The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

((courtesy of amazon.com)
Title: The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Author: Neil Gaiman
Lexile: N/A
Genre: Popular, fantasy, historical fiction
Summary:
An unusual tale, a man at his father's funeral has a mind to visit his old home and a particular farm house just down the road from it. As he comes to the pond at the end of his road he is transported back in time to the events of this childhood, when he met a witch and a monster bent on entering this world. A beautifully written book that contemplates childhood's passing in a fantastical way!

Selling Tool:
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Photo credit: I Talk Cafe. Deep Sea Wallpaper. Retrieved 10/30/2017. http://italkcafe.com/data/the-deep-ocean-wallpapers.html

Activity:
This book is a fantasy, but wrapped in the fantasy is a meditation on childhood and what is lost when the child becomes an adult. Middle school students should be able to identify this central theme of the novel and identify specific examples from the novel that reinforce this central idea.

Learning Standard:
ALA Grade 7, Reading Standard: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.

Learning Goal:
Students will compose a short essay that identifies the theme of childhood and adulthood in juxtaposition through the book The Ocean at The End of the Lane.

Learning Objective:
(K) Students will identify and present central themes of The Ocean at The End of the Lane including the theme of transformation from child to adult.
(S) Students will create an essay that cites specific examples of the juxtaposition of childhood and adulthood in the story

Learning Outcome:
Students will understand how transformation in characters of fiction can be a central theme and plot device.