Adult/Student Tandem Reads
What is a tandem read? A tandem read is usually a combination of two or more fiction and nonfiction works that cover the same topic. We read books in tandem in order to better understand the subject through exposure to more than one viewpoint. The pairings on this page are a little different in that they are books chosen on the same topic but at different reading levels, one for the student and one for an adult. Yes, adults could read the same book as the student (and sometimes do), but by reading a more in depth version adults can give their student a richer discussion experience by sharing additional information. You will also notice that sometimes the student versions are Young Reader Editions of bestselling adult books.
1491--The America's Before Columbus
Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491 by Charles C. Mann (Dialectic)
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann (Rhetoric and Adult)
1761 -- Longitude/Marine Chronometer/John Harrison
Sea Clocks: The Story of Longitude by Louise Borden (Dialectic student)
Longitude by Dava Sobel (Rhetoric/adult)
1789 -- Mutiny on the HMS Bounty
The Mutiny on Board HMS Bounty [Great Illustrated Classics] by William Bligh,
retold by Deborah Kestel (Grammar student)
The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty by Caroline Alexander (Rhetoric/adult)
OR Mutiny on the Bounty by William Bligh
1820 ~~ The Whaleship Essex
In the Heart of the Sea [Young Readers Edition]
by Nathaniel Philbrick (Dialectic student)
In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick (Rhetoric/adult)
1854 -- London, England/Cholera/Broad Street Pump
The Great Trouble by Deborah Hopkinson (Dialectic student)
The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson (adult)
1864 -- Survey-this date reflects Mendeleev
The Mystery of the Periodic Table by Benjamin Wiker (Dialectic student)
The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean (Rhetoric/adult)
1914--Panama Canal
What Is the Panama Canal? by Janet B. Pascal (Dialectic)
The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal,
1870-1914 by David McCullough (Rhetoric and Adult)
1930s-1970 -- Christian missionary in China
Gladys Aylward: The Adventure of a Lifetime by Janet and Geoff Benge
(Dialectic student)
The Small Woman by Alan Burgess (adult)
1936 -- Washington state/Berlin Olympics
The Boys in the Boat: The True Story of an American Team’s Epic Journey to Win
Gold at the 1936 Olympics by Daniel James Brown (Dialectic student)
The Boys in the Boat: nine Americans and their epic quest for gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown (Rhetoric/adult)
1943 -- The Tehran Conference
Three Days at the Brink: FDR's Daring Gamble to Win World War II
[Young Readers' Edition] by Bret Baier (Dialectic student)
Three Days at the Brink: FDR's Daring Gamble to Win
World War II by Bret Baier (Rhetoric/adult)
1952 -- Massachusetts
The Finest Hours: the true story of a heroic sea rescue
by Mike Tougias (Dialectic student)
The Finest Hours: the true story of the U.S. Coast Guard’s
most daring sea rescue by Mike Tougias (Rhetoric/adult)
2009 -- Washington, D.C.
The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor
by Sonia Sotomayor (Rhetoric student)
My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor (Adult)
