The Golden compass By Philip Pullman

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, ISBN 978-0-44-41832-0, Ages 13-18. Middle-class Europeans, gyptians, witches, bears.

In The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, Lyra Belacqua, is raised and educated by Oxford scholars, she leads a carefree and unconfined life. When her uncle, Lord Asriel, returns to Oxford from exploring in the North, he brings back word of strange events, mysterious Dust, and a photograph showing a city in the Aurora Borealis. His reports raise Lyra's curiosity and get her moving towards her fate. Children begin to go missing, stolen by mysterious unseen "Gobblers." Her friend Roger goes missing and this makes Lyra more curious. Lyra herself is taken away from Oxford to live with the attractive but cunning Mrs. Coulter. When Lyra and her daemon, Pantalaimon, discover that their new caretaker is herself behind the abductions of the missing children, they escape to the safety of the water-faring people, the gyptians. Lyra and Pantalaimon travel with the gyptians to the far North with the hope of rescuing the stolen children. She meets Iorek who becomes her friend and helps her. What they find in the frozen North are some things horrifying and some truly awesome discoveries. She reaches Lord Asriel offers him the alethiometer which he rejects and instead takes Roger. Finally she moves on to the world of dust.

This novel has the reader involved and wanting to find out what is going to happen next. It is set in a ‘universe similar to ours but different’ in several important aspects, one of those differences being that people have tangible souls in the form of animal-shaped "daemons." The Golden Compass, is a well crafted story filled with a new sense of morality, adventure and some annoying narrative flaws.

Philip Pullman builds characters that are strong and interesting in whatever they do or say. Lyra who is the protagonist, is an 11 year old likable and probably easier for young readers to identify with. She is fiery and a natural leader yet puts her own life at risk in order to save others. The adult characters were thoughtful and complex.

The plot of the story revolves around fantasy beings such as witches and armored polar bears. The ideas involve aspects such as physics, philosophy, theology and spirituality. The plot is thoroughly mind-blowing, inspiring, thought-provoking, and intriguing.

The language in The Golden Compass is toned down to a level of readability by a younger audience, although it involves intricate theme that may require guidance by an adult/teacher.

This is a book I would read with my students in class. Before any reading I would have them research on a few words, magisterium, daemon, alethiometer, to help understand the novel. Creating a graphic organizer of unfamiliar terms and characters may help students understand them better. If students read about characters or terms they have not yet seen in the novel that interests them, they may be more motivated to continue reading. Students could write a short essay describing what they think might happen next in the story. This activity could be used at any point in the story. This encourages creative writing and motivates students to continue reading because students want to know if their prediction came true.