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[CCBC-Net] Adult Fantasy for Middle Schools
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From: Pamela Turner <pstrst>
Date: Wed, 10 May 2006 08:53:01 -0700
I've been reading with interest the comments posted about fantasy for youth. I know some people don't understand the appeal of this genre and look upon it as lit-lite. Yet fantasies can lead a child straight to classical works they would never otherwise touch. I was so entranced as a young person by The Chronicles of Narnia and LOTR that I started reading critical essays on the works...which led me to the literature that inspired my favorite authors. At 14 I read Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Beowulf. My math teacher once confiscated a book I was reading during class, and I will never forget the look on her face when she saw it was The Divine Comedy.
I've also noticed that people who love fantasy are often very science-oriented. I think that's because fantasy delivers myth, something we all hunger for on a visceral level. Perhaps those who spend most of their time involved in coldy rational pursuits are particularly in need of a way to satisfy that craving, and a good fantasy can deliver. I think it was Ursula LeGuin who once said that though fantasy isn't real, the best fantasies are true.
Pamela Turner
----- Original Message ----- From: "Scally, Jude" <Jude.Scally at eu.dodea.edu> To: <ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu> Sent: Wednesday, May 10, 2006 3:42 AM Subject: [CCBC-Net] Adult Fantasy for Middle Schools
> Does anyone have any recommendation for Adult fantasy books for the
> Middle School? I love the David Eddings series and thought they would
> work. My 8th graders talk about reading Stephen King's The Stand, but
> I'm not sure that would work in a 5-8 middle school. What are your
> thoughts???
>
> Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
>
> Jude Scally
> Bitburg Middle School
> Bitburg Germany
> _______________________________________________
> CCBC-Net mailing list
> CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
> Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
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Received on Wed 10 May 2006 10:53:01 AM CDT
Date: Wed, 10 May 2006 08:53:01 -0700
I've been reading with interest the comments posted about fantasy for youth. I know some people don't understand the appeal of this genre and look upon it as lit-lite. Yet fantasies can lead a child straight to classical works they would never otherwise touch. I was so entranced as a young person by The Chronicles of Narnia and LOTR that I started reading critical essays on the works...which led me to the literature that inspired my favorite authors. At 14 I read Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Beowulf. My math teacher once confiscated a book I was reading during class, and I will never forget the look on her face when she saw it was The Divine Comedy.
I've also noticed that people who love fantasy are often very science-oriented. I think that's because fantasy delivers myth, something we all hunger for on a visceral level. Perhaps those who spend most of their time involved in coldy rational pursuits are particularly in need of a way to satisfy that craving, and a good fantasy can deliver. I think it was Ursula LeGuin who once said that though fantasy isn't real, the best fantasies are true.
Pamela Turner
----- Original Message ----- From: "Scally, Jude" <Jude.Scally at eu.dodea.edu> To: <ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu> Sent: Wednesday, May 10, 2006 3:42 AM Subject: [CCBC-Net] Adult Fantasy for Middle Schools
> Does anyone have any recommendation for Adult fantasy books for the
> Middle School? I love the David Eddings series and thought they would
> work. My 8th graders talk about reading Stephen King's The Stand, but
> I'm not sure that would work in a 5-8 middle school. What are your
> thoughts???
>
> Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
>
> Jude Scally
> Bitburg Middle School
> Bitburg Germany
> _______________________________________________
> CCBC-Net mailing list
> CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
> Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
> http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
>
Received on Wed 10 May 2006 10:53:01 AM CDT
