Brannon and Greene/Harry Potter, Twilight

The Brannon and Greene articles were very good in that they make you think about which types of books are appropriate for different age groups. There are many things you have to think about when incorporating a book into the classroom. Teachers must decide whether or not a specific book is appropriate for the age group they teach and also what the students are going to get out of the book. Although people love to read for pleasure, teachers must teach their students to analyze text and not only enjoy the story. It is also very important to incorporate multi-cultural literature in the classroom. Students need to be aware of other people with different ethnic backgrounds. By incorporating multi-cultural literature, students will learn about different cultures, which prepares them for the world and how to work with different types of people.

This isn't the first time I have read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone but I can say that I enjoyed it just as much this time as I did the first time I read it. I last read this book in elementary school so this book somewhat made me feel like a kid again. J.K. Rowling does a great job with setting up a story and keeping you captivated throughout the books entirety. The book is not a hard read so it is definitely a great book for adolescents, and it is something they will enjoy while in school. I can't think of many books that I was made to read in school that I actually enjoyed at the time. The reason for this is that when I was in school I didn't care how great an author was or about analyzing text. The only thing I cared about was reading for pleasure. And if the important thing is to instill a love for reading in adolescents then wouldn't it be a good idea to incorporate books in the classroom that will make children want to read? If that is the case then Harry Potter would be a great book for the classroom. I think it would be smart to start students off with books they will enjoy and gradually throw in some analyzing throughout the reading process so that they will have fun reading while also learning to analyze text. Another thing this book teaches that is extremely important to adolescents is friendship. Throughout the entire book the characters escape danger and discover themselves while helping each other along the way. This book incorporates inclusion with Hermione because she is a half blood who can definitely hold her own against any wizard. It teaches you never to underestimate anyone. I think this is a great book for adolescents.

When I read Twilight for the first time I can say that I truly enjoyed it. The story was enthralling and the book was hard to put down. It is a great book for romantics but also throws in a little action and suspense as well. When reading it for the second time I did a little more analyzing. The book is extremely easy to read and I can say that while the story is great, Stephanie Meyer isn't that great of a writer when it comes to a literary aspect. She does a great job when coming up with a story that adolescents will be interested in but everything else within the story is lacking. Her vocabulary and sentence structure seems to struggle at times. With that said, adolescents would love this book because they can understand what the book is saying and it won't confuse them. I think this would be an OK book to teach in the classroom but not a great choice. Yes, it could possibly teach the students to enjoy reading but there aren't many great things to get out of the book. I think it would be a somewhat pointless book to teach in a classroom because the only thing you can get out of it is enjoyment. The book teaches a lot about true love and how the two main characters feel for each other. When James is tracking Bella, it really shows how much Edward really cares for her. Edward is sort of the perfect guy and his character can really teach young men how to treat women. Not until later in the series do the books teach about abstinence until marriage which is another great thing these books teach, but not in Twilight. If it were up to me I would leave this book out of the classroom and save it for pleasure reading outside of school.