Torchlight Constellation Series Level 6+

PLEASE NOTE: We want all families to make informed decisions on what is best for their learners at each learning stage, so please be aware this novel does deal with familial loss.

4-Week Study: The Last Cuentista features Mexican folklore and the art and importance of storytelling. Higuera meshes sci-fi futurism and history while asking significant moral questions about our responsibilities to humanity and culture and how decision-making power should be handled within civilizations.

4-Week Study: The Wee Free Men is a modern coming-of-age fairytale highly regarded for its imaginative storyline, authentic characters, and rich world-building. Terry Pratchett is known for skillfully writing parodies of the fantasy genre and employing satire to question our modern viewpoints and practices. When studying where folklore, fairy tales, and human psychology meet, it is only logical to look at our interaction with, and the effects of, these stories as we did in The Last Cuentista and experience them for ourselves. The Wee Free Men will be a part of that delightful experience. We will also look at a few writing craft tools along the way.

PLEASE NOTE: We want all families to make informed decisions on what is best for their learners at each learning stage, so please be aware this novel focuses on calling biblical myths and the dogma surrounding them into question for deep examination. Please be sure you are comfortable with this academic practice before purchasing.

The Golden Compass explores oppression in its many forms but specifically focuses on oppression through religious and political power structures. Within this study, we will be learning about a handful of biblical myths from a secular academic perspective and analyzing how they show up within the story. This novel also takes a critical look at the viewpoints and practices of theocracies and, in particular, the dogma within the Catholic Church that is tied to biblical myth. The His Dark Materials series (consisting of The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass) also posits an alternate idea for the existence of a god-like figure. The Golden Compass Constellation will be the first of three, one for each book. However, this first Constellation contains the study of the five biblical myths that are featured throughout the series and an extensive poetry analysis, allowing most families to be able to complete the three-book series with a solid foundation.

4-Week Study: Wildoak is an exemplary novel that shows us how every voice matters: that of humans, animals, and the natural world. But we don’t all express ourselves the same way, and we all need an advocate at some point. Maggie provides a rare look at the internal world of someone with a communication difference, stuttering. We are made fully aware of the common social misconceptions around this neurodivergence through Maggie’s experience. We also witness how being surrounded by love and care can heal the inner self. We get to see Maggie find her voice, stutter and all, by finding a purpose tied to her empathy. That purpose is speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves, animals, and the trees. The author does a phenomenal job with this neurodiversity representation.

Literary elements: This story has great pacing, language usage, command of literary devices, representation, a third-person omniscient narrator, and a theme of acceptance.

Historical & geographic connections: This book takes place during The Big Freeze of 1963 in Cornwall, England. It also explores Harrod’s Animal Kingdom and the effects of the sale of wild animals.