I'm catching up on all the books I should have read when I was younger – 1984, Slaughterhouse Five, Lord of the flies, Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, etc. – and it made me wonder if kids nowadays are still being asked to read those same books when they're in school, or if there's newer material that's being assigned? Like are there modern classics that have become required reading that I should add to my list?
by pardis
4 Comments
IME it’s a bit of a mix? I had Lord of the Flies, Catcher in the Rye, Shakespeare, Great Gatsby, Steinbeck, etc. but then also some different books/non-classics. We had some books that were more nonfiction/memoirs about immigrant experiences or life in other countries, so I think that maybe schools are slowly moving away from The Almighty Classics into other things, but I can’t say for sure.
Depends where you live. To Kill A Mockingbird is banned in California, for instance.
Not directly related, but something you might find interesting. When teaching English as a foreign language in Germany, Dystopian (and to a lesser degree Utopian) literature gets some focus in Gymnasium (College Prep High School). I think you’ll find a number of books in your list already fit that genre, with Brave New World being also part of the roll call.
Edit: A more modern book that gets attention is, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”
Add *The Giver* to the mix.