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This section contains a list of books that engage students’ interest while introducing them to literature of quality.
In the previous section, we learned about strategies to increase students’ vocabularies, as well as ways to make sure that students are getting the vocabulary lessons they need. We also reviewed ways to connect literature with students’ lives, and how to encourage students to become lifelong readers. All of these strategies will help your students to have higher success rates in learning literature, vocabulary, and English in general. In this section, we’ll move on to exploring all of the literature on “Addendum for Suggested Young Readers Literature List.”
While it’s true that a number of young readers’ classic novels have been adapted into movie versions, these movie versions are not what your students need to know for class. It is imperative as a teacher that you have a working familiarity with high quality and demanding literature. This is literature that has withstood the test of time, and has artistic and literary merit. Not only should you know the basic plots of these novels and works of literature, but you should also know themes of the works, as well as the best ways to lead class discussions about them and possible essay topics. In this section, we’ll review the plots of all of the works of literature on the “Addendum for Suggested Young Readers Literature List.” In addition, we’ll offer suggestions on ways to approach these works within a classroom setting.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott tells the story of The March family, focusing on the lives of sisters Meg, Jo, Amy, Beth, and their mother, who is sometimes called Marmee. The novel takes place during the Civil War, and their father is away with the Union army. The family’s gift of a Christmas breakfast to their neighbors is rewarded by Mr. Laurence’s gift of a surprise Christmas feast. Sometimes the sisters show negative qualities: Jo has a hot temper; Meg is discontented with her teaching; and Amy puts on airs and affectations. However, Beth, who keeps the house, is constantly kind and gentle. While the family takes joy in their time with the Laurences, the family is upset when they find out about their father’s illness. Beth also falls sick with scarlet fever after she helps an ill neighbor. The novel traces the sisters’ path to womanhood, which is marked by Beth’s terminal illness, societal pressures, the events of the outside world, and romance. Little Women shows the sisters’ trials and tribulations as they grow into maturity and wisdom.
Here are some themes related to Little Women:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to Little Women.
This novel tells the story of Antonio Márez, who is almost seven years old, when the old healer Ultima comes to stay with his family in Guadalupe, New Mexico. The family has taken in Ultima out of a respect for her healing powers, her knowledge of plant lore, and her long use of folk magic in service of the community. Though they have great respect for Ultima’s spirituality, the family, especially Antonio’s mother, is devoutly Catholic.
Antonio begins to consider sin, death, and hell when he sees Lupito, a soldier who recently returned from World War II, shot to death by a mob after he kills the sheriff. After seeing Lupito’s death, Antonio begins to wonder about sin, death, and hell. Antonio’s brothers are traumatized after the war, which creates conflict between father and sons.
Themes of superstition and religion are also explored through the story of the golden carp, the satanic Trementina sisters, Antonio’s symbolic dreams, the tension between Catholicism and earth-based religions, ghosts, and Ultima’s powers.
Here are some themes related to Bless Me Ultima:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to Bless Me Ultima.
Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
This novel, set in the 24th century, tells the story of Guy Montag, whose job (as a fireman) is to set fires to burn books, which are contraband, and the houses in which they are kept illegally. Montag questions his profession and life, as he becomes friends with Clarisse McClellan, whose curiosity and humanism later get her killed. He realizes that he doesn’t want to be with his wife, who is addicted to tranquilizers, gossip, and the virtual world provided her by television and radio. He begins to wonder what the books contain, and steals some to read, which changes his life. Because of the books, his home and possessions are burned, and Montag kills his boss, Beatty, afterwards. He is pursued, and finds help in the form of his mentor, a professor, who tells him to seek sanctuary with a hobo group of literary outlaws led by an author named Granger. After the city is destroyed by the war’s bombs, the men set out to renew their society through free thought and literature.
Here are some themes related to Fahrenheit 451:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to Fahrenheit 451.
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
This collection is an extension of the final story, “The Illustrated Man,” which tells the story of a tattooed man who has magical tattoos, which move and change. Each of his tattoos tells an individual story if it is watched carefully. The stories all use fantasy and science fiction to explore relationships, make social commentary and show human limits. While some of the topics explored in this collection have gone out of fashion, Bradbury’s mastery of the short story and his use of language ensure that these stories withstand the test of time. Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to The Illustrated Man.
Here are some themes related to The Illustrated Man:
Gwendolyn Brooks “We Real Cool”
Here is the text of Brooks’ poem.
The Pool Players.
Seven at the Golden Shovel.
We real cool. We
Left school. We
Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We
Jazz June. We
Die soon.
The poem, whose short, rhythmic lines mimic the speaking patterns of its narrators, who are likely high school dropouts or delinquents, is a mixture of bravado, coolness, and, ultimately, failed hope and opportunity. Until we reach the last line, the poem is filled with diction and rhythm that make the speakers in the poems seem brave and cool. These characters seem to indulge in a certain pride in being outside the conventions, institutions, and legal structures of normal society. As we read the last line, the reader sees that these characters aren’t as much brave and cool as they are sad and doomed.
Here are some themes related to “We Real Cool.”:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to “We Real Cool”
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
In the novel The Good Earth, Buck tells the story of a seemingly humble farmer and his family. It was a first glimpse of China and its people for many of its readers when it was published in 1931. The novel opens with the marriage of the main characters Wang Lung and O-lan. O-lan often seems traditional and restrictive, but her sacrifices and contributions to the family are indisputable. Although Wang Lung’s choices seem prudent at times, he is trapped by his own ambition, pride and inexperience. Perhaps the most important theme in the novel is that of simplicity. Told in simple language and a straightforward fashion, the story concentrates on the characters and their struggles.
Here are some themes related to The Good Earth:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to The Good Earth.
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
This novel traces Esperanza Cordero’s maturing into a woman through a series of stories about her family, dreams, and neighborhood. The novel doesn’t follow a strictly chronological pattern but tells stories about Esperanza’s life through vignettes. Esperanza’s self-empowerment and will to overcome obstacles of poverty, gender, and race are explored through the novel, which takes place on Mango Street in the Latino section of Chicago.
Esperanza encounters many incidences of violence and inequity through her own experiences and through the experiences of those around her. As the novel progresses, her maturity and burgeoning sexuality are tempered by the incidences of violence she sees in the neighborhood. These incidences, along with other violent episodes, make Esperanza vow to leave Mango Street, become a writer, and build her dream home. However, Esperanza cannot cut ties with Mango Street. As bad as some of the experiences may be, Mango Street has influenced her dreams, personality, and life.
Here are some themes related to The House on Mango Street:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to The House on Mango Street.
This classic novel tells the story of miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited by four ghosts on Christmas Eve. Scrooge’s dead business partner Marley, the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas As Yet To Come guide Scrooge through his own past, his present, and his bleak future. When Scrooge is confronted with a vision of his own headstone and the realization that no one will mourn his death, he sees the error of ways. He reforms himself accordingly, mainly by helping his clerk Bob Cratchit and his family, including Cratchit’s crippled son Tiny Tim.
Here are some themes related to A Christmas Carol:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to A Christmas Carol.
This novel tells the story of Edmond Dantés. Dantés is framed by enemies as being a Napoleonic conspirator just as he is about to marry his sweetheart and become a captain of a ship. He is imprisoned at the French Alcatraz for fourteen years before he manages to escape to the island of Monte Cristo. There he finds a treasure and becomes the Count of Monte Cristo. As the Count, he exposes the hypocrisy and criminal behavior of the bourgeois world.
Here are some themes related to The Count of Monte Cristo:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to The Count of Monte Cristo.
This novel tells the story of Siddhartha, who was born the son of a Brahmin and was blessed with intelligence, charm, and good looks. In order to find the meaning of life, he discards his future and becomes a wandering ascetic. He is still not happy and then seeks out a life of pleasure and cheap thrills. At the end of the novel, Siddhartha’s final realization challenges the ideals of enlightenment.
Here are some themes related to Siddhartha:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to Siddhartha.
Helen Keller’s autobiography, which first appeared in installments in Ladies’ Home Journal in 1902, tells the story of the American writer and activist who was born deaf and blind. The autobiography tells the story of her childhood in Alabama; her relationship with her teacher, Anne Sullivan; her attendance at the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf in New York City; and meeting famous figures such as Mark Twain.
Here are some themes related to The Story of My Life:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to The Story of My Life.
This novel is set in the sleepy town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Great Depression. It is the story of Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their widowed father, Atticus, who is a prominent lawyer. The novel focuses on the adventures of Scout, Jem, and their friend Dill, who are obsessed with their mysterious neighbor Boo Radley. The novel takes a critical turn when their father Atticus agrees to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who has been accused of raping a white woman. The novel documents the racism that the family, and in particular Scout, become acquainted with through the trial. After a miscarriage of justice, Boo reemerges as a powerful character who helps to save Jem and Scout, and whose actions finally help Scout to understand his humanity. Scout then embraces her father’s advice to practice sympathy and understanding in her life, no matter how bleak things may seem.
Here are some themes related to To Kill a Mockingbird:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to To Kill a Mockingbird.
“The Children’s Hour” and “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to “The Children’s Hour.”
Click here for the full text of “Paul Revere’s Ride.”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an incredibly popular poet during his lifetime. Huge, diverse audiences that crossed all social classes and age groups enjoyed his works of art. In poems such as “Paul Revere’s Ride,” Longfellow created national myths and heroes about the young country of America. The opening lines of “Paul Revere’s Ride” address the tale specifically to children, though the work is not in any narrow sense a children’s poem. By invoking children in the opening line of his patriotic poem, Longfellow shows that his narrative is a story that is important enough to pass down to younger generations. Longfellow’s inclusion of the date in the third line tells the audience that Revere’s achievements were so important that the exact date must be remembered. The poem takes a complicated historical incident and interprets it with narrative clarity, emotional power, and masterful pacing.
Here are some themes related to “Paul Revere’s Ride.”:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to “Paul Revere’s Ride”
This beloved novel tells the story of a precocious orphan, Anne Shirley, who is adopted by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, unmarried siblings. The Cuthberts live on their farm, Green Gables, in the quiet town of Avonlea in Prince Edward Island, Canada. The Cuthberts want to adopt an orphan boy to help Matthew with farm work, but when Matthew arrives at the train station he finds a girl orphan instead of a boy. Despite the mistake, Anne’s talkativeness and spirit charm Matthew, who tells Marilla that he wants to keep her. Anne is a happy girl who is spirited and imaginative. She tries hard to learn manners and social graces but often fails, and these failures are a source of amusement and adoration for the reader. In Avonlea, Anne makes good friends with Diana Barry, and begins a rivalry with a handsome, smart boy named Gilbert Blythe. He and Anne emerge as the smartest students in the class. Anne is encouraged in her studies by her teacher Miss Stacy, who strongly urges her to take the entrance exam to Queen’s Academy. After her long rivalry with Gilbert, the two become friends when they both go to Queen’s Academy. Ann then earns the Avery Scholarship, which permits her to go to a four-year university. When she returns to Green Gables, adversity strikes. Matthew dies of a heart attack, and Marilla is potentially going blind. Due to these unfortunate events, Anne stays at Green Gables and teaches school at Avonlea. Anne and Gilbert form a close friendship after their years of rivalry.
Here are some themes related to Anne of Green Gables:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to Anne of Green Gables.
“Chicago” and “Fog” by Carl Sandburg
Click here for the full text of “Chicago.”
Fog
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
Here are some themes related to “Chicago” and “Fog.”:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to “Chicago” and “Fog.”
Carl Sandburg was a poet, novelist, journalist, historian, and songwriter who won two Pulitzer prizes for poetry and one for history. Much of his poetry focused on Chicago, where he was a reporter for the Chicago Daily News. Carl Sandburg’s portrayals of American urban and rural life, his love of nature, and his compassion and love for America’s people made huge contributions to literature. Most of his poems were based on observations he made over the course of his lifetime. He had a fascination with America, its people, and its landscapes, which is reflected in these two poems. As a poet, Sandburg gave a powerful voice to the common people, and championed the poor masses of America. He became known as the poet of the American people, celebrating them through his descriptions, his use of American vernacular, and his experiences.
The Chicago Poems were published in 1916.
Although Scott’s novels initially dealt with Scottish subject matter, Ivanhoe, published in 1819, tells an English story—that of the reign of Richard I. It is one of the first novels that tried to tell a story from the Middle Ages in an historically accurate fashion. In the novel, Wilfred of Ivanhoe becomes a favored subject of Richard during the crusade. However, Richard’s brother John, along with immoral Normans, plans to overthrow the king. The novel revolves around two events. The first of these is the battle at Ashby de la Zouch where Richard defeats the knights of John with the Ivanhoe’s help. The second event is the siege of the castle of Torquilstone where the Normans are holding Rebecca, a practicing healer who previously helped Ivanhoe, prisoner. King Richard is assisted in this siege by Locksley (Robin Hood). Ivanhoe once again shows his bravery and courage when he must confront the terrible Templar knight, Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert, who is still holding Rebecca captive. In the end, Ivanhoe is victorious and he and his true love Rowena are united through King Richard.
Here are some themes related to Ivanhoe:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to Ivanhoe.
“The Cremation of Sam McGee” by Robert Service
Click here for the full text of “The Cremation of Sam McGee.”
The Canadian poet and novelist, Robert Service, was known for his ballads of the Yukon. He spent eight years in the Yukon, where he saw and experienced firsthand the difficult times of the miners, trappers, and hunters who inhabited it. This narrative poem exemplifies how sensory stimuli are emphasized and it has a surprise ending. Sam McGee was a real person, a customer at the Bank of Commerce where Service worked, and the Alice May was a real boat, the Olive May, which was a derelict on Lake Laberge.
Here are some themes related to “The Cremation of Sam McGee.”:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to “The Cremation of Sam McGee.”
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn opens in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in the summer of 1912, where a tree called the Tree of Heaven grows in the middle of the tenement houses. The book concerns the main character, Francie Nolan, who is 11 when the book opens, and her love for her neighborhood. The book shows that even though some people might be economically poor, they can be rich in warmth and love. The novel tells the story not only of Francie, but also of her parents Johnny and Nolan, whose story is told in flashbacks up until the time that the novel began with, when Francie is 11. Francie and Neeley take simple pleasures in school (even when the children can be cruel) and holidays. Several experiences, such as Francie’s contact with a sex-offender, cause her to lose her innocence. When her father dies, after a long history of alcoholism, Francie loses her faith in Catholicism and God, and becomes more rebellious in school. The novel’s climax occurs when Sergeant McShane asks Katie to marry him; enabling Francie and Neeley to both go to college.
Here are some themes related to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
This poem is about baseball star Casey and the ill-fated Mudville nine. The poem originally appeared in the San FranciscoExaminer on June 3, 1888.
Here are some themes related to “Casey at the Bat.”:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to “Casey at the Bat.”
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” is James Thurber’s best known story. It was first published in 1939 in the New Yorker magazine to rave reviews. The story involves a very ordinary middle-aged, middle-class man who escapes from his very ordinary, dull suburban life into grand, heroic fantasies. After the story was published, Walter Mitty became an archetype of the neurotic, daydreaming man.
Here are some themes related to “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.”
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.”
This novel, which takes place in the American West in the 1840s, tells the story of a precocious, imaginative boy named Tom Sawyer. The novel is made up of vignettes that are humorous in nature, but are linked by the more chilling tale of Tom’s involvement with the murderer Injun Joe. The novel, which takes place in St. Petersburg, Missouri, near the Mississippi River, is reminiscent of Twain’s childhood. The novel is an entertaining and fun read, and has become a mainstay in American literature. The novel also introduces the character of Huckleberry Finn.
Here are some themes related to Tom Sawyer:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to Tom Sawyer.
This novel, which is a social and political satire set in England in 1547, tells the story of Tom Canty, a pauper, and Edward Tudor, who is the young Prince of Wales. The two boys are born on the same day, Tom to a very poor family who don’t welcome him into their already impoverished family, and Edward to the rich and royal Tudor family, who are overjoyed by his arrival. While Tom is a beggar, he is also taught to read by Father Andrew, and seems much more educated and wise than others his age. Tom and Edward meet by chance, and Tom is invited to the palace. The boys decide to change clothes, and suddenly they appear to be twins. Edward is then thrown out of the palace, and the two briefly change places. Because of Edward’s experiences in the “real” world, he comes to understand the injustice of his own government and then enacts change because of it.
Here are some themes related to The Prince and the Pauper:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to The Prince and the Pauper.
This adventure novel was published in 1872, and tells the story of Phileas Fogg, who attempts to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days after he makes a £20,000 wager with his friends. The novel may have been inspired by the adventures of George Francis Train, who circumnavigated the globe in 1870. Fogg and his valet, Passé partout, leave London on October 2, and must return, at the same time 80 days later, on December 21. The pair share many adventures, such as rescuing a young Indian woman from suttee, traveling on a steamer to Hong Kong, being chased by a British detective named Fix, getting attacked by Indians, and finally losing the bet after the detective detains him. However, due to a miscalculation, they have mistaken the date, and Fogg actually does win the bet, along with winning the hand of Aouda, the young woman he rescued in India.
Here are some themes related to Around the World in Eighty Days:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to Around the World in Eighty Days
This fantasy/science fiction novel is set in England in the late 19th century, as well as hundreds of thousands of years in the future. The story begins with friends who argue about the topic of time travel over dinner. The host, who has been missing up to this point, limps in, tattered and torn, and tells the guests about his journey through time. The time traveler describes his journeys into the future year of 802, 701, and his experiences with the Eloi and the evil Morlocks. He then journeyed across millions of years to see even more alien creatures, and stopped 30 million years from his present time, in an age of cold and darkness. The guests are shocked by the tale, and wonder if it could possibly be true. When one of the guests comes back to talk about the time travel, and when the time traveler leaves to bring back evidence of his journey, he disappears and is considered lost somewhere in time.
The Time Machine, H.G. Wells’ first novel is often referred to as “pseudo-scientific.” Along with Jules Verne, Wells was a pioneer in science-fiction writing, though he never liked having his novels compared to Verne’s.
Here are some themes related to The Time Machine:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to The Time Machine.
Click here for the full text of “The Barefoot Boy”
Click here for the full text of “Barbara Frietchie”
Poet John Greenleaf Whittier was also a journalist, Quaker, and abolitionist who published many volumes of poetry. He was very popular in his time, and the only poet who surpassed him in popularity was Longfellow. Whittier’s abilities as a balladist are now thought to surpass his abilities as a poet. His meters and rhythms were thought to be too conventional, and his greatest strength is portraying a certain period in American history. The poem “Barbara Frietchie” is based on a story about a woman of the same name whose heroic actions spared her home and the Union flag when Lee marched in Maryland. The poem “The Barefoot Boy” is a reflection on Whittier’s fascination with the wonders of nature.
Here are some themes related to “The Barefoot Boy” and “Barbara Frietchie.”:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to “The Barefoot Boy” and “Barbara Friethie”.
Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
This novel is loosely based on the real-life adventures of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family. The story starts at the end of a difficult winter that the family has spent in Dakota territory. In the mild spring weather, Laura plays outdoors, helps Ma around the farm, and spends time with her blind sister, Mary. Laura goes to work as a seamstress, which pays 25 cents a day, a very high wage. The family works to raise money to put Mary through blind school and Laura dreams of earning her teacher’s certificate. Laura’s nemesis, Nellie Olson, is a central character in the novel as she frustrates Laura with her spoiled ways and attempts to turn the new teacher, Miss Wilder, against Laura.
Here are some themes related to Little Town on the Prairie:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to Little Town on the Prairie.
This novel, published in 1812, tells the story of an ingenious and creative Swiss family that survives shipwreck and builds their own personal paradise on a beautiful island. The Robinson family consists of a Swiss pastor, his wife, four sons, two dogs, and a shipload of livestock and fowl. The novel details the family’s attempts to make a new life for themselves on a tropical island. While on the island, they have a number of adventures that help them to grow, learn, and appreciate their new home.
Here are some themes related to Swiss Family Robinson:
Here are some potential essay or discussion questions related to Swiss Family Robinson.