Top Ten Books I Wish Were Taught In School
During last week’s Lit Lush chat, we talked about books we had to read in school. I was able to remember a few, but I felt like, for the most part, I COMPLETELY BLANKED. I have a better memory of the books I most definitely did NOT read than any books that I did. It goes without saying, then, that if I had been able to read these books, I’d remember things much more clearly.
The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Duh. Reading these books in school would’ve made me, an already excited reader, into an even BIGGER excited reader. Sometimes reading for school was flat-out not fun. These books would’ve changed that for sure. Not to mention the embarrassment of riches in discussion topics.
The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
Ditto above. Bonus points for teaching awesome lessons about mythology, a subject I couldn’t studied for DAAAAYYYSSS.
Graceling: Graceling #1 by Kristin Cashore
One of the best fantasies. Not to mention that it has excellent characters who are dealing with some thought-provoking issues about feminism, sexuality, right and wrong, extraordinary gifts, and more. Lots to talk about and analyze. I can’t recall reading ANY fantasies in school–not high fantasies like GRACELING, anyway–but I think they’re completely legitimate sources for teaching points.
Leviathan: Leviathan #1 by Scott Westerfeld
As alternate histories, the books in this series are great starting points for discussions about World War I, industrialization in Europe, Darwin and the theory of evolution–you know, the more I examine my list, the more I realize that some of the very reasons I’m citing these books as great for schools would be the exact reasons that tons of schools would NEVER teach them. SAD FACE.
Code Name Verity: Code Name Verity #1 & Rose Under Fire: Code Name Verity #2 by Elizabeth Wein
More books for teaching History! Which is great, because the only books I ever read in my history classes were NOT fiction. But still, that doesn’t diminish the power of these books and the stories they tell about women and World War II. I didn’t LOVE CODE NAME VERITY, but that doesn’t mean I don’t recognize its importance, and ROSE UNDER FIRE was excellent.
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Basically I wish I read this book in school just because I love it and am always curious about whether teenage Amy would’ve loved it too. Plus, nothing wrong with teaching books just because they’re flat-out awesome.
The Goose Girl: Books of Bayern #1 by Shannon Hale
More fantasies! Also, another series book. I don’t think I read ONE BOOK that was in a series in all of school (that I can remember, anyway). But this series is well-written and is a wonderful retelling of the Grimm fairy tale of the same name. The great thing is that, really, you could probably make a lesson plan with just about any book out there. This would be a great one.
Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby
Excuse me, middle grade THRILLER? That’s basically what this book is: The children of a Viking king under attack have been spirited away to a secret hiding place on a glacier with a small protective force. There is a traitor, people die, and it’s a race to the end to figure out who is responsible for the deaths and stop them. BUT! There’s also Solveig, a spirited young girl who finds that she’s good at the art of storytelling. So many awesome things to teach.
Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
This one just because it’s GORGEOUS. And lovely. And soooo pretty. But also, Tiger Lily is complex, Peter is complex, and an often-overlooked aspect of this book deals with religion and colonization–two seriously important concepts in world history.
Eon: Dragoneye Reborn: Eon/Eona #1 & Eona: The Last Dragoneye: Eon/Eona #2 by Alison Goodman
What an incredible wealth of things to discuss in this series, most notably Asian culture and mythology. But also sexism, politics, and discrimination. Love these books!
Grave Mercy: His Fair Assassin #1 & Dark Triumph: His Fair Assassin #2 by Robin LaFevers
More history! I love that shizz so much. These books are amazing in that regard, in addition to showcasing unique, well-developed, empowered female characters. Fantastic.
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted byThe Broke and the Bookish. It’s awesome. Every week, the lovely ladies over there post a topic so that book lovers like you and me can pour over our shelves and MAKE A LIST. WORD.
Graceling and The Scorpio Races are 2 of my favorite books – and would love to see them in schools. ANd it looks like all the others that you have listed are ones I want to read too!
Great list! I didn’t even think of Percy Jackson, but that would be such a fun way to learn about mythology.
So many great books! I think I’d love to read these in high school 🙂
Ooo, I would have loved it if these books were taught in school when I was in HS. Of course, because I’m an old person, most of these books weren’t around. 🙁
I forgot to say that I wish we read more fiction in history class. I mean, I really love NF, too, but throwing in some fiction would let us get a better understand of how people in such and such a time period were feeling about the events.