A Glimpse into the Authors Past through book recommendations :-) Great choices!
Age 5
I'd recommend Alice in Wonderland to any age. There's so much there for each time of your life, but the first time I read it I was about five, and so I'll recommend it the younger set. They'll have a great adventure, following Alice down that rabbit hole, to the tea party, into the wildest croquet game ever. Of course, there isn't a Dr. Seuss book that I didn't pour over. Still Cat in the Hat was my favorite.
Age 11:
When I was in the fifth grade, The Bridge to Terabithia was one that really caught me up in the story, but I also remember The Black Stallion as one I couldn't put down. So many wonderful books came to me at this time. The Wizard of Oz, Old Yeller, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The Lord of the Rings can't be beat for the quest story. I didn't want those stories to end, and when I had my son I couldn't wait for him to begin reading them. In fact, I think we started reading the first book together, and we'd switch off reading aloud to each other. That was wonderful. So I guess I say, "Read them all!"
Age 16:
Although this book wasn't available when I was sixteen, it's one I like to mention here. It was written by someone I really liked a lot, LK Madigan, but that's not why I'd recommend Flash Burnout for a teen. I'd recommend it because it's a great read. It's funny, sad, teen-real and totally engaging. When I was younger, the biggest breakthrough for teenage reading had been Catcher in the Rye. I still laugh and feel kind of nostalgic about old Holden Caulfield. Anything by S.E. Hinton was on my reading list. Rumblefish my favorite among her books. I'd say that The Diary of Anne Frank was the first book that made me cry. The classics I really loved were The Last of the Mohicans, Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice . . . I can keep going, but this will turn into a reading list instead of telling young readers about my past reading self. I'll stop there.
Age 20:
I tried to remember what I was captivated by when I read at twenty. Fareheit 451 certainly. That was my first Ray Bradbury story and I loved it so much that after 451 I read almost everything else he'd written. I loved his short story collection, The Illustrated Man. He was a master at the unusual and quirky short story. By this time I'd discovered that not only could I read Shakespeare, I loved the language, so in college I think I took all the courses that let me read and learn about this writer. It takes a while to "get" the rhythm of his words, but once you do, you're hooked.
