Red Pill Children's books

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  • Natalie_LorinNatalie_Lorin Southern USSilver Member Posts: 979
    Motel of the Mysteries is a funny book about archaeology - basically anything David Macaulay wrote is fascinating for youngsters.
    Angeline
  • romanceauthorromanceauthor COSilver Member Posts: 441
    @Kort - you might also look into getting an old Illustrated Children's Bible (short url to an ebay listing: http://alturl.com/wfunx). It's not as "dumbed down" as some children's Bibles, and I really like the illustrations. I had something like that as a kid (can't find the exact version), and I absolutely loved it.


    We have that one :-) He's really asking for the stories in a historical context. Kinda like the American Girls Collection, but for boys. Hes also 9 and taking in media like he's a sponge. Apparently we're not getting him books fast enough. Today's project will be hitting the local used book stores for stuff on this list.
    I'll try anything twice . . . 
    'Tis not love's going hurts my days, But that it went in little ways." - Edna St. Vincent Millay
    Raspberry_rose
  • OnMyWayOnMyWay AlphaBeta JunctionSilver Member Posts: 177
    @Natalie_Lorin - Is that the one where the old-school archeologists unearth a modern motel, and get their analyses all wrong?
    Angeline
  • OnMyWayOnMyWay AlphaBeta JunctionSilver Member Posts: 177
    @Louise - Thanks, I'll try to find a copy.

  • Natalie_LorinNatalie_Lorin Southern USSilver Member Posts: 979
    @OnMyWay - that's the one :) That author also did a bunch of other books that are equally good. I think one of them is "How Stuff Works" or something like that, and there are some on castles and things.

  • JasperJasper Member Posts: 34
    Fiction:
    • The Man Who Sold the Moon, by Robert Heinlein.  A book to set a boy dreaming about doing great things.
    • Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein.  A book about character, designed to "glorify" military service.
    • The Amazon Legion, by Tom Kratman.  A novel that could could be used as a training manual for implementing Starship Troopers -- for women infantry!  Parental discretion advised -- it has some ugly bits.
    • The Princess Bride, by S. Morgenstern, as "abridged" by William Goldman.  The book and the movie are equally good.
    • The Hunt for Red October, by Tom Clancy.  Another (rare) case where the book and the movie are equally good.
    • The Rats of NIMH, by Robert O'Brien.
    • Watership Down, by Richard Adams.  Parental guidance advised -- it has long, dark sections.  It starts with genocide survivors, and most-of-the-way-through faces a totalitarian society that has high rates of "spontaneous abortions".

    Non-fiction:

    • How to Lie with Statistics, by Darrell Huff.  Pictures by Irving Geis.
    • How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie.  This book is about how to confidently approach people, talk with them, and find common interests.  If you can find one, get a copy published before Carnegie died.  (My copy is from 1937.)  After he died, the editors took out many of the most fascinating examples, because they were "old-fashioned".
    • The Messies' Manual, by Sandra Felton.
    • Paul Revere's Ride, by David Hackett Fischer.  A book about how the American Revolution really started.  It has very clear examples of rights (now mostly enumerated in the Bill of Rights) that were fought for -- and successfully defended -- in April 1775.  It also very clearly shows the difference that an individual man can make, especially when he is an involved member of his community.
    • Stopping Time:  The Photographs of Harold Edgerton.  
    • The Way Things Work, by David Macauley.  Complete with mammoths!
    Natalie_LorinAngelineHildaCorners
  • SmashmasterSmashmaster Tera IncognitaSilver Member Posts: 809
    The Right Stuff, while a great read (I read it when I was 15) has plenty of salty language. I picked up some colorful language. ie pudknockers, peckerwood

    Watership Down is pretty safe for older kids, IMHO.

    Robert Cormir is pretty depressing. The Chocolate War is a good story, but the protagonist gets crushed in the end. If anything, the antagonist is much more interesting. I'd say skip it.

    "Ultimately the captain sets the tone of the relationship." -Athol Kay

    "A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be." -Albert Einstein

    "Momma said that the Forrest part was to remind me that sometimes we all do things that, well, just don't make no sense." -Forrest Gump

    Neanderthal2000Raspberry_roseAngeline
  • DaisyGirlDaisyGirl Member Posts: 79
    Little Britches series by Ralph Moody!!!!
    The parents are an awesome example of a Captain/FO marriage. Plus lots of boybarian adventures for Ralph.
  • Monkeys_UncleMonkeys_Uncle RuralGold Men Posts: 4,045
    edited June 2013
    Re: The Chocolate War... well, they did ask for Red Pill books.   For stories where the protagonist goes against the grain and it is easy and rewarding and fun for them, try the Little Fairy Princess series. 

    Edit:  With that said, I probably wouldn't read that book to a six year old, but it was a transformational book for me in my early teenage years.  It helped me be more willing to have confidence in my convictions even when they ran counter to my peer group. 

    "My advice to you is get married:  if you find a good wife you'll be happy, if not, you'll become a philosopher." -Socrates

    Smashmaster
  • Raspberry_roseRaspberry_rose USASilver Member Posts: 994
    Watership Down reminded me of The Wind in the Willows. 
    Neanderthal2000Rapunzel
  • LouiseLouise EnglandSilver Member Posts: 1,622
    Re: The Chocolate War... well, they did ask for Red Pill books.   For stories where the protagonist goes against the grain and it is easy and rewarding and fun for them, try the Little Fairy Princess series. 

    Edit:  With that said, I probably wouldn't read that book to a six year old, but it was a transformational book for me in my early teenage years.  It helped me be more willing to have confidence in my convictions even when they ran counter to my peer group. 

    The Chocolate War is a very depressing book though. I mean, I know there are a lot of adult novels with depressing endings, but for a children's book to have a downbeat ending like that is unusual, and while I wouldn't try and stop my sons from reading it, I would warn them that it doesn't turn out well.
    Smashmaster
  • LouiseLouise EnglandSilver Member Posts: 1,622
    The 'Just William' stories by Richmal Crompton are quite Red Pill I think, enterprising boys having adventures. And the Jennings books by Anthony Buckeridge also feature adventurous boys doing interesting things. They're very English though, don't know if Americans would like them.
    Angeline
  • JasperJasper Member Posts: 34
    A few more:

    Fiction:
    • 1632, by Eric Flint.  Parental discretion advised. 
    • Grantville Gazette I.  Novellas set in the 1632 milieu.  "The Sewing Circle" by Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett is especially good, and especially relevant.

    Non-fiction:

    • Badass, by Ben Thompson.
    • Cheaper by the Dozen, by Frank Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.
    • Instant Replay, by Jerry Kramer and Dick Schaap.  Describes what it was like to be a part of Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers.
  • SisyphusSisyphus Silver Member Posts: 1,094
    Re: The Chocolate War... well, they did ask for Red Pill books.   For stories where the protagonist goes against the grain and it is easy and rewarding and fun for them, try the Little Fairy Princess series. 

    Edit:  With that said, I probably wouldn't read that book to a six year old, but it was a transformational book for me in my early teenage years.  It helped me be more willing to have confidence in my convictions even when they ran counter to my peer group. 
    I tried to look up the Little Fairy Princess series but just came up with the Very Fairy Princess.  Who's the author?  Also, I have twin 6-year old girls so most of the books suggested seem more geared towards boys...any ideas for books girls would like?  They loved The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe.

  • jessiejessie Member Posts: 172
    DaisyGirl said:
    Little Britches series by Ralph Moody!!!! The parents are an awesome example of a Captain/FO marriage. Plus lots of boybarian adventures for Ralph.
    Although this is a great book, I don't think it's good for young children.  Maybe the 12 and older crowd?
  • LouiseLouise EnglandSilver Member Posts: 1,622
    brianA said:
    Re: The Chocolate War... well, they did ask for Red Pill books.   For stories where the protagonist goes against the grain and it is easy and rewarding and fun for them, try the Little Fairy Princess series. 

    Edit:  With that said, I probably wouldn't read that book to a six year old, but it was a transformational book for me in my early teenage years.  It helped me be more willing to have confidence in my convictions even when they ran counter to my peer group. 
    I tried to look up the Little Fairy Princess series but just came up with the Very Fairy Princess.  Who's the author?  Also, I have twin 6-year old girls so most of the books suggested seem more geared towards boys...any ideas for books girls would like?  They loved The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe.

    They might enjoy the Mary Poppins books by P.L. travers, which are also fantasy, and which I liked at their age. e. nesbit's fantasy stories also, Five Children And It, The Phoenix and the Carpet, The Magic City, The Enchanted Castle, are all great books. edward Eager wrote some fantasy stories influenced by Nesbit which are great fun also - Half Magic, Knight's Castle, Magic by the Lake and The Time Garden, all very good. the Hundred and One Dalmations by Dodie Smith is another book I loved that they might enjoy. i was a little older than them when I read The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, which is a terrific book. Stig of the Dump by Clive King is about a boy but good for girls as well, lovely story. The Borrowers by Mary Norton, and the sequels Borrowers Afield, Borrowers Afloat, Borrowers Alof and Borrowers Avenged, are all lovely books with a strong father figure in Pod. a lot of girls like the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House in the Big Woods is the first one - again you have a strong father figure with Pa. eluzabeth Enright's books are very good - Thimble Summer, The Saturdays, The Four Storey Mistake, Gone Away Lake etc.
    Angeline
  • LouiseLouise EnglandSilver Member Posts: 1,622
    the Worst Witch books by Jill Murphy I had forgotten - set in a school for witches. great fun though I don't think there is anything particularly Red Pill about them, but nothing in them to offend Red Pilkers that I can think of. enid Blyon's books are still popular, quite Red Pill I would say - the Famous Five, Secret Seven, Adventure series, The Magic Faraway Tree etc. when I was a little older than your daughters I loved her school stories too, The St Clare and Malory Towers books.
    [Deleted User]
  • Monkeys_UncleMonkeys_Uncle RuralGold Men Posts: 4,045
    @BrianA, sorry I was being a bit of a smart ass... Little Fairy Princess just sounded like a Blue Pill kids book where Twue Luv conquers all and endings are always happy.   Sort of a cross between Disney Princesses and Disney Fairies.   But it's not a real series.

    "My advice to you is get married:  if you find a good wife you'll be happy, if not, you'll become a philosopher." -Socrates

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