Alli the Book Giraffe

Hello readers! My step-daughter will be entering the 5th grade next year. Allow me to reiterate that I am privileged to be her homeschooling guardian. Because of this, I have resolved that required reading shall be introduced to our curriculum in the upcoming year. This decision has reignited a deep, heartfelt reflection on the books that I was required to read during my own time in school.

I actually believe that required reading can be beneficial. Reading does help you understand others better and can even make you think more critically. My kid despised reading for the longest time. It was like pulling teeth to make her give it a shot. She didn’t start to read until 7.

I can’t blame her. I totally get it! I hated reading as a kid. Ugh, those dreaded AR points! I don’t know if they still torment kids with AR in school, but goodness gracious, I pray they’ve moved on. When I was young, I would go on a mission to find the tiniest books known to humankind just to meet the bare minimum every week.

If you guys really like this post, I’ll go ahead and do a part 2 in the future and maybe a part 3 of books I was required to read in college. My World Literature class in college was really amazing. I also did a World Literature class in high school that was atrocious.

Comment down below your favorite or least favorite book you were required to read in school! I enjoyed a lot of these books at the time, but I changed my mind about some of them.

The Giver is undoubtedly one of the most popular required reads. This was the first book that came to mind of must-reads, and it is without a doubt that I will pass on this literary gem to my beloved daughter. This book has earned its rightful place as one of my all-time favorite mandatory books.

The concept of living in a perfect society is seriously cool. Any of you folks out there read the sequels? I picked up the second book in this series, and let me tell ya, it wasn’t my cup of tea. But hey, I’m still down to give the fourth book a shot someday. Apparently, the second and third books take a whole different storyline compared to Jonas’ adventures in books one and four.

This adaptation, I gotta say, is always the one I praise the most. The movie adaptation is so true to the book that it seriously blows my mind. Man, I wish all book to movie adaptations were just as awesome.

Summer of My German Soldier partially inspired this post. I LOVED this book when I read it. I even bought a copy of it when I got my first job.

I believe I was in 8th grade when I came across this book exploring the unlikely romantic connection between a Nazi prisoner and a Jewish girl. Reflecting on it now, I find it unsettling to think that the adults chose to present this narrative to us. Recalling the book has raised questions about its underlying concept. It has made me contemplate reaching out to my former teacher, inquiring about her intentions behind introducing such a story. Perhaps she aimed to foster empathy or understanding, though I remain uncertain about the ultimate purpose. Was I supposed to feel emapthy for a Nazi? Well, I don’t.

Lord of the Flies is a roller coaster for me. When I read this book in school, I hated it. I can’t even tell you why that is.

However, I purchased a copy of it a few years ago and revisited it personally. I found it to be acceptable. Regrettably, the level of violence depicted in this book had slipped my memory since my school days. I would never expect my child to engage with a literary work that portrays a violent act of murder. For the sake of avoiding spoilers, I will refrain from disclosing the specific details.

I reckon we had to read this one because it’s got some deep insights into true human nature.

Last year, I stumbled upon this absolutely hilarious book known as Lord of the Fly Fest. Brace yourself for a mind-blowing retelling that will have you rolling with laughter. Let me tell you, this was hands down my favorite book of 2022. It was a clever gen z rendition of Lord of the Flies about rich kids. It was a WILD ride and I loved it.

Animal Farm was another book that I disliked during my childhood, but upon revisiting it as an adult, my perspective changed. It became evident that I did not grasp the profound message conveyed by the book as a child. While my teacher enlightened me about the symbolic nature of the characters, I failed to comprehend the true significance of their representations. I lacked an understanding of the true essence of communism and the significance of this story. It became apparent to me that context plays a pivotal role in fully appreciating these literary works.

I did not have the opportunity to study a government class until my final year in high school. It is evident that our education system does not provide us with adequate knowledge about politics.

I was mandated to read this in my high school World Literature course. While my disdain for this class was not solely attributed to the book in question, it didn’t help.

My high school teacher thought everybody was copying each other’s work and copying from the internet. I even got accused of plagiarism once! Imagine that. So, there was this time when I had to write a summary of Paradise Lost. Honestly, I hadn’t even bothered reading it back then because, come on, who doesn’t know the story of Adam and Eve? It’s like common knowledge, right? But no, she had to go and accuse me of stealing it off the internet. I was 17 or 18 and had no idea how to do that. I still wouldn’t know how to. And that’s not all, she had this habit of marking some answers as incorrect even when other students had given the same answers marked as correct. Geez, what a nightmare that teacher was!

As for this book, honestly, I felt like everyone was kinda whiny, miserable, and unlikable. Even when I gave it a second chance as an adult a few years ago, I still wasn’t a fan. Wuthering Heights is just one of those books that either grabs your heart or leaves you feeling unsatisfied.

The Light in the Forest is one I’m not sure about. I did enjoy this when I read it, but there are some red flags. I haven’t reread it, but I do own it if I ever want to. This is another of those books that I bought right after I got my first job.

First and foremost, it is essential to acknowledge that the story at hand is one that revolves around indigenous culture, despite being written by an author of white descent. The narrative primarily follows the journey of a white boy who is taken captive by indigenous people and raised within their community. Upon his eventual return to his white family, he is met with disapproval and criticism due to his perceived “savagery.” It is worth noting that, based on my recollection, the portrayal of indigenous characters in this story could be considered to reinforce stereotypes. This is further reflected in the current average rating of 3.41 on Goodreads.

A Separate Peace is about this guy named Gene. So, Gene is in this boarding school during World War II. And get this, he’s actually the bad guy in his own story! Crazy, right? Now, his best buddy at school is named Phineas, and let me tell you, Phineas is like the king of cool. He’s not even trying, but he’s effortlessly smart and the most athletic guy at school. Plus, he’s got a ton of friends.

Gene puts a lot of effort into school, but hates to see how effortless Phineas can get the same grades as him. Phineas is his only friend and he isn’t the best athlete. This is one story where jealousy takes over and ruins everyone’s lives.

I read this in school then bought my own copy to read as an adult. I enjoyed it both times and honestly think it’s an overall a great metaphor for the war.

I was required to read The Christmas List in the 10th grade.It’s very reminiscent of The Christmas Carol, which I also was required to read in school. I’m not sure if it is a direct retelling, but the similarities cannot be denied.

This story is about a guy named James who has spent his whole life trampling on others to climb the ladder of success. But one fine day, he comes across his own obituary in the newspaper, despite being very much alive. It hits him hard and triggers a profound realization within him.

He asks his assistant to make him a list of every person hes ever wronged. Seeing as he has wronged more people than she can count, she provides a list of the 10 people he has harmed the worst. We venture through the book as he visits each person and apologizes. Now, some people forgive him and others punch him square in the face.

I’ve read this one three times, two times in school and once after school. I own an ebook and audiobook version of this one.

This one is a non-fiction following Jeannette’s life as a child until very early adulthood. It is truly a heartbreaking story of severe child neglect, and it has deeply resonated with me every time I’ve read it. It is truly insane how Jeannette’s parents seemed to enjoy homelessness. Although this book was made into a movie a few years ago, I personally feel that it didn’t capture the essence of the story as well as the book did.

I totally recommend this for anyone who’s into nonfiction, especially memoirs. This book probably sparked my obsession with memoirs.

If I remember right, Maniac Magee was the first required reading book I ever read. It has been a long time, but I reember it was about a boy who lives with his aunt and uncle who are insufferable. The aunt and uncle always fight and one day it gets so bad he just runs away. He ends up living on the other side of town in a black neighborhood where a family sort of adopts him.

This town was divided in half by this street and you weren’t supposed to cross the road. Black people stayed on one side and the white people stayed on the other. I also remember something about a giant rubber band ball.

It is an amazing book about racism, from what I remember. Of course, this author is white and you will probably find another book just as good by a POC author.

I think just about everyone read this one in school. I absolutely despised this book as a kid. I no longer have any issue with it! I was just forced to read it so many times that I hated the story.

I think this is a great book for required reading because it shows the story of the holocaust without it being too dark for kids. A really amazing book about the holocaust that I’ve read is The Librarian of Auschwitz, but it wouldn’t really be safe for kids. Anne Frank is very briefly mentioned in it!

I have a lot of ideas for books to read once we get to WWII once we get there in homeschooling and this will be on the list for sure. I just switched schools a few times as a kid and was made to read this story at every single one. My daughter will be reading it just the once.

When I read this one in school, the school actually provided a copy of it for every single kid in my grade to keep and I still have it.

Nothing But the Truth follows this boy named Philip who didn’t want to stand for the pledge of allegiance. His teacher made a huge deal about it and it causes a lot of problems for both of them.

I remember thinking this teacher was crazy because you don’t have to stand for the pledge if you don’t want to. It is literally against the law in America to force a kid to do it or punish them if they don’t. Standing for the pledge at the beginning of every school day is a weird tradition and I cannot fathom why we do it in the US. I’m not sure if other countries do the same.

According to Goodreads, a lot of people hate this book. I’m wondering if I would still side with the kid in this story if I read it as an adult. I’m sure he seems insufferable if your reading it as an adult. However, I loved this book as a kid.

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