Bruce's Best

            Playing in Traffic by Gail Giles

            This book automatically appealed to me because of its title. One of my close friends wrote a novel titled Freeze Tag on the Highway, and Giles title reminded me of Brian Krans’ second book. Giles book is about Matt who is a high school nobody. Matt’s life is transformed by a Gothic girl named Skye when she offers him experiences he would have never thought possible. Don Gallo’s article “The Very Best Possibilities, Part Two” brought this book to my attention. 

            Harlem Summer by Walter Dean Myers

            I have always been interested in Harlem. Again, I was immediately attracted to this book because of its title. Once I read Gallo’s description in his article “ Summer Reading 2008,” I was hooked. In this work sixteen-year-old Mark Purvis gets a job at a magazine and subsequently meets some of Harlem’s finest, such as Langston Hughes and W.E.B. DuBois. This adventure story could easily be paired with a unit on the Harlem Renaissance. 

            Street Love by Walter Dean Myers

            I really need to read Walter Dean Myers apparently. In “Off the Shelves” Myers rap inspired verse novel is described as “ideal for reading aloud” (90). This is the type of book I would love to use in the classroom. The verse also reads like rap lyrics, which could be very appealing to students today. I could see this novel working very well in urban areas. The book also is related to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet because it follows a teen romance and the theme of star-crossed lovers. 

            Paper Towns by John Green

            I’ve been hearing all about John Green in our class, so it is only fitting I choose one of his novels for my list. This novel follows Quentin as he is reunited with Margo who soon disappears sparking a road trip search for her. Quentin’s narration outlines a comical and reflective journey for love. This book will obviously appeal to high school students. I could see this novel working very well in any environment because of the familiar themes discussed throughout its pages. Mark Letcher’s article “Off the Shelves” is a great resource for texts that will appeal to high school students, and John Green’s Paper Towns seems to be one of the most interesting.

            Black Duck by Janet Taylor Lisle

            In Don Gallo’s article “Rarefied Air” many gritty Young Adult novels are discussed. The one that stuck out the most to me was Janet Taylor Lisle’s Black Duck. I was attracted to this novel because I have always been intrigued by the Prohibition era. I would love to teach a unit on it. I think students love the stories of the Untouchables and Al Capone. I always enjoyed learning about the stories of that unique time in American History. Lisle’s novel revolves around an old man in Rhode Island and his experiences with a liquor smuggling operation when he was younger. According to Gallo, “there are mystery, suspense, intrigue, betrayal, and a satisfying ending” (115). 

Some "Novel" Ideas

The truth about Carol Jago’s article “Much Ado About Something” is that her words made me love her. I even wrote, “I love you, Carol Jago” at the top of my print out. The reason I loved Jago’s article so much is because she echoed many of the thoughts I have had about teaching the classics. While I agree that “teenagers are hungry for stories that mirror their lives,” I also believe our students have the necessary ability to relate any text to their own lives, including the classics. The selling point for me was Jago’s reference to The Odyssey. Without this particular work, my high school experiences would have been completely different, and I will definitely try my best to teach Homer’s epics in my classroom. Like Jago, I will also try my best to teach my students “to read with care.”

Just as I was sold on teaching the classics I read Donald Gallo’s article “How Classics Create an Aliterate Society,” and my beliefs began to shift. I found myself relating to the author’s background story, and I felt as if I was a lot like him. Like Gallo I did not get really interested into reading until college, and I was never one of the best English students during high school. While I do agree with Gallo’s main goal of creating a “love of reading” in our classrooms, I do not agree with his view of the classics. Required readings have been around so long for a reason. I do not see any value in doing away with them all together, but Gallo does provide some interesting viewpoints on how to use Young Adult Literature. The main argument for teaching YAL novels is the comfort that they can provide to students. In addition, after reading Gallo’s article I have begun to recognize Young Adult Literature as an important genre of texts that need to be addressed because they are now such a large part of literature as a whole. 

William Broz’s article “Not Reading: The 800-Pound Mockingbird in the Classroom” was by far my least favorite article. At first, I found myself arguing with Broz and thinking there was far too much personal bias in his article, but he saved himself with this line: “we must have the integrity to admit that some small number of students who can read will not read, no matter what we do.” Well thank you, William. For a second there I thought you were delusional, and I still sort of believe that. I found Broz’s lists of dos and don’ts to be very helpful, but I also found myself disagreeing with his main premise. I am not sure what I think about the classics yet because I have not taught any of them yet, but when I do, I’ll be sure to revisit this article. Maybe then I will respond more favorably. 

The final assigned article by Gibbons, Dail, and Stallworth titled “Young Adult Literature in the English Curriculum Today: Classroom Teachers Speak Out” was definitely the most data driven text of the four. The biggest thing I took away from this article is that it is very possible to create an effective and engaging curriculum using both the classics and Young Adult Literature. The authors started the article off with why to use YAL novels, and I was hooked. Because of this article and many of the other assigned readings, I now see great value in teaching Young Adult Literature. I was not very interested in how the authors went about surveying, but the three themes that emerged from their research proved to be very helpful. I agree with all three themes presented, but I really liked the idea that YAL relates to students’ interests and addresses time constraints of a crowded classroom. I was not surprised to see that theme cited. Overall, I enjoyed reading this article, but found myself not taking that much away from it. I would only recommend it to certain teachers.