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Hosted by Books Are My Favourite and Best on the first Saturday of every month, the 6 Degrees of Separation meme asks us to start with one title and create a chain of bookish connections to see where it takes us. This month, we’re starting with the young adult classic, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume.
I’ve been a reader my entire life, so it might surprise you to learn that I’ve never read this book. And that leads us to my theme today–young adult/children’s classics that I’ve never read. I started with Time Magazine’s list of The 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time and chose books that had been published by the time I was a young adult, lo these many years ago, in the early ’90s. I’ve tried to link them in some way that makes sense based on their synopses. (If you’re curious, I also haven’t watched any movies that have been based on these books.)
The synopsis of Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret mentions that Margaret’s friends are shocked when they find out that she doesn’t have an affiliation with a particular religious group.
Kit has trouble with her religious community when she befriends the local woman known as The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Elizabeth George Speare).
Matilda (Roald Dahl) is another independently-minded girl who is surrounded by an awful principal and troublesome parents.
Brian, the main character in Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, is having trouble with his parents as well.
Brian is trying to survive in the wilderness, which has to feel like a personal dystopia. Jonas from The Giver by Lois Lowry, slowly learns that he’s living in a real dystopia.
Taran may live in a fantasy world but it’s one that also sounds dystopian since it’s under the rule of the Horned King in The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander.
And I’ll end by connecting one fantasy book to another fantasy, The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. I can loop this back to the beginning by pointing out that this book, as well as Margaret, involve a circle of friends.
Where do your connections take you? Link up at Books Are My Favourite and Best!
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14 Comments
Hi Jen! Oh I am so terribly late with my Six Degrees post! But rather late than never.
Don’t worry, I also haven’t read Are you there God, it’s me Margaret yet. It is on my Classics Club challenge though so I guess I’ll get to it soon.
I saw Hatchet on someone else’s post as well, I will have a look at it. Aaah Matilda is always a winner and yes, I guess you can work her in in soooo many ways.
Hope you will have a good week and here’s my Six Degrees – From Margaret to Anna
I’m glad I’m not the only one who hasn’t read Are You There God! I keep meaning to sign up for The Classics Club but I haven’t gotten around to writing the post yet. I do have a preliminary list of books I need to look over and refine again. Thanks for stopping by!
The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Matilda and Wind in the Willows!!! How had I forgotten these? And you know, I think I recently found out that a Lloyd Alexander book was also made into an animation movie (Black Cauldron?)… Sigh
Yes, there is an old animated movie of The Black Cauldron. I remember that I had a picture book that was based on the movie but I’ve never seen the movie or read the original book. I think that book may have come from a McDonald’s Happy Meal of all places!
Haha, McDonald has its uses 😉
What an interesting way to link your books – one of the things I enjoy most about this challenge is seeing how differently all of our minds work.
I read your post yesterday but then got distracted by clicking through to the Time Magazine list! I found I’d only read 15 of the books, so I’ve bookmarked the list for future reference. A book I love and frequently dip into is The Ultimate Teen Book Guide (ed. by Daniel Hahn and Leonie Flynn. Lists are so addictive.
I actually ended my own chain with The Wind in the Willows: https://sconesandchaiseslongues.blogspot.com/2020/12/six-degrees-of-separation-december-2020.html – I think we’ve both picked up on the same thing, ie as in Are You There God?, one of the main themes of The Wind in the Willows is the importance of friendship.
Fun list! I’ve read 4 of these (and maybe a 5th, but I can never remember if I read The Wind in the Willows, or just saw the Disney movie). I love that you stuck entirely to MG & YA books for this one!
Hooray! Another chain consisting of writing for young people! From yours, I’ve only read Matilda, and Wind in the Willows – and I wouldn’t be without either of them..
Lovely. I have only read The Wind in the Willows from your list, although at one time I had three copies of The Giver in my home, as it was required reading in High School for all three of my kids. How neither of the two younger ones couldn’t find their sibling’s copy is beyond me!
Wind in the Willows is one of my childhood favourites! I enjoyed your chain.
Fun! I may try this challenge if I can sit down and come up with ways to connect the books together. I’m very lazy so we shall see. But I like this idea. My son is reading Hatchet in school right now. I read the Black Cauldron series when I was in my twenties and the Giver about ten years ago or so but I have not read the rest. I’ve been meaning to read some children literature classics. This may give me the incentive to do so next year!
That’s a very fun take on the topic! I’ve read Wind in the Willows and The Book of Three and am well-acquainted with the Blackbird Pond, but I would not have pulled these together. You did so well!
My connections are probably a stretch! 😀 I wanted to try connecting them in a way other than “Books I Haven’t Read.”
You did GREAT!