How to Read Literature Like a Professor: For Kids

by Thomas C. Foster

The go-to bestselling guide to help young people navigate from a middle school book report to English Comp 101

In How to Read Literature Like a Professor: For Kids, New York Times bestselling author and professor Thomas C. Foster gives tweens the tools they need to become thoughtful readers.

With funny insights and a conversational style, he explains the way writers use symbol, metaphor, characterization, setting, plot, and other key techniques to make a story come to life.

From that very first middle school book report to that first college course, kids need to be able to understand the layers of meaning in literature. Foster makes learning this important skill fun and exciting by using examples from How the Grinch Stole Christmas to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, from short stories and poems to movie scripts.

This go-to guide unlocks all the hidden secrets to reading, making it entertaining and satisfying.

Genres: Nonfiction, Education, Teaching, School, Books About Books, Literature, Middle Grade

176 pages, Paperback

Published April 23, 2013

About the author

Thomas C. Foster is Professor of English at the University of Michigan, Flint, where he teaches classes in contemporary fiction, drama, and poetry as well as creative writing and composition. Foster has been teaching literature and writing since 1975, the last twenty-one years at the University of Michigan-Flint. He lives in East Lansing, Michigan.

In addition to How to Read Novels Like a Professor (Summer 2008) and How to Read Literature Like a Professor (2003), both from HarperCollins, Foster is the author of Form and Society in Modern Literature (Northern Illinois University Press, 1988), Seamus Heaney (Twayne, 1989), and Understanding John Fowles(University of South Carolina Press, 1994). His novel The Professor's Daughter, is in progress.

Foster studied English at Dartmouth College and then Michigan State University, moving forward from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to the twentieth in the process. His academic writing has concentrated on twentieth-century British, American, and Irish figures and movements—James Joyce, William Faulkner, Seamus Heaney, John Fowles, Derek Mahon, Eavan Boland, modernism and postmodernism. But he reads and teaches lots of other writers and periods: Shakespeare, Sophocles, Homer, Dickens, Hardy, Poe, Ibsen, Twain.

Author photograph courtesy of HarperCollins.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to agree with the general consensus that this book is really not for ages 8-12. It's all over the joint. He recommends Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and W. H. Auden's "Musee des Beaux Arts." Who's his audience? He references Neal Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, which is fine for the older kids but he also keeps coming back to The Iliad and The Odyssey which I think is more appropriate for high school. I enjoyed the book but I can't see a eight-year-old being the slightest bit interested in Katherine Mansfield's short story The Garden Party that Foster has included in the book, in its entirety, to then question the reader on what the story signifies. He compares the main character, Laura, to Persephone. It's all very interesting to me but your average kid is not going to care. (If they even get it.) Another point of concern for many reviewers is his delving into the sexuality of vampirism. So, my recommendation is to read it yourself first and see what you want to pass along.

[Kris Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moves from chapter to chapter with a break neck quick clip. Love that! Wish it was subtitled "For Young People" instead of "For Kids" because teens have a lot to gain from the succinct explanations of irony, archetypes, references to Shakespeare, etc. etc.... It may indirectly challenge my vehement opposition to whole class novels for study because I think kids, I mean young people, often need more experienced readers (adults) to point out some of these literary devices. Or maybe, as I would prefer to think, "Read Literature Like a Professor" is further evidence that teachers NEED to be readers for effective conferring to take place

[Erin Reilly-Sanders · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book had some interesting suggestions of things to look for when reading to get more "meaning" out of a book/reading experience, I have lots of quibbles and a general sense of dissatisfaction. In my mind, the best ideas are at the end of the book- read what you like, figure out your own codes, there aren't "right" and "wrong" interpretations of texts, etc. The rest of the book has a decidedly English class perspective to it, trying to read somewhat traditional interpretations to many more traditional texts. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but not what I was expecting. As a future professor of children's literature, this is not at all how I read literature or recommend that my students literature, but that could also just be a difference in ideas of literary theory. The parts that resonated with me are obviously very Reader Response theory oriented whereas Foster's book is very New Criticism, Traditional Historical Criticism, and Structuralism (to make some suppositions- it's all rather "old-school" to be honest). Which is not to say that there's not value in Foster's reasonably accessible explanations of things to consider while reading, just that it's not necessarily the authoritative text that it is advertised to be. The book seems to miss the mark on a couple other fronts as well. While it seems aimed at "kids", few children's works are mention, instead presenting a combination of some really excellent classics and some equally excellent young adult or teen literature pieces. What the book fails to acknowledge is that these two age groups are radically different, making the best use of this book probably a college-level classroom (where it could be a simple exercise in application of literary theory or an adult who would like to reminisce on some of the literature that they read in high school and the added dimensions they would see if they reread some of these works. And one last complaint- Foster uses male pronouns for generic authors, readers, and characters, something which is no longer acceptable in most academic writing today. However, the book is still worth a look, with lots of caveats, since it has some interesting ideas presented in an accessible manner. It's also got some great books in the recommendations section at the back and a nice short story and analysis example.

[Diz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated the attempt to introduce young readers to some of the tools that literature professors use to understand and analyze texts. However, I wonder if this work is suitable for those without much reading experience. The author drops the names of books, authors, and characters, and often makes references to famous works of literature. As an avid reader, I picked up all of the references and understood their relevance to the points the author was making, but I had a feeling that if I didn't have that background knowledge, it would be difficult to make sense of.

[Jenni Ackerman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was going to read this with the kids. Instead, I returned it. The book says 8-12, but the writing was too basic for my 12 year old and the examples used in the book were either way to adult or Dr. Seuss. Instead, I will read the original and discuss it with the kids.

[Arjun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this was going great... Until I realized I was reading the wrong book.

[maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really interesting! While I found most of the chapters to be helpful and good to know, the final chapter that examined “The Garden Party” contained a few references and ideas that could be viewed as a bit far-fetched. Overall, it was great, the evidence provided in each chapter was relevant, and I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone - not just kids - who want to up their reading potential.

[Keri-Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

After truly enjoying Foster's books for adults, How to Read Literature Like a Professor" and "How to Read Novels Like a Professor", I was set to enjoy this book and give it high marks as well. I knew there would be no new revelations which weren't in the adult books, and that was not what I was after. I mainly wanted to see what examples he used, as I was curious as to which kids books could be used for that purpose. I must admit to quite a bit of disappointment. Although Foster did use some younger books (most were more Young Adult than "Kids" so I would have retitled the book as being for young adults), I was sorry to see he used a lot of the same examples he did in the adult books. Though some young readers may have read the books he used, many examples weren't from "kids'" books or even classics that kids would read. The chapter which includes a long passage for readers to analyze was right out of his book for adults with barely any changes. Granted, it was not inappropriate for kids, but I don't know of any "kid"-meaning someone under 14, who would be able to relate very well to the passage. I expected him to use more examples from books with main characters who were younger than 15 or at least younger than 18. I did, however, think the examples Foster used from the classics and from modern writers which had young main characters were good choices. I wanted to see more of those.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to Read Literature Like a Professor: For Kids by Thomas C. Foster is a non-fiction book there are different chapters about different themes in liturature all stating information and his opinion of these themes. while reading the book I broadened my opinions and ideas about certain topics even learned new ones. in my opinion, this book was very well written and was worded in a way that's easy to understand. the only thing I dislike about this book is that some of the examples its stating I do not know of and feel as though I'm missing some information. this book inspired me to broaden my view and read different genres. I would recommend this book to anyone who is starting to write there own novels or are just trying to find new books to read. I loved the cover of this book because it has a very friendly appearance and has some characters that are easily recognizable which hooks readers for they will find recognizable characters in his writings. overall I would give this book 5 stars.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would recommend this little book to anyone who wants to dig deeper into their reading, but doesn't know how to recognize symbols, literary allusions, or know where to start to get more from the experience. This book offers the basic skills to get glean more from reading and provides examples of each strategy discussed. I found it to be a quite helpful refresher, and bonus as I've been reading I've been practicing what I learned and I feel like a genius. :)

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um...not bad. Interesting and probably will revisit in a couple years.

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Blah. Too mature for middle school. :( Disappointed.

[Jeremy · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF: I read about half of this and decided it wasn't worth losing my reading momentum to power through the rest. Kate Beaton's whimsical cover art really fooled me here.

It's not awful by any means, but the book isn't really for anyone in particular. It is too simple for adults, but too adult for kids. I probably could have enjoyed this in high school but I would have been turned off by the "for kids" part.

Also it feels a bit dated now, with the author making hip references like: How do we get kids interested in Homer's the Odyssey when they are more familiar with the Homer who says "d'oh"?

Also I didn't care for this analogy on page 27:

"To me literature is something like a barrel of eels. When a writer creates a new eel, it wriggles its way into the barrel. It's a new eel, but it shares its eelness with all those other eels that are in the barrel or have ever been in the barrel."

I mean I get it...but why?

"

[Rebecca Wasch · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mixed review because this book does a lot of things really well, but at least one important thing poorly.
Overall, this a good tool for teaching literary analysis. It is clear and interesting. My issue with this book is that it isn’t really for children, and because of some of the content and references I had to edit it as I read aloud. Had I handed it to my children after looking at the first couple chapters, I may not have caught that some of the chapters mention sex, loss of innocence etc. While none of this was graphic, it was not “for kids.” In addition, many of the books referenced weren’t children’s books making me think that this was largely recycled content from the original. I was also disappointed to have the endings of several classic books spoiled. While it is a good tool for teaching from, for these reasons, it loses a couple of stars.

[Rachel {bibliopals} · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would not say this book is "for kids." Probably about half of the book references I haven't read, much less my kids. Several examples were not age appropriate (i.e. vampire sexuality)...He gave a practice example at the end of the book which I thought was a great idea, but the short story isn't what I would have chosen for kids to practice. Then he used college student answers as examples for how to think. Would have been much more effective with elementary level text and examples.
I took away some things that I can use with my kids, but won't be handing this their way. I also won't be reading the adult version as I bet it's way more than I want or need.

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insights and helpful suggestions in what to look for when reading a book. It's probably best for an older student (late middle/high school) or an adult who wants a short-cut to an easier/ faster version to read. Of course, the full book is meatier. The "for kids" in the title may be misleading, as it is not really for 12 and under. I like the tone of the author. It's obvious he loves what he does (literature professor) and not stuck up at all.

[Melinda]

An interesting look at themes of fiction -- most made sense upon further thought. It has inspired several new additions to my TBR. I skipped the last 2 or 3 chapters as they didn't have the same hit as the rest of the book.

[sarah avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

good ig.

i just read it for school, but i liked the little short story at the end.

[Ayat · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was very helpful when figuring out things such as symbols and what they mean and explaining some specific themes. Even though it was helpful it seemed very boring to me. I only read it because it was assigned to me for school

[Dakshesh Thacker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I may not be the biggest reader of fiction as an adult, as a kid I have spent many an evening reading The Hardy Boys Casefiles and Captain W.E. Johns's ageless Biggles' Air Adventures. Almost always I looked for the common set pieces, nuances and plot twists which made recurring appearances book after book.
On the more serious fiction side, I am constantly intrigued by the similarities of the character arc of Karna from the Mahabharata and Snape from the Harry Potter universe. Both, true heroes, brave men who fought from what appeared to be the wrong side and never really got the acceptance that they should.
The consulting half of my brain has thus always propelled me to analyze literature, seek patterns and deconstruct what I am reading. This trajectory in my head led to my discovery of Foster's How to series.
At a superfast page turning velocity, Foster lays bare the rules of what may seem very obvious analytical frameworks/ situations when reading literature. Giving varied examples ranging from early children's reading to young adult fiction, Foster elucidates a plethora of structures with ease. The conversational style of writing, sometimes bordering slapstick humor only adds to the ease of reading.
Some of the structures such as interpreting symbols and nature may come across as mundane but the rest could have been developed only with practiced observations with a keen eye.
The highlight of the book is the last chapter where Foster chooses a gripping short story to read and apply the techniques of analysis. The discussion oriented nature of the chapter helps the reader analyze the short story from multiple perspectives and truly utilize the learnings from the book.
I may not be completely mesmerized by the content of the book, but it does shine overall in churning aha moments which make you go: I probably saw this somewhere.
Lastly, although the primary audience for this book maybe a middle/high school English teacher but that said the other reviews and my own experience affirms my universality of this book.. You could be someone like me looking to gather a literature analysis toolkit or someone simply looking for a nostalgia trip to child and young adult fiction. You may just end up discovering something new from the book.

[Anne Hawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for kids in middle school and even some high school, although it might seem a little childish for the older students. It takes themes prevalent in literature and helps a student to see the patterns and the large part of the story that is written between the lines. In fact, it is a bit like a road map to help readers to pick out the important parts of a book while they are reading. Once read, I think the students would be able to apply this knowledge to any writing assignment in school and at least, begin to understand it.

The author has a companion book about reading novels and I think this is important. This book deals with literature and the great literary themes and would be almost impossible to apply all of them to novels, but in even the simplest novel there are themes and Dr. Foster's books will help.

[Melissa Polk · Rating 2 out of 5]

There may be some things in this book that.. matter. That I can use. I don't know. Here's the thing: I wanted to use this to help my son learn to analyze literature. We homeschool and for whatever reason, analyzing stories to death is a thing. I don't get it, I'm not good at it, I don't like it. But I'm supposed to teach it. I wanted this book to be the answer. Instead it was full of blanket statements "a ghost is never just a ghost" and convoluted nonsense (okay, it wasn't nonsense, I just think it's crap).

Happier now more than ever that I didn't persue that English degree. But also not, because then maybe I could teach this mess.

[Emmeline Hamlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

How To Read Literature Like A Professor: For Kids. By Thomas C. Foster. Non-fiction.

I would describe this book's structure as Informative Writing. The author's purpose is to inform readers about literary devices. The main idea of this book is to help people with reading literature. I learned many tips on reading literature. I did like how they used different characters to pull the book together. I disliked the fact that most of the characters used were only interesting to a certain group of people. I would recommend this book to my cousin. I think the cover was a very acute representation of this book. Most of the characters on the cover were mentioned in the book.

[Patricia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Any book with the title "for kids" should actually be written with a kid's mind and experiences in mind. That concept seems to have been lost on the author or whomever decided to slap the "for kids" on this book title. For this reason alone, I would not recommend it at all. Know your readers!!

I picked this up in the children's section of the library and feel that it just does not belong there.
This book feels like it is written for an older audience than the title suggests as it makes references to adult written works and adult subject matters. Again, know your readers!!

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book showed me that I didn't need it. And yet, I was grateful for the reminders held herein. If you've ever wished that they taught not only what the letters together mean, but also what the words between, behind and under the words mean, this book is a fine primer. It's like a more approachable and junior high friendly (the term "kids" is used to express anyone under 18 here) "How To Read a Book" by Mortimer J. Adler.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thomas C. Foster is a very entertaining writer. I felt like he was talking right to me. I really enjoyed his insights into literature. I thought lots of thoughts I'd never thought before. I think the book will give me a deeper appreciation of what I read in the future. One of his main points is that the same stories keep getting retold. I was inspired to read/review some old fairy tales and greek myths.

[emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4. Although this isn’t an exhaustive list of literary devices and symbolism, it’s enough to get the ball rolling and encourage the reader to look beneath the surface of whatever they may be reading. I agree with previous reviewers—it should be labeled “for teens” instead of “for kids.” With all of the references to Sophocles and Shakespeare, I would guess 13-16 to be a more realistic target audience.

[Carole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This small book is a good start for students wanting to learn how to analyse fiction and poetry. As the author says himself, it doesn't cover everything, but it does give a good basis to begin from. I did think that some of his examples wouldn't be known to students at secondary school today, but in spite of that it's a useful book to have in a library or English Dept.

[Dr. T Loves Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written guide for readers in middle and high school that introduces and explains how to analyze literature. It's a pretty quick read, with short chapters that are written with a very approachable level of text. We are considering adopting this as a classroom text for our middle school students, and as a required text for our high school students, and I think it's a good idea.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Done with the first of Cam’s summer reading books. It’s definitely not aimed at kids - more at teens. My niece is reading the original for her AP English class. I don’t envy her.
This was a tough read for me as a well-read adult. I don’t think this book should be read. Ask students to read the intro, then pull out a chapter or two as chosen texts require. — idea from Kelly