(Willard, MO) -- Team Edward or Team Jacob?
If you're not a Twilight fan then you probably have no idea what we're talking about.
The interesting thing about the Twilight series is that is has a very wide fan base spreading all the way from kids in elementary school, to adults of all ages.
KOLR10's Jessica Williams has more on how the books and movies' popularity is affecting 'student-teacher relationships.


If you've never read the Twilight series, the world of vampires, werewolves and mortals might sound a little far fetched and confusing.

But the series about a romance between a vampire and a human has also created a world only Twilight lovers can enter, and an unusual bond between them.

"I think it's the love-romance between the teens that drew my attention," says Willard sophomore Stephanie Richter.

Tracy Mauschbaugh teaches Special Education English in Willard.  She has a wall of devotion to the Twilight series in her classroom. But she credits it with more than just being an entertaining read. "We try to get kids in the classroom to talk about books and sometimes its like pulling teeth so when you find something like this that you genuinely share a passion for-- it's really fun to sit down and talk," she says.

Although teachers admit the series primarily appeals to girls,  a growing number of boys are also taking an interest.

"Vampire love stories aren't really our thing-- just this one," says Dalton Bagley and Travis McReynolds, both fans of the series.

And debating parts of it,  like which love interest Bella should choose,  Edward or Jacob.
"Jacob is better looking and Bella deserves someone who isn't ugly," says Bagley.
"Edward likes Bella for who she is-- not what she looks like," argues McReynolds.

This copy of New Moon has been checked out about sixty times so far and right now there are ten people on the waiting list to read it next.
"Anything that gets kids reading, anything that can turn a non reader, into a reader and maybe a reader for life," says Jill Wooldridge, a library media specialist at Willard.

Twilight has also encouraged kids to try more complex books. In the movie, Bella constantly reads the 19th century British novel Wuthering Heights.  Now that book is also frequently checked-out.

"These students would never have picked up Wuthering Heights or a Jane Austen novel and think this is good weekend reading, but now since a character they fell in love with reads it-- they're more interested in seeing what that's about," Mauschbaugh says.

Another thing many teachers and students now have in common.  They'll all be waiting in line to see the movie Friday night.

The Springfield-Greene County Library has 221 Twilight books, movies and audio cd's. So far this year, those items have been checked out nearly 2,600 times. Librarians and teachers say the Harry Potter series is the only thing that's really comparable.