This illustrated coming-of-age book series is about politeness and friendship. An anthropomorphised bear from Peru is found at Paddington station and taken in by the Brown family. Because his Peruvian name is too hard to pronounce, he is named after the place he was found. Paddington has a liking for marmalade and always carries a […]
The painting Nighthawks by Edward Hopper is often described as timeless and univeral. It shows three customers and a waiter in an all-night diner, but none of these ‘night owls’ portrayed here appear to talk to each other. The fluorescent lighting, which was a new development in American restaurants in the 1940s, as well as […]
Simon Spier is a 16-year-old high school junior with an affinity for musical theatre. Lately, he’s been flirting online with a boy he only knows as “Blue”. He isn’t out of the closet; and plans on keeping it that way for the foreseeable future. This choice is taken from him when a classmate starts blackmailing […]
18-year-old Georgia is about to start college and has never been in love. Sure, she’s read and fantasized about it, but real-life love? – Nowhere in sight. And so Georgia sets out on the college adventure of figuring out who she is and what she’s actually looking for. When she comes across the terms asexual […]
Making its debut in 1997, Zits comics narrate the everyday life of 15-year-old Jeremy; a teenager living in Ohio. But suburban life and high school come with their own set of problems, including but not limited to parents, school and girls. Whether it be about the embarrassment that parents are to teens or the other […]
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, […]
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 […]
This science fiction short story explores the power of and the utter dependence on technology as well as the importance of nature. At some point in the future humans have lost the ability to live on the earth’s surface, life is taking place underground using a global machine. Every individual has their separate section and […]
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 […]
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 humourous coming-of-age graphic novel about love, friendship, teenage troubles (alcohol, sexuality, violence…) and intercultural contact. Junior is a 14-year old Native-American teenager who grows up in the Spokane Indian Reservation in the State of Washington. Being bullied because of his special needs, he decides to visit an all-white public high school off the reservation, […]
This satirical young-adult-novel problematises reality TV, sexism, stereotypes and body image. When the plane of 50 Miss Teen Dream contestants crashes on a desert island, it is time for them to re-evaluate their priorities. In isolation, they start to realise the crash may not have been an accident and odd incidents just keep piling up. […]
Based on the actual events of a fatal police shooting, this movie drama tells the story of Oscar Grant’s last 24 hours – a young African American who was shot by the police during New Year’s Eve 2008/09. This movie might serve as a starting point for an interdisciplinary teaching project on #BlackLivesMatter.
The class in room 207 loves to misbehave. Whether it’s flying spitballs or paper planes or disrespecting their teacher Miss Nelson, anything goes. But when Miss Nelson doesn’t show up to class one day and the evil substitute teacher Miss Viola Swamp takes her place, the kids start regretting their past behaviour.
A novel about the ups and downs of school, puberty and everything in between. This illustrated children’s novel tells the story of a boy named Greg Heffley and his attempts at becoming the ‘popular kid’ in middle school. From failed Geography tests to his best friend getting more attention from girls than him, there are […]
A young adult novel from a teenage perspective about bullying, prejudices, religious extremism, manipulation and courage. After moving to a new school in London, fifteen-year-old Muzna faces stereotyping at school and conflicts with her parents about her future plans at home. She finally meets Arif, a confident and beautiful boy from her school, who encourages […]
The classic tale in the realm of magical realism combines language and logic into a memorable world of ‘literary nonsense’, which continues to shape popular culture for decades. While Alice, a 7-year old girl, sits next to a river she notices a white rabbit and follows it into its rabbit hole, emerging again in Wonderland, […]
A tragic novel about love, the American dream, acceleration and unrelenting optimism. When narrator Nick moves to a prestigious community on Long Island (New York), he is soon introduced to his mysterious neighbor Jay Gatsby. Little is known about Mr Gatsby except that he is fabulously rich and regularly holds huge parties in his luxurious […]