looking for books similar to Mrs. Frisby & the Rats of Nimh
Kate Nepveu
> I am homeschooling my nephew who is 13 years old. He was just recently
> pulled from school as he is flunking every class, and his attitude has
> gotten very bad. He had given up any hope of passing.
[_Nimh_]
> We hit the jackpot!!!
[...]
> He likes animals very much, so I am thinking books that have animals as
> main characters. As long as it is not too easy in reading. And if there
> are people in the story, they should be teenagers or older so that he
> doesn't think he is reading children's books.
It's been so long since I read _Nimh_ that I no longer know how hard
it is, but look at the Redwall series (Brian Jacques). There are also
lots of teen-with-horses books; try _The Blue Sword_.
Good luck!
Kate
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Brenda
other of Adams' books, though.)
Branching out a bit, you could have him take a shot at the YAs of Jane Yolen,
Diana Wynn Jones, or Peter Dickinson.
Brenda
--
---------
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From Tor Books in May 2000
http://www.sff.net/people/Brenda/
kiras...@my-deja.com
pulled from school as he is flunking every class, and his attitude has
gotten very bad. He had given up any hope of passing.
Anyway, he is doing much better at home, though of course, he hates to
read. He has some books where he reads stories and answers question to
work on comprehension and vocabulary. He also has to read a novel for 30
minutes a day.
He has been very reluctant to do this 30 minutes reading each day and
does his best to get out of it. Then we got Mrs. Frisby & the Rats of
Nimh. I read it in the 4th grade and loved it so much that I held on to
it (I am 27 now). I read the first 39 pages out loud to him and then the
next day, he chose that book as his book to read for 30 minutes. He went
an hour and 20 minutes before taking a break and then read at least
another hour and a half that day. He even brought it to the table for
dinner! And the next day, he read the whole drive from our house to his
parents (over an hour) and was surprised that they had arrived already.
We hit the jackpot!!!
Now I need to find more books that will be similar in style and to his
liking. I am aware that the author;s daughter wrote two sequels which I
will get.
He likes animals very much, so I am thinking books that have animals as
main characters. As long as it is not too easy in reading. And if there
are people in the story, they should be teenagers or older so that he
doesn't think he is reading children's books.
So far, I can only think of a few books, and they are intended for
adults. I will have to reread them (how bad for me :) and make sure
they aren't too hard or have an adult theme that is too adult for him.
Any suggestions?
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Niall McAuley
news:8eqior$dn5$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
> He likes animals very much, so I am thinking books that have animals as
> main characters.
Watership Down and The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams are
excellent, just what you are looking for.
--
Niall [real address ends in se, not es]
Daniel McRae
there. Good books, popular with that, or slightly younger, agegroup
Daniel
Richard I. Pelletier
> He likes animals very much, so I am thinking books that have animals as
> are people in the story, they should be teenagers or older so that he
> doesn't think he is reading children's books.
The Black Stallion books by Walter Farley, and if he likes those, The
Island Stallion books. In the books, unlike the movie, the protagonists
are teens.
No animals, but how about Le Guin's Earthsea trilogy, especially the
first and third. (The moddle one's mostly about a girl. Yuck.)
Vale,
Rip
--
If we aren't supposed to eat animals, why are they made of meat?
Richard I. Pelletier
NB eddress: r i p 1 [at] h o m e [dot] c o m
hilberg steven d
>I am homeschooling my nephew who is 13 years old. He was just recently
>pulled from school as he is flunking every class, and his attitude has
>gotten very bad. He had given up any hope of passing.
>Anyway, he is doing much better at home, though of course, he hates to
>read. He has some books where he reads stories and answers question to
>work on comprehension and vocabulary. He also has to read a novel for 30
>minutes a day.
>He has been very reluctant to do this 30 minutes reading each day and
>does his best to get out of it. Then we got Mrs. Frisby & the Rats of
>Nimh. I read it in the 4th grade and loved it so much that I held on to
>it (I am 27 now). I read the first 39 pages out loud to him and then the
>next day, he chose that book as his book to read for 30 minutes. He went
>an hour and 20 minutes before taking a break and then read at least
>another hour and a half that day. He even brought it to the table for
>dinner! And the next day, he read the whole drive from our house to his
>parents (over an hour) and was surprised that they had arrived already.
>We hit the jackpot!!!
>Now I need to find more books that will be similar in style and to his
>liking. I am aware that the author;s daughter wrote two sequels which I
>will get.
>He likes animals very much, so I am thinking books that have animals as
>main characters. As long as it is not too easy in reading. And if there
>are people in the story, they should be teenagers or older so that he
>doesn't think he is reading children's books.
>So far, I can only think of a few books, and they are intended for
>adults. I will have to reread them (how bad for me :) and make sure
>they aren't too hard or have an adult theme that is too adult for him.
>Any suggestions?
I think there is a sequel to the Rats of NIMH; I am not totally sure though,
but I remember people talking about it when I was in 4th or 5th grade and
I had read the book in class.
--
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<hil...@uiuc.edu> KB9TEV
The _No Carrier_ Shadowrun Site CCSO _still_ doesn't pay me enough to
http://kestrel.cso.uiuc.edu/~sdh speak for them, so I still don't.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"And if He ever suffered, it was me who did His crying...."
-- Concrete Blonde, "Tomorrow Wendy"
Genevieve Marie Ellerbee
: How about Brian Jacques' Redwall series. Start with Redwall, and go from
: there. Good books, popular with that, or slightly younger, agegroup
Can't remember the author, but _The Siege of White Deer Park_ sounds about
right. Non-animal, but he might also like John Christopher's Tripod
series.
--
*Genevieve Ellerbee*wgmu.gmu.edu/geni* "The last refuge and surest
*remedy...when no other means will take effect, is, to let them go
*together and enjoy one another...Aesculapius himself cannot invent a
*better remedy...than that a Lover have his desire." - Burton
*"It's love that's holding back the weather." - King's X
David Given
kiras...@my-deja.com writes:
[...]
> He has been very reluctant to do this 30 minutes reading each day and
> does his best to get out of it. Then we got Mrs. Frisby & the Rats of
> Nimh. I read it in the 4th grade and loved it so much that I held on to
> it (I am 27 now). I read the first 39 pages out loud to him and then the
> next day, he chose that book as his book to read for 30 minutes. He went
> an hour and 20 minutes before taking a break and then read at least
> another hour and a half that day. He even brought it to the table for
> dinner! And the next day, he read the whole drive from our house to his
> parents (over an hour) and was surprised that they had arrived already.
>
> We hit the jackpot!!!
Congratulations. You may be relieved to know that there's a sequel; _Racso
and the Rats of NIMH_. The main reason people miss it is that it's by a
different author, the original author's daughter. Unfortunately the name
escapes me...
--
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+- http://wired.st-and.ac.uk/~dg -+
Jo Walton
geni@PROBLEM_WITH_INEWS_DOMAIN_FILE
"Genevieve Marie Ellerbee" writes:
> Daniel McRae (djm...@student.canterbury.ac.nz) wrote:
> : How about Brian Jacques' Redwall series. Start with Redwall, and go from
> : there. Good books, popular with that, or slightly younger, agegroup
>
> Can't remember the author, but _The Siege of White Deer Park_ sounds about
Colin Dann. He has written several kid/animal series.
But is the boy in question looking for animal stories, or for things
like :Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH: in other ways, like possibly
about conspiracies and intelligence? I'd suggest Nicholas Fisk's
:Trillions:, :Time Trap: and others.
Sasha suggests the Narnia books and the Moomin series, also Redwall,
which has been mentioned already.
> right. Non-animal, but he might also like John Christopher's Tripod
> series.
And other books by him.
I suspect the problem might be a conflict between the kid's reading
ability (low) and his intelligence and areas of interest - if things
are easy enough for him to read easily, they're too babyish for him.
John Christopher and Nicholas Fisk and Peter Dickinson might well all
be worth looking at. Also Yolen's :Heart's Blood: and :Dragon's Blood:
books, maybe.
--
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http://www.bluejo.demon.co.uk - Interstichia; Poetry; RASFW FAQ; etc.
my fantasy novel :The King's Peace: coming from Tor in October
sample chapters on http://www.tor.com/sampleKingsPeace.html
kiras...@my-deja.com
> I suspect the problem might be a conflict between the kid's reading
> ability (low) and his intelligence and areas of interest - if things
> are easy enough for him to read easily, they're too babyish for him.
>
Exactly. He is very down on reading, but loves a good story. He is also
immature for his age, but he doesn't want "baby" stuff either.
For computer games, I choose ones that are suitable in nature for him
but higher in level. Then we play together with him on the computer
exploring and me nearby helping. If it is very hard, I play in advance
so that I can steer him in he right direction and help him through the
hard parts. He doesn't like children's games.
kiras...@my-deja.com
There are actually two sequels. Jane leslie Conley is her name. I knew
there was one because I remember seeing it once, so I will look for
those and start him on those next.
I want to get a variety that would all be appropriate so that he can be
able to choose what he would like to read and not think he is being
forced to read a particular book. I will also start them for him
sometimes, and if it is a long or harder book, I may pick up some of the
chapters so that he is not overwhelmed by them.
Right now, we are thrilled that he actually wants to read a book, so we
want to see if we can stay on a roll and keep it fun. No pressure or
comprehension type questions. I just ask what part he's at. He has said
enough for me to know that he is understanding the story and enjoying
it.
Sara Stringfellow
Daniel McRae wrote in message <3910F5DD...@student.canterbury.ac.nz>...
>How about Brian Jacques' Redwall series. Start with Redwall, and go from
>there. Good books, popular with that, or slightly younger, agegroup
>
Start with Mossflower. And stop at Mossflower. *Grin*
Cambias
> > I suspect the problem might be a conflict between the kid's reading
> > ability (low) and his intelligence and areas of interest - if things
> > are easy enough for him to read easily, they're too babyish for him.
> >
>
> Exactly. He is very down on reading, but loves a good story. He is also
> immature for his age, but he doesn't want "baby" stuff either.
>
Maybe the Oz books? They're fantasy rather than SF, but there are plenty
of talking animals and other Weird Stuff. They're written in a style
younger readers can handle, and there's always something going on.
Cambias
Giles Boutel
"hilberg steven d" <s...@kestrel.cso.uiuc.edu> wrote in message
news:vBgQ4.14196$nb2.2...@vixen.cso.uiuc.edu...
>
> I think there is a sequel to the Rats of NIMH; I am not totally sure
though,
> but I remember people talking about it when I was in 4th or 5th grade and
> I had read the book in class.
>
There's a couple - written by someone else:
Racso and the rats of Nimh / Jane Leslie Conly ; illustrations by Leonard
Lubin.
Sequel to: Mrs. Frisby and the rats of NIMH / Robert C. O'Brien.
Timothy Frisby, a field mouse, teams up with the adventurous young rat Racso
as together they try to prevent the destruction of a secret community of
rats that can read and write.
ISBN:
0060213612 :
and
R-T, Margaret, and the rats of NIMH / by Jane Leslie Conly ; illustrations
by Leonard Lubin.
The further adventures of the intelligent young rat Racso and his friends
Christopher and Isabella as they try to ensure the survival of their secret
community in Thorn Valley after its accidental discovery by two human
children.
ISBN:
0060213639
Or you could try The Mouse and his Child (Russel Hoban - who rocks IMHO) -
it might appear to be a little juvenile - but it introduced me to a number
of interesting concepts such as recursion.
-Giles
-Giles
ketan
forget who the author is. The Redwall books by Bryan Jacques
also sound about right. I'm surprised noone's mentioned THe Wind
in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and the sequels by William
Horwood.
Ketan Shah
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The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
Jens Kilian
> Nobody's mentioned it, I guess we've all presumed, but have you done
> Harry Potter yet?
Kipling? (The Jungle Books, of course, but possibly also Kim, Stalky & Co,
Captains Courageous etc.)
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wizar...@my-deja.com
kiras...@my-deja.com wrote:
> Any suggestions?
If he likes cats, I would suggest Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams.
Although the book may be a bit long, it's a great read full of action
and adventure.
Eric T.
Robotech_Master
> It's been so long since I read _Nimh_ that I no longer know how hard
> it is, but look at the Redwall series (Brian Jacques). There are
> also lots of teen-with-horses books; try _The Blue Sword_.
I've only read one Redwall series, but I can second that; likewise
_The Blue Sword_ and _The Hero and the Crown_, though they're a bit
more toward the adultish. And have you tried Harry Potter? I heard
they're doing wonders for inducing kids to read.
My own main suggestions would be the Walter Farley "Black Stallion" &
"Island Stallion" books, and the "Misty of Chinquatigue" (however you
spell it :) and others by Marguerite Henry.
Another bright idea might be the Lord of the Rings books; my father
started reading them to me and my brothers at a young age, and if you
could download the trailer to the movie coming out Christmas of next
year and show it to him prior to introducing him to them, you might
just catch his interest.
And Narnia. How could I forget Narnia? They weren't quite precisely
to my taste, but I've known people who swear by them.
More advice...the "Trick" books by Scott Corbett. "The Lemonade
Trick," "The Hairy Horror Trick," and so forth. I whiled away many a
day in my youth reading them. They don't involve animals, mostly, but
do have many elements to catch a younger reader's imagination.
Good luck! Reading is the greatest adventure.
--
Chris Meadows aka | Co-moderator, rec.toys.transformers.moderated
Robotech_Master | Homepage: <URL:http://www.eyrie.org/~robotech/>
robo...@eyrie.org | PGP: <URL:http://www.eyrie.org/~robotech/rm.key.txt>
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cyberd...@my-deja.com
Jens Kilian <Jens_...@agilent.com> wrote:
> fyd...@9mm.COM (Nully Fydyan) writes:
Hi,
One of my very favorites is City by Clifford Simak.
Dogs are given the power of speech and evolve over
millions of years. He might like Against the Fall
of Night which is somewhat like The City and the Stars
which are by Arthur Clarke and also Childhood's End
These titles stuch with me for about 40 years
Stephen
Alinet2
by Lagerlof.
I read it several times when I was a child.
sky...@drizzle.com
> I'd reccomend the Cricket in Times Square and its sequels. I
> forget who the author is.
George Selden. (Tucker's Countryside, Harry Cat's Pet Puppy, etc.)
Tamora Pierce might be good; the four Immortals books involve a girl who
can talk to animals, and many of the animal characters are very well done.
Pierce is good for YA adventure in general, so if he likes those, start
him on Circle of Magic or Song of the Lioness.
Everything else I'd suggest for him specifcally has already been
mentioned. There's a good selection of other YA stuff in the "SF for
Girls" thread. Good luck!
Kylee
Bill Westfield
My favorite Simak is "Way Station." I dunno whether it would appeal in the
same way as Mrs Frisby or not, but there are some strong parallels, now that
I think about it...
BillW
--
(remove spam food from return address)
Briar Rose
>Another bright idea might be the Lord of the Rings books; my father
>started reading them to me and my brothers at a young age, and if you
>could download the trailer to the movie coming out Christmas of next
>year and show it to him prior to introducing him to them, you might
>just catch his interest.
Although it depends on the age. I read LOtR in third grade,
and was really, really bored by it all. I keep meaning to go
back and read them again, now that I'm an adult and can actually
appreciate them, but I couldn't get into the writing when I was
seven. I loved the Bakshi movie, though (which was age 9, I think).
>More advice...the "Trick" books by Scott Corbett. "The Lemonade
>Trick," "The Hairy Horror Trick," and so forth. I whiled away many a
>day in my youth reading them. They don't involve animals, mostly, but
>do have many elements to catch a younger reader's imagination.
Those are GREAT! I had completely forgotten about those!
The kids have a dog, right, who is always getting into trouble
with the neighbor lady's spoiled cat Xerxes, right?
My mom (a reading specialist at an elementary school) says that
finding a series that kids like to read is a good way to keep
them reading - there's some book about kids going on space
adventures (it's modern, so it isn't the mushroom planet books)
that her kids eat with a spoon. I'll track down the title.
:) Connie-Lynne
--
"Bush is talking about 'a new day,' and Gore is asking us
to help him 'build a better world.' Both men have made the
daring crossover from saying little in english to saying
nothing in spanish!" --The Daily Show
Tim Doyle
The Once and Future King - T.H. White
Starman's Son (also called Daybreak 2250) - Andre Norton -
Highly Recommended - adventures of a loner and his telapathic
mountain lion - a lot of Andre Norton's stories involve children
and young adults and various wild and magical creatures.
The White Dragon - Anne McCaffery - like Andre Norton, special
bonds between unusual animals and people feature in many of Ms
McAffery's works. Try also Decision at Doona and Dinosaur
Planet.
Watership Down
The Star Beast - Robert Heinlein (I haven't read this in a long
time, so I don't know how it has dated)
Little Fuzzy and Fuzzy Sapiens - H. Beam Piper
The Prydain Chronicles (I think this is right) - at any rate, a
series of books including Taran Wanderer, The Black Cauldron,
etc - Lloyd Alexander. Possibly also Alexander's Tripod series
(City of Gold and Lead, etc).
The Jungle Book, The Adventures of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, The White
Seal, etc - Rudyard Kipling
White Fang, The Call of the Wild - Jack London
Old Yeller - can't remember author's name
I hope some of this helps. I've tried especially to think of
books in series, or authors with LOTS of similar style books -
that way if you find a few that he likes, there will be nore
like them to continue with.
Regards, Tim
David Given
Brenda <clo...@erols.com> writes:
> Dr. Dolittle. If that's too juvenile, WATERSHIP DOWN. (Don't try him on any
> other of Adams' books, though.)
>
> Branching out a bit, you could have him take a shot at the YAs of Jane Yolen,
> Diana Wynn Jones, or Peter Dickinson.
Has anyone recommended André(sp?) Norton's juveniles yet? I'm particularly
thinking of _Fur Magic_ here, which fits all the criteria and is a great
read besides.
--
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