TWILIGHT AND READING LADDERS

            It is not often that YA literature becomes a cultural phenomenon.  We certainly saw it with the HARRY POTTER books.  And then came TWILIGHT.  Millions of copies of the books in this incredibly popular series were devoured by tween and teen readers.  Movie adaptations of the books did smash business at the box office.  T-shirts declaring allegiance either to Team Edward or Team Jacob adorned teens and adults alike.  So, how can we construct a ladder that ties into the fascination with TWILIGHT?  There are several approaches.  One is to begin simply with what I call a stepstool, a stepping stone toward a full-fledged reading ladder. One idea for a stepstool is to compare and contrast one of the books with its movie adaptation.  Another ladder might simply build on the interest in vampires and vampire lore and vampire love such as seen in Figure A.  In this ladder we begin with some lighthearted romps and travel up to more intense reads culminating with the classic  by Bram Stoker.  Another ladder, however, could begin with the interest in all things vampire and then take off in different directions to examine books about other creatures of the night such as werewolves and zombies.  Figure B demonstrates one possibility for that ladder.

FIGURE A:  BOOKS WITH BITE

Dracula by Bram Stoker

            Thirsty by M. T. Anderson

                        Night Road by A.M. Jenkins

                                    Tantalize/Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith

                                                Evernight/Stargazer by Claudia Gray

                                                            Dead Is the New Black by Marlene Perez

                                                                        Suck It Up by Brian Meehl

                                                                                    Sucks to Be Me by KimberlyPauley

                                                                                                Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber

FIGURE B:  VAMPIRES AND ZOMBIES AND WEREWOLVES, BEWARE!

Thirsty (vampires)

            Linger/Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (werewolves)

                        Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause (werewolves)

                                    Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause (vampires)

                                                Forest of Hands and Teeth by Catherine Ryan (zombies)

                                                            Generation Dead/Kiss of Life  by Dan Waters (zombies)

copyright 2010 Teri S. Lesesne