National Endowment for the Arts

Carson McCullers was all of twenty-three when she published her first novel, "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter." She became an overnight literary sensation, and soon such authors as Tennessee Williams were calling her "the greatest prose writer that the South [has] produced." "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" tells an unforgettable tale of moral isolation in a small southern mill town in the 1930s.

The Age of Innocence is the haunting story of the struggle between love and duty in Gilded Age New York told through the eyes of Newland Archer and his betrothed, May Welland. A young lawyer on the rise, Newland Archer needs only a society wife to solidify his position, but finds himself torn after he meets and falls deeply in love with May's disgraced cousin, the Countess Olenska. Edith Wharton's twelfth novel, following classics like The House of...

Discusses the themes and characters in Anaya's novel and includes excerpts from the book and background information on the author.

Includes interviews, commentaries and excerpts from the novel, providing first-hand accounts of why The Grapes of Wrath remains so compelling seven decades after its initial publication. Teacher's guide contains ten lessons, each with a focus topic, discussion activities, writing exercises, and homework assignments. Also includes capstone projects, suggested essay topics, handouts with more background information, and bibliographical references. Lessons...

Interviews, commentaries, and excerpts from Amy Tan's first novel, The Joy Luck Club. Accompanying teacher's guide includes ten lesson plans, each with focus topic, discussion activities, writing exercises, and homework assignments Also includes capstone projects, suggested essay topics, handouts with more background information about the novel, and bibliographical references. Lessons dovetail with state language arts standards required for fiction....

Uncle Elephant comes to the rescue when his nephew's parents are lost at sea and cares for him until they are found again.

Jay Gatsby had once loved beautiful, spoiled Daisy Buchanan, then lost her to a rich boy. Now, mysteriously wealthy, he is ready to risk everything to woo her back. This is the definitive, textually accurate edition of a classic of twentieth-century literature, The Great Gatsby. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan has been acclaimed by generations of readers. But the first edition contained...