How to Read Literature Like a Professor: For Kids

Umm, people, this book is clearly for adolescents and younger teens, which is why there are mentions of *GASP* "fooling around" and sexy vampires. (Not to mention the fact that "fooling around" doesn't necessarily mean sexual shenanigans.) If anyone has actually READ Stoker's Dracula, it's obvious that vampirism is sensuous and sexual, along with the parasitism of the upper class. Sheesh. Why else is Twilight so popular with today's teens? Part of understanding literature is understanding metaphor, tropes and allusion to older works, which is why the reading list at the end is not full of today's teen hits, dear ones. While The Hunger Games is thrilling and enjoyable on its own, it takes on a deeper resonance if you understand it sprang from the tradition of Quest stories, from the Arthurian legends and The Canterbury Tales to LOTR. It's the journey, not the destination. Parts of the book could have been clearer, I agree. The introduction is a bit disconcerting, as it seems to start in the middle of a class discussion, and it takes a moment to get ones bearings. That can be a great start for a novel, but maybe not for a book on literature where expectations are different. The opening story of Kip Smith does seem a bit dated, but as Vietnam was the last war underage teens could feasibly sign up for, what with today's checking of birth certificates in triplicate, it was probably unavoidable. Overall, a great guide to decoding literature for teens. Not for eight year olds, but they don't exactly clamor to read Shakespeare and Henry James, do they?

I read How to Read Literature Like a Professor last summer when it was assigned to my child for AP Literature, so when I saw How to Read Novels Like a Professor on Amazon, I just had to read it. I am glad that I did. I gave it five stars, because it was very readable, sometimes funny, and always entertaining. It was so much fun that I didn’t realize how much I was learning about how novels are written and why. He presents the reader with these laws of novels which are very helpful. I recommend this book to anyone who loves curling up with a good book, because Professor Foster discusses so many different authors and novels that it will take many hours just to read what is of interest to the reader. Read the book!

Don't be fooled by the title, kids- This is not a boring book. Of course, it's not a very exciting read, but it doesn't contain page after page after page of B, O, R, I, N, G. It's really fun to read, mostly because it's slightly funny, but also because it's literally learning how to make connections between pretty much every book that was ever written- Like a giant conspiracy theory. But I know what you're thinking. "But I don't wanna read a long book about literature! Who wants to study about BOOKS?! For-" Okay, that's quite enough. As I said, it's not boring. Also, this book is more of a branching tutorial on the study of literature. Because, seriously, no one is going to write a five hundred page piece of literature describing literature? I mean, maybe uncle Morty, but... Anyway, this book is extremely useful, and it's not just for kids, despite the title. If you want to impress your English teacher... Give this book a try. Or don't. I can't force you too, but- Hey. Might just improve your grade a bit. Or a lot.

I read this myself (the mom) before reading it aloud to my 5th grade son. I think this book is brilliant, but there are a few parts we skipped over. In the Vampire chapter there’s mention of a couple fooling around in a car… or something like that. It’s easy to skip… and then in the Shakespeare chapter there’s a mention of sex—like a spinoff version of a Midsummer Nights Dream…. ANYWAY. This book is incredible if you can edit those parts out. It’s too valuable to skip. BUT I wish the author would write a newer version and have better editors who understand what’s age appropriate! I found some additional educational materials to use with this book on TPT. I disagree with other reviews that the author is using too many references to older works. I think kids should be familiar with these books/stories (Huckleberry Finn, Jungle Book, Charley and the Chocolate Factory, Frankenstein, A Christmas Carol, Greek Myths… etc) There’s still plenty of references to Harry Potter and more modern stories as well…

It's a very interesting book, it illustrates literature in a different way that is easy to understand.

I enjoyed this book tremendously, and I learned many things with great examples. Also, Foster also made the book amusing to read, and I found myself laughing multiple times by ingenious choices of words that fit perfectly in the context, and without me losing focus - on the contrary, it encouraged me to keep reading and learning eagerly. As a biomedicine student, I find that much of the non-fiction I read, in the long run, bore me - but this book is terrific. Would highly recommend, and I also purchased "How to read poetry like a professor".

Maybe it's me but there is no way this is 8-12. When the first chapter is about the content of the Raisin In the Sun which is a high school book it hits on some topics I feel is best for older children.

Recommended by another teacher... enjoyed this as a personal and professional development tool.

子どもの学校の教材で、あちこち探しましたがなかなか売ってませんでした。 こちらで購入できて、すぐに届いたので良かったです。

Great book - Even inspirational for adults. Bought it for an 8th grader, and I ended up reading it, too.

How to get more out of stories? How to be better aware of why the narrator specified the season of the year? Why a particular scene struck you that much? Why you seem to already know a character of the most recent novel you got? Thomas C. Foster wants to tell you what he thinks is most helpful in getting more engaged and more enchanted with stories. This book is not academical in any sense (besides being written by an academic and being true)— fitting with the title, the author maintains a very conversational tone, quite engaging, that makes the book really easy to read. He gives lots of examples, and even though you may not be familiar with Oedipus or Green Eggs and Ham, you will always get what he is explaining. The best characteristic of this book is how well organized each chapter is: all of them are really concise and short, most being 6 pages long, explaining how some aspect of a story can be a symbol of something else (like, how the weather can be a symbol of the emotional state of the character; if a character is angry and gets in the rain, he will probably get angrier (and wetter); the narrator wouldn't mention the weather if it weren't affecting the characters and the story), and then the author gives specific examples of novels that contain the symbols he is explaining and how they deepen the meanings. But even though being so approachable and well written, there's a caution to be made: there is one chapter where the whole point is about sex, and three more mentions throughout the book. Maybe not for kids, rather for adolescents. Finally, ending the book in great style, there is a case study: a whole short story is given in the last chapter, and then the author takes the interpretations of symbols he had been explaining so far and apply them to the story we just read. It is great to see it in action. As for the material aspect the book: Nice margins, great font size, kind of cheap paper but it doesn't interfer in the reading. All in all, the book indeed helps those who want to get an introduction to better understanding and appreciating all kinds of stories, and does so in very friendly, bite-sized chapters.

Worth reading and passing onto your younger high school student. Teachers don't seem to have time to go through this stuff anymore and I know my kid missed a lot of the basics for English. This book doesn't teach everything about English, but it definitely gives enough information to get kids thinking and interpreting some of the basics in what they are reading. No regrets with this purchase.