"Ah yes, Esperanza Rising ... haven't read it yet but it's one of the biggies here at our school."
LA schools? A slam dunk!
"I had my kids read Bud, Not Buddy"
That was one as well my son read ... also, they gave out 'HOOT' environ-propaganda, where the baddies are developers and the goodies are activists..
"It's really hard to find a book for our kids that isn't part of the whole liberal canon"
There are 10,000 books out there that would do. But they are in the 'classic' literature. Our kids read the 'illustrated classics' for a large number of these stories, and I would recommend them far above the clap-trap the Public Schools foist on them.
Basically, any "Newberry Award" winning book is a "Liberal PC seal of approval".
"I don't have a single 13 year old who could even comprehend The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."
that is sad indeed. The CS Lewis Narnia series should be required reading for all kids. Our kids read them, but this was out of school and before they went from the Christian private school to the PC public school.
May I make one small suggestion. Get the Aesop's Fables, free off the internet, and use that. Great moral instruction along with reading. I loved it and my kids love it now.
It's funny you should say that! I have been lifting the Fables from the internet for the last two years and using them! LOL!! Great minds...