6. Peter Pan¹ by J.M. Barrie

 

Almost everyone knows the story of "Peter Pan" which is why this is an easy read. Being familiar with a story already helps the reader to understand the text better. This book is aimed at children, but it continues to be enjoyed by adults around the world too.

 

Peter invites Wendy to return to Neverland with him. Wendy asks for her brothers Michael and John to join them. They have a magical² flight as they travel to Neverland and have many adventures along the way. After all their adventures and fun, Wendy decides that her place is at home with their mother. But Peter doesn't want her to go. Instead he tries to trick her. He tells her that their mother doesn't want them anymore. However, he understands how sad their mother must be. In the end, he decides to let them go home.

 

7. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway

 

This is a famous classic³. Almost all native English speakers will have read this book at some point in school. So, if you ever find yourself in a conversation about literature and books, this is a good one to talk about. It has a little bit of difficult vocabulary, however, it is short and you won't have too much trouble being able to finish it.

 

This is a story of a long fight between an old, experienced⁴ fisherman and the best fish he ever caught. Santiago has returned to the village without any fish for 84 days. On the eighty-fifth day, his luck changes and so does his life. At 12 pm, a huge fish takes the bait⁵. The man tries to pull the fish up, but the fish is too big and strong. Instead, the fish begins to pull the boat. The old man continues to fight and hold on to the line. The fish pulls the boat around the sea for two days.

 

On the third day, the fish gets tired. Santiago is able to pull the fish closer and kill it. It's the biggest fish he has seen in his life. He begins to sail back to the village, but the blood of the fish attracts sharks. The boat is attacked by a Mako shark, but Santiago is able to kill it. He kills most of the sharks, but there is a problem. They have eaten the meat of the fish and now only the skeleton⁶ is left. He returns back to his home and falls asleep.

 

8. The Giver by Lois Lowry

 

"The Giver" begins in a very interesting way and catches the attention of readers from the beginning. It has easy-to-understand grammar. Most of the grammar is just past simple and past perfect. All of the sentences are short. This is a longer book. It's really easy though, so you'll finish it quickly.

 

Jonas is a young boy. He lives a very safe life with a lot of orders and rules. There are many rules and everyone follows them. They don't often make a decision by themselves. But Jonas soon learns some truths about the people in the community. He comes to understand that this kind of life is unfair. He wants to allow people to make their own choices. Jonas comes up with an interesting plan to change the community. He decides he needs to move the community to another place. In his plan, they are able to live a good and fair life.

 

9. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

 

This is a realistic⁷ novel. It's based on history. Unlike⁸ other historical⁹ literature, it's easy to understand. If you already know a lot of information about World War II, this might be an interesting book for you. It's not recommended¹⁰ if you don't know too much about the World Wars. In this case, you will be focusing¹¹ on trying to understand the facts too much so you will not enjoy the book as much.

 

This is a story of hope and courage. The year is 1943 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The area has been taken over by Hitler's army. There are soldiers everywhere. The life of 10-year-old Annemarie has changed a lot. There is little food and everyone is very scared. There is talk about moving all of the Jewish¹³ people to another place. This is difficult for Annemarie because her best friend, Ellen, is Jewish.

 

This is a different book about the war. It shows it was not only the Jewish people who suffered during the war. Annemarie's family lost their eldest¹⁴ daughter, Lise, a few weeks before her wedding. Annemarie will later do what her sister, Lise, did. She will join the resistance¹⁵ party to fight against the Nazis¹⁶. She ends up being a heroine¹⁷ for a few reasons (which I will not tell you because I don't want to ruin the story).

 

10. A Wrinkle¹⁸ in Time by Madeline L'engle

 

This book has a mix of shorter and longer sentences. The short sentences allow the readers to relax a little bit more. They also create the scene well and let you know what is happening through simple words. There is a lot of vocabulary to learn. It is a good book if you've already got experience reading novels in English. Make sure you have your vocabulary notebook with you, just in case there are any cool words that you'd like to learn. This book has MANY!

 

Meg is 14-years-old. Everyone sees her as a troublemaker¹⁹. They think she's a bad student. Everyone in her family seems to be perfect. Her mom is a very beautiful scientist. Her twin brothers are very athletic²⁰. And her little 5-year-old brother, Charles Wallace Murry, is a child genius and can often read the mind of Meg.

 

Meg and her brother meet a friend. Calvin O'Keefe is a high school junior student. Meg and Calvin begin to like each other. Charles suddenly announces that they should focus¹² on finding²¹ their father who is lost somewhere in the universe. Eventually they find their dad, but not without drama²². Along the way, Meg learns to love. She uses this new love to help them escape.

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