Bibliographic Information
Author: S.E Hinton
Title: The Outsiders
Copyright: 1967
Publisher: Penguin Group
ISBN: 9780140385724
Summary: Fourteen year old Ponyboy is a Greaser, and all he was trying to do was go home after the movies. While he knows he is taking a big risk trying to walk home alone, that risk becomes a reality when the Socials jump him. He knows that he can count on his brothers and friends to have his back. One day the rivalry between the Greasers and Socials goes a little too far which creates an even bigger problem for Ponyboy and everyone else involved.
Critical Evaluation: The author does a great job of capturing the very real situation of gangs, which is still a factor in cities all around the United States. The characters are very well developed, and they have very detailed backgrounds. Writing the book in a young fashion complete with slang definitely helps readers connect with the characters. However the slang usage also tends to work against the story concerning the reader because the slang is very outdated. I did find the weird nicknames to be a little jarring and difficult to get used to. This would be an excellent book for boys since most of the characters are in fact boys. Also, Ponyboy narrates the story and sheds light on the thoughts, feelings, and difficult situations that teenagers went through at that time. The storyline never seemed to get dull because something was constantly happening.
Reader’s Annotation– When a situation with the Socials escalates quickly, will Ponyboy be able to make the right decision?
Author Information: Hinton, also known as Susan Eloise Hinton grew up in Tulsa Oklahoma. She always had a love for writing. Her earlier works were centered around cowboys, horses, and gun fighting. Growing up she wasn’t interested in the typical “girl meets boy” stories. So, while she was still in school, she wrote “The Outsiders” which was published in 1967, the book sold over four million copies in the US. After her success with her book, she obtained a degree from the University of Tulsa, where she met her husband.
Her second novel was “Rumble Fish”, following her next book “Tex”, and then “Taming the Star Runner”. A lot of her books were later on turned into movies. Susan, in 1988, received the Margaret Edwards Young Adult Author Achievement Award. Currently she is still living and writing in Tulsa Oklahoma.
https://www.famousauthors.org/s-e-hinton
Genre- Fiction
Curriculum Ties– English
Book Talk Ideas– Gangs; Violence
Interest Age/ Reading Level– Grades 9-12
Challenge Issues & Defense Preparation
Challenge Issues: Gangs; Violence
Selection Policy: http://ccclib.org/policies/CollectionDevelopmentAccess-1999-11-16.pdf
Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/content/intfreedom/librarybill/lbor.pdf
Right to Read: http://www2.ncte.org/statement/righttoreadguideline/
Rationale:
Bibliographic Information
Author: S.E Hinton
Title: The Outsiders
Copyright: 1967
Publisher: Penguin Group
ISBN: 9780140385724
Intended Audience: The intended audience is young adults specifically the upper grades of 9-12. This particular book would be beneficial for an English or social studies class. Primarily the book will be used for individual study in which every member of the class should read the book, and then afterwards there can be a group discussion of what transpired in the book as well as observations and thoughts concerning the book. “The Outsiders” can be utilized to start a discussion about gangs and violence.
Summary: Fourteen year old Ponyboy is a Greaser, and all he was trying to do was go home after the movies. While he knows he is taking a big risk trying to walk home alone, that risk becomes a reality when the Socials jump him. He knows that he can count on his brothers and friends to have his back. One day the rivalry between the Greasers and Socials goes a little too far which creates an even bigger problem for Ponyboy and everyone else involved.
Relationship to Program: The relationship of the book to school objectives would be helping 9th graders develop their literal and inferential understanding skills and comprehension skills. Through reading this book they would learn and develop the following skills: SLE #R. 9.9.2. Identify specific ways an author accomplishes purpose, including organization, narrative and persuasive techniques, style, literary forms or genre, portrayal of themes, tone and intended audiences; R.9.9.4 Recognize how works of a given period reflect author’s background, historical events, and cultural influences; and R.9.9.5 Draw inferences from a sentence or a paragraph (including conclusions, generalizations and predictions) and support them with text evidence. Concerning summary and generalization students will utilize R.9.9.8 Summarize and paraphrase structures in informational and literary texts, including relationships among concepts and details and R. 9.9.13 Identify and discuss a position using concepts gained from reading (e.g. debate, discussion, position paper, etc.). Concerning analysis and evaluation students will utilize R. 9.9.11 Recognize and define various points of view (e.g., omniscient narrator, third person limited).
http://www.fayar.net/edvision/language/09_reading_0405.pdf
Impact: I think this would be a great book for the teens to read. This book demonstrates the not so glamourous parts of being in a gang. Also, it highlights the situations gang members may sometimes find themselves in as a result of participating in gang activity. By reading this book, teens may think twice about joining a gang or gang life in general.
Why Included- This book contains realistic information and situations that are still relevant to gangs to this day. It allows the teens to see the family side of being in a gang as well as the violence. Realistic situations concerning gangs are discussed.
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