FROM AUTHOR, AMELIA OSTROWSKI
Thinking back to my middle and high school language arts classes, I could list some of the stories we covered (Lord of the Flies, The Great Gatsby, Romeo and Juliet). We read a few chapters every day (some of us, anyway), took a few quizzes that focused on basic comprehension, and then maybe wrote the occasional essay. It was boring, repetitive, and we walked away without really knowing how to read a text. It wasn’t what we read, it was how we read that was lacking.
It was not until I was in college that I actually learned how to analyze literature, and I felt like I had been cheated. There was so much I had missed in these stories by being limited to a superficial reading. I found I was able to view characters from new perspectives, investigate themes on a deeper level, and examine stories through a more critical lens. Perhaps most importantly, once I developed those skills, reading and evaluating literature became easier and more enjoyable. But I wish this would have happened sooner.
Building these skills earlier sets students up for academic success. Middle and high school is the ideal time to help students learn how to examine a text beneath its surface and explore its complexities. But finding an engaging and robust literature curriculum for a middle or high school student can feel like an impossible task. I know this because I tried. Unsatisfied with what I was finding for my own middle schooler, I started writing Literature Odyssey, a brand-new high school level literature series from Pandia Press Books.
The Literature Odyssey series is designed to strengthen your student’s abilities to read, analyze, and think critically about literature. Students are encouraged to engage with the texts in ways that develop them as independent and confident readers. Throughout the series, students will immerse themselves in the study of different types of literature from a range of diverse authors.
This complete literature curriculum, designed for students in grades 8-12, spans four years with an eight-book series. Students can opt to take the courses beginning in 9th grade as a high school literature curriculum, or students may choose to start in late middle school for advanced literature study.The initial four books are designed to build students' toolkit and develop strong analysis skills through an in-depth study of various literature genres. The last four books in the series consist of special topics that offer explorations of how literature intersects and illuminates social, cultural, and historical issues.
Throughout the courses, your student will:
Build useful reading and analysis skills
Students will learn how to be active readers that slow down and immerse themselves in a text as they develop annotation skills to increase their engagement and capacity to analyze. These skills are not only essential to literature and other areas of study but are also crucial for ensuring students can become critical readers of the world around them.
Examine literature with a critical lens
Rather than simply memorizing a list of terms, students will concentrate on developing a comprehensive understanding of specific literary terminology in each course. This knowledge will build throughout the series to prepare students to confidently approach whatever type of literature comes their way with a critical eye. They will learn to read like scholars and approach texts with a deeper appreciation for their complexity.
Demonstrate understanding through exploration
Students are provided different options for projects to demonstrate what they have learned while encouraging them to be creative and interact with the text in their own way. For students who enjoy writing, or want to build their skills, there are options for both traditional essays and more creative writing assignments. For students who prefer a more hands-on and artistic approach, there are projects that allow students to explore literature creatively.
Appreciate literature from a range of diverse voices
The stories, poems, plays, and novels included in the series represent and celebrate the diversity of voices in literature. Students will explore both the foundational works of classic authors and the innovative creativity of contemporary authors to gain an understanding of how literature has shaped and continues to shape our global culture.
Literature Odyssey: Short Stories, the first in the series, will be released in May of 2026. In this course, students will develop active reading and annotation skills through their exploration of a variety of short stories. Students will learn the elements of reading short stories, including the plot arc, conflict, characterization, setting, theme, and more. This course will be followed by Literature Odyssey: Poetry in July of 2026. Together, these two courses provide a full year of comprehensive literature curriculum.
