Edgar Allen Poe (Audio CD)

Price, Vincent and Rathbone, Basil (2000). Edgar Allen Poe Audio Collection. Caedmon; Unabridged edition 
ISBN: 0694524190 / 978-0694524198  

Summary:  Vincent Price and Basil Rathbone, two masters of classic horror, read poems and short stories by Edgar Allen Poe.  

Additional Comments:  Poe's rhythmic and haunting gothic poetry may confuse readers with the antiquated and formal language of the 1800's.  Yet, when read aloud, the poetry turns into music and the meaning is more accessible. 

Vincent Price, whose voice teens might recognize as the deep, spooky narrator in Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video, and Basil Rathbone both have bass voices that convey the sinister, dark mood of Poe's writing.  Yet, they also both use a range of pitches and cadences, which is particularly effective in Basil Rathbone's reading of  "The Bells" because it describes the sound and the mood of bells in various contexts, some light and happy and some full of terror. Click on the links below to view YouTube videos that complement the readings.

Vincent Price reading "The Raven"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FID1CiB4bcU

Basil Rathbone reading "The Bells"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0889pnbURtY

Basil Rathbone reading "Annabel Lee"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJhvKEMhn20

Basil Rathbone reading "The Tell-Tale-Heart"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvHUNY_NXsU

Hair (Soundtrack)

MacDermot, Galt (1979). Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical (Cast recording).  United States: RCA Victor Broadway. 

Summary:  After Claude receives his draft card, he arrives in New York City to report for military service but ends up meeting a tribe of long-haired hippies living in Central Park and gets swept away by their pacifist, bohemian, counter-culture lifestyle of LSD, marijuana, and free love. Hair was originally an off-Broadway rock musical in 1967 before being adapted into a movie in 1979 with such stars as Beverly D'Angelo and Treat Williams.

Additional Comments:  Hair addresses all the controversial issues that were dividing society at the time and remain relevant to the present:  anti-war, skepticism of the government and "Big Brother", racism, sexual liberation, experimentation with psychedelic drugs, a budding sense of spirituality and incorporation of eastern philosophies, and non-conformity with societal expectations. Many songs have become anthems for the peace movement and the era, including "The Age of Aquarius", "Good Morning Starshine", and "Let the Sunshine In".  Other simply paint a picture of values and lifestyles of the counter-culture, like the pride of long hair as described in "Hair":  "Gimme a head with hair, long beautiful hair / Shining, gleaming, steaming, flaxen, waxen. . .I want it long, straight, curly, fuzzy / Snaggy, shaggy, ratty, matty /Oily, greasy, fleecy, shining / Gleaming, steaming, flaxen, waxen /Knotted, polka-dotted / Twisted, beaded, braided /Powdered, flowered, and confettied /Bangled, tangled, spangled and spaghettied!"  Hair's rebelliousness and anti-establishment attitude is bound to touch today's teens as much as it did over thirty years ago.

Pride and Prejudice (DVD)

Wright, Joe (2005). Pride and Prejudice.  U.S.: Universal Studios.

Summary:  The classic love story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy that is riddled with miscommunications, misunderstandings, assumptions, rumors, class differences and--you guessed it--pride and prejudice.  Based upon Jane Austen's novel and set in the countryside of 18th-century England, Pride and Prejudice follows the romances within the Bennet household, starting with  Lizzy's older sister, Jane, and Mr. Darcy's best friend, the wealthy Mr. Bingley.  

Additional comments:  Keira Knightly plays the independent and stubborn Lizzy Bennet, who will not resign to a convenient marriage, in the 2005 film production of Pride and Prejudice.  Staying mostly true to the original plot, the film version has picturesque cinematography, fabulous costumes, and passionate acting.  Not to be missed by lovers of romance.

Habibi, by Naomi Shihab Nye

Nye, Naomi Shihab (1997, 1999). Habibi. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks.

Summary:  14-year-old Liyana is just going into high school—and just experienced her first kiss—when her parents break the news that the family, consisting of her younger brother, Rafik, and her American-born mother, Barbara, and her Palestinian “poppy”, Dr. Abboud, will be moving from their home in Missouri to her father’s homeland, Palestine. Liyana must let go of her American home and adopt a place where she has never been. When she arrives in Israel / Palestine, she is confused by the religious and political tensions, and she is torn between her American ways and the Palestinian values that are being thrust on her. Liyana is introduced to an enormous family in Palestine with whom she cannot communicate at all, and she enrolls in the Armenian school in the Old City of Jerusalem where she is the only “outsider” (non-Armenian). Liyana and Rafik become friends with two children who live in the Palestinian refugee camp down the road from their new home. During weekly visits to her grandmother’s village in the West Bank, they learn about the mistreatment and oppression that Palestinians face under Israeli occupation.  But, when Liyana sparks a romance with a Jewish boy, her family has the opportunity to take a personal step towards peace.

Additional comments:  Habibi takes a very controversial and heated topic and breaks it down into a way that creates optimism and hope.  The Palestinian perspective is more heavily conveyed through the events of the story, such as the Israeli destruction of Liyana's grandmother's house, the unprovoked shooting of their young Palestinian friend, and the infuriating arrest of her father.  However, the negative depiction is balanced a bit by Ome, who represents Jews who strive for peace, reconciliation, and cross-cultural understanding.

Romeo and Juliet (DVD)

Luhrmann, Baz (1996).  Romeo and Juliet [Motion picture]. United States:  Bazmark Films.   

Summary:  An innovative rendering of Shakespeare's classic tragedy of two "star-cross'd lovers". While maintaining the original text and dialogue, the setting is vastly different from Shakespeare's as it takes place in a modern Verona Beach (that looks quite like Venice Beach, California).  The Capulet and Montegue families have names on billboards and skyscrapers and clearly are the leading economic powerhouses in Verona.  The younger generation of the two families engage in drive-by shootings and bring violence to the streets of Verona.  Romeo, of the Montegue House, and Juliet, of the Capulet House, fall in love at first sight at a costume party and so begins their doomed love affair.

Additional comments:  This highly visual and surreal film is fast-paced, action-packed, and accompanied by contemporary music, such as Radiohead and a cover of "When Doves Cry", which helps the viewer to forget that the dialogue is actually difficult to understand. The end result is a unique interpretation of a classic love story whose timeless theme is accessible to modern teens who, presumably, can relate more easily with the film than the original play.

On the Road, by Jack Kerouac

Kerouac, Jack (1955, 1957).  On the road.  New York: Signet.  

Summary: The adventures of Sal Paradise as he travels across the country four times catching up with friends in various cities and always meeting interesting characters along the way.  

Additional comments:  Considered to be slightly autobiographical, On the Road-- a seminal novel for the Beat Generation--is a mix of philosophy, bohemianism, dionysian partying, and counter-culture separation from societal norms and expectations.  Set in the 1950's, On the Road provides a glimpse into a pivotal period of American history, a time of revolutions that will change American values and lifestyles, including the Civil Rights movement, the peace movement, the sexual revolution, and sexual liberation. Sal's experiences put the reader in touch with alternative lifestyles that rejected mainstream norms. The carefree spontaneity exhibited by Sal is sure to touch 21st-century rebellious teens as it has since its publication in 1955.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, by Ann Brashares

Brashares, Ann (2001). The Sisterhood of the traveling pants. New York: Delacorte Press. 

Summary: Four best girlfriends spend their first summer apart from each other. On the eve of their separation, they ceremoniously designate a pair of "magical" jeans that fit all four of them perfectly as a way to connect them despite the distance.  They agree to take turns wearing the jeans and to mail the jeans along with a letter.  The story follows different plot lines to follow each girl's adventures:  Bridget falls for a soccer coach at her camp in Mexico, Lena tries to avoid a handsome young Greek man while staying with her grandparents in Greece, Tibby stays home in Washington, D.C. to work at a drugstore and surprises herself by befriending a young girl who is dying of leukemia, and Carmen's greatly anticipated summer alone with her bachelor father in Charleston is destroyed when she learns upon her arrival that her father is engaged and is living with his new fiancee and her two children.  

Additional comments:  Don't be turned off by the silly and melodramatic list of rules for the jeans at the beginning.  This "chick lit" gets better as it goes until you're flipping through the pages without pause and with tears streaming down your cheeks.  The well-developed characters show raw emotions and unpredictable behaviors as they are put into sad, challenging situations. Readers can continue on the characters' journeys by reading the three sequels in this series and catching the recent movie versions on DVD.

Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer

Meyer, Stephenie (2006).  Twilight.  New York:  Little, Brown and Company. 

Summary: Bella's dreary days in rainy Forks, Washington become much more exciting when she strikes up a romance with her beautiful, mysterious lab partner, Edward.  As their relationship intensifies, she learns that he and his pale, godlike family are not human but vampires.

Additional comments:  This page-turning romance features sharp-witted dialogue between the passionate, young lovers as they unravel the mystery that the other presents.  Readers will get easily hooked and find themselves looking for the next book in the series.  The November 2008 release of the film version of Twilight will further solidify the Twilight fan base.