One of my recent ideas for school next year was to put together a science fiction unit for J, something that he would absolutely love (he wants to be an astrobiologist). Below are the books that I initially purchased, though I expect that some will be culled and others added as I get further into my pre-reading and planning. In particular, I like the idea of studying the books by sub-genre (time travel, dystopian, apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic, etc.), so there's clearly some organizational work to be done. More than likely our "spine" will be the amazing Prentice Hall Anthology of Science Fiction and Fantasy, a college text which I'll use selectively.
- Amazing Journeys: Journey to the Center of the Earth, From the Earth to the Moon, Circling the Moon, 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas, and Around the World in 80 Days (1864-1873) by Jules Verne
- The Time Machine (1895) by H.G. Wells
- Space Cadet (1948) by Robert Heinlein
- Red Planet (1949) by Robert Heinlein
- I, Robot (1950) by Isaac Asimov
- The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet (1954) by Eleanor Cameron (This is ideal for younger kids, but I didn't realize that until after I had purchased it!)
- The Stories of Ray Bradbury (Everyman's Library)
- Tunnel in the Sky (1955) by Robert Heinlein
- House of Stairs (1974) by William Sleator
- Interstellar Pig (1984) by William Sleator
- Ender’s Game (1985) by Orson Scott Card
- Spacer and Rat (2004) by Margaret Bechard
The Tom Corbett - Space Cadet series was inspired by Robert Heinlein's Space Cadet and published between 1952-1956. The series inspired comic books, a daily and Sunday newspaper strip, radio shows, and a television series.
Thanks to Boom Pop!, I discovered that 7 of the 8 titles are available as free eBooks at ManyBooks:
Thanks to Boom Pop!, I discovered that 7 of the 8 titles are available as free eBooks at ManyBooks:
While these books might not have much literary value, I thought they might be fun to include anyway (or maybe not!).
Dystopian Fiction*
*I picked these books from the excellent lists found here and here.
- The Giver by Lois Lowry
- Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
- Messenger by Lois Lowry
- The Silenced by Jame DeVita
- Gone by Michael Grant
- Into the Forest by Jean Hegland
- Feed by M.T. Anderson
This looks like such a fun thing to do! You've inspired me (wink!)
ReplyDeleteBy the way, it's a little while since I've visited your blog. I love your layout. :)
Looks like an awesome unit study. I love Jules Vern. I'll have to look at some of your other books you've listed.
ReplyDeleteThanks Alecat!
ReplyDeleteI think it will be fun, though I've not read much science fiction, I look forward to learning from this as well.
I'm especially excited about the dystopian novels, I think they'll lead to some amazing discussions.
My 18 yo who loves science fiction just wants to warn you that Ender's Game, while a great book is very dark and he thinks is best saved for high school age. I haven't read it but that's his opinion, so I thought I'd let you know!
ReplyDeleteA couple other suggestions. For dystopia have you read Hunger Games and the other two books in the series by Susan Collins? My 15 yo read all (I only read the first one) but they are VERY compelling reads!
ReplyDeleteAlso White Mountains and the rest of Tripods series by John Christopher is very good. I remember reading them when I was young and my boys have enjoyed them.
Faith ~ Thank you so much for the suggestions! I will hold off on Ender's Game and I did just buy Hunger Games. For some reason the book's description didn't sound very appealing to me (like it might be too intense for 7th grade), but it kept popping up on every list I looked at, so I bought it & plan to start reading it tonight. I'm going to check out your other suggestions on Amazon now, thank you!
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