Archive for the ‘Conceptual: highly sophisticated’ Category
Tuesday, July 18th, 2006
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| Author: | Frank Herbert |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Sophisticated readers |
| Genre: | Fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1971 |
What I love about Dune is the incredibly thoughtful and comprehensive description of the whole desert planet and how humans can find a way to live in such an inhospitable place.
I recommended Dune to my older daughter when she was about 13. Her opinion on Dune (but then she read it just about at the same time she read Winter's Tale & Monte Cristo, which have remained some of her favorite books, now 4 years later), was that it was "OK", compared to these others which really captivated her. |
The beginning of Dune is very violent, very intense. And it only lets up a little once about 200 pages into the book when our hero is just about out on his own. (That's often why the violence occurs early on, even in Disney. Have to get rid of mom and explain away dad so hero is forced to be brave and we can have a plot. But in this case, the beginning is quite elongated, full of betrayal and torture, and sad.)
The plot is kind of like Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, except that (perhaps because Asimov's characters are much less lifelike) Asimov is much less in-your-face violent and Asimov's women are -- fifties women, which is to say, extremely stereotypical. OTOH, for an 11 year old, maybe he should read the Foundation Trilogy first and then Dune?
And, finally, Dune is the first in, like, a series of 5 or so books. The first book doesn't actually end with any finality. AND, I really, really, really detested the sequels. Can't remember why, but I know I never got through even the first sequel. SO, I have no idea what happened after the first book.
My advice is that if there are other books on your list, I would probably postpone Dune for a while.
For an 11 year old, I would probably opt for Asimov over Frank Herbert. I really did LOVE the I, Robot stories and I think they raise interesting questions about the relationship between people and technology, even today. And the Foundation Trilogy, with the caveat about the women.
In fact, you might want to look into some of the anthologies of classic science fiction. (But reading those was what got me into reading Harlen Ellison and Kurt Vonnegut and they are probably NOT books my mom would have wanted me reading. But she was like me. I do not forbid my kids from reading anything, I just sometimes divert them toward something else ...)
--Emily |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Dune |
Posted in Conceptual: highly sophisticated, Death is a central theme, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fiction, Gifted, Reading level: age 12 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Tuesday, June 6th, 2006
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| Author: | Donald McQuade |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | College-prep |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | College-prep |
| Genre: | non-fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2003 |
The Seeing and Writing book is a very different book. It too is a book
for the entry level college (or perhaps advanced high school?) writer.
The over all premise of the book is that we live in a real world where
visual text messages have as much, if not more, sway than a full page
of text. Certainly, it is a much more interesting book to read and look
through and does not pretend to hold the act of writing to a separate
standard... a higher standard... than visual images. Rather, the book
attempts to have the reader ponder the significance of visual images,
text images, and the power of linking the two. |
The "voice" of the text is much more savvy. Perhaps a tad too trendy
for my country bumpkin kids. I am being somewhat selective on which
subjects/essays I will have my two work with in the text. There are
several exercises in the book that I think my highly visual kids will
respond to. The book is also linked to a website
which nicely extends the text. |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Seeing & Writing 2 |
Posted in Conceptual: highly sophisticated, Homeschool, Reading level: College prep, Reading level: Sophisticated reader | Comments Closed
Tuesday, June 6th, 2006
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| Author: | Susan Orlean |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Sophisticated readers |
| Genre: | biography |
| Year of publication: | 2000 |
Study of a man obsessed with orchids. |
The language is rough, but the book is well worth reading because of its fascinating descriptions of the orchids and the man and life in this particular stratum of Floridian society, which spans Seminole tribe members to British nobility. |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Orchid Thief, The |
Posted in Biography, Conceptual: highly sophisticated, Culture, Gifted, History, Reading level: Sophisticated reader, Science | Comments Closed
Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006
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| Author: | Alfred Rosa |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | College-prep |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | College-prep |
| Genre: | non-fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1997 |
by Alfred Rosa and Paul Eschholz
Published by Bedford/St Martins Models for Writers seems to be very appropriate for the in-the-box sort of essay required on SATs and college applications. The target audience is a first year college student, yet the text does not pander or seem to assume the student can not think for him/herself. Also the text is not excessive on what I can best term to be "hip and cool": this being the attempt by the authors/publisher to appeal to some imagined college teen fixated upon MTV, fashion dictates, etc. The book also seems very appropriate for the younger teen. This is in contrast to many of the books that had essays dealing with the angst of teenhood to excess. There are many excellent samples of essays, many by well known authors, to illustrate the various points the book is trying to teach.
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We are just beginning to use this book but to date, find the arrangement and presentation of the book very acceptable. The book clearly breaks down the elements of the essay and spends a full chapter (with outstanding examples), on this. Thesis, Unity, Organization, Beginnings and Endings, Paragraphs, Transistions, and Effective Sentences all merit separate chapters. A portion of the book is devoted to discussion and examples of the language of essays (Diction and Tone, Figurative Language). The balance of the text is devoted to different types of essays: Illustration; Narration; Description; Process Analysis; Definition; Division and Classification; Comparison and Contrast; Cause and Effect; and finally Argument. A nice plus of this text is the inclusion of a Thematic Contents which lists the essays used for example by theme: Family; Friends and Friendship; People and Personalities; Life and Death; Men and Women; The Minority Experience; Science and Technology; Observing Nature; Work and Play; Language and thought; Enduring Issues; Popular Culture; Education; The Urban Experience; Health and Medicine; Writers and Writing.
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Models for Writers: Short Essays for Compostion, 8th ed |
A review by a guest commentator
Posted in Conceptual: highly sophisticated, Reading level: College prep | Comments Closed
Friday, May 19th, 2006
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| Author: | Jane Austen |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Sophisticated readers |
| Genre: | fiction, historical |
| Year of publication: | 1813 |
It is amazing how a book that was written nearly two centuries ago can ring so true to this day.
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It's an age-old story, obviously. A teenage girl is mortified by her family and lack of money and feels that they adversely affect her romantic prospects.
And, the young man she favors agrees.
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Pride and Prejudice |
Posted in Conceptual: highly sophisticated, Culture, Female protagonist, Fiction, History, Reading level: Sophisticated reader | Comments Closed
