Ellen, I like your ideas, although I am not sure I would categorize Harry Potter as a classic in the true sense of the word. Don’t get me wrong, Harry Potter has revolutionized the literary industry. What modern book do you know that has such cross-generational appeal? I love HP for the very fact it got (I use past tense because I believe the hype has passed) children excited about reading, even for those reluctant readers. I also like your choice of The Tree in Brooklyn, although, obviously very different genre and themes than HP. Beyond the classic it seems to me you are also exploring the idea of YA (young adult) as all your choices are more in lines with children’s literature selections (please note: when I use the term children’s literature this refers to literature spanning from picture books to novels). Some modern and recent selections I can recommend are: 2009 Newbery Award winner, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (fantasy genre) and 2009 National Award Finalist and 2009 Scott O’Dell winner Chains by Laurie Anderson (historical fiction genre). Of course these are just two that popped in my mind…I could certainly on and on and on and on….but you get the picture. Either way…classic, modern classic, new, old, whatever…it’s all good. Cheers, Jenn
Ellen,
ReplyDeleteI like your ideas, although I am not sure I would categorize Harry Potter as a classic in the true sense of the word. Don’t get me wrong, Harry Potter has revolutionized the literary industry. What modern book do you know that has such cross-generational appeal? I love HP for the very fact it got (I use past tense because I believe the hype has passed) children excited about reading, even for those reluctant readers.
I also like your choice of The Tree in Brooklyn, although, obviously very different genre and themes than HP. Beyond the classic it seems to me you are also exploring the idea of YA (young adult) as all your choices are more in lines with children’s literature selections (please note: when I use the term children’s literature this refers to literature spanning from picture books to novels). Some modern and recent selections I can recommend are: 2009 Newbery Award winner, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (fantasy genre) and 2009 National Award Finalist and 2009 Scott O’Dell winner Chains by Laurie Anderson (historical fiction genre). Of course these are just two that popped in my mind…I could certainly on and on and on and on….but you get the picture. Either way…classic, modern classic, new, old, whatever…it’s all good.
Cheers,
Jenn