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Literature CurriculumLiterature Resources

Plenty of people claim they like to read, they just don't like to read assigned books. That's like saying pizza is your favorite food, except when your mom serves it for dinner. Books are assigned because no one's born with a sense of good or bad literature, or knowing what works influenced the history of thought and which ones didn't.

If you loved Huckleberry Finn when you read it on your own, why did you hate it when you had to read it for class?

The sad fact is simply that most people haven't been given the tools for appreciating literature because they haven't been taught to understand it. Anyone who loves their job, or hobby, or sport only does so because they "get it." Understanding is a much overlooked and undervalued asset in today's data-infatuated culture. The goal isn't to interpret anything, only to accumulate as many statistics as possible. No wonder so few people thoroughly enjoy reading.

It's easy to like a book that requires nothing of you; it's the entertainment version of data-acquisition. You simply read the facts about the characters, the facts about the events, the facts the facts the facts, and maybe there are some action-packed facts or some titillating ones, and those are the source of any enjoyment you get from reading. You tell people you like to read, but you don't like books you've been told to read.

A lot of this conflict goes away when one learns how to read. Simply decoding words isn't the extent of reading; a good reader is one who can identify the meaning in a text, appreciate the beauty and complexity of the language as used by the author, and connect their knowledge of various texts to produce a viable body of understanding and increase their powers of critical thinking.

There are those who think this is a waste of time, that any time spent studying literature would be better spent studying the Bible....forgetting (or ignoring) the fact that the Bible is literature. Not in the sense that it's fictional, of course, but the Word of God doesn't come to us pre-interpreted or devoid of traditional literary form—for our delight as much as our instruction, the Bible is poetry, drama, adventure story, philosophy, theology and even romance all rolled into one.

While it's true that we should devote time to studying the Bible (lots of time, even), it's also true that studying literature is a valuable exercise in its own right. For one thing, it can help us better understand how to approach the Bible and its various genres, and provide excellent practice making inter- and intratextual connections and comparisons. Beyond that, it helps us understand other people, the events of history, the ideas of past generations, gives us an increased appreciation of true beauty, and helps us understand ourselves. Also, it's often really fun.

That sense of fun, however, is not without context. For many, it represents an Enlightenment ideal that has crept almost wholly unnoticed into modern thought. The Enlightenment humanists asserted that man was best in his "natural" state, and that culture and society overall had a diminishing effect on him that robbed him of his true potential. Thus, enjoying a book unfettered by any notion of understanding it, or of self-improvement, will yield better and more pleasurable results than the alternative.

This flies in the face of everything the Bible says about man and society. Society, though it can corrupt its members, is also the civilizer of men. Man requires structure and law to keep him from complete chaos, and society is the instrument of such organization. Each societal structure comes with its own rules, and an understanding of these is necessary for an understanding of any product of that culture.

More than that, the deepest understanding of Scripture requires a knowledge of its cultural and religious origins, the nature of the languages in which it was written, its coherence as a unified document, etc. How can we assume the path to interpretation of any other text is any different?

If your only expectation from any book is that it provide a measure of diversion, any book will do. But if you want to read in order to grow and truly enjoy the beauty that still shines in this often murky world, you'll need to choose the right books, and you'll need to devote yourself to understanding them. Inculcating those desires in our children and equipping them with the tools to do so is one of our foremost goals, and that is why we carry such a variety of products to help you do the same.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

 

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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Progeny Press Study Guide
Progeny Press Literature Guides
by Gregory Power
from Progeny Press
Literature Guide for 9th-12th grade
in Progeny Press Literature Guides (Location: LIT-SGPP)
$27.99 $17.00 (1 in stock)
Aeneid - MP Student Guide
by Cody King
from Memoria Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Memoria Press Classical Studies (Location: HISCUR-MP)
$19.90
Aeneid - MP Teacher Guide
by Cody King
from Memoria Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Memoria Press Classical Studies (Location: HISCUR-MP)
$19.90
American Literature - BJU Subject Kit
3rd edition from Bob Jones University Press
for 11th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in BJU Subject Kits (Location: WH-BJUK)
$147.90
American Literature - CLP Answer Key
from Christian Liberty Press
for 11th grade
in BJU Literature (Location: LITCUR-BJU)
$9.50
American Literature - CLP Test Packet
3rd edition from Christian Liberty Press
for 11th grade
in BJU Literature (Location: LITCUR-BJU)
$5.75
American Literature - Student Edition
by James P. Stobaugh
Student from Master Books
for 10th-12th grade
in Master Books Literature (Location: LITCUR-MB)
$39.19
American Literature - Student Notebook
by Whit Jones
from Apologia Educational Ministries
for 9th-12th grade
in American Literature Curriculum (Location: LITCUR-AM)
$31.20 $27.00 (1 in stock)
American Literature - Student Text
by Whit Jones
from Apologia Educational Ministries
for 9th-12th grade
in American Literature Curriculum (Location: LITCUR-AM)
$79.20 $25.00 (2 in stock)
American Literature - Student Textbook
3rd edition from Bob Jones University Press
for 11th grade
in BJU Literature (Location: LITCUR-BJU)
$75.56 $45.00 (1 in stock)
American Literature - Teacher Edition
by James P. Stobaugh
from Master Books
for 10th-12th grade
in Master Books Literature (Location: LITCUR-MB)
$26.39
American Literature - Teacher Edition
3rd edition from Bob Jones University Press
for 11th grade
in BJU Literature (Location: LITCUR-BJU)
$93.89
American Literature - Tests
3rd edition from Bob Jones University Press
for 11th grade
in BJU Literature (Location: LITCUR-BJU)
$21.11
American Literature - Tests Answer Key
3rd edition from Bob Jones University Press
for 11th grade
in BJU Literature (Location: LITCUR-BJU)
$15.28
Animal Farm
Signet Classics
by George Orwell
from Signet Classics
Utopian/Dystopian Literature for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.99
Animal Farm - Progeny Press Study Guide
Progeny Press Literature Guides
by Michael S. Gilleland, for the novel by George Orwell
from Progeny Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Progeny Press Literature Guides (Location: LIT-SGPP)
$27.99
Anna Karenina - MP Student Guide
from Memoria Press
Realistic Fiction for 11th-Adult
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$13.50
Anna Karenina - MP Teacher Guide
from Memoria Press
for 11th-Adult
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$13.50
Around the World in Eighty Days
by Jules Verne, George M. Towle (Translator)
from Bantam Books
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Art of Poetry
by Christine Perrin
from Classical Academic Press
for 7th-12th grade
in Poetry Curriculum & Resources (Location: LIR-POET)
$29.95
Art of Poetry - DVD
by Christine Perrin
from Classical Academic Press
for 7th-12th grade
in Poetry Curriculum & Resources (Location: LIR-POET)
$103.95
Art of Poetry - Teacher's Edition
by Christine Perrin
from Classical Academic Press
for 7th-12th grade
in Poetry Curriculum & Resources (Location: LIR-POET)
$34.95 $20.00 (1 in stock)
Ascent to Love
by Peter Leithart
from Canon Press
for 9th-Adult
in Classical Literature Guides (Location: LIR-CLA)
$16.00
Battle of Maldon together with The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth
by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Peter Grybauskas
from HarperCollins
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$30.00
Beginner's Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy
by Jason M. Baxter
from Baker Academics
for 11th-Adult
in Classical Literature Guides (Location: LIR-CLA)
$20.00
Beowulf - Progeny Press Study Guide
by Michael Poteet
from Progeny Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Progeny Press Literature Guides (Location: LIT-SGPP)
$27.99
Beowulf - Study Guide CD
by Michael Poteet
from Progeny Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Progeny Press Interactive CDs (Location: LITSG-PPCD)
$13.00
Brightest Heaven of Invention
by Peter Leithart
from Canon Press
for 10th-Adult
in Shakespeare Materials (Location: LIR-SHA)
$21.00
Brit. Lit. Volume 1
by Douglas Wilson
from Logos School
for 10th-12th grade
in Logos Brit. Lit. (Location: LITCUR-LOG)
$10.00
Brit. Lit. Volume 10
from Logos School
for 10th-12th grade
in Logos Brit. Lit. (Location: LITCUR-LOG)
$18.00
Brit. Lit. Volume 2
from Logos School
for 10th-12th grade
in Logos Brit. Lit. (Location: LITCUR-LOG)
$19.00
Brit. Lit. Volume 3
by Sir Philip Sidney, Sir Edmund Spencer, William Shakespeare
from Logos School
for 10th-12th grade
in Logos Brit. Lit. (Location: LITCUR-LOG)
$26.00
Brit. Lit. Volume 4
by John Milton
from Logos School
for 10th-12th grade
in Logos Brit. Lit. (Location: LITCUR-LOG)
$15.00
Brit. Lit. Volume 5
by Jane Austen
from Logos School
for 10th-12th grade
in Logos Brit. Lit. (Location: LITCUR-LOG)
$18.00
Brit. Lit. Volume 6
by Charles Dickens
from Logos School
for 10th-12th grade
in Logos Brit. Lit. (Location: LITCUR-LOG)
$20.00
Brit. Lit. Volume 7
by Oscar Wilde, George Sullivan
from Logos School
for 10th-12th grade
in Logos Brit. Lit. (Location: LITCUR-LOG)
$10.00
Brit. Lit. Volume 8
by Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy Sayers, G. K. Chesterton, Agatha Christie
from Logos School
for 10th-12th grade
in Logos Brit. Lit. (Location: LITCUR-LOG)
$21.00
Brit. Lit. Volume 9
by P. G. Wodehouse
from Logos School
for 10th-12th grade
in Logos Brit. Lit. (Location: LITCUR-LOG)
$12.00
British Literature - Student Edition
by James P. Stobaugh
from Master Books
for 10th-12th grade
in Master Books Literature (Location: LITCUR-MB)
$39.19 $30.00 (1 in stock)
British Literature - Teacher Guide
by James P. Stobaugh
from Master Books
for 10th-12th grade
in Master Books Literature (Location: LITCUR-MB)
$26.39 $20.00 (1 in stock)
British Tradition I - Anthology
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Poetry Curriculum & Resources (Location: LIR-POET)
$20.95
British Tradition I - Student Guide
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Poetry Curriculum & Resources (Location: LIR-POET)
$17.80
British Tradition I - Teacher Book
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Poetry Curriculum & Resources (Location: LIR-POET)
$19.90
British Tradition II - Anthology
3rd edition from Memoria Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Poetry Curriculum & Resources (Location: LIR-POET)
$20.95
British Tradition II - Student Guide
3rd edition from Memoria Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Poetry Curriculum & Resources (Location: LIR-POET)
$17.80
British Tradition II - Teacher Book
3rd edition from Memoria Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Poetry Curriculum & Resources (Location: LIR-POET)
$19.90
British Tradition III - Anthology
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Poetry Curriculum & Resources (Location: LIR-POET)
$20.95 $14.00 (1 in stock)
British Tradition III - Student Guide
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Poetry Curriculum & Resources (Location: LIR-POET)
$17.80 $12.00 (1 in stock)
British Tradition III - Teacher Book
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Poetry Curriculum & Resources (Location: LIR-POET)
$19.90 $14.00 (1 in stock)
Call of the Wild - Progeny Press Study Guide
by Lisa Tiffin
from Progeny Press
Literature Guide for 8th-12th grade
in Progeny Press Literature Guides (Location: LIT-SGPP)
$27.99
Canterbury Tales - Student Guide
by Geoffrey Chaucer
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$13.50 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Canterbury Tales - Teacher Guide
by Geoffrey Chaucer
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$13.50 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Christian Reading Companion for 50 Classics
by James Stobaugh
Reprint from Master Books
for 9th-Adult
in Literary Analysis & Reference (Location: LIR-LAR)
$12.79 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Christmas Carol - Progeny Press Study Guide
Progeny Press Literature Guides
by Rebecca Gilleland
from Progeny Press
Literature Guide for 8th-12th grade
in Progeny Press Literature Guides (Location: LIT-SGPP)
$27.99 $17.00 (1 in stock)
Classics Club - Huckleberry Finn
by Adam Andrews
from Center for Literary Education
for 10th-Adult
in Teaching the Classics (Location: LITCUR-TTC)
$19.00
Compass for Deep Heaven
by Diana Pavlac Glyer and Julianne Johnson, editors
from Square Halo Books
for 9th-Adult
in The Inklings (Location: LIR-INK)
$24.95
Day No Pigs Would Die - Progeny Press Study Guide
Progeny Press Literature Guides
by Andrew Clausen
from Progeny Press
Literature Guide for 9th-12th grade
in Progeny Press Literature Guides (Location: LIT-SGPP)
$27.99 $17.00 (1 in stock)
Deep Comedy
by Peter Leithart
from Canon Press
for 10th-Adult
in Literary Analysis & Reference (Location: LIR-LAR)
$15.00
Dickens Dictionary
by Gilbert A. Pierce
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in British Literature Curriculum (Location: LITCUR-BRI)
$29.95
Discarded Image
by C. S. Lewis
from Cambridge University
Medieval and Renaissance Lit Guide/Resource for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Divine Comedy - MP Quizzes
from Memoria Press
for 10th-12th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$6.00
Divine Comedy - MP Student Guide
from Memoria Press
for 10th-12th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$19.90
Divine Comedy - MP Teacher Guide
from Memoria Press
for 10th-12th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$19.90
English Literature for Boys and Girls
by H. E. Marshall
Ill from Yesterday's Classics
for 10th-12th grade
in British Literature Curriculum (Location: LITCUR-BRI)
$23.95
English Literature for Boys and Girls
by H. E. Marshall
from Living Book Press
for 10th-12th grade
in British Literature Curriculum (Location: LITCUR-BRI)
$20.99
Evaluating Books
by Richard Maybury
2nd edition from Bluestocking Press
for 9th-Adult
in Uncle Eric books (Location: ECON-ERIC)
$10.95
Excellence in Literature - World Literature
by Janice Campbell
3rd edition from Institute for Excellence in Writing
for 11th-12th grade
in IEW Literature & Poetry (Location: LITCUR-IEW)
$29.00
Experiment in Criticism
by C. S. Lewis
Reissue from Cambridge University
Literature Guide/Resource for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Fahrenheit 451 - Progeny Press Study Guide
Progeny Press Literature Guides
by Michael Poteet
from Progeny Press
Literature Guide for 10th-12th grade
in Progeny Press Literature Guides (Location: LIT-SGPP)
$27.99
Fahrenheit 451 - Study Guide CD
Progeny Press Literature Guides
by Michael Poteet
from Progeny Press
Literature Guide for 10th-12th grade
in Progeny Press Interactive CDs (Location: LITSG-PPCD)
$13.00
Fellowship of the Ring - Student Guide
by Hannah Eagleson
from Classical Academic Press
for 7th-12th grade
in Walking to Wisdom Literature Guides (Location: LITSG-WW)
$13.95
Fellowship of the Ring - Teacher Guide
by Hannah Eagleson
from Classical Academic Press
for 7th-12th grade
in Walking to Wisdom Literature Guides (Location: LITSG-WW)
$21.95 $10.50 (1 in stock)
Frankenstein - Progeny Press Study Guide
Progeny Press Literature Guides
by Calvin Roso & Andrew Clausen
from Progeny Press
Literature Guide for 9th-12th grade
in Progeny Press Literature Guides (Location: LIT-SGPP)
$27.99
Frankenstein - Study Guide CD
Progeny Press Literature Guides
by Calvin Roso & Andrew Clausen
from Progeny Press
Literature Guide for 9th-12th grade
in Progeny Press Interactive CDs (Location: LITSG-PPCD)
$14.00
Grammar of Poetry
Imitation in Writing Series
by Matt Whitling
from Canon Press
Writing Curriculum for 5th-12th grade
in Poetry Curriculum & Resources (Location: LIR-POET)
$23.99
Grammar of Poetry - Teacher Edition
Imitation in Writing Series
by Matt Whitling
2nd edition from Canon Press
Writing Curriculum for 5th-12th grade
in Poetry Curriculum & Resources (Location: LIR-POET)
$24.00
Great Christian Classics - Volume I
by Kevin Swanson
2nd edition from Generations with Vision
for 9th-12th grade
in Classical Literature Guides (Location: LIR-CLA)
$42.00
Great Expectations - Progeny Press Study Guide
by Michael S. Gilleland
from Progeny Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Progeny Press Literature Guides (Location: LIT-SGPP)
$27.99
Great Gatsby - Progeny Press Study Guide
Progeny Press Literature Guides
by Calvin Roso
from Progeny Press
Literature Guide for 9th-12th grade
in Progeny Press Literature Guides (Location: LIT-SGPP)
$27.99
Great Gatsby - Study Guide CD
Progeny Press Literature Guides
by Calvin Roso
from Progeny Press
Literature Guide for 9th-12th grade
in Progeny Press Interactive CDs (Location: LITSG-PPCD)
$14.00
Hamlet - Progeny Press Study Guide
Progeny Press Literature Guides
by Bethine Ellie
from Progeny Press
Literature Guide for 9th-12th grade
in Progeny Press Literature Guides (Location: LIT-SGPP)
$27.99 $17.00 (1 in stock)
Hamlet - Study Guide CD
Progeny Press Literature Guides
by Bethine Ellie
from Progeny Press
Literature Guide for 9th-12th grade
in Progeny Press Interactive CDs (Location: LITSG-PPCD)
$14.00
Heart of Darkness - Progeny Press Study Guide
Progeny Press Literature Guides
by Bethine Ellie
from Progeny Press
Literature Guide for 9th-12th grade
in Progeny Press Literature Guides (Location: LIT-SGPP)
$27.99
Henry V - MP Student Guide
by David M. Wright
3rd edition from Memoria Press
for 10th-12th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$13.50
Henry V - MP Teacher Guide
by David M. Wright
3rd edition from Memoria Press
for 10th-12th grade
in Memoria Press Literature & Poetry (Location: LITSG-MP)
$13.50
Heroes of the City of Man
by Peter Leithart
from Canon Press
for 9th-Adult
in Classical Literature Guides (Location: LIR-CLA)
$25.00
History of Middle Earth - Boxed Set
by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien
from Del Rey
for 9th-Adult
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$49.95
Hobbit - Progeny Press Study Guide
Progeny Press Literature Guides
by Michael Poteet
from Progeny Press
Literature Guide for 8th-12th grade
in Progeny Press Literature Guides (Location: LIT-SGPP)
$27.99
Hobbit - Study Guide CD
Progeny Press Literature Guides
by Michael Poteet
from Progeny Press
Literature Guide for 8th-12th grade
in Progeny Press Interactive CDs (Location: LITSG-PPCD)
$14.00
Hound of the Baskervilles - Progeny Press Study Guide
by Michael Gilleland & Mike Poteet
from Progeny Press
in Progeny Press Literature Guides (Location: LIT-SGPP)
$27.99
How the Heather Looks
by Joan Bodger
Reprint from Living Book Press
for 7th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$24.99
How the Heather Looks
by Joan Bodger, illustrated by Mark Lang
Reprint from Living Book Press
for 7th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$14.99
How to Read a Book
by Mortimer Adler & Charles Van Doren
from Simon and Schuster
for 10th-Adult
in Literary Analysis & Reference (Location: LIR-LAR)
$17.99 $7.70 (2 in stock)
How to Read a Poem
by Burton Raffel
from Meridian Book
for 11th-Adult
in Poetry Curriculum & Resources (Location: LIR-POET)
$17.00 $9.00 (1 in stock)
How to Read Slowly
by James Sire
3rd edition from Shaw Books
for 10th-Adult
in Christians & Thought (Location: XAP-THO)
$12.00 $6.00 (3 in stock)
Iliad - MP Student Book
by Stephan Musick
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Memoria Press Classical Studies (Location: HISCUR-MP)
$13.60
Iliad - MP Teacher Book
by Stephan Musick
2nd edition from Memoria Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Memoria Press Classical Studies (Location: HISCUR-MP)
$17.80
Illuminating Literature: Characters in Crisis - Quiz and Answer Manual
by Sharon Watson
from Writing with Sharon Watson
for 9th-12th grade
in Writing with Sharon Watson (Location: WRI-SWW)
$9.00
Illuminating Literature: Characters in Crisis - Student Book
by Sharon Watson
from Writing with Sharon Watson
for 9th-12th grade
in Writing with Sharon Watson (Location: WRI-SWW)
$43.00 $28.00 (1 in stock)
Illuminating Literature: Characters in Crisis - Teacher's Guide
by Sharon Watson
from Writing with Sharon Watson
for 9th-12th grade
in Writing with Sharon Watson (Location: WRI-SWW)
$18.00 $12.00 (1 in stock)
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