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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Young Adult books.
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Surfing Madness
Shipmate
# 11087
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Posted
I'm looking for recommendations of good young adult/ older children Christian books. I'm particularly thinking about the 9-12 year olds on a camp I help with, but also for myself as I struggle with dyslexia at times, so want something easy to read. All suggestions welcome, fiction, history, theology or anything else you can think of.
(Hosts couldn't decide if here was the place for this. Looking for maybe slightly heavier weight answers than heaven usually provides.)
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I now blog about all my crafting! http://inspiredbybroadway.blogspot.co.uk
Posts: 1542 | From: searching for the jam | Registered: Feb 2006
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SusanDoris
Incurable Optimist
# 12618
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Posted
My hope would be that you include a book such as 'The Magic of Reality - how we know what's really true' by Richard Dawkins.
This is aimed mainly at an audience of younger people, but it is of course very well written and the hardback contains excellent colour photos, plus coloured pages.
[ 02. November 2015, 06:03: Message edited by: SusanDoris ]
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I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.
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Alan Cresswell
Mad Scientist 先生
# 31
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Posted
I'm not sure Prof Dawkins would be entirely happy to have his book suggested as a "Christian book".
I suppose the first question to ask would be what you would be expecting the books to be for. Some light reading before bed (in which case a Christian novel my be appropriate, if there are any good examples of that genre)? Or, a book that deals with a theme being addressed at the camp (in which case, we'd need to know the theme)? A good introduction to major themes of the Christian faith, the Bible, lives of the Saints ... well, there are lots of options there.
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Don't cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Alan Cresswell:
I'm not sure Prof Dawkins would be entirely happy to have his book suggested as a "Christian book".
...nor will Susan be when she realizes she did... ![[Biased]](wink.gif)
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Some ideas for fiction books. As always, it's a good idea to read/skim books you don't know before giving them to kids.
--Madeleine L'Engle's books for children and young adults. (Actually, she intended most of them to simply be good stories for whatever age.) Particularly the "Time Quartet"; and "Meet The Austins", and the rest of that season.
--C.S. Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia".
--"The Secret Garden", by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Not specifically Christian, but fits well. And there are some great ideas about God.
--Patricia St. John's "Tanglewoods Secret" and "Rainbow Garden".
For history books, do you mean religious history, or a religious take on secular history, or...?
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
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mr cheesy
Shipmate
# 3330
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Posted
Not specifically Christian, but my daughter really liked Lucy Daniels, Jeremy Strong and Jacqueline Wilson at that age.
I guess maybe we should be asking what is a "Christian" youth novel..?
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arse
Posts: 10697 | Registered: Sep 2002
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SusanDoris
Incurable Optimist
# 12618
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Posted
Okay, point taken!! ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
I of course think it would be important at any occasion to provide an alternate, non-believers' view.
On the Christian book side, I would recommend 'The Little Prince' by Antoine de Saint Exupery. The Christian message at the end might well be too vague for younger children. Also it reads better in the French!
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I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.
Posts: 3083 | From: UK | Registered: May 2007
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Eutychus
From the edge
# 3081
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Posted
hosting/
Hostly consensus is that this serious discussion on book recommendations may be held in Heaven, whence I hereby dispatch it.
/hosting
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Let's remember that we are to build the Kingdom of God, not drive people away - pastor Frank Pomeroy
Posts: 17944 | From: 528491 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Sarasa
Shipmate
# 12271
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Posted
I liked Knife and its sequels by R.J. Anderson . A fair bit of magic and a very convincing (at least in the first book) fairy world. The human characters are Christians. Also Caroline Lawrence's The Roman Mysteries have quite a bit about early Christianity in them.
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'I guess things didn't go so well tonight, but I'm trying. Lord, I'm trying.' Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets.
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
Possibly you have read Lewis, and Dorothy Sayers on this subject. But, before a book can be a Christian book, it must be a Good Book. It had better be excellently written, a cracking good story, as addictive as cocaine and as appetizing as chocolate. To slap a Christian label so as to foist second-rank work onto a reader is an actively bad witness; there are Christian novels out there that are a superb witness for atheism.
So! Having said that, everything depends upon the reader you have in mind. A boy will not do well with Little Women, but every girl should read it. An older child of bookish bent will do great with Phantastes or perhaps the Curdie books by George MacDonald, but a kid who demands a modern tone would be better with something recent. Boys nearly always enjoy SF or fantasy; my go-to entry-level drug is the Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud -- crystal meth between book covers; if this doesn't make the lad a reader nothing will.
Consider well the reading level of the child you have in mind. Some kids enjoy a challenge and others are put off. People who have difficulty with a long text can be happily inculcated with movies. LOTR, Les Miserables, Narnia, even the Aubrey and Maturin books, all have excellent movie portals that are true to the spirit (if not the text) of the written work.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by SusanDoris:
Okay, point taken!!
I of course think it would be important at any occasion to provide an alternate, non-believers' view.
TANGENT Well in that case you'd want something better than Dawkins! I always thought that his problem was that they gave him a Chair in the Public Understanding of Science and he thought it was a Chair in the Public Misunderstanding of Religion END TANGENT
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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Uncle Pete
Loyaute me lie
# 10422
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Posted
I will probably be cast into the outer darkness for suggesting the Harry Potter series. There are many Christian themes which Rowling has snuck into the story.
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
An older child of bookish bent will do great with Phantastes or perhaps the Curdie books by George MacDonald,
I read the Curdie books when I was 7. The Princess and the Goblins was the first book I read after an advanced get my daughter to read course from my mother, the school having failed to entrance me with Janet and John. I did skip bits, I think, as re-reading several times would reveal descriptions I didn't remember.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Drifting Star
Drifting against the wind
# 12799
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Uncle Pete:
I will probably be cast into the outer darkness for suggesting the Harry Potter series. There are many Christian themes which Rowling has snuck into the story.
I will sit in the outer darkness with you, because that's what I was about to suggest.
J K Rowling has talked about the overriding theme being redemption, but there are also many, many other Christian ideas in there.
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The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Heraclitus
Posts: 3126 | From: A thin place. | Registered: Jul 2007
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
It's worth distinguishing between books with overtly Christian content, and books that like the Narnia books 'slip past watchful dragons.' IMO the latter have far more power in the world, but the former are the ones that people buy and give to kids.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Sacristan&Verger
Apprentice
# 17968
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Posted
May I second I am David by Ann Holm?
My son had it as a present from his Godfather and I re-read it recently - it's stood the test of time. An excellent read.
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Did I do something wrong today or has the world always been like this and I've been to wrapped up in myself to notice?
Posts: 8 | From: Beside the sea | Registered: Jan 2014
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Schroedinger's cat
Ship's cool cat
# 64
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Posted
I think I should recommend the books in my sig - particularly Ideocide, which is suitable for young adults, although it is aimed slightly higher. Clearly you should buy it, check it out and see.
It does have spiritual elements to it - it is about a challenge to preconceptions, so intended to make people think.
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Lord may all my hard times be healing times
take out this broken heart and renew my mind.
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Lyda*Rose
Ship's broken porthole
# 4544
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Albertus:
quote:
Originally posted by SusanDoris:
Okay, point taken!!
I of course think it would be important at any occasion to provide an alternate, non-believers' view.
TANGENT Well in that case you'd want something better than Dawkins! I always thought that his problem was that they gave him a Chair in the Public Understanding of Science and he thought it was a Chair in the Public Misunderstanding of Religion END TANGENT
If you really want a good alternative to a Christian world view, I'd suggest "The Earthsea Trilogy" by Ursula K. Leguin, a taoist/atheist. Even though it isn't theistic, it is very morally and ethically based.
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"Dear God, whose name I do not know - thank you for my life. I forgot how BIG... thank you. Thank you for my life." ~from Joe Vs the Volcano
Posts: 21377 | From: CA | Registered: May 2003
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Zoey
Broken idealist
# 11152
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Posted
20 years ago I owned a bookshelf-full of specifically Christian young adult fiction (think most of it was a Scripture Union series called Impressions, or some such). As I recall, most of it didn't have very much literary merit. The one work I found of better quality, which I've re-read a couple of times and still own my copy of is Telling The Sea. I've doubled-checked and it is by a specifically Christian publisher, but it doesn't shove any messages or evangelism down your throat - indeed the pastor in the story is one of the least likeable characters. It's not a literary marvel and I don't know how well it will have stood the test of time from 20 years ago but I enjoyed it and it might be worth a look.
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Pay no mind, I'm doing fine, I'm breathing on my own.
Posts: 3095 | From: the penultimate stop? | Registered: Mar 2006
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Jane R
Shipmate
# 331
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Posted
These are not specifically Christian, but worth reading all the same:
Mars Evacuees and Space Hostages by Sophia McDougall
The Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones (first one in the internal chronology is The Lives of Christopher Chant but the first one she wrote was Charmed Life )
I expect you've already read this one, but it's a classic and does have overtly Christian themes:
The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope
The above are more likely to appeal to girls than boys.
For older teenagers it might be worth considering some of the works of Simon Morden (who is a Christian, and in fact a Shipmate) and Adrian Tchaikovsky (who is not a Christian, but who has just written a cracking SF story that is obviously heavily inspired by the Bible - Children of Time )
Oh, and what Brenda said. Read good books. You probably won't want to read/recommend books by authors who are overtly hostile to religion (Simon Morden's Petrovitch series also has a main character who is very anti-American), but don't pick badly written books just because they're "Christian".
Albertus: quote:
TANGENT Well in that case you'd want something better than Dawkins! I always thought that his problem was that they gave him a Chair in the Public Understanding of Science and he thought it was a Chair in the Public Misunderstanding of Religion END TANGENT
<continuing tangent> No, his actual problem is summed up very neatly in the title for his book The God Delusion - it's a fairly common delusion amongst academics of a certain age. I thought it was his autobiography the first time I saw it in a bookshop... <\end tangent>
Posts: 3958 | From: Jorvik | Registered: May 2001
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not entirely me
Shipmate
# 17637
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Posted
Another vote for Narnia. I was talking with a couple of 17 year olds at the weekend who were unaware about the underpinning Christian aspects of the books had enjoyed them as children and found them thought-provoking all the same.
The Sacred Diaries of Adrien Plass entertained me and my friends as teenagers.
Posts: 68 | From: England | Registered: Apr 2013
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
A surprising number of people do not and still have not noticed the Christian underpinnings of Narnia. The quickness of the authorial hand indeed deceived the eye.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jane R:
No, his actual problem is summed up very neatly in the title for his book The God Delusion - it's a fairly common delusion amongst academics of a certain age. I thought it was his autobiography the first time I saw it in a bookshop... <\end tangent>
![[Snigger]](graemlins/snigger.gif) Lots of doctors, too.
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Re Narnia:
And some people mistake it for an allegory--when, from a Christian view, it's better than that. Aslan isn't a symbol for Jesus--he *is* Jesus, as he's known in that world. That's why Aslan told the kids he'd brought them to Narnia so they'd get to know him better in their own world.
![[Cool]](cool.gif)
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
No, Lewis was far smarter than that. The author of Allegory of Love knew precisely how to handle allegory.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jane R:
The Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones (first one in the internal chronology is The Lives of Christopher Chant but the first one she wrote was Charmed Life )
And the first one which should be read should be "Charmed Life", because it needs to be read in ignorance of what is learned in "Christopher".
And I'm not sure that the books are particularly going to appeal to some as Christian. Partly for the same superficial reason as Rowling. They are moral, of course. Can't quite put my finger on what is making me doubt - it may be the thread of - not sure what to call it, but I had the impression in both the books (which I have devoured with enthusiasm) and the autobiography on line, that I might not find her a person unlikely to take dislike to people.
[ 03. November 2015, 19:13: Message edited by: Penny S ]
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Huia
Shipmate
# 3473
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Lyda*Rose:
If you really want a good alternative to a Christian world view, I'd suggest "The Earthsea Trilogy" by Ursula K. Leguin, a taoist/atheist. Even though it isn't theistic, it is very morally and ethically based.
There are now 5 books in the
Earthsea series, which I think is brilliant. Personally I have always found the Narnia books a bit preachy and dated, although I realise this may be a minority view, and they are popular.
I have always had a soft spot for The Little Prince since I was given it as a Sunday School prize many years ago.
Huia
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Charity gives food from the table, Justice gives a place at the table.
Posts: 10382 | From: Te Wai Pounamu | Registered: Oct 2002
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Dafyd
Shipmate
# 5549
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
Having said that, everything depends upon the reader you have in mind. A boy will not do well with Little Women, but every girl should read it. An older child of bookish bent will do great with Phantastes or perhaps the Curdie books by George MacDonald, but a kid who demands a modern tone would be better with something recent.
A bookish child may do well with almost anything, aimed at girls or boys. When I was under ten I wasn't much interested in anything that had the air of 'social realism' or girl's boarding schools, but Little Women was far enough in the past to be historical fiction, which was acceptable.
I blame C.S.Lewis and Arthur Ransome. Both wrote children's adventure novels with prominent girl leads. I never felt books with girl leads weren't for me.
I read Princess and Curdie when I was under ten and loved it.
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we remain, thanks to original sin, much in love with talking about, rather than with, one another. Rowan Williams
Posts: 10567 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Feb 2004
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Sarasa
Shipmate
# 12271
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Posted
I love Diana Wynne Jones books. She was an atheist, but I think she went to a Quaker school and I think that might have influenced the way the magic works in her stories.
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'I guess things didn't go so well tonight, but I'm trying. Lord, I'm trying.' Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets.
Posts: 2035 | From: London | Registered: Jan 2007
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
In this day, when everything has to compete with the kids' texting, I would simply encourage reading fiction. Any and all fiction -- let the child graze. The lamb knows when the grass it's eating is good, and instinctively seeks more. I doubt if anything really important to me was given to me or recommended to me by anyone. I found them all, myself, hand over hand, following from one author to the next. From Narnia to LOTR, to Sayers to Dante with a long side trip into Nero Wolfe and Donald Westlake, and now I am knee-deep in Dickens and Trollope...
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
Posts: 6378 | From: Washington DC | Registered: Mar 2014
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Sandemaniac
Shipmate
# 12829
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Sarasa:
. She was an atheist, but I think she went to a Quaker school
She did indeed.
AG
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"It becomes soon pleasantly apparent that change-ringing is by no means merely an excuse for beer" Charles Dickens gets it wrong, 1869
Posts: 3574 | From: The wardrobe of my soul | Registered: Jul 2007
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