Book advice, please!
In this post I’d like to ask for some advice from you wonderful readers out there.
A few weeks ago, I gave my oldest daughter, Lucy, a hug and told her I loved her. She responded, “I know...but there’s just one thing I don’t like about myself. You know all the books I really love? Like Laura? And Ramona? And Betsy-Tacy? Well, all the people I like are not like me. Usually the people I like are in the middle of the family, and some of them are the youngest of the family or the only child, but nobody is the oldest like me.”
I started to reassure her, “Oh, there are lots of books about oldest children. There’s a great book called The Penderwicks that we can read soon that has a very nice oldest daughter. And there’s...there’s...um...”
I couldn’t think of anything else. Since then I’ve come up with a few: A Wrinkle in Time--but she’ll have to be older to read that. (She's only 6 1/2 now, though her reading comprehension is a bit beyond her age.) It’s gonna be a long while before I let her crack open The Hunger Games, either. The Saturdays and Ballet Shoes are more age-appropriate books with a wide range of characters who all share the starring role. But she was right: middle children and only children (orphans, especially) definitely steal the stage...er, page.
I feel certain that I’ve read more books with oldest children main characters, but they all seem to have slipped my mind. So, on behalf of Lucy, I’m turning to you. If you know of any books (middle grade books in particular) with great oldest children, could you let us know in the comments? Thanks!
How about From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg?
ReplyDeleteOh, yeah! That's one of my favorites, too...don't know how I forgot it!
DeleteThe All-of-a-Kind Family series (a wooooonderful series by Sydney Taylor) has one book about the eldest daughter called Ella, All-of-a-Kind Family. She's the oldest of five sisters.
ReplyDeleteIn Charlotte's Web, Fern is the eldest (of two children).
A more recent book, The Year of Billy Miller, is adorable (he's the older of two siblings, though it's more of a chapter book).
Can't think of other at the moment, though John Stephen's The Emerald Atlas series might apply.
I haven't read All-of-a-Kind Family, but have been meaning to forever. I guess this is a good time! :)
DeleteI did read Charlotte's Web with the girls, but I thought Fern was younger...?
And I enjoyed The Year of Billy Miller, too--another that I totally forgot when I was trying to come up with examples. Another thing I liked about that (that is, another thing I think Lucy would appreciate) is that Billy calls his parents Papa and Mama, just like she does. :)
Thank you!
You're totally right! No idea why I was thinking Fern was older~ brain fail!
DeleteI think it must be the fact that she was so much more mature than Avery, even from the beginning! If I hadn't just read it, I probably would have thought the same thing!
DeleteOh dear, I'm drawing a blank as well, since you've already mentioned the books I was thinking of ... how about some good animal stories?
ReplyDeleteSome classics: Ginger Pye (a great dog book as well), Cheaper by the Dozen, Spencer's Mountain. There was also a series about a large Jewish family.
Something newer: Home is with our Family by Joyce Hansen is a great historical featuring an oldest girl. A couple of immigration stories have either the older or oldest child narrator, but these are YA suitable for MG. An Na's A Step from Heaven (this is a great book to study voice because the narrator grows from age 4-17 with the bulk of the story occurring during the MG years).
I hope this helps. Tell Lucy that if it's any comfort, I never saw a character like me in any of the books I read, but could relate to many of the stories nonetheless, particularly the ones with animals :)
Thank you, Vijaya!
DeleteI realize I was very spoiled growing up; as an American middle child, it was pretty easy to find books about kids like me (even kids in large-ish families like mine--there seemed to be a ton of stories with families of four or five kids). I'm only now understanding how hard it is for kids who have to look a little harder.
On the other hand, I definitely agree that you can identify with characters even when they're very unlike you physically or in life circumstances. My literary best friend as a kid was Anne Shirley--an orphan!
I also thought Fern was the younger child and Avery her older brother. But Charlotte's Web is still a great book!
ReplyDeleteFor something newer, try Sunny Sweet is So Not Sorry by Jennifer Ann McMann. Sunny is the younger sister, and a genius, but Masha, the older sister, and the victim of Sunny's "experiments," is the main character. And it's funny.
In Bigger Than a Breadbox by Laurel Snyder, Rebecca is 12 and has a baby brother named Lew.
Hope Lucy enjoys reading whatever you choose.
Yep, I messed up with Charlotte's Web~ Fern is younger...yeesh, how embarrassing, as it's the first chapter book I read with my daughter (whose name is Charlotte) :)
DeleteThanks, Joanne! Those are two I haven't read!
ReplyDeleteThe Saturdays!
ReplyDeleteYes--I love that series!
DeleteI clicked over because I can't think of any either and was curious what others were saying! As an only child, I had a plethora of books about lonely kids like me : ) Interesting...
ReplyDeleteI know... there are certainly a lot of those--I think that tension is so primal and, well, I don't want to say "easy," but it's similar to the reason there are so many orphans. It keeps things uncomplicated.
DeleteInteresting! I've read so many middle grade books but, like you, am stumped on your daughter's request after The Penderwicks. But there's three of them! :-) (And maybe more on the horizon...)
ReplyDeleteI really hope so--love those books.
DeleteInteresting that you see more first borns in YA than in early chapter books or MG. You're right that there far more onlies, middles and last-borns in MG. Aside from Fern, Claudia and Meg Murry, I'm also stumped. Many of my daughter's recent faves, The Egypt Game, The Borrowers and Seven Tales of Trinket, all featured only children like her!
ReplyDeleteYou're right--and I didn't even make that connection. Perhaps because the tension of responsibility (looking after the younger ones) is more prominent for teens?
DeleteWhirligig House, Summer at Buckhorn - both by Anna Rose Wright,
ReplyDeleteThimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright,
Schoolroom in the Parlor by Rebecca Caudill,
Felicity series (American Girl), - not Great Lit, but it fits the requirement!
and, um, um...
Mansfield Park, of course - but not middle grade :-)
I asked Lucy's oldest girl cousin!!
Thank you, Lucy's oldest girl cousin (and the aunt I presume acted as secretary ;) for some excellent ideas. I forgot about Thimble Summer--haven't read that in years! And I haven't read either of the other first 3 mentioned, so I'm excited to find them.
DeleteAnd Jane Austen will be lovely in a few years. :) She does write very nice oldest daughters--Elinor, Jane (even though she's not the MC)... Would you believe I actually haven't read Mansfield Park yet? It's the only Austen I still need to read, but I keep getting distracted by re-reading P&P.
Oh gosh, I'm a moron~ of course Fern is younger than Avery in Charlotte's Web! And I have two copies of that book~ don't know what on earth I was thinking, so sorry!
ReplyDeleteBut Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen by Linda Urban definitely features an oldest sibling and it's super cute :)
I just read Vanished by Sheela Chari, which has an older sister with a younger brother.
ReplyDeleteI feel for your daughter. I'm the eldest too, although I never thought about how many books feature younger siblings till I saw your post. :)