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True Believer
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From: Dean Schneider <schneiderd>
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 10:29:06 -0500
In response to Teri:
It ought to be an interesting question (about the audience for True Believer). I've read Make Lemonade with 7th and 8th grade classes with equal success, though I like it most with the older group;I see 8th grade as the earliest I'd teach True Believer, and Virginia Euwer Wolff agreed when I asked her about this, seeing it as a novel for older readers; though she, too, wasn't sure since it's difficult to gauge who your own book is most appropriate for. It would be a perfect book for high school, if I taught that level. On the other hand, Roger Sutton reviewed it for the Horn Book and listed it as a middle school level. I did have several 7th graders waiting in line to read my advanced reader copy of True Believer on their own, before the book was out yet; they had liked Make Lemonade so much.
True Believer is not going to warp tender young psyches, but I wonder if young readers will appreciate the novel's subtleties and the themes about a teenager sorting things out and finding her way in the world.
It's easy to say a book should be read read by anyone who wants to read it, and books like True Believer are written in a style accessible to a wide range of readers. But I remember how horrified Lois Lowry was when she heard about The Giver being assigned in 4th grade; sure, the words can be read by good readers that young, but the whole spirit and sensibility of the novel are for older readers -- she thought 7th grade on up. I see True Believer the same way.
Now, Virginia Euwer Wolff's Bat 6 and The Mozart Season are perfect for middle school, 5th or 6th grade, especially.
Of course, having said this, it feels a bit uncomfortable pegging books for such precise little holes, but I tend to think like a teacher and wonder a lot about this issue of audience. Besides, saying True Believer is best for ages 12 and up places it in a big range, ages 120+?
Dean Schneider Ensworth School Nashville, TN 37205
Received on Tue 17 Jul 2001 10:29:06 AM CDT
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 10:29:06 -0500
In response to Teri:
It ought to be an interesting question (about the audience for True Believer). I've read Make Lemonade with 7th and 8th grade classes with equal success, though I like it most with the older group;I see 8th grade as the earliest I'd teach True Believer, and Virginia Euwer Wolff agreed when I asked her about this, seeing it as a novel for older readers; though she, too, wasn't sure since it's difficult to gauge who your own book is most appropriate for. It would be a perfect book for high school, if I taught that level. On the other hand, Roger Sutton reviewed it for the Horn Book and listed it as a middle school level. I did have several 7th graders waiting in line to read my advanced reader copy of True Believer on their own, before the book was out yet; they had liked Make Lemonade so much.
True Believer is not going to warp tender young psyches, but I wonder if young readers will appreciate the novel's subtleties and the themes about a teenager sorting things out and finding her way in the world.
It's easy to say a book should be read read by anyone who wants to read it, and books like True Believer are written in a style accessible to a wide range of readers. But I remember how horrified Lois Lowry was when she heard about The Giver being assigned in 4th grade; sure, the words can be read by good readers that young, but the whole spirit and sensibility of the novel are for older readers -- she thought 7th grade on up. I see True Believer the same way.
Now, Virginia Euwer Wolff's Bat 6 and The Mozart Season are perfect for middle school, 5th or 6th grade, especially.
Of course, having said this, it feels a bit uncomfortable pegging books for such precise little holes, but I tend to think like a teacher and wonder a lot about this issue of audience. Besides, saying True Believer is best for ages 12 and up places it in a big range, ages 120+?
Dean Schneider Ensworth School Nashville, TN 37205
Received on Tue 17 Jul 2001 10:29:06 AM CDT
