Escape and Hope

If you were to look up fantasy in the American Heritgage Dictionary, you would find nine definitions of the word fantasy. Definition number 4 reads, “Fantasy – n- Fiction characterized by highly fanciful or supernatural elements,” which doesn’t really do much to capture the genre.

Looking up fantasy as a genre, you can find that fantasy is separated into high fantasy and low fantasy. High fantasy contains the elements one “normally” associates with fantasy novels – heroes and villains, quests, action, magical beings (ogres, fairies, witches, dragons), and magic. Low fantasy deals with things that can’t really happen in the world as we know it but leaves out the dragons and such of high fantasy (think Freaky Friday or Tuck Everlasting).

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To Read or Not to Read

As someone who’s mother used to tell her, “It’s a beautiful day. Get your nose out of your book, and go outside,” I don’t quite understand the reluctant reader. Okay, I’ll admit it. I don’t. I understand not wanting to read something you’re forced to read (Moby Dick), I understand not having time to read (writing grad school papers), I understand needing a break from reading (yeah, sometimes I do). But I just don’t understand not ever wanting to read. Because I don’t understand it, as a language arts literacy teacher, I’ve become a bit fascinated by it.

Posted in Chick Lit, Guys Read, Reluctant Reader, Series | Tagged as: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Complexifier or Simplifier?

I recently reviewed Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly, and in the beginning of my review I praised the novel as well as the author for being smart and trusting the reader – not talking down to her. I found Revolution refreshing for this reason. It was the first YA book I’ve read in a long time that not only trusted the reader to be a reader and follow the plotline and characters, but it was also the first book I’ve read in a long time that complexified the reading experience.

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Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover

I think about the number of times a day I pass judgment based on appearance. While it’s not something I’m proud of, it is something that advertisers and marketers hone in on to get their product out there to the consumer. Let’s just face it, if we live by the proverb Don’t judge a book by its cover, it would be free sailing in the supermarket. How many companies whose products sit on supermarket shelves spend countless hours and dollars changing packaging, paying for space on the shelves, and setting up the obstacle course known as the endcap? (One precariously placed endcap of paper towels was unceremoniously removed by my brother and me about 30 years ago in a horrible shopping cart mishap. I think, in fact, we’re still grounded for that one.)

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A Book in Every Hand

“Ms. Schmidt, I need a book to read. What’s good?” I hear this almost daily in my classroom. For my students who read a lot, I have no trouble putting a book in their hands. For those students, I’ve learned their reading likes and dislikes, and my challenge is keeping them in books.

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