What about The Phantom Toolbooth. It's funny and sophisticated enough for high schoolers .
Aileen Grossberg Lampert library Congregation Shomrei Emunah Montclair nj On Nov 20, 2013, at 7:54 PM, Rose Myers <[email protected]> wrote: > Are you looking for Jewish books? > What about the traditional classics? > Here is a list I did a few years ago: > > Classic Literature - One Opinion (as of September 10, 2008) > > Here are my suggested literary classics, with very brief comments. This > definitely incomplete list is based on what I read and enjoyed as a young > adult. It includes characters and stories that are part of our cultural > heritage, stories that ask important questions, and, occasionally, books that > were recognized as classics in my youth. There are many other lists of > classics available from libraries and websites; my list overlaps those at the > Westport Public Library. At least for now, the only order to this list is > stream of consciousness. I want to thank my husband for his contribution to > this list. > > > Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice. Also try Emma, Sense and Sensibility, > Persuasion, etc. > > Wonderfully complicated, clever use of language. > Use of the "unreliable narrator." > Justice triumphs over mercy: Jane Austen is not kind to her characters. As > opposed to.... > Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre. > > Gothic novel: innocent young woman; brooding man with a secret; mysterious > goings on in a large, old house. > Also, good and bad educational environments. > Coincidence or fate plays an important role. > The author lets the heroine's rivals live happily ever after. > Mark Twain, The Prince and the Pauper, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, A > Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, etc. > > The dialect in Huck Finn put me off the book, which I now think is about the > moral growth of the main character. Tom Sawyer is a terrible person in it. > A Connecticut Yankee ends in disaster, as readers familiar with the King > Arthur story will already know. > Mark Twain lived in Hartford. > Sir Walter Scott, Ivanhoe > > Positive portrayal of Jews. > Robin Hood appears. > The character of Rebecca is supposed to be based on Rebecca Gratz (as in > Gratz College) of Philadelphia. > Howard Pyle, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, The Story of King Arthur and > His Knights, etc. > > An important illustrator of children's books. > Retold and popularized old stories and legends. > C.S. Forester, Captain Horatio Hornblower (series) > > Young man goes to sea in the British Navy. > Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, etc. > > The world's most famous detective. > Agatha Christie. And Then There Were None, The Mirror Crack'd, A Pocketful of > Rye, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, etc. > > Creator of Miss Marple and Hercules Poirot. > Most famous mystery writer of the 20th century. > Some of her stories are based on real life news stories. > Edgar Allen Poe, "The Purloined Letter," "Annabelle Lee," "The Bells," "The > Raven", "The Imp of the Perverse," "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The > Masque of the Red Death," etc. > > Horror stories, poetry, mysteries. > He creates a mood very well; avoid his horror stories if you don't like that > mood. > Baroness Orczy, The Scarlet Pimpernel > > Early example of a superhero (albeit without magical powers) with a secret > identity. > There are sequels to the book. > Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, etc. > > Being forced to read the beginning of David Copperfield and having to answer > simple questions at the end of each chapter turned me off Dickens. > Nevertheless, I read A Tale of Two Cities on my own and went around quoting > the ending; of course, that may have been from seeing the Ronald Coleman > movie version. > > P.G. Wodehouse, <Jeeves and Wooster stories, Mr. Mulliner stories, novels> > > One of my favorite authors. Anything he wrote is good. > Wrote the lyrics to "Bill" in the musical, Showboat. > Lots of references to poetry, Shakespeare, adages. Finding the sources of the > quotes would provide a good education in poetry. > Wonderfully pleasant and clever writing. > I maintain that Bertie Wooster is a saint and Jeeves has is own interests at > heart. > I prefer his earlier works (but after his boarding school books) to his later > ones. Not that it matters, but Wodehouse does sometimes repeat himself. > There is no evil in the worlds he creates, I think because there was none in > him. > J.R.R. Tolkein, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit. > > I had trouble getting into The Hobbit until I finished The Lord of the Rings. > My husband and son enjoyed the books more than I did. I guess I prefer a > little more character interaction and fewer descriptions and adventures. > What impressed me most was the mountain that was older than the concepts of > good and evil. > > J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan > > Captain Hook and the Darling children's father are acted by the same person > in the play. > One of those books that has means different things at different times of your > life. > > Clarence Day, Life with Father > > As I remember it, the episodes in the book were well written, interesting, > and wholesome. But not as syrupy as, say, Cheaper By the Dozen. > > Leonard Wibberley, The Mouse that Roared, etc. > > Deservedly popular author of my childhood (1950s and '60s) who is almost > impossible to find nowadays. > Wrote books for children, sometimes under other names, and for adults. > The Mouse that Roared was made into a movie with Peter Sellers. There were > several sequels. > Jane Yolen, Briar Rose, All Those Secrets of the World, etc. > > Briar Rose is a Holocaust story with parallels to Sleeping Beauty. I'm a > sucker for fairy tales. > All Those Secrets of the World is a children's picture book with parallel > scenes and a bold statement at the end that I'm not sure I agree with. I kept > taking out of the library until my daughter bought me my own copy. > H.G. Wells, The Time Machine, "The Country of the Blind," etc. > > Early science-fiction with a message (like most good science fiction). > L. Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz > > An American fairy tale. > Lots of sequels and spin-offs. > Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front > > Antiwar story about a German soldier in World War I. > Mary Shelley, Frankenstein > > Early horror story. > Written by a young woman on vacation as part of a contest. > Frankenstein is the name of the scientist, not his monster. > Bram Stoker, Dracula > > The vampire in this book is not as romantic as the Dracula of the movies. > Clever devices like a discarded journal create suspense: As we read, we know > that the character who wrote in the journal survived each day that has an > entry, but not if he survived the finding of his journal. > Louisa May Alcott, Little Women > > Personally, I find the book too wholesome and proper. But other people like > it. > Nathaniel Hawthorne, A Wonder Book, Tanglewood Tales > > These are retelling of Greek myths and legends. > I read The Scarlet Letter and was impressed by how a story so filled with > passions could be written is such a distant and dull manner. > Richard Henry Dana, Two Years Before the Mast > > A young man goes to sea. > Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass > > The author was a math professor: lots of clever word plays, logic jokes. > He invented the term, portmanteau word, for its use in "Jabberwocky" in > Through the Looking Glass. > William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, etc. > > Some plays are readable; don't worry about the obscure words or find a > version with definitions on the side. > Some plays are easier seen than read. > Josephine Tey, The Daughter of Time, The Singing Sands, To Love and Be Wise, > Miss Pym Disposes, etc. > > Mystery writer. > The Singing Sands created a magical mood the first time I read it. There is > no magic, just a mystery about who the dead man on the train is. > The Daughter of Time suggests an alternate way of looking at Richard III and > makes you think about how history is created. > Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, etc. > > Funny, thought-provoking. > Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of > the Earth > > Not as much fun as Douglas Adams, but he wrote "classics." > Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes, etc. > > He wrote lots of adventures, including science-fiction. > > H. Rider Haggard, She, King Solomon's Mines > > King Solomon's Mines has a poignant side story about an Englishman and an > African woman who fall in love. > > Winston Churchill, A History of the English Speaking Peoples > > Well written and interesting (according to my husband; I have not read this > four-volume work). > > Isaac Bashevis Singer, The Golem, "When Schlemiel Went to Warsaw," In My > Father's Court, Stories for Children, etc. > > Yiddish-writing Nobel Laureate. > Not all his books are for children or young adults. > "When Schlemiel Went to Warsaw" uses a simple Chelm story to talk about > issues of self-identity. > > Elie Wiesel, The Golem, Souls on Fire: Portraits and Legends of Hasidic > Masters, Messengers of God > > His book, Night, describes in painful detail his experiences in a > concentration camp. > Messengers of God is a provocative exploration of people in the Tanach. > Sydney Taylor, All of a Kind Family, etc. > > Delightful stories about an immigrant Jewish family growing up in New York > City in the early 1900s. > > Aesop's Fables > > Many versions exist. > Aesop was either a Greek slave or a combination of the authors of the fables > associated with the name of Aesop. > Origin of "sour grapes," "The Tortoise and the Hare," etc. > Hans Christian Andersen, "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Princess > and the Pea," "The Red Shoes," etc. > > His fairy tales are much more personal and less folkloric than Grimms'. Also > more sentimental. > I suspect there are Christian references in his stories: lots of undeserved > suffering---see "The Little Match Girl." > > The Brothers Grimm, Children's and Household Tales > > An exceedingly important collection of fairy tales, rewritten as newer > editions came up. > Some of the stories end horribly. Perrault's stories are less grisly. > > Charles Perrault, "The Sleeping Beauty," "Little Red Riding Hood," > "Donkeyskin," etc. > > Early teller/recorder of fairy tales. > "Little Red Riding Hood" is a cautionary tale about young women being seduced. > > John Jacobs, English Fairy Tales > > He collected them. > I like folktales. > > Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur > > The King Arthur stories are an important part of Western literature and > history (not that they are historic, but they show us what was important at > the time they were written) > > Beowulf > > This epic poem is an important part of English literature > Read a version that has the rest of Beowulf's life, not one that stops with > the fight against Grendl's mother. > > Rudyard Kipling, Kim, Just So Stories > > I remember enjoying Kim when I was young. I don't know if there are > "political correctness" problems with it. > Just So stories, also known as pourquoi stories, I recently learned (from > storyteller, Heather Forest) are really about character faults. > Julius Lester, Tales of Uncle Remus: The Adventures of Brer Rabbit > > American folklore. > Brer Rabbit is a trickster character who outwits those in power. > > Joanne Greenberg, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, The Far Side of > Victory, In This Sign, High Crimes and Misdemeanors > > I Never Promised You a Rose Garden apparently portrays a girl's insanity > accurately > High Crimes and Misdemeanors has a story about a woman who starts not > believing in G-d and ends not believing in gravity: we see her floating in > her apartment. > In This Sign is about a deaf couple and their hearing daughter. > She also wrote The King's Persons, about the massacre of Jews at York in > 1190. I have not read it yet. > > Donna Jo Napoli, The Magic Circle and other spin-offs/retellings of fairy > tales > > The Magic Circle, a retelling of "Hansel and Gretel" from the witch's point > of view, reminds of Ingmar Bergman's movie, The Seventh Seal, which my > history professor said gave an accurate presentation of what life was like in > the Middle Ages. > > E.L. Konigsberg, Father's Arcane Daughter, etc. > > One of those books in the children's section of the library because there are > children in the story; as an adult I thoroughly enjoyed it. > > Howard Schwartz, Diamond Tree: Jewish Tales from Around the World, etc. > > He retells Jewish folktales and Midrash in several books. > Lawrence Kushner, The Book of Letters: A Mystical Alef-bait, etc. > > A book about the Hebrew letters---how to draw them, their meanings, words > that start with them, stories about them---by a Reform rabbi who has written > other books on spirituality. > > Raphael Patai, Gates to the Old City: A Book of Jewish Legends > > A collection of brief passages of Jewish texts throughout time. > > Ruth Krauss, Minestrone > > A collection of works by this important children's author. > > Andrew Lang, The Blue Fairy Tale Book, also other colors of Fairy Tale Books > > collections of fairy tales and folktales from around the world > > Gyo Fujikawa, Mother Goose > > Any collection of Mother Goose poems; I happen to like the pictures for this > one. > There is also an annotated Mother Goose. > > Homer, The Illad and The Odyssey > > Classics. > Contains Helen of Troy, the Trojan Horse, Cyclops, Achilles heel, Mentor and > more. > > Anthony Hope, The Prisoner of Zenda > > Heroics and treachery and noble sacrifice. > > Samuel Delany, The Ballad of Beta-2 > > Obscure science fiction about how deciphering a text explains what happened > to a group of people. > > Edwin Abbott, Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions > > A mathematical story with a social message. > > George Gamov, One, Two, Three...Infinity > > Lots of math and very interesting, as I remember it from long ago. > > James Hilton, Lost Horizon > > Story about a perfect society, Shangra-La. > > O. Henry, "The Gift of the Magi," "The Last Leaf," "The Ransom of Red Chief," > etc. > > Interesting stories, usually with a twist. > Strunk and White, The Elements of Style > > A short grammar book. > > The Thousand and One Nights, also sometimes known as The Arabian Nights > > Folklore within a story about Scheherazade > Esther Hautzig, Seven Good Years and Other Good Stories of I.L. Peretz > > I.L. Peretz retold Jewish folktales in Yiddish and was one of a group of > writers who used Yiddish to write literature. > > P.L. Travers, Mary Poppins > > Episodes about the famous nanny and her charges. > > Gilbert and Sullivan, The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance, etc. > > Clever dialogue and lovely music enjoyed by George Gershwin and Groucho Marx, > among many others. > > Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows > > Stories about a group of animal friends; some of the stories are strange. > > Johanna Spyri, Heidi > > Young girl who grows up in the mountains helps bring a city girl back to > health > > "... I've got a little list... The task of filling up the blanks I'd rather > leave to you." > > W.S. Gilbert, The Mikado. > > > > Rose Myers > Fairfield, CT > Stories are how we make sense of the world. > From: Aviva Adler <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2013 1:40 PM > Subject: [ha-Safran] Looking for books for HS students- both literary and > "kosher" > > I'm trying to put together a list of books appropriate for high school > students that are both literary (meaning suitable for a book discussion > group) and "kosher" enough for yeshiva students. The Jewish novels I am > familiar with are not very literary and the secular YA literature is rarely > "kosher" enough. Anyone have any suggestions? > Thanks, > > -- > Aviva Adler > Librarian, > Shevach High School > Flushing, NY 11367 > [email protected] > > __ > Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author > and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) > ================================== > Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: > [email protected] > To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: > https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran > Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: [email protected] > Ha-Safran Archives: > Current: > http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.service.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html > Earlier Listserver: > http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html > AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org > -- > Hasafran mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran > > > __ > Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author > and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) > ================================== > Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: > [email protected] > To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: > https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran > Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: [email protected] > Ha-Safran Archives: > Current: > http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.service.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html > Earlier Listserver: > http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html > AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org > -- > Hasafran mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran
__ Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) ================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: [email protected] To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: [email protected] Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.service.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html Earlier Listserver: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org -- Hasafran mailing list [email protected] https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran
