Proposed Highschool Literature, Reading List, NCEA English for 2019

As this is a possibilities/planning post,  I'll be back to change, delete, and update as we go along.

Beneath are some of the items Daisy (17) may, or may not, read this year.  This is her last full year of highschool courses. 

LoriD on TWTM forums would probably label this as a kitchen sink selection: where we pull any items we like together and even if it doesn't look like a cohesive reading list, we're calling it one.

Study Guides and Personal Growth Books for 2019

• NCEA English ( writing, and, literature studies)
• Greenleaf Guide (selections from various books listed in literature beneath)
• Invitation to the Classics ~ Cowan  (Selections)
• KJV Life Application Bible (selections)    
• How to Read Slowly ~ James W. Shire
• Poetry for Dummies with a selection of poems (Selections)
• Ourselves ~ Charlotte Mason   (1905)    hmmm, which box did I pack this in? 
• On Stories ~ C.S.  Lewis (1914-1963)
• Outliers: The Story of Success ~ Malcolm Gladwell 

Biographies/Memoirs

• The Hiding Place ~ Corrie Ten Boom   (1971)
• Gifted Hands ~ Ben Carson   (1990)
• The Zookeeper’s Wife ~ Diane Ackerman   (2007)
• Have a Little Faith ~ Mitch Albom   (2009)   

Play/ Dramas/ Short Stories

• Sophocles Plays   (c. 440 BC)    audible drama (mum to preview first)
• The Winslow Boy  play (1946) and film (1999)   
• The Penguin Book of English Short Stories ~ Edited by Christopher Dolley (pub 1983)

Literature

• Epic of Gilgamesh   (c. 2500 BC)    abridged & selections 
• The Odyssey ~ Homer   (c. 850 BC)
• Till We Have Faces ~ C.S. Lewis   (1956)    Angelina Stanford webinar on Cupid & Psyche (this is an online class I purchased last year through Circe Institute and I hope we, at least I, get to go through)
• The Aeneid ~ Virgil   (c. 30 BC) abridged & audio   
• The Inferno ~ Dante   (1320)
• Gawain and the Green Knight   (c. 1400) selections   
• Rob Roy ~ Sir Walter Scott   (1817)
• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ~ Washington Irving (1820)
• North and South ~ Elizabeth Gaskell   (1855)   
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ~ Stevenson   (1886)  
• Night ~ Elie Wiesel   (1982)   

Free Reading Options

• D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths  ~  (audiobook)
• The Three Musketeers ~ Alexandre Dumas   (1844)
• Just William ~ Richmal Crompton  (1921 – 1970)
• Georgette Heyer (to be selected)  (1921 – 1974) Discuss later. Compare and contrast the characters from a Heyer book and an Austen one.  How are clerical men, families, portrayed in each.
• Winter and Rough Weather ~ D.E. Stevenson  (1951) (Daisy is not a fan of this author)
• Thrush Green ~ Miss Read   (1959)
• The Year at Thrush Green ~ Miss Read   (1996)
• A Beautiful Blue Death Bk1 ~ Charles Finch   (2007)
• Charles Todd  (Bess Crawford series)  (2009 – 2018)
• Return to Me:  Restoration Chronicles Bk1 ~ Lynn Austin   (2013)
• The Girl Who Drank the Moon ~ Kelly Barnhill   (2016)
• The Love That I Have ~ James Moloney   (2018)  (need to purchase or loan from the library)

Audio

• The Three Musketeers ~ Alexandre Dumas   (1844)
• Cranford ~ Elizabeth Gaskell  (1853)
• The Woman in White ~ Wilkie Collins  (1860)
• The Moonstone ~ Wilkie Collins, narrated by Peter Jeffery  (originally pub 1868)
• Georgette Heyer (to be selected 1921 – 1974)
• Ngaio Marsh  (to be selected  1934 -1947)
• Thank You, Jeeves: Jeeves  Bk5 ~ P.G. Wodehouse (1934) humour
• Sarah Morris Remembers ~ D. E. Stevenson  (1967)
• The Silmarillion ~ J.R.R. Tolkien   (Originally pub 1977)  Classic   Audio   Others may also like a heads up about content in chapt 19, which we skip (incestuous brother/sister relationship)
• Salt to the Sea ~ Ruta Sepetys  (2016)
• The Last Moriarty:  Sherlock Holmes and Lucy James Bk1 ~ Charles Veley and Anna Elliott narrated by  Edward Petherbridge  (2016)
• The Wilhelm Conspiracy:  Sherlock Holmes and Lucy James Bk2 ~ Charles Veley and Anna Elliott narrated by  Edward Petherbridge  (2016)
• The Jubilee Problem: Sherlock Holmes and Lucy James Bk5 ~  Charles Veley and Anna Elliott  narrated by Simon Prebble and Wendy Tremont King   (2017)  (audible)
• The Traitor’s Game ~ Jennifer Nielsen   (2018) 

Proposed Literature and Reading List for Daisy 2018

This is a post in progress where I will be archiving the items Daisy (16yrs) may, or may not, read during the next three terms this year.    
Many of the titles we have selected out she'll be reading, and then discussing with me as she goes through each book.  Some of the topics in these books are gritty, and very mature - if we don't feel Daisy's ready to read and discuss things covered in each title in depth we'll adjust the depth of content being covered, in those books, as we go along.  I do believe in preparing  children to discuss gritty/raw/disturbing things that can happen in life;  but, not in traumatising them, nor in presenting topics before each student is mature enough to handle grown-up issues.   I thought one literature provider, Sonlight, used to really push the envelope on presenting mature/difficult/growing up issues before most children are ready:  I used to save the too-much-to-soon titles in SL's literature packages until a needed level of maturation had been reached to deal with some topics - every child is different - and other books we skipped altogether.  

A home educating associate would probably label our list beneath as a kitchen sink selection: where we pull any items we like together and even if it doesn't look like a cohesive reading list, we call it one.

I'll keep updating as we go along, adding and deleting titles.  

Selecting books out for 2018 and 2019

Study Guides, Courses, and, Personal Growth Books for 2018:
King James Bible (select books)

Poetry for Dummies ~ John Timpane

How to Read Slowly ~ James W. Shire

NCEA English ( writing, and, literature studies via Te Kura)

Essentials in Literature (EiL): Level 10 ~ Matthew Stephens (selections. complete in 1 term)
Cupid and Psyche with Angelina Stanford ( must sign up before April 17)

Classics Reading List:

BC 5000-400 AD     saving these next two titles for 2019
The Odyssey ~ Homer (c. 850 BC)  Audio and book    (Mature Content) 

The Aeneid ~ Virgil (c. 30 BC) trans. Cecil Day Lewis     We have an Abridged Audio but Daisy would like to go through an unabridged version of this classic poem.    (Mature content)

400-1600

Shakespeare (any play of interest not yet studied)

Plays
Tartuffe ~ Moliere (1669) play (audiobook)
She Stoops to Conquer ~ Oliver Goldsmith (1773) play  NCEA Reading Response

The Madness of King George III  ~ Alan Bennett

A 1994 film directed by Nicholas Hytner and adapted by Alan Bennett from his own play.  The copy we saw had had the bedroom/sensual scenes edited out – which made it a good choice for a family movie.  We all enjoyed the movie adaptation of the play.

1850-present day

any works of Dickens not yet read (1860 -  )

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ~ R.L. Stevenson   (1866) Brit Lit.  Audio.  Content: Drug Addiction    Switching to 2019

Three Men in a Boat ~ Jerome (1889)  completed

Anthem ~ Ayn Rand  (1937) Dystopian  (sensual content at the end. we skip that portion) NCEA Reading Response

Animal Farm ~  George Orwell (1945)     Brit Lit / Political Satire  NCEA Reading Response

Fahrenheit 451 ~ Ray Bradbury  (1953)  Dystopian NCEA Reading Response

To Kill a Mockingbird ~ Harper Lee  (1960)  (EiL)  America Lit.  Content: an accusation of rape, centred around racism.  Daisy was surprised at how much she 'enjoyed' (?) this book.   NCEA Reading Response

The House on Mango Street ~ Sandra Cisneros (1984) (haven't pre-read this one yet. UPDATE: Daisy said this has some boy & girl tension in the book, with the boys aggressively pursuing the girls)

Other Books:

Matilda Bone ~ Karen Cushman   1300’s  gritty content. Historical Fict

A Parcel of Patterns ~ Jill Paton Walsh   set in 1665   Historical Fict.  Not for Sensitive readers.  

Night Witches ~ Kathryn Lasky    set in WWII   Historical Fict   (This book has some swearing in it, no f-bombs though.)

A Surfeit of Lampreys ~ Ngaio Marsh (1941)   Golden Era Mystery.  The way the victim is murdered is rather awful – a skewer through his eye.

The Labours of Hercules ~ Agatha Christie (1947)  Golden Era Mystery.  Audio

Till We Have Faces ~ C.S. Lewis (1956)  Cupid and Psyche Myth Retold    Audio    Switching to 2019

To Say Nothing of the Dog: Bk2 ~ Connie Willis  (1997)    Sci-fi / Comedy    (I have to listen to the tie-in title  Three Men in a Boat before Daisy & I listen to this audiobook.)

Babylon’s Ark ~ Lawrence Anthony (2007)  N/F.    profanity edited out.  Autobiography  NCEA Reading Response

Have a Little Faith ~ Mitch Albom (2009)     Biographical  Switching to 2019

Caroline ~ Sarah Miller (2017)  set in 1870’s    Historical Fict   Daisy has no interest to read this.  (ETA:   another reader stated that the book has some unnecessary s3x scenes at the end of it - I haven't pre-read this book yet so I'm just giving the heads up for other parents who like to be in the know about "content issues" in books too. )

Short Stories, and, a selection of Poetry

Various 

Free Reading:  (adding books read as Daisy completes them)
The Trial ~ Charlotte M. Yonge
Ember Rising ~ S.D. Smith
Under Drakes Flag ~ G.A. Henty (audio. Jim Weiss)
Sherlock Holmes  (collection of stories on audio)
Mildred and Elsie: Bk3 ~ Martha Finley
Mildred's Married Life: Bk4 ~ Martha Finley
Daisy ~ Susan Warner
Daisy in the Field ~ Susan Warner
Melbourne House ~ Susan Warner
Pine Needles ~ Susan Warner
Vanderbeekers of 141st Street ~ Karina Glaser (younger years book)
The Cat of Bubastes ~ G.A. Henty (audio. Jim Weiss)
Amberwell ~ D.E. Stevenson
Summerhills ~ D.E. Stevenson

The Bess Crawford Mystery Series ~ Charles Todd (the first 4 titles)

Highschooling The Final Two Years ~ Down to One Student

Two years from now I'll be donning the badge of homeschool mum emeritus.
With Jay (just turned 18) focusing on self-directed studies in Economics, and working part-time, I have just Daisy to facilitate highschool subjects for this year.
It feels a little surreal to be in the last few years of our family's home educating journey. When we received our exemption to home educate Jay, way back in 2006, the task to educate him seemed to stretch out so far in front of me - and while difficult terms felt longer than they were, the cumulative years of educating at home have gone by so quickly.
People ask me what I'm going to do once I've finished homeshooling the children.  A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.  There are so many things I could be doing - it will be interesting to see how the post homeschooling years play out ..... though I am hoping to take, at least, a few weeks off to clear away the-educating-at-home debris (-: 
However, between now and then Daisy and I have a lot to achieve.

We had to wait until Daisy turned 16 before we could enroll her as a young adult student with (The New Zealand Correspondence School) Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu - Te Kura for short.  Once her enrollment was accepted we elected for  Daisy to work in only three NCEA subjects this year (Maths, English, and Digital Studies), which is gifting her with time to pursue other areas of interest.

As an aside: the children's birthdays are two years and two days apart - hence the shared birthday cake beneath.

Jay's half of the Cake: Bitcoin and Astronomy-themed 

Stacey crafted this clever split cake. I've blocked out the names.

Daisy loved the hand-painted farm-theme, complete with a horse

A few NZ home educators ask why (?) we choose to unsubscribe from being registered homeschoolers and enroll the children as young adult students with Te Kura.  Though homeschooled students, 16yrs and older, can enroll to study in one or two subjects with Te Kura and still receive the home educating allowance, we find it is more beneficial for our family to have access to the interesting, and sometimes very expensive - though free to us - extras Te Kura offer young adults studying three or more subjects.
IE: The Star Courses. 
Along with a few other worthy courses available in 2016-17, Jay also did a retail experience course, Red Shirts with The Warehouse, which he found very insightful.
Daisy is keen to complete the Barista, and, the Red Cross First Aid courses.

I'll add a separate post detailing the other, non-NCEA based, subjects of interest she plans to do, along with the selection of literature she'll be reading during 2018.

We've selected out quite a few audiobooks for her to listen to as well, which gifts her with time to crochet, colour-in, or card craft.

Posters colour co-ordinated for our decor♥ 

Rethinking School in 2018 ~ podcasts and the audiobook

Another extra ….  

I’m endeavouring to listen through Susan Bauer’s podcasts on Rethinking School. Links below.

(For teachers/ brick and mortar schooling friends: the interviews are not a negative hate-on-all-things- out-school  ☺  The podcasts are about making the way we educate/school each child work for them personally.  I don't agree with some of Andrew Kern's theologically input, shrug, ymmv. )

Part 1
Part 2 

The first podcast encouraged me to want to read through Bauer's book

 Rethinking School: How to Take Charge of Your Child's Education;  however, using an audible credit to purchase the audiobook was more economical for my back to schooling budget - we start next week.  Christina Moore is the perfect narrator for this book.

Update: Despite the fact that I’m not the target audience for this book - we’re nearing the end of our home educating; and, are not U.S. based - Rethinking School was an easy and engaging listen.  Understandably, portions of this book are American,  K-12 grade schooling, centric.  Chapter 21 was of the most interest to me, especially since Jay is taking a road less travelled after highschool, which does not include University.

There are some help filled suggestions in this book which would make it an excellent read for someone newer to home educating, or whose children are younger or pre-teen, or those who are wrestling with their child’s brick and mortar schooling, or in their own homeschooling journey.  Sometimes we can get stuck in a rut, that the route we are taking is the only one,  and can not see the wood for the trees: to have someone who is further ahead of us in the educate-the-children journey offer some concrete suggestions can be a game changer.

2017 Book List in Reading Order ~ info post for me

2017 Book Lists in Reading ORDER

Daisy (15):  

  

TGC: Classics of British Literature ~ Prof. John Sutherland (audio. selections)

8: Anglo-Saxon Roots—Pessimism and Comradeship

16: Chaucer—Social Diversity

17: Chaucer—A Man of Unusual Cultivation

AllSorts Selection (Includes Brit Lit books)

1: The Whisper of Glocken ~ Carol Kendall (fantasy)

2: Elbows off the Table ~ Patsy Rowe   (etiquette refresher)

2: The Hound of Ulster ~ Rosemary Sutcliff  (Celts.  Cuchulain Saga.  Read before Beowulf)

4: The Prince of the House of David ~ J.H. Ingraham   (AD 30's) (Christian Classic)

5-7: How to Write Clearly ~ Beechick   (N/F English)

5: Bede's Ecclesiastical Hist of the English Speaking Church  GG  (Brit Lit)   

8: Anglo-Saxon Poetry (selections) GG  (Brit Lit)   

  -Deor's Lament

  -The Seafarer

  -The Wanderer

  -Caedmon's Hymn

  -The Dream of the Rood

8-17: Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are ~ Harris & Harris

9: Beowulf   GG   (Brit Lit)    (the illustrated version is a family favourite)

9: Spring Tide ~ Mary Ray    (Roman. AD 311)

16: Knight's Fee ~ Rosemary Sutcliff  ('England'   1066 tie-in)

17-19: Chaucer (selections)  GG  (Brit Lit)  
17 -19:  Caught Up in a Story ~ Sarah Clarkson 

17a: A Single Shard ~ Linda Sue Park (11oo’s) listen to RAR #53 podcast first)

17b: The Hawk and the Dove ~ Penelope Wilcock   1300's

17c: I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade ~ Wilson  (1339.  Animistic themes)

18: Crispin:The Cross of Lead ~ Avi   (England.  1377) RAR membership video

19: Gateway of the Sun ~ Lori Wagner    1541+

20: Hamlet   GG (Brit Lit)   (Read alongside:  Brightest Heaven of Invention) (Play)

21: The Three Musketeers ~ Alexandre Dumas (1625-28)  (French Lit)

24: The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn ~ Hoobler  (Mystery) 1735

25: The Hobbit ~ Tolkien ( re-vi for lit study EiL)     RAR #41 Listen & discuss

26: Nicholas Nickleby ~ Charles Dickens  1861 (Brit Lit) audio, dramatised  (Brit Lit)   

28: Silas Marner ~ George Elliot    1861  (Brit Lit)   

31: Moonfleet ~J. Meade Falkner  (pub 1898)  setting 1757

34:  Surprised by Joy ~ C.S. Lewis   (1955) (essay.  Auto bio /Christian) (Brit Lit)   

Free Reading (optional titles)

3: Three Little Great Ladies ~ W. Percy Smith (Young Ladies of Virtue Series) 

3: Dora: A Tale of Influence ~ author unknown (YLoVS   which are similar to Lamplighter books)

4: The Faerie Queen ~ Edmund Spenser (1590's epic poem)   (unabridged audio)

4: A Little Child Shall Lead Them ~ Amy Le Feuvre (YLoVS)

4b: Christie's Next Things ~ Minnie E. Kenney
5:  Esperanza Rising ~ Pam Munoz Ryan      available thru ePukapuka.overdrive.com.

7:  Just Binnie ~ Dick King-Smith (younger, easy reading.  good story though)

7: What She Could: & Opportunities ( A Sequel) ~ Susan Warner

8: I Needed a Neighbour ~ St. John  (Refugees/ Africa/ Modern Times)

8:  The Witch's Brat ~ Rosemary Sutcliff (England AD 1121)

9: The False Prince ~ Nielsen   (audio series)
10: The Samurai’s Tale ~ Haugaard  (Japan 1500’s)
11: Flame-Coloured Taffeta ~ Rosemary Sutcliff   (England. 1750+) 
12: Journey to the River Sea ~ Ibbotson
13: Count Zinzendorf ~ Benge

14-16: A Day No Pigs Would Die ~ Robert Peck
14-16: News of the World ~ Paulette Jiles
17-20: Enemy Brothers ~ Savery
17-20: A Night Divided ~ Nielsen
17-20: A Bunch of Sweet Peas ~ Henry Donald
21:  Echo ~ Pam Munoz Ryan  audio option    Daisy enjoyed Pam Ryan's writing style and was keen to try another title.   Younger.   Includes a witch and a spell cast, fairy tale beginning to story.
21: revisited Paddington  Bear books 
22: The Angel Knew Papa & The Dog ~ McKelvey   Enjoyed!
23:  Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes ~ Auxier   not sure of content yet.  RAR recommendation.
24:  Sophie Quire and the Last Story Guard ~ Auxier
25:  The 100 Cupboards  Bk 1 ~ N.D Wilson (touch of fantasy and magic in this series.)
26: Dandelion Fire Bk 2  ~ N.D Wilson
27: The Chestnut King  Bk 3  ~ N.D. Wilson
28: The Courts of the Morning ~ John Buchan
The First Four Years ~ Wilder (American Classic)

Young Pioneers ~ Rose Wilder Lane  (American)
Cadfael (abridged audiobooks)

Underground to Canada ~ Barbara Smucker   (1850-60.  US Slavery. Canada)

A Tree for Peter ~ Kate Seredy  (illustrator.   Young read)

Miss Buncle ~ D.E. Stevenson

Mrs. Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha ~ Gilman (continuation with our world view study: psychics, zen buddhism, fame & multiple marriages, terrorists)

Daisy  NZ Focus  

Stories of Old New Zealand      (Universal Books) (Out Of Print)

The Women of New Zealand ~ Helen M. Simpson    (O.O.P.)

        (NZ titles.  easy!! reading)

The Rhys Griffiths Read Aloud Stories Vol II  New Zealand History  

Journey Under Warning ~ Elsie Locke  (1843)

____________________________

Jay (17): 

AllSorts Selection

A: The Marshmellow Test  (documentary, already watched) LC

1: Short Stories by Saki   (British)  (H.H Munro 1870-1916) (English/Short Stories)

4: The Whisper of Glocken ~ Carol Kendall (English/Fantasy)

4: Surfeit of Lampreys ~ Ngaio Marsh (NZ author.  pub. 1941) (English/Mystery)

4b: Litecoin ~ Branson  (Business) 
5: Died in the Wool ~ Marsh (NZ author) (English/Mystery)

5: Church History In Plain English ~ Bruce Shelley (free pdf)  (Church Hist)

5: War and Peace: A Collection of Classic Poetry & Prose ~ compiled by Kate Agnew (English/Poetry)

5-15: How to Read Slowly ~James Shire  (English)

5-16:  The Student Leadership Challenge ~ Kouzes & Posner  (spine) LC

6-8: Leaders Who Last ~ Dave Kraft (christian) LC

9-13: Babylon's Ark ~ Lawrence Arthur   (profanity edited out) (English/Modern Bio)

16-20: On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature ~ C.S. Lewis  (English/Essays)

17-22: Leaders and Misleaders ~ Andre Van Heerden (Business  NZ) LC

18: The Abolition of Man ~ C.S. Lewis (christian) (audio option) LC

23-27: Surprised by Joy ~ C.S.Lewis   (1955)  (English/Essays/Autobio)

23-24: Steven Covey  pdf to read  LC

28: The Most Dangerous Game ~ Connell   (1924) (English/Short Stories)

28-31: Margin ~ Richard Swenson (christian) LC

29: A Letter to God ~ Gregoria Lopex Y Fuentes   (1940) (English/Short Stories)

30: A Sound of Thunder  ~ Bradbury   (1952) (English/Short Stories)

33-36: Have a Little Faith ~ Mitch Albom    (English/Bio)

32: Three Men on The Bummel ~ Jerome (English/Humour)

Other Subjects Books

(English)

Poetry/Speeches/Essays ( delight led selection, including)

St. Orfeo  (Poem. Translated by Tolkein)  Circa 1300

Luthien Tinuviel  (Poem from the Silmarillion) 

Optional

To Kill a Mocking Bird ~ Harper   (American Lit.  pub. 1960)  US Hist Fict
Sparkling Cyanide ~ Agatha Christie
Curtain: Periot's Final Case ~ Agatha Christie

___________________________

Family 

Book Basket

Bible (KJV)

1: Short Stories By Saki ~ H.H.  Munro  (car time audio)    (free. library loan)

5: Then Sings My Soul BK 3 ~ Morgan (Select songs)

4-22: Church Ages    (Dn to read aloud and discuss)

16: TGC  1066: The Year that Changed Everything ~ Prof J.Paxton (audio. 3hrs)

23: Hamlet ~ Shakespeare (BBC Production.  audio)   (free. library loan)

An Anthology of Twentieth Century New Zealand Poetry ~ O'Sullivan

...... then there were nine ~ Phyllis Johnston (NZ hist)

Other titles.  To select as we go along

Plays & Films, Doco Films

A: Longitude DvD  (content issues)
13: Victorian Slum (BBC)
15: Tudor Monastry Farm  BBC  DvD 

20: The Edwardian Farm   BBC  DvD 

21: The Misanthrope ~ Moliere  (1666)  (play)   

33: Arsenic and Lace ~ Joseph Kesselring (play)

Of Gods and Men (2011)   ? DvD 

___________________________