Ever since elementary school, I've harbored a bit of resentment toward my teachers about some of the books they forced me to read. I had buried it deep, but my feelings came back this past year while my wife was teaching sixth grade and I saw the books she had her students read. The memories came flooding back.

Most people don't read (we are an exceptional bunch ). I can't help but wonder if this aversion to reading stems from the books they had to read in elementary school. Most of the books I had to read, or that were available at the school library, were quite depressing and sad.

Some of the books I had to read in elementary school:

Sounder
Bridge to Terabithia
Old Yeller
Where the Red Fern Grows
Summer of Swans
Island of the Blue Dolphin
Pigman
The Chocolate War
Books by Judy Blume, Katherine Patterson, etc

There were others that I can't remember (it's been a long, long time...). Don't get me wrong, some of the books are very good but I remember dreading them as a kid. Or at the end of them being devastated. There were books that I really liked (A Wrinkle in Time; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; The Indian in the Cupboard), but they were outnumbered by the dislikes.

Is it important for kids to read these books? Were my teachers particularly cruel? Did you get to read more fun books? Has the situation changed in more recent years (I was in elementary school in the mid/late 80s)? Does forcing kids to read books that they'll not enjoy do more harm then good? (I'm talking esp of elementary students, but an interesting tangential discussion would be if/which classics older students be forced to read....)

My wife teaches in a very poor rural school district where most of the students come from very difficult home situations. It seems to me that introducing fantasy and adventure can help the students escape from their problems for a few hours and realize that there are better things out there. Some of the books I recommended to her (when she's not constrained by the curriculum) include The Chronicles of Prydain, Harry Potter (of course), anything by Roald Dahl, The Tripod books by John Christopher, etc. Unfortunately, she got moved to 2nd grade this year. But what other suggestions do you have for future reference?

Edit: Because of my age, I consider elementary school to be K-6. We didn't have middle schools in the olden days. (Junior High was 7-9). The books I've listed were assigned in 5th and 6th grade, or were recommend during Library.