I know most people are focused on the movie than the book. But some movies are based on a story. If you want to get to the heart of where the author originally wanted to go, then read first, watch later. This goes for adults as well as shortcutting high school English students. The Golden Compass, as I stated in the last post, is an alternate Earth. Please keep that in mind. The world that Pullman has created is his own. It is not this world. But his worldview, how he believes and understands the universe, is the underpinnings of his created Earth in the book series. The book begins with the hero of the series, Lyra. She is 11. She is rambunctious and feisty. She gets involved in the play wars of the boys from around her. In fact, she is often the leader. She has been abandoned into the care of one of the colleges of Oxford. She is cared for by Scholars, priests, administrators, and servants of the college. Her parents, she is told, were killed early in her life. Her only relative is a...