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Hunger Games approved for school reading

Not the first violent book to make it onto class reading lists, say trustees
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The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, has been approved by the Langley Board of Education for classroom reading.

The hugely popular book The Hunger Games will become part of Langley schools’ reading material.

At the June 12 board of education meeting, trustees approved the famed trilogy as appropriate reading for Gr. 8s through to 12s.

“I contacted the president of libraries and she felt it was appropriate,” said new superintendent Suzanne Hoffman.

“It is about violence but the positive reviews outweigh the negative. I’ve read it and I thought it was fabulous.”

Trustee Rob McFarlane said he was a little surprised such a violent book would end up as potential curriculum for youth.

Trustee Megan Dykeman said this isn’t the first darker-themed book to reach students’ desks, pointing to The Lottery, which The Hunger Games “morphed” from, she said.

Hunger Games is based in the future, when the U.S. as we know it is gone and replaced by a wealthy city called the Capital that rules over 12 poor districts.

To maintain order and fear, the Capital holds an annual lottery in which one boy and one girl from each district is chosen to compete in a fight-to-the-death survival type game that is televised for all to see.

The book does describe violent teen-on-teen attacks and murders but beyond that has some valuable messages about courage and integrity as well.

There was no opposition from the board to approve the title.

Many other books with darker or violent themes have made it into English class curriculum including  The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton’s gritty novel about the violent culture clash between Greasers and Soc’s, and Lord of the Flies, by William Golding.

The Hunger Games trilogy has been a huge hit with teens, followed by the movie. Since the outbreak of Harry Potter hysteria, reading books has come back in style for many youth.

Still, improving literacy, especially among boys, is a major focus of the Langley School District.

The district’s achievement contract showed that more than one-quarter of Grade 10 students are not reading at their appropriate level and that there is a difference between the sexes. Reading achievement favours females over males by 20 per cent.



Monique Tamminga

About the Author: Monique Tamminga

Monique brings 20 years of award-winning journalism experience to the role of editor at the Penticton Western News. Of those years, 17 were spent working as a senior reporter and acting editor with the Langley Advance Times.
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