J. R. R. Tolkien’s children’s fantasy adventure novel on greed, trust, fellowship and heroism follows the magical quest and personal growth of a hobbit: “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends or worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy, […]
A postcolonial short story by the award winning author Salman Rushdie on international relations, gender and power, cultural differences, and the many-sided nature of human nature. Miss Rehana visits a British consulate in India, to be reunited with her fiancée who is living in England. A man named Mr. Ali approaches her in front of […]
An insightful essay about equality, self-esteem and treating people with respect: In this epistolary manifesto Adichie addresses a friend of hers who just had a baby – the question posed to the author is: How do you raise a to be a feminist? Her answer touches upon education, oppression, sex and many more aspects of […]
This Romantic novel of manners follows the charming Elizabeth Bennet and her character development. It portrays the complicated love story of Elizabeth and the aloof Mr Darcy. Mr Bennet has five daughters but his estate can only be bequeathed to a male heir, hence at least one of his daughters has to marry well to […]
A Gothic novel of moral depth about mental health, social pressure, belonging and a family dream that turns into a dark nightmare. The birth of Ben, the fifth and rather unusual child of Harriet and David, threatens and disrupts their ordinary and happy family life. Ben’s violent, aggressive and reckless behaviour, which is due to […]
This wintery picture-only tale tells the story of a boy and his snowman, who suddenly comes to life. Together they travel to the north pole and meet father Christmas and his raindeers. Home again, the weather has changed and the boy’s friend begins to melt… The beautifully illustrated picture book gave way to an award-winning […]
Winterson showcases a new Christmas story, drawing pastiche-like on themes of love, myth and healing in the festive season. The narrator Mrs Snow one day suddenly finds a tall fairy standing in her garden, claiming to be the Christmas Fairy herself. In the rather unusual dialogue which ensues, hard-won truth waits after every twist and […]
A rhyming story about an unexpected adventure, family and Christmas time: “Stick Man lives in the family tree with his Stick Lady Love and their stick children three…”
Acclaimed fantasy author Tolkien composed these letters for his own children, spanning no fewer than two decades of Christmas celebrations. In each letter, either Father Christmas himself or one of his fantastic side-kicks tells the story of a new adventure from the North Pole.
This collection of letters tells the story of the 12 days of Christmas with a twist. Accompanied by humuourous illustrations, the letters narrate the arrival of the extravagant gifts from the recipient’s point of view, Emily. She enjoys the lavish gifts of admiration at first, but as they become increasingly strange her gratitude lessens. However, […]
A coming-of-age-novel about slavery and racism, hypocrisy in society and freedom set along the Mississippi River: a white outsider and an African American slave emancipate themselves in pursuit of the American Dream. Tying in with the prequel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, who once was a homeless boy, now leads a civilised life […]
This Victorian Gothic novel is about moral decay and the evanescence of beauty and youth. Young Dorian Gray meets the charismatic Lord Henry Wotton at Basil Hallward’s studio by whom he is currently being painted. Basil sees Dorian as his new muse, infatuated by his beauty. Dorian is enthralled by the Lord’s hedonistic world view […]
A classic children’s novel about poverty and wealth, humility, kindness and greed. Charlie is an eleven-year-old boy who loves chocolate and lives with his parents and grandparents in a little hut close to a big city. They do not have a lot of money, but Charlie and his family live a happy life until Charlie’s […]
A witch and her cat are happily flying through the air until a gust of wind blows her hat, bow and wand away. Luckily a dog, bird and frog retrieve them for her. In return they’d love to take a ride on the witch’s broomstick, but how long until that broom inevitably snaps in two? […]
Written in three stanzas, this romantic poem on the power of nature, the consolation of beauty, mortality and transformation, reflects on three different aspects of autumn. The first stanza praises autumn’s fruitfulness and describes the harvest season. The second stanza describes the labour performed in autumn. The final stanza describes late autumn as a time […]
A Shakespearean tragedy from Early Modernism / Renaissance about madness, revenge, political intrigues, love and loss. The king of Denmark is dead, and soon his widow Gertrud marries Claudius, the former king’s brother. Prince Hamlet is depressed because of his father’s death and angry at his mother for remarrying so quickly. One night his father’s […]
This anthropomorphic novel full of rabbits tells the tale of social unrest, community and hope, all kick-started by man-made environmental destruction. Fiver, a young rabbit with a sixth sense, is part of the Sandleford warren. He starts having disturbing visions of his home’s destruction and, along with his older brother Hazel, tries, to no avail, […]
John Lennon’s song “Imagine” encourages listeners to envision a world at peace. He describes how without the barriers of religion, nationality or material possessions, humans could finally live together harmoniously. During the Vietnam War, it became a protest song and symbol for the peace movement. The song is suitable for interdisciplinary teaching with regard to […]