Help pick a sci-fi book to read aloud to 3rd graders, time sensitive
April 5, 2013 7:27 AM Subscribe
My cousin needs to pick out a science fiction book to read to a class of 3rd graders. She wants it to be interesting enough or memorable enough to be enjoyed in once a week installments, but she also wants to avoid the classics (so kids can discover them on their own). Oh, her first class is today in a few hours!
Is The White Mountains too heavy for third-graders?
posted by workerant at 7:35 AM on April 5, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by workerant at 7:35 AM on April 5, 2013 [3 favorites]
The True Meaning of Smekday
When twelve-year-old Gratuity (“Tip”) Tucci is assigned to write five pages on “The True Meaning of Smekday” for the National Time Capsule contest, she’s not sure where to begin. When her mom started telling everyone about the messages aliens were sending through a mole on the back of her neck? Maybe on Christmas Eve, when huge, bizarre spaceships descended on the Earth and the aliens – called Boov – abducted her mother? Or when the Boov declared Earth a colony, renamed it “Smekland” (in honor of glorious Captain Smek), and forced all Americans to relocate to Florida via rocketpod?
In any case, Gratuity’s story is much, much bigger than the assignment. It involves her unlikely friendship with a renegade Boov mechanic named J.Lo.; a futile journey south to find Gratuity’s mother at the Happy Mouse Kingdom; a cross-country road trip in a hovercar called Slushious; and an outrageous plan to save the Earth from yet another alien invasion.
Fully illustrated with “photos,” drawings, newspaper clippings, and comics sequences, this is a hilarious, perceptive, genre-bending novel by a remarkable new talent.
_______
posted by spunweb at 7:37 AM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
When twelve-year-old Gratuity (“Tip”) Tucci is assigned to write five pages on “The True Meaning of Smekday” for the National Time Capsule contest, she’s not sure where to begin. When her mom started telling everyone about the messages aliens were sending through a mole on the back of her neck? Maybe on Christmas Eve, when huge, bizarre spaceships descended on the Earth and the aliens – called Boov – abducted her mother? Or when the Boov declared Earth a colony, renamed it “Smekland” (in honor of glorious Captain Smek), and forced all Americans to relocate to Florida via rocketpod?
In any case, Gratuity’s story is much, much bigger than the assignment. It involves her unlikely friendship with a renegade Boov mechanic named J.Lo.; a futile journey south to find Gratuity’s mother at the Happy Mouse Kingdom; a cross-country road trip in a hovercar called Slushious; and an outrageous plan to save the Earth from yet another alien invasion.
Fully illustrated with “photos,” drawings, newspaper clippings, and comics sequences, this is a hilarious, perceptive, genre-bending novel by a remarkable new talent.
_______
posted by spunweb at 7:37 AM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh is great. The classic read aloud to third graders is A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle. Daniel Pinkwater, as suggested above, is a good idea.
posted by Malla at 7:39 AM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Malla at 7:39 AM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
Since she wants to avoid the classics (in which case, I'd agree with workerant's suggestion of the Tripods series, or suggest Lois Lowry's The Giver), I'd recommend Greg Van Eekhout's fantastic The Boy at the End of the World. It's laugh-out-loud funny, just a smidge spooky, and really, really gripping.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:39 AM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:39 AM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
A Wrinkle In Time.
Podkayne of Mars.
Female protagonists!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:49 AM on April 5, 2013
Podkayne of Mars.
Female protagonists!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:49 AM on April 5, 2013
Un Lun Dun by China Mieville. Although I suppose it is more urban fantasy.
I remember really loving Heinlein and I am Legend around that age, but I don't remember whether that was shocking to adults who weren't my parents. If she needs to start this afternoon, there's probably not enough time to vet either.
posted by crush-onastick at 7:55 AM on April 5, 2013
I remember really loving Heinlein and I am Legend around that age, but I don't remember whether that was shocking to adults who weren't my parents. If she needs to start this afternoon, there's probably not enough time to vet either.
posted by crush-onastick at 7:55 AM on April 5, 2013
When You Reach Me. Newberry Medal winner that is a homage to A Wrinkle in Time.
posted by dpaul at 7:59 AM on April 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by dpaul at 7:59 AM on April 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
Podkayne of Mars features a female protagonist but it very gender segregated. IE:Women are responsible for child raising; ship captians are male. It was progressive for its time but it is less than ideal now.
posted by Mitheral at 8:32 AM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Mitheral at 8:32 AM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
Graveyard Book (not science fiction per se... Anything by Neil Gaiman)
She could read Magician's Nephew and get her students interested in the Narnia series.
posted by mamabear at 8:50 AM on April 5, 2013
She could read Magician's Nephew and get her students interested in the Narnia series.
posted by mamabear at 8:50 AM on April 5, 2013
Seconding Smekday!
posted by purenitrous at 8:55 AM on April 5, 2013
posted by purenitrous at 8:55 AM on April 5, 2013
Anything by Daniel Pinkwater would be great - at that age, I especially loved Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars.
Branching out beyond science-fiction to fantasy/horror, my grade three teacher read Bunnicula by James Howe to us, and it was a huge hit.
These being 70s books, maybe they count as "classics" now.
NB: if she's interested in Narnia (definitely now classic), please do not start with The Magician's Nephew - it's first chronologically, but really an unnecessary prequel (it was second last published) and not very good compared to the rest of the series. It's always best to start with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
posted by jb at 9:23 AM on April 5, 2013
Branching out beyond science-fiction to fantasy/horror, my grade three teacher read Bunnicula by James Howe to us, and it was a huge hit.
These being 70s books, maybe they count as "classics" now.
NB: if she's interested in Narnia (definitely now classic), please do not start with The Magician's Nephew - it's first chronologically, but really an unnecessary prequel (it was second last published) and not very good compared to the rest of the series. It's always best to start with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
posted by jb at 9:23 AM on April 5, 2013
It's out of print, but in case your local library has a copy - at that age I loved Maria Looney and the Remarkable Robot, featuring a girl on the moon, her robot friend, the greedy industrialist who wants to steal him, and putting summer camp wilderness survival skills to good use!
posted by unsub at 9:36 AM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by unsub at 9:36 AM on April 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for the great suggestions!
marked as resoved
posted by Feantari at 9:44 AM on April 5, 2013
marked as resoved
posted by Feantari at 9:44 AM on April 5, 2013
Ray Bradbury's short stories are good, even if they are soft SF. Martian Chronicles might hit the spot as well. My first thoughts were "The Veldt" and "All Summer in a Day," but geez, both of those include some rather cruel children.
posted by Sunburnt at 10:01 AM on April 5, 2013
posted by Sunburnt at 10:01 AM on April 5, 2013
Z for Zachariah.
Ann Burden is sixteen years old and completely alone. The world as she once knew it is gone, ravaged by a nuclear war that has taken everyone from her. For the past year, she has lived in a remote valley with no evidence of any other survivors.
But the smoke from a distant campfire shatters Ann's solitude. Someone else is still alive and making his way toward the valley. Who is this man? What does he want? Can he be trusted? Both excited and terrified, Ann soon realizes there may be worse things than being the last person on Earth.
posted by spunweb at 10:43 AM on April 5, 2013
Ann Burden is sixteen years old and completely alone. The world as she once knew it is gone, ravaged by a nuclear war that has taken everyone from her. For the past year, she has lived in a remote valley with no evidence of any other survivors.
But the smoke from a distant campfire shatters Ann's solitude. Someone else is still alive and making his way toward the valley. Who is this man? What does he want? Can he be trusted? Both excited and terrified, Ann soon realizes there may be worse things than being the last person on Earth.
posted by spunweb at 10:43 AM on April 5, 2013
I give you my HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION for "The Forgotten Door" by Alexander Key.
It is one of my favorite books. It was read to me in my third grade class by my mother, who offered to read it to the class because it had been read to her in middle school.
posted by Cygnet at 3:39 PM on April 5, 2013
It is one of my favorite books. It was read to me in my third grade class by my mother, who offered to read it to the class because it had been read to her in middle school.
posted by Cygnet at 3:39 PM on April 5, 2013
Jesus Christ, do NOT READ Z for Zachariah to 8-year olds. I had an eighties (and early nineties - nobody told my school librarian the cold war had ended) childhood, full of incredibly terrifying nuclear-disaster books, and they were all horrible and traumatising, but Z for Zachariah has to be one of the worst.
I know you said no classics, but Arthur C Clarke wrote more than enough for there to be some left over for children to enjoy on their own. When I was that age, I loved the short stories.
posted by Acheman at 1:52 AM on April 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
I know you said no classics, but Arthur C Clarke wrote more than enough for there to be some left over for children to enjoy on their own. When I was that age, I loved the short stories.
posted by Acheman at 1:52 AM on April 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
Agreeing about Z for Zachariah. I found it in my library at age 10. Most of it went right over my head, and the parts that didn't gave me nightmares for YEARS. Twenty years later, I'm still reluctant to pick it up and try it again.
What i DID love (starting at age 9, when i was given a copy) was Arthur C Clarke's Islands in the Sky - about an adolescent who finangles (by being cleverer than the adults around him) himself a visit to the Inner Station - one of earth's many space stations, where a group of teenagers are apprenticed to a life in space! I read that book over and over - it's a fantastic intro to the romance and adventure of possible futures. Everything was within reach - if we wanted it and worked for it!
posted by tabubilgirl at 5:09 AM on April 6, 2013
What i DID love (starting at age 9, when i was given a copy) was Arthur C Clarke's Islands in the Sky - about an adolescent who finangles (by being cleverer than the adults around him) himself a visit to the Inner Station - one of earth's many space stations, where a group of teenagers are apprenticed to a life in space! I read that book over and over - it's a fantastic intro to the romance and adventure of possible futures. Everything was within reach - if we wanted it and worked for it!
posted by tabubilgirl at 5:09 AM on April 6, 2013
OOh! Ooh! I just remembered Nicholas Fisk. His books are fantastic, intelligent sci-fi for kids. I read them at school (the library was seriously sci-fi heavy) and a lot of the adult sci-fi I've read since hasn't had protagonists as logical and strategic or world-building as serious. I think Trillions is the best, but Space Hostages is also pretty brilliant.
posted by Acheman at 12:15 PM on April 6, 2013
posted by Acheman at 12:15 PM on April 6, 2013
Late to the party, but let me second cygnet's recommendation of The Forgotten Door, which was one of my favorite books from Scholastic Book Club.
posted by wittgenstein at 4:20 PM on April 8, 2013
posted by wittgenstein at 4:20 PM on April 8, 2013
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posted by mikepop at 7:34 AM on April 5, 2013 [2 favorites]