareth had created some of the art by modulating his freehand drawings on the computer. Computers + art. Apparently it was a combination this kid hadn’t heard about before. ‘You saved his life,’ this teacher said. ‘He went on to study computer science.’ “
April 29th, 2008 at 12:06 pm, Karyn Says:
I love your toy / book reviews / suggestions. Every window is slathered with Klutz Window Art! Anyway. Please do share your toy / book / childrearing tricks, hints, suggestions et al , because for some clueless shlubs, you’re all we’ve got apart from our own killer instinct. ( Note: Killer as in “Following Instinct Leaves One Wanting To Kill Self”, not killer as in “kickass”.)
You are awesome.
Karyn’s last blog post..Coming Out Of The Dark
April 29th, 2008 at 12:56 pm, annie Says:
Thanks for the book suggestions. I’ve already requested them from my local library. I’m sure that my fourth grader, especially, will like them.
annie’s last blog post..I Need to Abstain From Crafty Readings
April 29th, 2008 at 2:19 pm, angie Says:
Several years ago I took classes at UT to learn how to incorporate RoboLab into my classroom lessons. It sounds like something your boys would love - here’s a link: http://www.lego.com/eng/education/mindstorms/home.asp?pagename=robolab
Lego also has a good program called MindStorms that you might like just as much.
April 29th, 2008 at 3:18 pm, Cassie Says:
Good god, I hated that book more that life itself. I had it for my senior high english class. And our teacher had to read the whole story out loud. Horrific! I’d cringe listening to the story.
I’m glad your boys like it, cause it bored me to tears.
Now the Knex, oh I gotta keep that one hidden from my kid.
April 29th, 2008 at 5:15 pm, Headless Mom Says:
Great idea for summer reading. Your suggestions are always great (my kid LOVES the Wimpy kid series).
Headless Mom’s last blog post..The State of our Adventures
April 29th, 2008 at 7:29 pm, Mishka Says:
I wish more parents were into buying “learning” toys for their kids….
Mishka’s last blog post..Rain Is Back
April 29th, 2008 at 10:00 pm, andrea Says:
Actually, for all of you who were bored to death with Beowulf (and I was, too), there’s a translation that came out a few years ago by the Irish poet Seamus Haney. It’s AWESOME. Because he’s a practicing poet, his translation maintains whatever poetry and beauty there is in the original, which all the old translations couldn’t do.
As I read it, I thought, now I understand why someone bothered to write this down 1000 years ago.
April 30th, 2008 at 9:57 am, Russ Says:
This (the kinex and legos) are why I’m glad I have a son. I am so looking forward to when he is old enough to play with them.
Russ’s last blog post..The Wedding (Part 1), by Russ
April 30th, 2008 at 3:51 pm, baseballmom Says:
OMG, Feathers is such a good sport!
baseballmom’s last blog post..Hooray!
April 30th, 2008 at 7:15 pm, MBN Says:
Your boys (Porter especially) might like Howard Pyle’s books — Men of Iron, The Story of King Arthur and his Knights, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, and so on. My mother still talks about the boy who came to her when she was a school librarian to ask when Mr. Pyle was going to write another book. He was quite crushed to learn that Mr. Pyle had been dead since 1911.