Friday: already, daughter is ignoring schoolwork to read

[walkitout]

A. had to pick a book the other day for her second independent reading assignment. The last one, she finished off the final Mrs. Piggle Wiggle book (by the original author — there’s a fourth one by someone else). This time, I handed her Edward Eager’s _Half-Magic_. She _says_ she hates fiction; this is my effort to convince her she actually _does_ like fiction. And indeed, she liked all three Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, and she loves _Half-Magic_.

However, in the course of reading these books, she is asking about a lot of things that when I read the books, I just put up with never knowing. So when she reads these books, I have to look up what a Moonbeam Sundae was, and what the game Flinch was, and actually come up with a definition for pennon and varlet. Which is great! She is already avoiding schoolwork to keep reading her book. I knew it would happen. I delayed it as long as possible. Her teachers have been getting more freaked out each year that she wasn’t ever gonna get into reading. But I know my genetics; all you have to do is shove Nerd Culture books in front of those eyeballs and the addiction is real.

I walked with M.

Levinson, author of _The Box_ was on Bloomberg, talking about the Ever Given (future readers: the boat that got stuck in the Suez Canal during a sandstorm and took days to get back out — as of right now, it is not quite unstuck). He has a new book (_Outside the Box_), which I promptly bought. R. says he will read the kindle version; I don’t need to buy the hardback for him.

I had a great convo with K.

Comments

[ethelmay]

You might ask a librarian about modern books along the same lines as Edward Eager. There must be plenty. (N.B. At least one of the later books -- I think Magic or Not?, or maybe The Well-Wishers) has a cringingly awful attempt at a black character.)

I suppose E. Nesbit is probably even more difficult culturally, being that much further back and English as well.

In other older books, she might like Black and Blue Magic, by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. Or the Gone-Away Lake books by Elizabeth Enright (not magic, but excellent family stories, and I think more accessible for modern kids than the Melendy books, though I'm very fond of those too). Oh, and Miss Osborne-the-Mop, by Wilson Gage (Mary Q. Steele), sounds like her kind of thing in general, but there is a certain amount of 1960s-era attitude about dieting and what not that might spoil it. (Black and Blue Magic has what I recall as a much more sensible take on magically-acquired fitness, probably because it's about a boy.)

Thanks for the suggestions and the warning!

[walkitout]

On my list of possible next books are the following:

Fog Magic, by Sauer

The Island Keeper, by Mazer — I’d like to know how she would feel about a book which functionally has _one_ character. Alternatively, My Side of the Mountain (altho that violates my either a girl, or girls and boys rule). I loved both.

The first Telzey Amberdon book by James Schmitz

A Tamora Pierce series, except I’m so uncertain which one, that probably this is not a great idea.

_Mirabile_ by Janet Kagan (this is a bit of a reach)

Going from Mrs. Piggle Wiggle to Edward Eager, she has sped up and gotten even more interested, which suggests that we are not quite at her reading level yet, which makes it tricky to know how much further to go. I am trying to avoid several things. First, I don’t want anything particularly emotionally complex — she gets really confused and hostile whenever reading material has emotional complexity. Second, I want absolutely no interpersonal complexity, for the exact same reason. Third, she likes magic and/or puzzles, and humor.

If I were not so committed to a girl or girls and boys, I’d put the Mad Scientists Club books in front of her next. And I may yet do so! Asking a librarian for modern books with this set of criteria doesn’t work, full stop. I’ve tried a variety of approaches, and it never goes well, and I wind up being mad at the librarian. Avoiding emotional and interpersonal complexity somehow causes librarians to feel like they need to urge me and/or my daughter to do something that I’ve started out by saying I won’t do. It’s sort of like telling someone you don’t want to do yoga; the conversation immediately turns into trying to figure out how to convince you to do yoga anyway. It’s bizarre, annoying and I am Completely Done with it.

Miss Osborne the Mop has real potential, but, alas, some availability issues. I have a couple books a friend recommended that I should go find on the shelf, because I’ve forgotten their names again. (ETA: Beyond the Paw Paw Trees, and The Silver Nutmeg, by Palmer Brown. But I need to read them, first, before I decide whether to point my daughter at them or not. They were a friends favorite books as a child.) (I’d love to find a copy of Magic in the Alley, because again, I never read it when I was young, and it looks pretty close to right, and I remember having at least moderate affection for the Katie John books by the same author.)

Thanks for reminding me of Zilpha Keatley Snyder — I read The Velvet Room a long time ago, and while it was not one I reread, nor is it one that would work well for my daughter currently, I remember it being a very involving book.

Wow, the Trixie Belden books are available on kindle. She might never come up for air again, if she reacts to those the way I did.

Re: Thanks for the suggestions and the warning!

[ethelmay]

I have Miss Osborne and could send it to you.

Re: Thanks for the suggestions and the warning!

[walkitout]

Let me see if I can get it through ILL first, but thank you!