Introducing Little Brother to Literature

[Anonymous No.9658794]

My 10-year-old brother's school teacher has assigned him a book to read over the summer. It looks pretty lame and he didn't seem interested in it at all so I gave him the Hobbit instead. He's really excited about it but he's struggling to get through it as he is a very weak reader.

Aside from the obvious tips like telling him to use context clues to figure the meanings of words and re-reading a difficult sentence many times, how do you help a kid develop reading skills? Is the Hobbit even ideal for his age group? I haven't read it myself. How old were you guys when you read it?

[Anonymous No.9658805]

bump

[Anonymous No.9658811]

>>9658794
Animorphs + ritalin. Then move him onto Yohanne Greene. Thank me later.

[Anonymous No.9658817]

>>9658794
regarding the state of modern education, one must assume that you have severely stunted your brother, and overestimated him by giving him an unforgiving and nigh impossible task. he will likely forever hold regret and anger over literature. you have pushed him into a position where he wishes to impress and to enjoy, when in reality he had been tossed to the sharks of incomprehension. you are a dimwitted and damaging big brother and have served him poorly. a ten year old. my god, the boy couldn't read his way out of a wet paper sack and you give him the hobbit.

[Anonymous No.9658822]

>>9658817
Ignore this tard op. He sounds mean and uses too many big words. Do my Johannes Green idea.

[Anonymous No.9658827]

>>9658794
Try giving him the Narnia books. They're good for kids and a little easier than the Hobbit I think.

You have to accommodate his reading ability, not his age. Just becuase Nabakov was reading Anna Karenina at 13 doesn't mean you should.

[Anonymous No.9658832]

>>9658794
I don't know, man. I think I read Tintin when I was ten.

Pic unrelated.

[Anonymous No.9658836]

>>9658822
by all means, show him a simpleton book. you've ruined the boy by now.
you should have read something WITH him. you mong. to help guide his reading practices and to help you regain a passion for literature through his eyes. alas, you fool, you destroy everything in which you intervene. do be so kind as to not involve yourself in your brothers affairs from now on. it is likely he will be sharper than you ever will without your fraternal soapstone ill used.

[Anonymous No.9658841]

>>9658836
>by all means
Only part I need to hear. Thanks anon. Op you heard him.

[Anonymous No.9658898]

>>9658817
I haven't pushed him into anything. We were reading together and he didn't seem interested in his book so I asked him if he'd heard of the Hobbit, told him a little about it, and when he seemed interested I said he can have my copy.

I think there is value in reading outside of your comfort level. When I was an edgy pretentious middle schooler I would read the likes of Nietzsche and Jung and even though 99% went over my head I was miles ahead of the other kids in highschool English.

[Anonymous No.9658913]

>>9658898
>defending the destruction of your own brother
know you no shame? you modern Cain? fie. i am done with you.

[Anonymous No.9658914]

>>9658817
>>9658836
These posts are the funniest I've read in a while. Thanks for the hearty chuckles anon.

[Anonymous No.9658939]

>>9658827
I'll keep an eye out for Narnia. Very true about the reading level vs age. Unfortunately public education in the US is continuing to decline and with the rise of technology less kids are developing necessary reading skills.

[Anonymous No.9658948]

>>9658913
Are you the one who wrote that story to accompany that obscure painting of two pigs?

[Anonymous No.9658958]

>>9658939

never let school get in the way of your education

[Anonymous No.9658959]

>>9658939
the fratricidal menace accepts the medicine mingled with honey. never will be able to swallow the bitter pill alone. let us hope the best traits skipped over you in this family, mayhaps even a mother ashamed sought new blood to fill the veins of your brother. no wonder your resentment bares its teeth in juvenile sabotage. a modern Cain indeed.

[Anonymous No.9658963]

>>9658948
no, but in a way i envy it. a clever little meme.

[Anonymous No.9659206]

>>9658811
I never actually read animorphs. Is it unironically a good children's series?

[Anonymous No.9659858]

Yeah, just do it

the only sincere advice you're going to get

[Anonymous No.9661195]

plebs

[Anonymous No.9661212]

>>9658794
What book did the teacher give him to read over summer?

[Anonymous No.9661578]

>>9661195
Good post 10/10

[Anonymous No.9661591]

>>9661212
Fish In a Tree by Lynda Hunt

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22402972-fish-in-a-tree

[Anonymous No.9661624]

>>9661591
So I read the plot synopsis and the protagonist is a 6th grader who can't read...

Did my brother just get BTFO by his 4th grade teacher?

[Anonymous No.9661631]

>>9661624
as i said earlier, you are interfering in the learning process of your little brother. fuck sake, i was right, you'll never swallow the bitter pill.

[Anonymous No.9661632]

>>9658794
Why give him the Hobbit? Make him start with the Greeks

[Anonymous No.9661635]

Is you brother mentally challenged? Why can't a 10 year old read The Hobbit?

If he's having that much trouble maybe try reading to him?

[Anonymous No.9661646]

>>9661632
Yeah I gave him Herodotus but for some reason he didn't seem very into it.

>>9661635
I'm sure he's capable but it's a challenge for him. He's a bright kid but he hasn't any positive influences to actively encourage him to read. That's what I'm trying to change.

[Anonymous No.9661657]

>>9661646
Have you tried giving him Thucydides? Might get along better with that

[Anonymous No.9661660]

>>9661631
Well look where relying on the state has gotten him so far

[Anonymous No.9661669]

>>9661646
what a piece of shit you are. so self righteous. you're going to look back on this day in deep regret and realize how right i am. you should get the fuck out of your brother's reading habits. you suggest to him a book you've never read, don't even understand what the teacher assigned him or even question WHY, you abuse your brother's clear desire to please you, his big brother who probably is a superman to him, and you reward him with nothing. not a damn thing, you may even damage him, turning him off from literature and reading in general out of frustration and shame. and there you sit, as though you're doing a good deed. fuck you, man. i feel sorry for your brother. i bet he's a great kid. shame he has such a dipshit for a brother.
the path to hell is paved with good intentions.

[Anonymous No.9661670]

>>9661657
Eh I feel like the silly fables of Herodotus would be better suited for children

[Anonymous No.9661677]

>>9661669
I can't even tell if I'm getting memed on anymore but I'm not ashamed to admit that one got to me a little.

[Anonymous No.9661678]

>>9661660
i mean, the sheer idiocy.
have you ever once considered that your brother may have a learning disability that he's ashamed of and could probably never tell you because he would be afraid of being alienated from you and your obvious literary hobby? no, of course not, no possible way you could consider your brother, because you're projecting yourself onto him, you think he's you in your teen years, reading nietzsche and being miles ahead, you're unintentionally and stupidly impressing upon him your desires, and you can't even see the harm. what a fool.

[Anonymous No.9661683]

>>9661677
look, just give him hatchet, or the giver, or a wrinkle in time. ok? those are 10 year old accessible books that are short and entertaining and will give him a sense ofmaccomplishment without straining him too hard. that's my suggestion since you insist on interfering. i'd say you should really spend some time reading WITH him, to see his strengths and issues, but we both know you're not willing to spend that kind of time with the boy. good luck to him. god bless.

[Anonymous No.9662441]

>>9658794
I had read the entire Lord of The Rings trilogy by 8-9, and only had surface level issues like not understanding some words.

From the sounds of it, The Hobbit is indeed challenging for your brother, but recommend that he push through it.

Also consider reading a chapter to him before he goes to bed each night -- it will keep him so interested in the plot that he'll want to read it, even when you're not around.

[Anonymous No.9662488]

Here are some books your brother might enjoy OP;

White Fang by Jack London
Call of the Wild by Jack London
Treasure Island by R.L. Stevenson
Kim by Rudyard Kipling
Robinson Crusoe

My teacher gave them to me between the ages of 9-12 when I was just starting to get into reading, and I loved them. They shouldn't be too difficult from what I remember.

[Anonymous No.9662499]

give him something you enjoyed when you were 10, or if you were ahead of him, a book you enjoyed when at his reading level and tell him you read it at age 10. he will think its cool that he gets to read what his older brother read, and you will be able to talk about the book with him a lot more