Great Books for High School Kids: A Teachers' Guide to Books That Can Change Teens' Lives
Teachers Rick Ayers and Amy Crawford always wanted to find a guide to the vast world of great books for teenagers-one that didn't talk down or moralize. When they couldn't find one, they set out to create it.\ An early prototype offered at Cody's Bookstore in Berkeley, California, was an instant success. Great Books for High School Kids is the culmination of their efforts.\ Collecting recommendations and essays from colleagues and advisers around the country, this is a rollicking, thoughtful,...
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Challenging traditional notions of what great books are and what kids are ready for, Ayers and Crawford, teachers of English at Berkeley High School, describe books that will inspire passionate, lifelong readers. Eight teachers relate their experiences in teaching great books on abuse and recovery, political struggles, spiritual journeys, cultural survival, and other subjects of interest to high school students. The book concludes with an annotated list of about 400 titles, including novels, nonfiction, drama, memoirs, and poetry, mainly drawn from adult literature. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, ORSchool Library JournalThe editors have selected nearly 400 fiction, nonfiction, and poetry titles, all of which have "something that made them extraordinary to readers who love books-." The list follows seven essays contributed by English teachers on their experiences with Bless Me, Ultima, The Things They Carried, Oresteia, Reservation Blues, Song of Solomon, Bastard Out of Carolina and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. These anecdotal stories offer lighthearted, "in the trenches" accounts of the teachers' attempts to create meaningful connections between their students and the material. The alphabetical list of books offers brief annotations for classic and modern titles including To Kill a Mockingbird, Dune, Life of Pi, Cut, and Poisonwood Bible. Subject categories range from the usual ("African-American Experience") to the unusual ("Big Fat Books to Take on a Road Trip"). A refreshing bibliography with good instincts about what's "great."-Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
IntroductionOvercoming childhood1Dorothy Allison's Bastard out of CarolinaAmy Crawford : great books about childhood storiesAmy Crawford : great books about abuse and recoveryCan you find your future in your past?22Toni Morrison's Song of SolomonDean Blase : great books about legacies : the identities we inherit from the pastDean Blase : great books about the political struggle for freedomHow dangerous can a book be?38Mark Twain's The adventures of Huckleberry FinnEmily Donaldson : great books about talking back : making moral choices in an immoral worldEmily Donaldson : great books about journey to adulthoodSuffering unto truth : do you think your future is fated?61Aeschylus's OresteiaRick Ayers : great books about Hubris and NemesisRick Ayers : great books about is your future fated?Rick Ayers : great books about the cycle of violenceSpiritual journeys : what is the path to enlightenment?78Rudolfo Anaya's Bless me, UltimaBonnie Katzive : great books about spiritual journeysBonnie Katzive : great books about fathers and sonsCulture and survival91Sherman Alexie's Reservation bluesSarah Talbot : great books about history reimaginedSarah Talbot : great books about gotta laugh to keep from cryingSarah Talbot : great books about cultural survivalTrue war stories : how do you know what happened if all you did was see it?104Tim O'Brien's The things they carriedLauren Jackson and Alan James : great books about true war storiesLauren Jackson and Alan James : great books about parallel universes of human experienceLauren Jackson and Alan James : great books about the Rashomon effect : fiction and nonfiction told from shifting perspectivesRecommended great books for high school kids119Author list183Title list187Index of subject list192Subject list194Contributors238Acknowledgments240
\ School Library JournalThe editors have selected nearly 400 fiction, nonfiction, and poetry titles, all of which have "something that made them extraordinary to readers who love books-." The list follows seven essays contributed by English teachers on their experiences with Bless Me, Ultima, The Things They Carried, Oresteia, Reservation Blues, Song of Solomon, Bastard Out of Carolina and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. These anecdotal stories offer lighthearted, "in the trenches" accounts of the teachers' attempts to create meaningful connections between their students and the material. The alphabetical list of books offers brief annotations for classic and modern titles including To Kill a Mockingbird, Dune, Life of Pi, Cut, and Poisonwood Bible. Subject categories range from the usual ("African-American Experience") to the unusual ("Big Fat Books to Take on a Road Trip"). A refreshing bibliography with good instincts about what's "great."-Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.\ \
