Stephenie Meyer

1. Stephenie Meyer Presented by; Erin O’Connor

2. Stephenie Meyer’s Biography • Born on December 24, 1973 in Hartford, Connecticut. • Grew up in Phoenix, Arizona • Attended Brigham Young University in Utah, where she received a bachelor’s degree in English in 1997 • Met her husband Christian, while she was growing up in Arizona, and married him in 1994 • Currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and three sons • Stay at home mom who began writing her books while meeting the demands of raising three young boys. • Named one of the most promising new authors of 2005 by Publishers Weekly • Four books on the New York Times number one best sellers list

3. Stephenie Meyer’s Major Works • Twilight • 7th to 12th grade • New Moon • 7th to 12th grade • Eclipse • 7th to 12th grade • Breaking Dawn • 7th to 12th grade

4. Themes of Meyer’s Books • Vampires • Romance • Star crossed love • Suspense

5. Influences for Meyer’s Work • Idea for Twilight from the author’s dream on June 2, 2003. • The dream was about a human girl and a vampire who was in love with her but also thirsted for her blood. • This dream became the basis for Chapter 13 of the book Twilight. • Each one of her book were inspired by a literary classic: • Twilight was inspired by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice; • New Moon by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet; • Eclipse by Emily Brontë'sWuthering Heights; and • Breaking Dawn's theme by Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

6. Strengths and Weaknesses • Strength • Fast-paced, wildly entertaining and intriguing plots • Great appeal for teenagers & young adults • Weakness • Stephen King compared Meyer to J. K. Rowling stating, "The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer, and Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn. She's not very good. People are attracted by the stories, by the pace.”

7. Reasons to Teach her Books • Vast popularity of stories will make students excited about their reading assignment instead of dreading it. • Literary Focus • Point of View • Prediction • Compare and Contrast with other literary themes • Social Studies/History • Native American legends

8. Twilight • Publisher: Little, Brown and Co. • Date: October 5, 2005 • Pages: 544 • Cost: $10.78 • ISPN: 0316160172 • Bella Swan moves to the small town of Forks, Washington where she meets the mysterious and the beautiful Edward Cullens. She falls instantly in love with him but she doesn’t know his dark secret. Edward is a vampire. For eighty years Edward abstained from human blood but no one’s blood has ever smelled as good as Bella’s.

9. Twilight Continued • Edward must find a way to keep Bella safe both from himself and from James. Bella must decide if her love for Edward is worth risking her own life and that of her friends and family. • Twilight started the career Stephenie Meyer and caused her to be named one of the most promising new writers of 2005. • Best features; • Fast paced and enthralling story line •  Story about first love • If you like this try … • New Moon by Stephenie Meyer • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows by J.K. Rowling • Mockingjayby Suzanne Collins

10. New Moon • Publisher: Little, Brown and Co. • Date: August 21, 2006 • Pages: 608 • Cost: $10.62 • ISPN: 0316160199 • After an accident at Bella’s birthday party the Cullens leave town and Edward abandons Bella. Now she is alone and doesn’t know how to go on with her life. Her only chance of getting her life back together is a boy named Jacob. But he has a secret of his own.

11. New Moon Continued • Bella must figure out how she can live her life on her own without Edward. Also, she must discover if she can love someone besides Edward. In this book, Bella goes through two developmental stages achieving emotional independence and achieving new and mature relations with age- mates. • This book continued Stephenie’s popularity as an author for teenage girls, spending 50 weeks on the New York times Best Sellers list. The best feature to this book is the fast pace and enthralling story line. I thought this book was largely an escapist novel but does ring true as far as the effects of depression on the person with depression, their friends and family. • If you like this… • Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer • Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer • Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

12. Eclipse • Publisher: Little, Brown and Co. • Date: August 7, 2007 • Pages: 640 • Cost: $10.54 • ISPN: 0316160202 • Edward returns back to Forks and into Bella’s life again. Bella is happy but Jacob does not like that he is no longer the most important person in her life. He hates that Bella has rekindled her relationship with Edward. Jacob is ready to do whatever it takes to win Bella back into his life. However, none of that may really matters because Victoria is back and she is determined to destroy both Bella and all the Cullens.

13. Eclipse Continued •  When Edward returns, he really wants to Bella to marry him. However, Bella cannot forget the close relationship she developed with the werewolf, Jacob. Bella has some very important decisions to make. She can marry Edward, become a vampire and leave her family and friends behind forever. Or Bella could leave Edward for Jacob and stay human and be able to still see her friends and family. • Eclipse continues the world wide obsession with the Twilight Sage spending 82 weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list. • Best Features; • Intense powerful storyline • High interest • If you like this… • Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer • Gossip Girl #1: A Novel by Cecily Von Ziegesar • Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

14. Online Resources • The Official Website of Stepenie Meyer (http://www.stepheniemeyer.com) • Provides personal information about Stephenie Meyer • Gives information about Ms Meyer’s personal opinions on her books, movies, and other available resources • Includes a wealth of information on what is new and upcoming in the Twilight Saga. • Teaching Twilight (http://teachingtwilight.wordpress.com/about/) • Provides a long list of possible lesson plans for using the Twilight books in a classroom • Includes lesson plans ranging in topics from music to Native American legends. • Twilight Lesson Plans (http://www.bookrags.com/content/lessonplans/?p=lp&u=twilight&f=intro) • Provides a wide variety of activities for teaching the Twilight books to students. • Includes worksheets, essay questions, character descriptions, and quizzes for all of the different Twilight books.

15. Online Resources Continued • Looking for the Byronic Hero Using Twilight's Edward Cullen (http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/looking-byronic-hero-using-1148.html) • Provides a lesson plan to teach students about Lord Byron’s Byronic Hero • Uses the Twilight character, Edward Cullen, as a means to help students understand that the Byronic hero is an idea that complicates the traditional understanding of hero and villain. • Vampires and Werewolves and Twilight - Lesson Plan for High School English (http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/27435.aspx) • Provides lesson plans for drawing in reluctant high school readers using the Twilight books. • Includes ideas and suggestions to bring boys into the books by providing thought provoking questions such as; “Is Edward Cullen a believable character?” • Study Guide: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (http://thebestnotes.com/booknotes/Twilight_Meyer/Twilight_Study_Guide09.html) • Provides summaries of each chapter along with details about the characters and setting • Includes analysis of the themes, author’s style, and a review of the symbolism in the different Twilight books.

16. Online Recourses Continued • Twilight Unit Study (http://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/2009/09/twilight-unit-study.html) • Provides ideas for home school parents to capitalize on their child’s Twilight obsession • Includes ideas for lessons on history, Native Americans, and classic literature • Twilight – Reconciling Edward Cullen’s Bank Statement (http://www.oscpa.com/docs/educator/LessonPlan-Twilight.pdf) • Provides a lesson plan for using Twilight to teach students • Includes a lesson plan to help Edward balance his bank account • Mock Interview with Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series (http://www.hsj.org/modules/lesson_plans/detail.cfm?LessonPlanId=437&menu_id=6&submenu_id=&module_id=2) • Provides a lesson plan where students have to prepare for an interview with Stephenie Meyer. • Point of View Twilight Lesson (http://thereadingzone.wordpress.com/2008/11/25/point-of-view-twilight-lesson/) • Provides a lesson plan for teaching point of view using the first chapter of Twilight and Midnight Sun

17. Audio Visual Resources • Twilight: The Movie • Classroom Resources; • Comparison between what is in the book and the movie • Discuss why the changes where made and if it enhanced the storyline • New Moon: The Movie • Classroom resources; • Comparison between the book and the movie • Discuss the visual effects, the sound track and the effect on the plot • Eclipse: The Movie • Classroom resources; • Predict what will happen in the latest movie and justify their opinion • View the movie and evaluate the predictions

18. Audio Visual Resources continued • Breaking Dawn Part 1: The Movie • This is the movie adaptation of the first half of the forth book Breaking Dawn. It can be used in the classroom by allowing students to make a comparison between the book and the movie. This movie must be viewed in theater as it was just released. • Twilight (Audio book edition) • This is an audio recording of the first book in the Twilight Saga, Twilight. This is a great resource for students who do not have the reading level read the Twilight books. • New Moon (Audio book edition) • This is an audio recording of the second book in the Twilight Saga, New Moon. This is a great resource for students who do not have the reading level read the Twilight books.

19. Audio Visual Resources Continued • Eclipse (Audio book edition) • A great resource for students who do not have the reading level required to read the Twilight books • Breaking Dawn (Audio book edition) • An audio book could provide the hook to get reluctant readers interested in the series • Twilight Soundtrack • Contains some of today’s most listened to Indie Rock favorites • Internet lesson plans available that review the song choices and how the music impacts the different scenes created by the director • Eclipse Soundtrack • Contains some of today’s most listened to Indie Rock favorites • Internet sites provide lesson plans and ideas for analyzing how the songs impact the different scenes and the storyline

20. Interview with Stephanie Meyer • This interview was given right before the release of the third book, Eclipse • http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m3DP0DQUERQU1A/ref=ent_fb_link