I just heard about NPR's kids' book club yesterday. We promptly bought this month's book "The Graveyard Book," and we are really enjoying it at 100 pages into it. Not for real small children children, but my 9 year old is loving it.

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/28/141766112/kids-book-club-a-graveyard-tour-with-neil-gaiman

Is anyone else going to do it?

As for parenting books, which admittedly I haven't read in a while, I am currently reading "You're Not the Boss of Me: Brat Proofing Your 4 to 12 year old Child" by Betsy Brown Braun. I really needed this book and am really getting a lot out of it.

sarasara

First I've heard of it -- thank you for posting! We'll catch up with October's discussion online and join in for November. C already has that book. What a magnificen idea!

About "Graveyard"...did Mr Big find the idea of an orphaned child/murdered family disturbing? How did he take it? Other than that, the book sounds intriguing, and I think C would love it. She's fascinated with graveyards, and we need to take her on a tour soon. There are some really beautiful and historical ones where we live.

THank you SO much for posting this!! I've already sent the link to the wonder-librarian at our school and to the parents of a couple of C's friends...voracious readers all. What a brilliant, brilliant idea!

xo,
k.

Because of the content, DS and I are reading this together (he generally reads on his own these day.) I kind of freaked as we were reading the first few pages, because it implies the family is murdered, but it's written in such a way that doesn't make it clear. So no, it did not bother him because of the humor of the orphan's character in those initial pages that was cracking him up.

DS is unpredictable. He is very sensitive, but him and my husband also watch a lot of movies (like Dr. Who) that are scarey to me, but they love it. Last Spring we went to the Mummy exhibit, and both he and I were totally disturbed and horrified by it. It was a big mistake, and turned him off to all things EGyptian until this week (when he picked the "Who was" book on King Tut). Don't know if that is any help as to whether the murder of the family would freak a kid out. He watches enough stuff with his dead to know that murder is just a plot line.

Yeah, I'm excited I heard about the book club early on too. Suprised no one thought of it sooner.

sarasara

I was in great need of good books for ds to read. We went to the library and got that book right out. DS read a third of it today. What boook next?? He is a reading machine.

ds born 11.20.09 from single embie
highest fsh 75

I noticed other children's books on the shelf by the same author, so that's an idea in the interim. Hey maybe we can have our kids weigh in on the books here once they finish. (It's prolly going to take us longer since we are reading it aloud and as a treat at night.) Letting the kids write something about it would be kind of a trip and fun, now that they are getting old enough to be posting. Maybe there is a network54 juvi board in our future LOL! I hope you are doing well, Malka.

sarasara
mommy at last to Mr. Big 10-7-02

Oh my gosh, the idea of our kids posting to each other is a thought that never crossed my mind and I find it highly amusing. My kids and DH know I read this board all the time, and also the preg board, and they don't get it AT ALL!

For some reason it really tickles my funny bone, the idea of our kids having a board with each other.

And I book marked this link. I really like this idea. I haven't explored the site much but I hope that it will encompass a range of reading levels.

My 12 year old 7th grader is reading the Hunger Game series - I found them extremely disturbing and I'm not entirely OK with his reading it and I didn't read them until after he had finished the first one. On the one hand, what I read wasn't censored and I am a big reader. On the other hand, I remember to this day looking at the photos in Helter Skelter and I'm still disturbed by the memory. I think/hope alot of the age inappropriate things go over their head. If nothing else, hopefully it leads to discussion btw the adults and the subject matter.

Nice to see you around.

smiled at the thought as I read your post!

Heard the story on NPR, too, and I think it is a great idea BUT....

I'm not so pleased that the first book in this program literally starts mentioning the brutal MURDER of a FAMILY, including the attempted murder of a toddler. Yes, I know it is Halloween and I know the murder "just" sets up the story and I know this book has gotten tons of praise, but I'm still a bit horrified.

I know my 3rd-grade DS is more sensitive than most...but there is no way he would keep reading beyond the first page. He loves reading in bed at night and has been unable to sleep and/or gotten nightmares with far less graphic images. Sigh.

It is getting really hard to find good novels for my DS that don't freak him out. I'm trying to work with him, and he is getting better, but it also makes me really sad to think I need to "work with" DS to get him "over" his innate sensitivity and compassion so he can get into contemporary kids lit (and movies).

(Then again, I wasn't nearly as sensitive as a kid, but I still remember being "traumatized" by books like Old Yeller and Sounder!).

And..Is it just me, but it seems that so much kids lit has the parents killed off. Again, I know...it is a tool to get rid of adults and focus on the kids, but I swear it seems the majority of kids lit we come across features orphans or runaways or disinterested/disengaged parents....and this is elementary school lit all prior to the teen angst years lit.

Sorry to rant. Looking forward to next month's Phantom Tollboth!

-M