Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
In high school English and language arts, teachers strive to expose students to as many literary styles and genres as possible. Teachers create a book list each year to go with the curriculum and the cost can quickly add up to thousands of dollars.
This year, the English department at Pocahontas County High School is poised to discuss American classics, modern Young Adult collections and American non-fiction tales.
ELA teacher Samara Mann said it is important to her that the students have a well-rounded and eclectic library which exposes them to other cultures, time periods and the endless imagination.
“A trend I’ve noticed in our book selection – especially in my own – is the selection of stories from other times and cultures that help our students appreciate where and when they live,” Mann said. “I teach books from Germany, Sierra Leone and in the days of yore. I want my students to understand that they are truly blessed to receive a free education and live in our beautiful community, state and nation.”
Mann added that some of the books she requested are for a new elective class on mythology she will offer next year.
“I taught it for four years at Cabell Midland High School and it was a great class,” she said. “The students learned about stories and parallels that occur from ancient cultures to current ideas.”
The school needs several copies of each of the following books, and anyone interested in donating a copy from their own collection may contact PCHS at 304-799-6565. The school is not asking the community to purchase new books, but did not see the harm in asking if there are any used copies the owners are willing to pass on to the younger generation.
Book List
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth E. Wein
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Pearl Poet
Beowulf
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and Eoin Colfer
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
Peter Pan by J.M Barrie
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Metamorphosis by Frank Kafka
A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen
Where the Lilies Bloom by Bill and Vera Cleaver
Hidden Figures: The Untold True Story of Four African-American Women who Helped Launch Our Nation into Space by Margot Lee Shetterly
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Rosa Parks My Story by Rosa Parks
Farewell to Manzanar by James D. Houston and Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson and the Sea Monsters by Rick Riordan
Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard by Rick Riordan
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
Books may also be dropped off at The Pocahontas Times office at 206 Eighth Street in Marlinton.