Boo! Did That Make You Laugh?? - Chapter 6

I was fascinated by the beginning of this chapter when the author’s said that they “remembered English teachers who pleaded with us to ‘read only the best – the classics.’”  Truthfully, that statement made me giggle a little.  Consider for a moment the fact that Jane Eyre had a mysterious element to it in the laughter that radiated from the upper room.  Frankenstein is a venture into a supernatural story of combining the dead to bring a monster to life.  Many of the classics in the English classroom have elements discussed in this chapter, so I don’t think that we need to defend our reasons for wanting to read books that consist of adventures that we would like to go on ourselves, or encounters with the supernatural that leave us checking under our beds at night.

Adventure

I am yet to meet a kid, adolescent or an adult who doesn’t like to go on an adventure.  Kids in backyards everywhere imagine that they are somewhere else (the popular kids show The Backyardigans is famous for this idea) and usually on some very big adventure in which they are the hero.  The beautiful thing about adventure books, like Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet, is that it gives the reader the chance to imagine themselves somewhere without ever leaving the comfort of his or her room. 

Mysteries

I’d like to meet the reader who hasn’t read at least one Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys book and want to pretend for days that he or she was a detective in charge of solving a very big case.  As one grows older the mysteries in novels often become more in depth and puzzling, but the thrill of solving one before the characters in the book remains.  For example, the book we read this week – The Fallen Man by Hillerman, was one in which two mysteries begged to be solved; who was rustling the cattle, and who killed Hal Breedlove? 

Supernatural

When reading the focus box on page 192 of the text book, the only thing I found myself thinking was that if we were to look at a similar focus box written recently that so many books by Stephanie Myer would be on that list.  Her famous Twilight series makes a foray into the supernatural world mixed with the real world in a way that doesn’t scare the pants off of someone.  I also wonder how many students realize that most of them have read books that fall into the supernatural category when they read R.L. Stein’s Goosebumps.  The books that make us check our window locks twice and triple check our closets and under our beds are fascinating to the human mind.

Humor

Life often sucks.  It’s as simple as that sometimes.  Especially for the adolescent who is struggling along the footpath from childhood into adulthood.  If we didn’t have humorous books to fall back on, or laughter in our lives some how, well I doubt that any of us would make it past age 13.  I love that the qualify Louise Sachar’s book Holes in the humorous category.  I chose to read that book for one of my earlier YA choices, and found myself giggling all the way through Stanley Yelnats’ adventures of making it rain again at Camp Green Lake.

I think as English teachers it is imperative that we do not write off these genres of books.  Most all of them have something great to offer to the readers, a way to escape the mundane and tediousness of life.  If a student is having a bad day, but has the opportunity to throw himself into an adventure in the Canadian mountains, he will certainly come out for the better on the other side.  Heaven knows that I did and still do!!

Without Hope, Very Little Is Left.... Chapter 5 - Romance Novels

I’m a sucker for the Romance novels; both the trashy completely pointless ones, and the ones that teach you a lesson and make an impression.  As this chapter indicates one of the true marks of a romance novel is that it leaves you feeling like there is a glimmer of hope for the main characters at the end.  Perhaps that is the reason that I am so compelled to read books in series such as the book that I read this week, Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies because there is a hope at the end of the book that compels the reader to pick up the next book to see how Tally rises up against the Specials.  Or, the Twilight series, where girls hope that a boy will love her as passionately and deeply as Edward loves Bella. It is no wonder that romance novels of all kinds are such successful sellers, kids, teens, and adults need to hold onto the hope that happy endings in life are real and achievable.  From Cinderella being crowned the queen to the unlovable protagonist who falls in love with the hard hearted hero in the adult novel, people need to feel the hope that is conveyed through the written word in a romance novel. 

This particular chapter dives deeper into the characteristics and types of romance novels, such as adventure/accomplishment romance.  The type of romance novel where the happy ending comes from the protagonist surviving something and earning a great deal of wisdom and knowledge from it, ending the book with the hope that the knowledge he or she gained will be carried with him or her through life.  Many of the symbols of accomplishment come from physical things that young adults can relate to, like sports.  So many of the novels mentioned in this section deal with the physical prowess of athletes, both fictional and non-fictional.  That is another beautiful thing about the romance novel; it does not have to be rooted only in fiction.  There are true life stories of people who have overcome adverse situations and ended up on the better side of life. 

I adored the definition in the book given about the love romance – “boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl back.”  Who, especially a female with a head full of romantic ideas and believes that chivalry is not dead (aka me) couldn’t get behind that definition?  In reading some of the criticism of the love story romance novel I was surprised to see the problem that one critic had was that “we read these books to escape from reality, but end up frustrated because they are what we want reality to be.”  Really?!  Of course it is what we want reality to be!!  Readers, including young adult readers, need to feel that sense of hope that the world and all boys or girls are not going to obliterate your heart like a garbage disposal.  That is why the love story and the romance novels of all kind will continue to be a symbol of hope for all mankind!

From a teaching perspective, the romance novel is one that is easily integrated into the classroom curriculum.  With multiple types of romances to choose from, adventure, accomplishment, western, and the love story – the stories of hope for young people are plenty.  I have no fear that I will easily be able to work up multiple lesson plans on these novels and have students enjoy and engage in the books.  Romance novels are what I originally fell in love with in literature, because as a teen I needed the sense of hope that he world would not crumble around me, though it felt that it would some days.  I hope that if I can open up the world of these books to my students, they will find the same sense of peace that I did when I read them.

Pictures courtesy of Amazon.com and Love.Joy.Happiness Blog.

Chapter 4 - The New Realism

Before this class I had never considered the genre of Realistic Problem novels.  I knew that there were some books that I related to easier as a teenager, but I never considered that it was because they related right back to me.  I believe that this genre is so important for students to engage in.  Adolescence is not a time of upbeat happy endings always; it is a time of confusion, unsure footing in life, and life lessons that will be carried forever.  By reading realistic problem novels students are introduced to characters like Ralph and Piggy, Scout and Jem, Holden Caulfield, and Jerry Renault, to name a few, to whom they can relate. 

All of the characters that are mentioned face some kind of tragedy or life choice that will change things for them.  Which is one of the criteria that is mentioned in the book for a realistic problem novel.  All of them are in some way forced to cross the line into adulthood whether they are ready for it or not.  I think that while a lot of these novels are taught in school, it is too often that the lessons that are applicable to the student’s lives are often overlooked.  I hope that when I’m a teacher that I can secretly work in a way for the students to bring the “coming of age-ness” of these novels to the forefront of the student’s minds and to let them know that they are not alone in the issues they face day to day.

Chapter 3 - Mass Media

I had not considered that the generation that I technically grew up in was one of the first to be raised with the abundance of technology we have today.  Although, those who were born in the 90’s will never know what it was like to not have a computer at their home.  I enjoyed this chapter about the mass media and how it can help YA literature and be connected and weaved into YA literature. 

I specifically enjoyed the author’s unscientific survey (although slightly outdated), about what YA’s find appealing about in the mass media.  I was not surprised to see that there was a range of answers and that finding one specific common ground among all students is going to be very difficult.  Consider for a moment all of the cliques in high school, certain groups think and care about certain things and often some of the groups will have some same likes, but the likelihood of all students having one common ground other than school is going to be very minimal.  I think the author’s portrayed that in their survey.  In most of the classes that I have had one of the key things to being a good teacher is finding a way to connect lessons to student’s lives, after reading this chapter I can see that will be difficult to achieve, but that with the help of technology it will be easier.