Ten books every schoolchild should read

[enitharmon]

The Royal Society of Literature invited the Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, Philip Pullman and Joanne Rowling to nominate ten books that every child should read before they leave school. And good grief, what a kerfuffle it's caused!

You can read my full take on this at my Blogspot. Meanwhile, here's my list. What's yours, I wonder?

1. William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet
   
2. Emily Bronte: Wuthering Heights
   
3. Charles Dickens: Bleak House
   
4. Robert Browning: Men and Women
   
5. George Eliot: The Mill on the Floss
   
6. Virginia Woolf: Mrs Dalloway
   
7. D H Lawrence: Sons and Lovers
   
8. Graham Greene: The Power and the Glory
   
9. Angela Carter: Nights at the Circus
   
10. Toni Morrison: Song of Solomon
    

(And as with all lists, it's painful having to leave things out.)

Comments

[tvor.livejournal.com]

I can't stand Romeo and Juliet. It's probably my least favourite Shakespeare play of the ones that i know which aren't a large number. Not fond of Dickens either but only because i find the dialect difficult to read. I do think that something Shakespeare ought to be included though. I havent' read most of those on your list. I think something by Oscar Wilde would do well on the list. I did Rime of the Ancient Mariner in junior high and the teacher we had did a good job of it. To Kill a Mockingbird is a good one for the list, i'd have to agree with the author that nominated that one.

[fruhlings.livejournal.com]

Charles Dickens-UGH!

But Virginia Woolf is pretty amazing, as is Shakespeare.

[http://users.livejournal.com/kazza-/]

I agree that To Kill a Mockingbird should be on the list. I also recommend to any teen I meet, including my own, to read Catcher in the Rye.

[acanthium.livejournal.com]

I've been pondering on this since you posted and I just can't get a list narrowed down to 10. I love your list, but would have to swap The Power and the Glory for Brighton Rock, just for introducing me to the full meaning of 'vitriolic' as a teenager, so I could overuse it as an adult ;)

But then I also want to squish in Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, Tristan and Isolde, Lord of the Flies, Kes, Daisy Miller, Silas Marner, Wilfred Owen's poems, Tarka the Otter, Fantastic Mr Fox, Midnight is a Place and if I'm really honest, The Magic Faraway Tree...I could go on, but I think I've lost the point of this exercise!

I suppose the best books for children to read are the ones that will make them love reading forever and be open to try new authors and genres, whether that be the latest chick lit or a timeless classic.

Unfortunately, schools don't seem to understand this and issue children with the most boring drivel just because it's part of their preferred reading scheme or is politically correct (Rowan had years of books about small girls chosing what party frock would go best with their wheelchair or ethnic skin colouring...until I stamped my dainty size 3 and told his teacher that I would no longer tolerate them in my house and would provide reading books for him - yes, I'm *that* mother!!) For children who don't have access to books at home - and I think the statistics are that a staggering 80% of them don't - this is an outrage that they are being put off of the joys that books can bring.

*falls back off soap box*

PS. Hope you're feeling less fragile now ((hugs))

[acanthium.livejournal.com]

What about An Inspector Calls...or Pygmallion...!!

Gag me, someone, please!

[kangaroo.livejournal.com]

I have just come across the original article from the Royal Society of Literature Review which was posted to a list I'm on; would you like me to forward it on to you? What's your email address?

The Guardian article missed out Ben Okri's 10 and a half Inclinations, which I much prefer as a concept, though I also like Wendy Cope's reply: 'There are children who love reading and there are people who go right through life without ever finishing a book. I can't make a list that would be right for all of them. It depends on the individual.'