Today’s holiday idea list comes from an question posed by one of our Middle School students. This girl asked me to recommend a “big” book in which she could immerse herself over the upcoming holiday break. I know the feeling. There’s something wonderful about a long novel to read during a vacation. No 200 pager, but a thick book that allows you to enter a whole different world and stay there for awhile. Contrary to one of the arguments for getting an e-reader (about not having to carry a big book around), these are just the novels I want as “real” books. It’s the page thing. I want to see how much longer I can exist in this other place, and of course, measure my progress.Here are the suggestions I gave to my student – and by the way – she’s already read all of the Harry Potter books.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez
A String in the Harp by Nancy Bond
The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Inkheart and Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons: The Story of Phillis Wheatley by Ann Rinaldi
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
Homecoming by Cynthia Voight
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