Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Acceptable with guidance. Age: 12+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
A professor goes to sea to hunt a monster. The monster turns out to be a secret submarine called the Nautilus. Its captain, Nemo, takes the professor around the world under the ocean. It has sea battles and sad deaths, and it is best for kids about twelve and up. This is a grand adventure full of wonder at the sea and the things God put in it. Catholic educators place it in high school. Captain Nemo is brilliant, and he is also a man bent on revenge who sinks a warship. The book does not clearly judge him. Parents should do that part. It carries a great deal of science, so it suits a patient reader.
For parents
Read aloud from about ten, in a good abridgment if needed. Independent reading of the full text from twelve or thirteen, which matches Common Sense Media's 12+. The Cardinal Newman Society places it in grades 9-12. Warn sensitive readers about drownings, a bloody fight with giant squid in which a crewman dies, and animal butchery. Ask: is Captain Nemo a hero? He rams a warship and its sailors drown. Tell your child plainly that revenge is wrong even for a man who has suffered, and that justice belongs to lawful authority and in the end to God. Near the end Nemo cries out to God. Ask what your child thinks is happening in his heart. Plugged In notes a brief mention of Darwin and a visit to Atlantis, which is legend. Use the science as a chance to praise the Creator. Nemo offers cigars, and the prisoners are sometimes drugged through their food.