James Blasingame

The Changing Face of The Novel

This article uses Dresangs dimensions of radical change to call attention to the evolving structures and features of novels for young readers being published today. The controversial topics and elaborate design features contained in contemporary novels, for example, the expansion of dystopic fiction, the disruption of traditional narrative structures, and the utilization of meta-fictive devices, present challenges for young readers. Due to these challenges, teachers need to become more sophisticated readers of contemporary novels if they are to expand their pedagogical approaches and classroom resources.

The Mouse that Roared: Teaching Vocabulary with Source-Based Lessons.

berleys novel and the 1959 film starring Peter Sellers. The tiny, bankrupt duchy of Grand Fenwick declares war on the United States in hopes of being defeated so that it will be eligible for foreign aid. The concept may have been funnier in 1959 than it is today, but the point is that the contradictory idea of a roaring mouse was dramatic enough to catch the publics fancy. We were reminded of the image when Arnold Schwarzenneger turned real muscle into political muscle by getting elected governor of California. The word muscle is thought to have developed as a metaphor from the Latin musculus, the diminutive form of mus or mouse. Long ago, some creative speaker observed that a muscle resembles a mouse moving under a persons skin. Moles on peoples skin were named in a similar fashion, but thats another story. Once the word muscle was firmly established, speakers developed such related terms as muscular, muscle-bound, muscular dystrophy, muscle shirt, and musculoskeletal. A little further removed is the term muscle car. When someone is muscled out of line, real muscles might be involved, but if a person is muscled out of a job or out of office, we assume the phrase is metaphorical rather than literal.

Print‐Based Texts

This column provides reviews of adolescent and adult literature and provides a valuable resource for literature selection in- and outside the classroom.