Week 9 - The Magic of Reality

Hello there!

The final book I read and would like to talk about, while not actually being a narrative story as such, is Richard Dawkins The Magic of Reality. This book was a gift given to me on my birthday and is a perfect example of literature that could be utilised in the classroom. The point of the book is to educate people on the magic of what surrounds us, focusing specifically on what is scientifically known and looking at its beauty. There is a certain possibility and poetry to the way science is presented in this story, giving explanations of facts unknown or clarifying folklore. A great example of this would be the discussion of how everything really began, looking at the galaxy and giving pictures to display the vastness of space. This leads onto various topics in the book, spanning from temperature that sustains life to the ever lingering question "Are we alone?". While these questions are never specifically answered, they are given explanation and to some degree are scientifically justified.

Through this aspect, Richard Dawkins allows the reader to feel as though their prior opinion doesn't matter anymore, giving way to this new lot of information and perspective. This is truly valuable since all of the literature in the book is completely true. The pictures also help to fill in the gaps of everything that might not be fully understood by the readers on some parts, and reinforces other aspects as well. Dave McKean is able to convey the type of topic that is being discussed, be it fantastical or fact, and create images that are specific to each part.
This book could be used in a classroom for a multitude of purposes. One of which would be reading out loud to the entire class with the structure of the story allows it to feel more natural and relaxed. This aspect is what would also make it beneficial for students to read by themselves, having it being a higher level of reading with more adult like pictures.

Thank you for reading my posts on literacy and I hope you've enjoyed reading about these books and learnt a thing or two about how to use them in a classroom.