Insights From Thomas C. Foster's How to Read Literature Like a Professor for Kids

"A book is like a pumpkin. It's as simple as that. It's very simple. But inside it's complicated-there are seeds and strings and guts. If you're making a jack-o-lantern, you clean all that stuff out, you carve a face, and you put a candle inside and it glows. If you know how to read deeply, you can open up a book and find a glowing center, the writer's main thoughts and ideas."

Thomas C. Foster attempts to impart his literary expertise to young readers in "How to Read Literature Like a Professor for Kids". Foster, an English professor, is on a mission to move children from passive reading to a more engaged, analytical approach. He wants to arm the next generation with the tools to crack the codes of literature, unpack metaphors, grasp symbols, identify patterns, spot allusions, and activate their knowledge to construct deeper meaning from texts.

Foster playfully introduces concepts and techniques used even at the highest academic levels. While his peer audience is fellow seasoned scholars, Foster adapts this content for young students. He uses familiar children's stories like Charlotte's Web and Harry Potter to illustrate his lessons. With enthusiasm and wit, Foster blows the dust off stuffy academic jargon. He makes potentially intimidating ideas like intertextuality and semiotics child friendly. Foster's excitement about literature is transmittable. He convinces young readers they are entirely capable of "reading like a professor".

Looking for Patterns

A primary technique Foster encourages is looking for patterns. He advises children to notice when authors use recurring images, motifs, character types, quests, journeys and other repetitive elements. We see patterns across works because, as people, writers are drawn to the same essential dramas, relationships, and themes. When young readers recognize patterns, it tunes them into timeless, universal stories the human experience keeps retelling. For instance, the hero's journey pattern traced by Joseph Campbell appears in tales from Beowulf to Star Wars.

Examples in children's literature abound as well. In A Wrinkle in Time, Meg undertakes a quest to rescue her father. Harry Potter follows the familiar progression of "the chosen one" stories. Reclusive main characters who gradually come out of their shell, like Meg Murray or August Pullman in Wonder, are also a recognizable pattern. We derive pleasure as readers from diving into new manifestations of classic narratives.

Mastering Allusions

Foster devotes significant attention to allusions. An allusion is when an author references another well-known work, event, place etc. indirectly. Biblical and mythological allusions populate literature most densely. Dr. Seuss alludes to Genesis in Horton Hears a Who. Disney's Hercules capitalizes on familiarity with the heroic Greek demigod. References don't need to be ancient however. J.K. Rowling alludes to recent history in naming Harry Potter's evil nemeses, the Death Eaters, after groups serving Nazi Germany.

But for an allusion to land, readers must recognize it. Foster provides tips to build children's knowledge so allusions connect. Keeping reference guides on hand or displaying visual aids are handy tricks. Foster also recommends having kids research allusions' original context to fully grasp them. When August Pullman calls himself "Schrödinger's Cat" in Wonder, understanding the quantum physics thought experiment that term originates from lets us appreciate Pullman's mixed feelings of isolation. Allusions ultimately enrich texts and add layers.

Importance of Motifs

While patterns appear across literature, a motif is a recurring element within one particular work. Foster defines motifs as "a word, phrase, image, or idea that repeats throughout a book or story." Motifs serve to emphasize certain ideas and tie different plot events together through repetition.

For instance, references to fins and swimming in Charlotte's Web underscore Wilbur's porcine nature that sends him to slaughter, until Charlotte's web alters his fate. The repeated phrase "Lord of the Flies" and recurring animal imagery of flies, pigs, and beasts in William Golding's novel reinforce the themes of savagery and chaos. Motifs can also take subtler forms like recurring colors, plants, food, objects etc. Encouraging children to track motifs pushes them to connect deeper dots in texts.

First and Last Chapters

Foster calls special attention to beginnings and endings in books. Writers tend to put a lot of thought into how they introduce and wrap up their works. For that reason, Foster advises close consideration of chapters at both extremes. First chapters often offer telling previews or snapshots of what's ahead, almost like mini summaries. For example, Harry's miserable time with the Dursleys that opens Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone exposes his poor treatment that sets up the plot.

Final chapters frequently try to impart some wisdom or revelation as the reader departs the story's world. Meg's realization that her faults make her stronger and parents are not infallible beings highlights big ideas at the end of A Wrinkle in Time. Examining how authors choose to start and end books provides enlightening clues into their core purpose.

Symbolic Significance

Symbolism is a fixture of literature that Foster prepares kids to navigate. Symbols represent abstract concepts through concrete images, objects, actions, etc. Interpreting them allows readers to perceive deeper meanings. Foster calls out common categories of symbols for children to watch for. Weather is frequently symbolic like rain signifying life or rebirth. Seasons also symbolize life cycles, with spring representing new beginnings. Color symbolism associates red with passion or black with death. Animal symbolism likewise evokes characteristics we link to them, like owls representing wisdom.

Even death and violence often carry symbolic implications beyond their literal plot meanings. Figuring out what gloomy weather or a character death could signify pushes young readers to make analytic interpretations, an aim Foster works hard to instill.

Active Reading Approach

Through all the literary devices and analysis Foster introduces, he ultimately wants to activate children's minds as they read. Passively absorbing words on a page misses all the nuance and richness texts contain. Foster equates passive reading to skipping past the guts and strings inside a pumpkin to simply carve a face on the exterior. But probing the work, questioning, interpreting symbols, and connecting the dots allows a reader to illuminate the inner “glowing center” where the real art lies.

Foster offers children the mindsets and tools to flip on that light. He empowers them to read attentively, make predictions, notice patterns and anomalies, activate prior knowledge, research for insight, and synthesize details to build interpretations. With Foster as their guide, young readers can feel up to the challenge of analyzing literature with energy and delight, not intimidation. They can both appreciate the glory of glowing pumpkins and understand how to illuminate them by reading deeply.

The Role of Memory

Foster emphasizes how a reader's prior knowledge and past reading experiences open up deeper meaning in texts. Our individual memory shapes what we discern and how we interpret. He points out that every literary work “tells two stories: its own story and the story of all the works to which it refers.” Recognizing those referenced works through allusions and patterns relies on our memory.

For instance, slipping references and motifs from Dante's Inferno into a current book expects readers to recall Dante's hell to fully appreciate their repurposing. Intertextuality means literature is interconnected through borrowing and remixing. Foster reassures young readers not to feel frustrated when they miss an allusion. He encourages kids to identify where their memory gaps exist though so they can fill them in. Parents and teachers can provide useful guidance around enriching background knowledge.

Surprising Themes and Content

Foster prepares children for mature content in literature like violence, sex, and death. These heavy elements appear across children's stories, fairy tales, and beyond. Foster notes they demand thought, not censorship. Dark themes get employed to explore human struggles. Villains represent real evil in the world. Violence often carries symbolic importance. Death reminds us to cherish mortal life. 

Rather than shield kids, Foster argues teachers and parents should thoughtfully discuss these tricky topics. Children must learn to responsibly handle difficult content. Having an informed guide like Foster helps kids process violence or sexuality when it emerges, rather than reactively reject it. Examining our discomfort around taboos teaches media literacy too. In general, Foster takes a nuanced approach that equips children to understand adult themes and ideas.

Literary Time Periods and Movements

Foster emphasizes how experiencing key literary time frames and movements through examples assists kids’ comprehension. Context matters. The prevailing philosophies, events, and values of historical periods influenced writers which appear in their work. Knowing Victor Hugo penned Les Miserables after the French Revolution offers insights that deepen its meaning.

Foster recommends introducing children to major literary movements like Romanticism, Transcendentalism, Naturalism, and Realism that arose in certain eras. When kids grasp the core ideas behind Realism for instance, they understand why characters from 19th century Realist novels often grapple with society’s ills. While digging deeply into periods may suit older students, Foster says fostering some awareness of context children can build on pays off in their analysis.

Building Interpretation

At its heart, Foster wants to equip children with strategies to independently interpret literature. He says meaning arises through the encounter between a work and its reader. The text presents signals, patterns, gaps, and uncertainties. The reader perceives these details through their own lens and constructs an interpretation using imagination and reasoning.

Foster offers kids tools that empower them to interpret like noticing repetitions, decoding symbols, making predictions etc. But the reader holds the responsibility to actively analyze and arbitrate among possibilities. Uncertainty is part of the journey. There is no foolproof formula to quickly derive embedded meaning. Instead, Foster encourages kids to embrace the open-ended, thought-provoking process of interpretation.

The Author's Life and Intent

Biographical background about an author often provides insight into their work. Foster invites children to research authors’ lives at times to aid analysis. Writers inevitably share parts of themselves and their circumstances through their stories. For example, knowledge of Lewis Carroll’s relationships with young children sheds light on his children’s stories. Factual details help kids separate authors from narrators too. When characters express views that differ from the author’s own, distinguishing between them prevents false assumptions.

Foster does warn not to oversimplify stories as direct autobiography. But reasonable biographical connections enrich understanding. Foster cites the example of losing his father at a young age helping him identify with themes of parental loss in various books. By and large, he supports biographical context in moderation as one more tool for unlocking meaning.

Social/Cultural Context

In addition to biographical and literary time period context, Foster invites young readers to examine works’ broader social and cultural context. Fiction emerges from writers’ surrounding society. The climate of ideas, norms, injustices and events in a culture influence what authors create. For instance, Allen Say’s tale of immigrant displacement in Grandfather's Journey mirrors his own family’s experience. Foster advises kids to ask themselves “What was happening in the world when the author wrote this book?” as they analyze.

Literature also interacts dynamically with culture, reflecting and shaping it. Stories mirror society’s values but also change hearts and minds. Foster wants children to explore these interconnections. He asserts that context opens up the full meaning and impact of books.

Encouraging Discussion

Reading itself tends to be a solitary activity. But Foster emphasizes that discussing reading is vital. He reminds kids that even the most renowned English scholars bounce ideas off colleagues. Hashing out interpretations loud with others sharpens thinking and exposes blind spots. Debate and disagreement force self-reevaluation.

Parents and teachers should actively promote discussion around books with children. Foster suggests book clubs, literature circles, parent-child conversations, analyzing as a class, and more. With their guidance, kids can conduct discussions that go off aside the book but still stay productive. The insights that emerge through thoughtful discourse complement the insights a child gathers independently. Talking builds community too. Foster aims to turn children into self-motivated literature fans who also never outgrow enthusiasm for sharing books with others.

The Next Generation of Deep Readers

Thomas Foster's book equips and encourages children to embrace literature’s richness. He demystifies dense concepts from the academy like intertextuality, semiotics, and hermeneutics using simple language and relatable examples. While leading young readers to advanced inference skills, Foster nurtures intrinsic motivation by conveying that literature overflows with mind-expanding insights worth digging for. Open-ended interpretation unlocks self-discovery.

Parents and teachers can continue fostering habits and knowledge that build analytical stamina. But by instilling the initial curiosity, perseverance, and tools needed to read deeply, Foster cultivates a lifetime love of literature's magic glow. His efforts to transform children into young scholars remind us that penetrating the levels of a book lights up critical and creative minds regardless of age. Foster aims to nurture a generation of confident, reflective readers ready to explore the auspicious journey into every book’s center. What future wisdom, delight, and glowing pumpkins await them? Let the reading commence.