Rachel V @RachelVT42 - Twitter Profile

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2 days ago

Apparently many people found this list useful, so apart from @dustinthedad’s recommendations, what I’d add: Start more challenging books a bit earlier if you can. E.g. last month our 6yo read “The mouse and the motorcycle” as part of her K-2 book club. She didn’t read it on her own, but did read part of it by herself, and the rest was a great bonding experience with her papa. Also, right now I’m reading “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” to her, she’s just had the chance to meet our favorite potion master. Sorry @jk_rowling, she’s not fluent enough to read it by herself yet, but I guess it’s also our own failure to teach her all nuances of British English so far. We’re working on it too though. Which leads me to advice #2: introduce your children to a wider vocabulary range earlier if you can, including different flavors of English. So make sure to include Sir Walter Scott in your list, among other epic writers. And all the classics too, but don’t wait until middle school to do that, even if you feel the language sounds a bit dated. It may or it may not, but it’s irrelevant: if you don’t build your kids’ vocabulary scope early enough, you’ll make it harder for them to get into more challenging books by themselves down the road. The Hobbit belongs to a primary school selection. I don’t care what modern charts tell you, I read it around the time I turned 9yo and I was the dumb one in the family. By the way, Brave New World belongs to a middle school selection; I was 13 or 14 when we read it in school. I most probably didn’t fully understand it, but as I said, I was the dumb one in the family. One thing kinda missing from Dustin’s list: foreign classics originally not written in English. Sure, he included The count of Monte Cristo and The Odyssey, but plenty of classics are missing from the list. @lexfridman shared a nice reading list a few years ago, many of these classics belong to a middle school or high school list and should be included. Dostoevsky of course, but think in general foreign classics which have had a huge impact on western literature and beyond. And add easy books too, like Jules Verne: fun, light reads which only take a few days, or can be read on the back seat during a road trip. By the way, speaking of short books, no Little Prince on the list? Saint-Exupery in general is worth reading, and so is Romain Gary. No need to mention Camus as most people might already consider adding him, but from a North American perspective specifically, I’d say Romain Gary and Saint-Ex should be read. This post is already getting long, and I could go on and on, but I’ll stop with one last thing: don’t dismiss the importance of audiobooks. Sure, they’re not the same as reading printed words, and not the same as listening to a parent or mentor reading. But they’re well worth using as a tool to get into a genre which might have been overlooked otherwise due to lack of time or due to a challenging first chapter. And don’t forget that @andyserkis reading LotR can give you a brand new experience of an already beloved book. I guess that’s all for today, but basically, you can’t go wrong with helping your child fall in love with reading. And in the changing world which is upon us, it’s pretty much the number one skill they’ll need to be able to articulate their thought process, think creatively and pursue happiness in a meaningful way.

Rachel V

@RachelVT42

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