<em>Tenderness</em> Grade Level Defense
This piece presents a detailed rationale for teaching Cormier's <em>Tenderness</em> at or above the sixth-grade level. The defense includes a summary of the novel, a biography of Cormier, teaching objectives, suggested teaching methods, potential essay questions, and suitable alternative books. The rationale for the book's value cites its potential to teach students about antisocial behavior and life's perils, of thinking critically about their own identity formation, and of the adolescent experience given "inadequate parenting".
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Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
AnnaMary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
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English
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"Sex, Serial Killers, And Suicide" <em>Brill's Content</em>
Kimberly Conniff's article situates Cormier's novel <em>Tenderness</em> in the changing landscape of teen fiction. She uses the adjectives "gritty, immediate, and brazenly hardcore" to describe Melvin Burgess's <em>Smack</em>, but they could just as easily pertain to Cormier's work. Conniff also points to works like <em>Tenderness</em> exceeding publishers' sales expectations. She calls the move towards the hardcore subject matter a ploy to bring in older teens to the young adult market and marks the prevalence of YA specific imprints at large publishing houses, YA reading lists on bookstore websites, and YA specific book prizes. Conniff makes a passing mention of the Columbine shooting as a point to reference to remind readers of how teenagers do face real problems that literature written for and about them should reflect if we are to be honest about our reality.
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<em>Brill's Content</em>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
September 1999
AnnaMary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
JPG, 8.5x11
English
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"The Tenderness" <em>The Sign</em>
This story recounts the efforts of thirteen-year-old Phillip as he tries to impress his piano teacher Sister Angela and win a spot in the orchestra for the Christmas recital.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Robert+Cormier">Robert Cormier</a>
<em>The Sign</em>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
December 1947
AnnaMary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
<a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/145" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">"St. Cecilia's and Me" St. Anthony's Messenger column 1177 Main St. USA</a><br /><a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/118" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">"The Price of Truth" The Sign</a>
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English
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"The Price of Truth" <em>The Sign</em>
This story in <em>The Sign</em> tells how 11-year-old Jerome takes up painting in an effort to impress his teacher, the nun Marie-Thérèse, whose later departure from the convent serves as the story's subplot. The story takes place in Frenchtown, the setting for several of Cormier's stories.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Robert+Cormier">Robert Cormier</a>
<em>The Sign</em>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
July 1963
AnnaMary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
<a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/145" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">"St. Cecilia's and Me" St. Anthony's Messenger column 1177 Main St. USA</a> <br /><a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/117" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">"The Tenderness" The Sign</a>
JPG, 8.5x11
English
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"St. Cecilia's and Me" <em>St. Anthony's Messenger</em> column 1177 Main St. USA
In this column, Cormier writes about the closing of his alma mater, St. Cecilia's. He talks of his memories of the school including the house fire he witnessed from his classroom, his crush on Sister Emile who taught music, the poem on spring he shared with Sister Catherine, and the corporal punishment and shame that was part of a Catholic school.
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Robert+Cormier">Robert Cormier</a>
<em>St. Anthony's Messenger</em>
Robert E. Cormier Collection at Fitchburg State University's Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library
May 1977
AnnaMary L. Consalvo
Katharine Covino
Elise Takehana
<a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/118" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">"The Price of Truth" The Sign</a><br /><a href="https://robertcormiertwistedintimacy.omeka.net/items/show/117">"The Tenderness" The Sign</a>
JPG, 8.5 x 11 magazine page
English
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