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  • How to Read Literature Like a Professor: For Kids by Thomas C. Foster
  • Karen Coats
Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature Like a Professor: For Kids. Harper/HarperCollins, 2013. 168p. Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-06-220086-0 $16.99 Paper ed. ISBN 978-0-06-220085-3 $6.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-06-220087-7 $5.99 Ad Gr. 5-7.

Foster's books for general readers on how to read like a professor are often assigned for AP and entry-level college English classes, but this book is aimed at the younger reader who is new to such discussions. Employing a format that answers imagined questions from students ("So vampirism isn't about vampires?" and "Okay, great. Who cares?"), he explores literary issues and tropes such as setting, intertextuality, illness, disability, and eating to reveal the meaning behind the choices authors make when [End Page 505] they use these elements in their writing. The collection of elements examined is fairly random, and since the book's pedagogy is teacher-driven rather than genuinely inquiry-based, it confirms the stereotype it tacitly seeks to correct: that professors can read things to death as often as they breathe new life. Indeed, the concluding short story by Katherine Mansfield is treated to an exhaustive interpretation that is picky, pedantic, and closed off from the reader's participation, instead focusing on Foster's own prescriptive reading. However, the book is jargon-free and thus potentially very useful for students just starting to understand the role of symbolism and interpretation, and the initial chapters will aid students by drawing their attention to elements they might have overlooked and providing suggestions rather than definitive statements regarding their meaning. The book is also worthwhile reading for teachers working with struggling readers to help them isolate relatable slices of meaning, as well as for avid young teen readers looking to up their paper-writing game, and it's a promising choice for an afterschool book club as it could take discussions of novels to the next level.

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