The Literature Teacher's Book Of Lists (J-B Ed: Book of Lists) [Paperback]

Judie L. H. Strouf (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 28, 1997 | ISBN-10: 087628554X | ISBN-13: 978-0876285541 | Edition: 1

These 247 reproducible lists for anyone who loves books are organized into 9 sections: Introduction to Literature, Books for All Ages, Genres for Every Taste, Poetry, Drama, Themes, Literary Periods, Potpourri, and Reference & Aids. Also includes various individual lists such as reading for teens and authors' last words. A helpful teachers' resource.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Literature Teacher's Book of Lists is one of the first resources I turn to when beginning any literature unit. It is well organized, comprehensive and extensively cross-referenced--in short, indispensable!"
--Dee Brtt, library media specialist, Valley Schools, Boulder, Colorado

"What better resource for teachers for ESOL than The Literature Teacher's Book of Lists for making language acquisition both stimulating and enjoyable."
--Joseph P. Glendenning, bilingual educator, Eastern Massachusetts Literacy Council, Inc.

"Judie Strouf's encyclopedic Literature Teacher's Book of Lists is truly amazing! I recommend it enthusiastically to all my students--especially those who are prospective teachers."
--Michael Flachmann, professor of English, California State University, Bakersfield and 1995 Carnegie Foundation United States Professor of the Year

"Nobody but erudite Judie Strouf could write a more comprehensive, clear cut, concise reference guide. A treasure and a must for all teachers and those who love to read."
--Ethel Neidoff, president, The Sun City West Writers Group

"This quality resource of literature, especially for young adults, is beneficial for anyone not strictly educators. Parents, and even students, might use Ms. Strouf's book in selecting appropriate reading materials. During this stage in education when reading at grade level is a serious problem, this reference would greatly assist anyone in need of such information."
--Cheri Zangmeister, English and reading teacher, Southern High School, Louisville, Kentucky

"Yes! This second edition has been updated and strongly detailed! A masterful compilation forming a vital link between knowledge and enjoyment."
--Walter C. Kluz, an avid reader of quality literature, Sun City, Arizona --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

This unique information source and time-saver for literature teachers includes 247 useful lists for developing instructional materials and planning lessons for secondary and college students. Some of the lists supply teacher background; others are to copy for student use; many give new twists to studied topics.

For quick access and easy use, the lists are printed in a full-page format, cross-referenced throughout, and organized into nine distinct sections:
I LITERATURE ... AN INTRODUCTION includes 16 broad lists covering main types of literature; Nobel Prize winners; an extensive literary glossary with pronunciation aids; literary and Biblical allusions; famous characters; gods and goddesses; and others
II BOOKS ...FOR ALL AGES provides 15 lists, ranging from "Best-Selling Books" and "Just Good Reading for Teens," to "Reading List for the College-Bound" and "Puzzle and Brainteaser Books."
III GENRES...FOR EVERY TASTE offers 48 lists relating to autobiography and biography, comics, detective and spy stories, documents, epics, essays, fables, fairy tales, fantasy/horror/ghost stories, folklore, letters/diaries/journals, novels, and short stories
IV POETRY...REFLECTION OF THE SOUL details 32 different types of poetry from ballad through sonnet; contains a poetry glossary; and explains stanza types, versification, poetic devices, and more.
V DRAMA...THEREBY HANGS A TALE features 16 lists from "Drama Masters," "Drama Critics' Circle Awards," and "Shakespeare: Complete Plays and Poems," to "Long-Running Broadway Plays."
VI THEMES...UNDER ONE UMBRELLA suggests 48 thematic lists encompassing either literature (including African American, Native American, Spanish and other world literatures), the special contributions of female authors, young adult concerns, existentialism, transcendentalism, symbolism, and more.
VII PERIODS...INTO ONE ERA & OUT OF THE OTHER furnishes 20 lists of background information, such as inventions by century; literary, dramatic and other events from the Renaissance to 1900; classicism, romanticism and neoclassicism; and fiction from around the world by decade.
VIII POTPOURI...WEIRD, WHIMSICAL & WORTHWHILE presents 37 captivating, off-beat lists such ad rare books values, daffynitions, and last words of authors, as well as practical lists on the Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress classification systems, and alternative book reporting activities.
IX ENDINGS...REFERENCES & AIDS contains 15 lists of references for teachers and students: how to evaluate literature texts, student literary questionnaires, resource lists for cassette and computer software for teaching literature, and other teacher aids.

In short, The Literature Teacher's Book of Lists gives you a ready source of excellent examples, key words; teachable content, and teaching ideas that would otherwise take many years to compile. It will save you time and help you instill in your students a genuine appreciation for the world of literature.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (July 28, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087628554X
• ISBN-13: 978-0876285541
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,378,199 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Literature:A Starting Point, October 25, 2003

By 

Martin Asiner (jersey city, nj United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Literature Teacher's Book Of Lists (J-B Ed: Book of Lists) (Paperback)

Americans seem fascinated by a top ten list of any category, so it is no surprise that someone has put together a top ten list for literature. Jodie Strouf in her THE LITERATURE TEACHER'S BOOK OF LISTS has attempted to encapsulate the broad swath of human endeavour that we call literature. Though the title suggests that the target audience is limited to teachers of literature, clearly anyone with even a modicum of interest in things literary can benefit. Strouf's chapter headings tell a great deal about how she organizes the rather bulky spectrum that most well-educated readers already know. Typical headers include (1) Literature: An Introduction (2)Books For All Ages (3)Genres For All Tastes (4)Poetry (5)Drama (6)Themes (7) Literary Periods (8)Potpourri (9) Endings & References. The value of Strouf's text is considerable in that many general readers would like to have a handy one page reference that gives a plot summary of a dozen words or less for all of Shakespeare's plays. Or perhaps you might need to know which famous works have been banned as being overly salacious (The 1969 version of the AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY puts in a surprise appearance). Or even which novels have physical disabilities as an underlying theme.

As I read this list of lists, I could see that there is nearly an infinity of uses for it. A high school teacher might use it to plan a curriculum of guided reading. A college teacher could photocopy relevant categories of minutiae that correspond with an undergraduate course in Lit 101. The well-educated layman could even derive pleasure in finding a tidy order in the disorder of written ideas that stretches back to antiquity. There are not many reference books that one could read as opposed to look up some arcane point. THE LITERATURE TEACHER'S BOOK OF LISTS is one such treasured example.

48 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile and interesting but buyer beware!, December 5, 2003

By 

K. D Kirk "workingpants" (Fairfax, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Literature Teacher's Book Of Lists (J-B Ed: Book of Lists) (Paperback)

I don't teach literature and am not am not an academic, but a reasonably well-read individual could a.) take issue with many of these lists, and b.) find errors in the book. So caveat emptor. For example:

1. The Trojan Horse is listed on pg. 17 as being covered in The Iliad and The Aeneid. So far as I recollect, there is zero mention of the Trojan Horse incident in the Iliad. That, fellow readers, comes briefly in the Odyssey, and yes... much, much later, in the Aeneid.

2. Incorrect info, probably typos, on the Androcles and the Lion fable.

3. Explaining Deconstructionism as 'reaction against the structuralism amd its anti-humanistic, ostentatious over-analysis of literature as a basis for judging its value". Thanks, now explain what the heck that means.

4. Page 44 list of Major Literary Critics excludes H.L. Mencken and Harold Bloom and Malcolm Cowley? Come on.

5. Page 93. Eliot's Four Quartets is classified as an 'epic'? So is Brecht's play, Mother Courage? Epic?

6. Page 123. Yet again, the literati can't figure out that Fitzgerald's second novel is just The Beautiful and Damned, not "and THE Damned." Typo? Come on. Know your stuff. On Page 130 a Jean Auel novel is mistitled too.

7. Speaking of Fitzgerald, he's listed as an American Novel Master (he published 4 novels) but not as an American Short Story Master (he published over 150 short stories). He was better known for his short stories. By the way, where is Don DeLillo? Not on American novel masters at all!

8. Western Masters: Zane Grey and Louis L'Amour and Larry McMurtry are in there, but not Cormac McCarthy?

9. And a crowning complaint... Major Poets from Other Lands is the category. Nowhere listed is GOETHE!!! The greatest or among the top 3 greatest European, if not Western or World poets ever!!! Arthur Rimbaud, the 19 year old Frenchman, author of a couple score poems is there. Holderlin and Heine are there for pete's sake. No Goethe? Its hard to the lists seriously after an oversight of that magnitude.

Other than all that. On balance, its a great way to spend time if you love literature. Cool lists. For teachers, its good I suppose. Just realize some errors and oversights...some small, some HUGE.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very useful book to have, September 3, 2009

By 

M. joad "booksmith" (florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Literature Teacher's Book Of Lists (J-B Ed: Book of Lists) (Paperback)

This book is very useful for anyone who has children in middle and high school grades. It suggests the books that they might need for any type of research and for their own knowledge if they intend on going on to college. The lists for pre college book suggestions was especially useful for my daughter in high school.