Guest Post: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

Few writers would dare combine an uplifting coming-of-age story with sci-fi and horror themes, but Ray Bradbury does, and he does it very well, in Something Wicked This Way Comes. Students find the 14-year-old main characters, Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade, engaging and they are fascinated by the detailed descriptions of the villains—particularly the illustrated man whose tattoos change to foretell the future. This is a short novel suitable for middle school reading abilities. Teachers will find many curricular connections. Teachers working with the Holocaust or Slavery as subjects may be able to use Something Wicked This Way Comes as a way to help students understand how hope and love can survive in situations that seem hopeless and loveless. --Fred Lauf

Fred Lauf teaches ELA to high schoolers at Passages Academy’s Summit site in the Bronx. He’s been teaching at schools like Passages for 18 years and he still enjoys coming to work every day.