Grrr... this has almost spoiled my enjoyment of book stores these days. Entire WALLS of this.CharleneHoell wrote: I also agree with you that it is hard to find things that are not full of vampires and guy/girl stuff.
Anyways, one idea is to use all of the read-alouds from the different MFW years, plus the ECC 7-8th grade readers that your son hasn't read yet. They are all not only educational but character-building. I wouldn't even be afraid of some of the easier ones like Patricia St. James and Daughters of the Faith biographies; even adults can get something out of these.
Also, I have a list somewhere of what my son's book club has read. I can't guarantee there is nothing objectionable whatsoever, but we are all Christian families of different sorts, and we have all okayed these. Maybe they will help someone. My son is a very capable reader but does *NOT* like to read -- I am so jealous of those of you with boys who love to read! Fortunately for my son, his book club includes some easy reads in there


10th grade book club
-Julius Caesar, Shakespeare (also studied in WHL)
-Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane (Civil War, personally not a role model I'd recommend for middle school)
-A Christmas Carol, by Dickens (again)
-Treasure Island, by Stevenson (again)
-Shipwreck at the bottom of the world, by Jennifer Armstrong (Antarctica, 1914, true story, Shackleton was a model leader)
-Farenheit 451, by Bradbury (set in the future, when TV/media replaces literacy/human interaction)
-To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (Alabama during the Depression, prejudices, an alleged rape, 1933)
-Going Solo, by Roald Dahl (autobiography of author of Charlie & the Chocolate Factory etc.; British pilot in WWII)
9th grade book club, the only year we had a "teacher"
-Ides of April, by Mary Ray (around the 50s AD, Roman Emperor Nero)
-Canoeing With the Cree, by Eric Sevareid (1930, true story of a canoe trip)
-A Single Shard, by Linda Sue Park (1100s Korea, one of my son's favorites)
-Call of the Wild, by London (Klondike Gold Rush, Alaska 1897, a bit of underlying "social Darwinism" to discuss)
-Rifles for Watie, by Harold Keith (Civil War, 1861)
-Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt (1967, goofy & looks easy but covers a lot of history of the late 60s, some moral dilemmas, and some Shakespeare; our book club also discussed satire, irony, heroes, anti-heroes, and fools)
-Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, by C.S. Forester (England, 1793)
8th grade book club
Critical Thinking Book 1 (logic)
8th grade reading time at home
-Misc. stories from The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling, and other short stories
-Tom Sawyer, by Twain
-I am David, by Anne Holm (boy escapes from prison camp and is on his own; a little slow/poignant for my son, movie was good)
-A Christmas Carol, by Dickens (England, 1850s, fairly short)
-Treasure Island, by Stevenson (England, Caribbean, Georgia, 1750s)
-Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Carroll
-Bruchko: The Astonishing True Story of a 19-Year-Old American, His Capture by the Motilone Indians and His Adventures in Christianizing the Stone Age Tribe, by Bruce Olson (in the ECC supplement)
-The Story of My Life, by Helen Keller (a little Victorian for my son, ended up just reading half out loud & then watching The Miracle Worker, but he was definitely impressed by her story and her writing about how she "sees" the world)
-A Day of Pleasure: Stories of a Boy Growing Up in Warsaw, by Isaac Bashevis Singer (WWI Poland); I also considered The Chosen by Chaim Potok (end of WWII), but decided to go for a bit younger audience
-The Narrow Road, by Brother Andrew (also called God's Smuggler, absolutely excellent about God's hand in getting Bibles behind the iron curtain, also in the ECC supplement)
-The Hobbit, by Tolkien
7th grade book club
-The Golden Goblet, by Eloise Jarvis McGraw (ancient Egypt)
-The Twenty-One Balloons, by William Pène du Bois
-Black Ships Before Troy, by Rosemary Sutcliff (The Iliad, illustrated version is best)
-The Wanderings of Odysseus, by Rosemary Sutcliff (The Odyssey, illustrated version is best)
-Rascal, by Sterling North (1918, pet raccoon)