The Glade 4.0

My dad bought me a set of books when I was a kid, and sadly, I do not have them anymore....but I would love to buy a set for my son if they still make them.
They were small books, about an inch or so thick and not much bigger than a standard postcard if I recall correctly. They were small, abridged versions of books like War of The Worlds, Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Man in The Iron Mask, etc.
Totally awesome, but I can't find them anywhere!

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

I vaguely remember these... were they illustrated with pictures on every other page?

after some googling, I think these were the ones I got as a kid...

http://www.greatillustratedclassics.com/

...

Lord Doom disapproves of such things. Your son is 10ish, right, LK?

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LK, I remember them well. I remember reading several of them as a kid:

Tom Sawyer
A Christmas Carol
The Time Machine
The Three Musketeers

Couldn't tell you where to get them though.

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This must be Thursday. I could never get the hang of Thursdays.

Such fond memories. I <3ed those as a kid.

Bale, those might have been them...it's been so long. Thanks.
Lord Doom, your highness, what would you recommend instead for an almost 10 year old boy in a world where video games, satellite TV, unlimited internet and all sorts of technologies are replacing books for entertainment?
He is a great reader, he just prefers to ride scooters and play video games...it's hard to keep his interest. He mostly reads Calvin & Hobbes, but when I read to him he enjoys chapter books. We're reading "A Wind in The Door" right now.
I just thought the pocket classics would be a fun way to get him introduced to these type of books.
I also am thinking about some graphic novels that I read at his age like Barefoot Gen and Maus I & II.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

I suspect Lord Doom disapproves of abridging reading material that should not be beyond his reading level.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Well, I'm not entirely certain how old LK's son is. My answer depends a lot on the answer to that question ...

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Well, Khross darling, if you actually READ my reply, you would know how old my son is.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

I did read your reply, and I somehow totally missed that statement as an answer to my inquiry. In any case ...

Before I recommend anything to actually read, I'll recommend discipline; not as in punishment, rather, you have to simultaneously demonstrate the value and necessity of reading to him. The joy/pleasure of reading will come on its own, or not, and there really isn't anything you can do about that reality. And the only real way to demonstrate that value is to make him read a set amount of time every day. Now, here's the critical part: it really doesn't matter what he reads, as long as he's actually reading something. Let him choose what he's going to read; let him like or dislike what he reads of his own accord; and, perhaps most importantly, let him fail to understand something he's chosen. That last recommendation is key: if he doesn't understand, he will have to learn how to find understanding when it isn't spelled out for him in someone else's words.

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And does Dr. Doom actually have any children of his own?

Khross, my son is very bright, he has been reading since kindergarten and he does like to read....the whole pocket classics idea was to give him something fun and interesting to read...I enjoyed those very much at his age and they got me introduced enough to the classics to look forward to reading them when I was a bit older and had more comprehension of the material. It's not enough to understand the vocabulary, some of those things are just meant for a more mature person to get enjoyment out of them, YMMV.
I know what I'm doing, thanks.

Now, if you would like to recommend reading material, that would be nice.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

I had these when I was two/three. If I could find them, I'd send them to you.

I don't think anybody has suggested he's not bright. If he likes to read, talk to him and see what he likes to read. If he doesn't like to read, making him won't cause him to like it more.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Kaffis, he likes to read Calvin & Hobbes. That's great and all, but really, he needs to be expanding what he is reading. I think if he has more choices and broader interests in reading material, he might choose reading over video games or TV a little more often.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

I just finished reading pocket classic versions Treasure Island and Moby Dick to my 5 and 8 year old sons. It was cool watching them go from "What the heck is this not Star Wars, not Pixar, not Disney crap you're trying to make us suffer through?" to building Lego whaling ships and asking for extra chapters each night. I usually made my older son (who is pretty much an average 2nd grader in reading ability) work through a couple of pages each session.

Then I would, as I suggested, talk to him and figure out what about Calvin & Hobbes holds his interest. You're not done yet, there's more investigation to be done.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Kaffis, he likes Calvin & Hobbes because it's funny, and because he can relate to Calvin, being a highly imaginative and "misunderstood" too-smart-for-his-own-good little boy...that's why we're reading The Wind in the Door right now, he likes it because he can relate to Charles Wallace.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

Not a Pocket Classic, but if he likes humor, I would recommend Daniel Pinkwater. Start with "The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death."

Try the Bunnicula series of books. They are great for that age, challenging in terms of length but fun to read.

http://www.amazon.com/James-Howe/e/B000 ... 630&sr=8-1

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When I was his age, Hardy Boys, Tom Swift and Encyclopedia Brown were what I was into.

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In time, this too shall pass.

LadyKate:

I've made no comments about your proficiency as a home school teacher; nor, for that matter, have I made any statements about your son's intelligence, aptitude, or creativity. I made a simple statement of truth: it ultimately does not matter what your son reads, as long as he reads. Whether or not he enjoys it; whether or not it seems edifying; whether or not it is something you would read: those things are all immaterial.

In any case ...

Start Here

and

Here

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Ha! I forgot about him......when I was in 6th grade I met him in person and he signed a copy of my favorite book at the time, "A Fine and Pleasant Misery." Heh. Thanks.


Hop, I forgot about those books too...I used to love reading those when I was a kid...they were very funny.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

Pat McManus is a god among humorists.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

At that age my favorites were Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, Guliver's Travels, and TLOTR.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20