HARRY POTTER AND READING LADDERS
Millions of readers have read and reread the books in the Harry Potter saga. The magical combination of the story of an underdog learning how to become a wizard and defeat evil in all of its many guises struck a responsive chord for so many readers of all ages. How many times since then have we heard, “Got another one like this?” That is, in part, the guiding force behind reading ladders. Students find a good book and now want to continue to read other books “just like it.” What do students mean when they ask for another book like the one they have read and loved? Our job as educators is to discover just what appealed to readers. In the case of Harry Potter, did they fall in love with the magic of Hogwarts and spells and wands? Or was the attraction more to the story of a young Potter coming into his own as a more and more mature character, wizard or not? Was the friendship of Hermoine and Ron enticing? How about all of the clashes against Voldemort and the other nefarious villains? So, it stands to reason that building a reading ladder for Harry Potter might just take off in many different directions. Here are only tow possible variations on a Harry Potter Reading Ladder. Ladder A centers on the magic and the training of a young apprentice. Ladder B takes readers more into the motifs and archetypes that are present in Rowling’s magnificent world and ties them back to some of the classics of fantasy.
LADDER A: ABRACADABRA! MAGICALLY DELICIOUS BOOKS
The Once and Future King by T. H. White
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Great and Terrible Beauty (trilogy) by Libba Bray
Immortals series by Michael Scott (Alchemyst, Sorceress, Magician)
Bartimaeus series by Jonathan Stroud
Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy
Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade
Septimus Heap by Angie Sage
Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas
LADDER B: MOTIFS AND ARCHTYPES IN FANTASY
Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkine
Dark Is Rising series by Susan Cooper
Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S Lewis
Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix
Golden Compass trilogy by Philip Pullman
Wizard of Earthsea series by Ursula K. LeGuin
Lost Years of Merlin series by T.A. Barron
Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce
Redwall series by Brian Jacques
Enchanted Forest series by Patricia Wrede
Wizardry series by Diane Duane
copyright 2010 Teri S. Lesesne
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