I try to stop by the UNLV Curriculum Materials Library (CML) once or twice a week. They are located in the same build as the College of Education and they do a great job of –well, everything. My favorite part is that they highlight new arrivals and set up new displays—banned books, award winners, etc. Last week, they had received a new copy of Gordon Korman’s Ungifted. I had to smile. Every time I see his name I am reminded of several of his books. Most of you probably think of No More Dead Dogs; a great book without a doubt, but I think of two others--Born to Rock and _Son of the Mob. Every time I think of Korman’s work, I think of Son of the Mob, I think of Shakespeare and I think of how many students that I taught struggled with Shakespeare, but would have gotten a kick out Vince Luca’s (Romeo) sarcastic appraisal of his situation as the son of a gangster in relationship with the daughter of an FBI agent.
Don’t get me wrong. I love Shakespeare and I loved teaching Shakespeare. I liked those units so much I usually had my students read two plays each year. Not surprisingly, they seemed to always appreciate the second one more. They knew the five act format, they were better with the language, they knew they would survive, and, hopefully, it turned out to be fun. I also tried to use at least one play they didn’t know well as a result of popular media. I have used King Lear followed by Troilus and Cressida, Othello and The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing and The Taming of the Shrew, and As You Like It and The Tempest. No doubt there is great deal to talk about with all of these great works. Shakespeare borrowed plots and we praise his name. We shouldn’t look askance at other authors who work with a variation on a theme. Especially if those authors are doing quality work and engaging young readers with themes, plots, situations and symbols that lead them to more “adult*” books. In short, if you don’t know The Son of the Mob and you love Romeo and Juliet. Give yourself a treat, read the book and then book talk it for your students.
After pondering this YA and Shakespeare connection, I thought of three more books right away that deserve our attention, Othello by Julius Lester, Romeitte and Julio by Sharon Draper, and We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. I know, there are many more. I can’t name them all, but a comment mentioning a couple at the end of this posting would help me and many others who are new to the idea or who are trying to build class libraries.
Julius Lester is a prolific author who has a considerable contribution to children’s and young adult literature. He has several awards, including a Newbery Honor, Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, Coretta Scott King Award, and a Coretta Scott King Honor for a complete list look here. He is a major contributor to the ongoing dialogue about race and social justice. An interesting interview is included on the scholastic website. Early on in graduate school, a colleague introduced me to Julius Lester. It was a tremendous gift. I quickly found his re-imaging of Shakespeare’s Othello. It would be hard to imagine a better introduction to the bard’s classic play. Not only does this book lead students through a pre-reading of a classic play, it guides students to rest of Lester’s books.
Julius Lester is a prolific author who has a considerable contribution to children’s and young adult literature. He has several awards, including a Newbery Honor, Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, Coretta Scott King Award, and a Coretta Scott King Honor for a complete list look here. He is a major contributor to the ongoing dialogue about race and social justice. An interesting interview is included on the scholastic website. Early on in graduate school, a colleague introduced me to Julius Lester. It was a tremendous gift. I quickly found his re-imaging of Shakespeare’s Othello. It would be hard to imagine a better introduction to the bard’s classic play. Not only does this book lead students through a pre-reading of a classic play, it guides students to rest of Lester’s books.
The next book is written by one of my favorite authors, Sharon Draper. It is hard to imagine an educator who has contributed more than Sharon Draper; she was the National Teacher of the Year in 1997 , a Milken Educator Award winner, and stayed in the classroom for over 25 years. In the midst of being a fantastic classroom teacher, she decided to become a writer. She has produced the Hazelwood Trilogy, the Jericho Trilogy and along the way she has racked up five Coretta Scott King Awards. Romiette and Julio is one of the first novels that pre-service teachers introduced me to as I began to focus on young adult literature. This retelling of a Romeo and Juliet use race as the point of contention between the two families. Julio is a Latino from south Texas who has moved with family to Cincinnati. Romiette is an African American native of the city. They meet online in a chat room and the attraction with its accompanying complications ensue. Again, this is not a novel that intends to replace Shakespeare in the classroom. It can stand on its own as an engaging adolescent novel. Nevertheless, students who read it can begin to discuss family conflict, gang violence, and prejudice as they move through the events of the plot in preparation for a more complex engagement with Shakespeare. Draper provides Latino and American-African students a perfect bridges to one of the most commonly used Shakespearian plays.
| My last selection is E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars (you can find an additional link here to a tumblr site). If you know me or have taken one of my classes since the publication of this book, then you know I can’t stop singing its praises. I loved it from the very beginning. In part, I love the novel because I have a tremendous appreciate for King Lear. I think it is one of Shakespeare best plays and it isn't taught nearly enough in high school settings. The other part is that I think E. Lockhart is a fantastic writer and, with this book, she demonstrates that she deserves any of the accolades she has previously earned and we can expect more great things down the road. The book deals with fairy tales, class, race, and complicated family relationships. It wouldn’t be fair to describe the book much more. It has a complicated plot that twists and turns as the story unfolds. Some readers quickly divine the clues and seem to be in sync with the author. I never figured it out. Frankly, I did not want to, I was immersed in the style, the characters, and the “mystery” of the book. Sophisticated adolescent readers will love this book and gain a better appreciate of King Lear if they have read the play before. If they haven't, it is a good introduction to the problematic family relationships that the play unfolds. This work won’t destroy or distract from King Lear any more than Jane Smiley’s wonderful novel A Thousand Acres_ did over twenty years ago. Great themes withstand and amplify a retelling of seemingly familiar plots. |   |
I would love to hear about adolescent versions of Shakespeare’s plays that you think belong on the shelves of our classrooms. Please leave your comments.
*I use “adult” here loosely, I might just as well say books from the canon or books that are written that assume a cultural context or levels of life experience beyond that which most adolescents have acquired. I think the term is a loose dividing line. Many adolescents can read “adult” books, but others need more nurturing in the skill of reading by trying out how their responses to a plot, a character, a theme, or symbol might be altered or amplified by a closer analysis. I love Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, but I am not sure I would teach it as a whole class novel or offer it to every kid. They might need exposure to Huck Finn, Brave New World, The Lord of the Flies, or The Things They Carried before they are ready for the bleak apocalyptic journey of a father and a son.
*I use “adult” here loosely, I might just as well say books from the canon or books that are written that assume a cultural context or levels of life experience beyond that which most adolescents have acquired. I think the term is a loose dividing line. Many adolescents can read “adult” books, but others need more nurturing in the skill of reading by trying out how their responses to a plot, a character, a theme, or symbol might be altered or amplified by a closer analysis. I love Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, but I am not sure I would teach it as a whole class novel or offer it to every kid. They might need exposure to Huck Finn, Brave New World, The Lord of the Flies, or The Things They Carried before they are ready for the bleak apocalyptic journey of a father and a son.
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