I’m looking for some books to read aloud to my 9 and 12 year old girls. The youngest likes to read but my oldest hates it. I was a big reader as a kid and I feel like maybe if I do the work of reading for her I can get her into it but even if not, I would like to share meaningful stories with them both.
I’m thinking of starting with A Tree Grows in Brooklyn… what else would you recommend? I’m open to anything but I think “coming of age”, relatable stories will capture their attention most. They’re not much into fantasy. I love a good tear jerker but when we read Charlotte’s Web, my oldest was hysterical (a couple years back) and that was just at chapter 2.
I remember A Prayer for Owen Meany seriously affecting me in high school but I realized today that it’s more religious than I remembered and I can’t recall if there is anything too mature.
Also thinking about reading The Giver - that’s about as dark or sad as I would want to go at their age I think.
Would love your recommendations.
Honestly, maybe ditch “meaningful” for fun, exciting, or thrilling? When I was 12, I was into Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie. When I was nine, I was into Madeline L’Engle and Jules Verne. Try Percy Jackson (“The Lightning Thief”), the Faerie novels by Catherynne Valente (“The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making”), Holly Black (“Doll Bones”), Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series (“Over Sea, Under Stone”).