Book Notes

The Giver by Lois Lowry is a favorite middle grade novel. This companion gives background on the author, including an interview, questions to guide reading, clues to themes, plot, … More

Dorian Gray has just had his portrait painted. It is a perfect likeness of the quite extraordinary beautiful young man, and it prompts him to make a mad wish for eternal youth. In … More

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell is a favorite middle grade novel.This companion gives background on the author, questions to guide reading, clues to themes, plot, chara… More

Jonas, the protagonist in Lois Lowry's novel The Giver, lives in what appears to be a safe, predictable, familiar community. Members of this utopia, which is void of disease, hunge… More

One of Shakespeare's romantic comedies, this play is set in the seaport town of Messina, in Sicily. The drama concerns "the battle of the sexes" and focuses on the barbed wits and … More

Song of Solomon explores the quest for cultural identity through an African American folktale about enslaved Africans who escape slavery by fleeing back to Africa. The novel tells … More

Chaim Potok's novel The Chosen, an admittedly autobiographical portrait of growing up Jewish in America, focuses on the challenge of living a religious life in a secular society. T… More

This literary companion carries you into the lives and poetic lines of 41 of America's most admired poets from the last century. From popular favorites such as Robert Frost and Car… More