This modern novel describes a dystopian version of the year 1984. The world is ruled by three totalitarian superpowers with the book focusing on Oceania. The people are under constant surveillance and anyone opposing or even criticising the regime is eliminated together with all records of existence. Only thinking about another life or reality is […]

14-year-old Izzy lives in a small town, goes to school and doesn’t think of her life as anything extraordinarily special or exciting. That all changes when her father comes out as a trans-woman. The story deals with Izzy’s feelings of uncertainty and fear. Will her parents divorce? Will her classmates at school gossip about her? […]

This novel narrates an unlikely friendship between two outsiders and what a difference standing up for one another can make. David longs to be a girl, but is labelled by others as gay or a freak. Leo just wants to be invisible at school, but defends David against bullies in a fight. They stick together, […]

A Shakespearean Renaissance sonnet that satirises the idealistic descriptions of beauty in the Elizabethan era. The lyric persona uses stereotypical Renaissance nature imagery to contrast his mistress with. In the end, he indicates that his love is truer as it is not based on “false compare”. This sonnet, which is in the public domain, provides […]

This Shakespearean sonnet from Renaissance belongs to the Fair Youth sequence focussing on love, passion, beauty and seperation. The persona misses the beloved one and describes the beauty of spring that is not enjoyable because they were apart. This is an easily accessible example of a Shakespearean sonnet that can be used well for comparison […]

This Renaissance comedy is a play about deceptions and the importance of honour packed into a colourful story of love, wit, and confusion. The soldiers Claudio and Benedick return from battle to Messina. Claudio and Hero are in love with each other and plan to marry. Meanwhile, Benedick, an opponent of marriage, is at a […]

The Canterbury Tales are a medieval collection of 24 different short stories written in verse and prose. Frame action is a storytelling contest between a couple of pilgrims on their way from London to Canterbury. The characters such as the Knight, the Nun, the Cook, the Pardoner and the Wife of Bath represent different estates […]

This empowering picture book calls the readers attention to environmental pollution and eco-activism. In the second volume of the series, Rocket, a young girl, who loves science and astronomy, visits her grandparents who live on a Caribbean island. When she stumbles upon a baby turtle, who is trapped in a plastic bag, she discovers that […]

This eco-critical picture book tells the story of climate activist Greta Thunberg for young readers. Once upon a time, the greedy giants, who built large cities and factories, threaten the forest’s biodiversity. They started to log down the trees, as they need more wood for their business. First, Greta is the only one, who stands […]

Here, four of Shakespeare’s most famous plays are rewritten for a younger audience: Twelfth Night, Macbeth, The Tempest, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. They are shorter and told from the perspective of the side characters Malvolio, Banquo, Caliban, and Peaseblossom. I, Shakespeare might be useful if you want to avoid reading the longer originals but […]

This empowering play about power, masculinity and femininity explores roles and opportunities for woman in modern society. Set in London during the early 1980s, the play follows Marlene, an ambitious, career-driven businesswoman who made irreversible sacrifices for her success. Dishonesty, aggression and manipulation are her weapons against the oppressive patriarchy. She finally got the promotion […]

This short, modern play explores the importance of language for communication, alienation, love and imperialism. Set in 1833 in a fictional village in county Donegal, the play follows several English and Irish characters, which meet but often do not understand each other. The story develops around a love triangle, the English Yolland and the Irish […]

This Gothic novel explores the themes of the supernatural, masculinity and femininity, class and revenge in a Romantic context. Mr Lockwood encounters the strange constellation of people at the remote farmhouse Wuthering Heights who are all quite inhospitable. He is haunted at night by a former inhabitant of his room. Later, his housekeeper tells him the intricate […]

This classic adventure novel focusing on the relationship between man and nature, religion and free will explores the limits of knowledge and sanity. The story is told from the perspective of Ishmael, a poor young fellow from New York, who takes up a job on a whaler boat. His captain, called Ahab, is obsessed with […]

After World War I, no one’s life has been left untouched. Ben is on the verge of being sent to an orphanage after his brother went missing in the war. Lotti’s family wants to send her away to boarding school and Clara, a young teacher, needs to find her fiancé. All three of them are […]

In this award-winning biography about the fight for justice, Lee Lawrence tells a story sadly no less relevant today than 30 years ago. When Lee was 11 years old, he witnessed his mother being shot by a police officer, resulting in her paralysis. This event shaped the political climate at the time, acting as the […]

This eco-critical fable in rhymes explores industrial, economic and environmental issues. The Lorax is a creature that speaks for the trees and is the opponent of the Once-ler who cuts down the trees destroying the habitat of many animals and polluting the environment. The beautifully illustrated children’s book and its movie adaptation (2012) are well-suited […]

A poem from the Romantic period that explores the effects of industrialisation, social injustice, poverty and responsibility. It portrays London in 1794 through the eyes of the speaker, who walks the streets and describes the sight: crying chimney-sweepers, governmental oppression and the restriction of freedom. The poem, which is in the public domain, is useful […]