Literature-Based Instruction for Middle School Readers: Harry Potter and More

ALAN Review, Spring 2003 by Carroll, Pamela Sissi, Gregg, Gail P

Young Adult Books

(Hardback publisher is followed by paperback publisher, where appropriate.)

Canfield, Jack, Hansen, Mark Victor & Kirberger, Kimberly (Eds.). Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul: 101 Stories of Life, Love, and Learning (vol. 1, vol. 2). Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, 1997, 1998.

Christopher, Matt. Harvey Kidder (Illustrator). The Kid Who Only Hit Homers. Little Brown & Co., 1986.

Jacques, Brian. Redwall (Book One). New York: Philomel, 1988.

Levine, Gale Carson. Ella Enchanted. New York: HarperCollins/Harper Trophy, 1997.

Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars. New York: Houghton Mifflin/Dell, 1989.

Paulsen, Gary. Brian's Winter. New York: Laurel Leaf, 1996.

Paulsen, Gary. Ratchet. Bradbury/Dell, 1987.

Pelzer, David. A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications.

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York: Scholastic, 1998.

Rowling, J.K.. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. New York: Scholastic, 2001.

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. New York: Scholastic, in press.

Rylant, Cynthia. Missing May. New York: Orchard/Dell, 1992.

Sachar, Louis. Holes. Farrar Straus Giroux/Dell, 1998.

Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit or There and Back Again. Houghton Mifflin, 1938, rev. ed. 1951.

Movies

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Directed by Chris Columbus. Warner, 2001.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Directed by Chris Columbus. Warner, 2003.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings. Directed by Peter Jackson. New Line, 2001.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Directed by Peter Jackson. New Line, August, 2003.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Directed by Peter Jackson. New Line, scheduled release December, 2003.

The Lord of the Rings. Animated by Ralph Bakshi. Warner Home Videos, September, 2001.

Note: We gratefully acknowledge that this research was funded, in part, by a the 1999 ALAN Foundation for Research in young Adult Literature grant. We want to thank all of the teachers and media specialists who had students complete the survey and who returned them to us. We regret that we did not receive sufficient responses from all four high school grades to allow us to comment on trends in today's high school readers' preferences and habits.

Readers interested in receiving a list of the most popular books and topics, as identified by the approximately 1200 middle school readers whose surveys were returned in usable form, or those who would like a blank copy of our reader survey to use in their classroom or media center, are encouraged to contact Pamela Sissi Carroll at pcarroll@garnet.fsu.edu; she will happily send you electronic copies. -psc and gpg