Why Are Children and Young Adults So Attracted To Reading Fantasy?

Rosemary Chance states in her book, Young Adult Literature In Action: A Librarian’s Guide that “In fantastic fiction, imagination rules. In any fiction authors use their imagination to create characters and events and to describe settings. Imagination is at the core of writing. In fantastic fiction, the author has the freedom to take bold leaps into the bizarre, the strange, and the otherworldly. Imagination is unleashed to entertain and to mesmerize readers. Classic novels have taught readers to embrace the unusual, to savor oddity, and to want to read more.” Great authors of fantastic fiction have children and young adult fans that love their work and genre for these reasons that Chance speaks of. 

References:
Chance, R. (2008). Young Adult Literature in Action: A Librarian’s Guide. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

The Importance of Evaluating Information Books & Historical Fiction Books

While reading through the Rosemary Chance textbook, Young Adult Literature in Action: A Librarian’s Guide I found many great suggestions for information and historical fiction books.  The two main criteria suggested for selecting and evaluating these types of books included using standard selection tools for reviews and staying current with the award winning books. I agree with Chance about using these two main criteria for evaluation. I also think that young adults should also be part of the evaluation process. Many times libraries get boxes of books for “review” before they are purchased. These books would be excellent for avid student readers to review and suggest or not suggest for the library collection.

The importance of evaluating information and historical fiction books is huge. It is pertinent that the library collection have current valid resources available for its patrons. The informational and/or historical facts should be accurate, age appropriate, up-to-date, and inviting for young adults.

Chance also includes in her textbook the following criteria for informational book evaluation that is used for selecting the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award:

1.       “Excellent, engaging, and distinctive use of language”

2.       “Excellent, engaging, and distinctive visual presentation”

3.       “Appropriate organization and documentation”

4.       “Clear, accurate, and stimulating presentation of facts, concepts, and ideas”

5.       “Visual material and book design”

6.       “Appropriate style of presentation for subject and intended audience”

7.       “Supportive features (index, table of contents, maps, timelines, etc.)

8.       “Respectful and of interest to children”

(Chance, 2008)

In addition, Chance includes the following attributes for evaluating cultural books that can be found in historical fiction:

1.       “Excellence in writing”

2.       “Avoidance of stereotypes”

3.       “Accurate information”

4.       “Respect for the culture”

5.       “Favorable reviews and / or award winners”

(Chance, 2008)

References:

Chance, R. (2008). Young Adult Literature in Action: A Librarian’s Guide. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Using Historical Fiction and Informational Books Together to Teach History

I have found in my teaching that anytime you can connect multiple subjects together to teach about a concept or topic student learning thrives. For example, if students are reading a historical fiction book in their reading class about the Holocaust such as The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak and reading informational books about the Holocaust in their history class they are able to make valuable learning connections. Using historical fiction and informational books together to teach history is a great idea. When researching this topic I found a wonderful lesson example of this on the Scholastic Teachers website. The URL is http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/lessonplans/instructor/social1.htm. Tarry Lindquist, the author of this lesson offers great resources, ideas, and information about this topic. They are as follows:

Seven Reasons I Teach with Historical Fiction

Tips for Choosing Good Historical Fiction

Fifteen Fabulous New Historical Fiction Books

Is Pocahontas Real? Discovering Where History Stops and the Story Starts

References:

Lindquist, T. (2011). Why and how / teach with historical fiction. Retrieved June 27, 2011, from Scholastic’s website: http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/lessonplans/instructor/social1.htm

10 Top Challenged Books of 2010

The magazine of the American Library Association entitled, American Libraries recently published an article about the top ten challenged books of 2010. The following is a list of books and the reasons given for why they were challenged from the article:

“1. "And Tango Makes Three" by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson

            Reasons: Homosexuality, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group

2. "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie

            Reasons: Offensive language, Racism, Sex Education, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group, Violence

3. "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

            Reasons: Insensitivity, Offensive Language, Racism, Sexually Explicit

4. "Crank" by Ellen Hopkins

            Reasons: Drugs, Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit

5. "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

            Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group, Violence

6. "Lush" by Natasha Friend

            Reasons: Drugs, Offensive Language, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

7. "What My Mother Doesn’t Know" by Sonya Sones

            Reasons: Sexism, Sexually Explicit, Unsuited to Age Group

8. "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

            Reasons: Drugs, Inaccurate, Offensive Language, Political Viewpoint,    Religious Viewpoint

9. "Revolutionary Voices" edited by Amy Sonnie

            Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit

10. "Twilight" by  Stephenie Meyer

            Reasons: Religious Viewpoint, Violence” (American Libraries Magazine, 2011)

Out of curiosity I went to the library and checked-out And Tango Makes Three. I read it and looked through the illustrations. I could see the challengers’ point of view about homosexuality and unsuited to age group. I myself would not read this book to my child because I feel that an enormous line of questions would come from the book that would link to discussions about topics that he is not old enough to understand or discuss. However, I would not challenge this book. I would merely not check it out for my child.

As far as why books are on the list and why they are removed I would assume that it is based on the number of challenges a specific book receives each year. However, I have not found any documentation that states why a book is removed from the list. Rather, the information I have found covers why they are on the list and challenged.

I also wanted to share what the American Library Association has to say about the difference between a challenged book and a banned book. I think it is important to clarify the difference to students.

“About Banned & Challenged Books

What's the difference between a challenge and a banning?

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group.  A banning is the removal of those materials.  Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others.  Due to the commitment of librarians, teachers, parents, students and other concerned citizens, most challenges are unsuccessful and most materials are retained in the school curriculum or library collection.” (American Library Association, 2011)

References

American Library Association. (2011). About banned and challenged books. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/aboutbannedbooks/index.cfm

American Library Magazine. (2011, April 11). And Tango makes three waddles its way back to the number one slot as America’s most frequently challenged book. Retrieved from http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/news/ala/and-tango-makes-   three-waddles-its-way-back-number-one-slot-america-s-most-frequently-challe

Controversial Books: What Makes Them Controversial?

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The American Library Association states that controversial books that are challenged are often done so “... to protect children from “inappropriate” sexual content or “offensive” language. The following were the top three reasons cited for challenging materials as reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom:

1. the material was considered to be "sexually explicit"
2. the material contained "offensive language"
3. the materials was "unsuited to any age group" ” (ALA, 2011)

The American Library Association also states that “...according to the Challenges by Initiator, Institution, Type, and Year, parents challenge materials more often than any other group.” (ALA, 2011) I found the link above very interesting in regards to this topic. I hope that you will take the time to visit the link “Challenges by Initiator, Institution, Type, and Year.” The American Library Association has done a phenomenal job at keeping records on this subject.

In my opinion, we live in a world of great division. Many ideas, beliefs, and customs are shared, agreed upon, challenged, revised, disagreed upon, and ever changing. Although challenges are often done with good intentions by the challenger the rights of all individuals must be considered and protected.

References:

American Library Association. (2011). Number of challenges by year, reason, initiator & institution. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengesbytype/index.cfm

 American Library Association. (2011). About banned & challenged books. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/aboutbannedbooks/index.cfm

 

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Young Adult Articles: Teen Psychology & Promotion of Reading

“Teens’ Love-Hate Relationship With Reading”

Maggie Smith / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

     “Teens’ Love-Hate Relationship With Reading” was a great article done by the School Library Journal in relation to teen psychology and the interest that they have. This article related strongly to the psychological aspect of teens desire for choice and belonging. This article discussed The Delaware Summer Reading Initiative two year project that was started in 2008. Teachers created a summer reading website alongside teens. The teens selected book titles and wrote annotations. Later a survey was completed to measure students’ reading interest and behaviors. The results found that students were 4.2 times more likely to read because the website created an interest in books for them. Also, 90% of the students liked the website. Reasons given why teens liked to read: they liked the right to choose what books to read, others felt that with a book they could escape and/or go places, and some read to gain new knowledge. I found this article to be supportive of other research that has been conducted supporting that teens need to feel and be a part of things if we want them to have interest in it.

“Comics Are Key to Promoting Literacy in Boys, Study Says”

     “Comics Are Key to Promoting Literacy in Boys, Study Says” was another young adult article that I found by the School Library Journal that discusses the promotion of reading. The Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) found that what researchers have said is true. Girls are more interested in reading than boys. That interest is due to library material availability. Materials that interest boys are less represented in school library collections. A Paris based organization, the Organization for Economic Development and Co-operation (OECD) states that the most popular reading choice for boys after newspapers and magazines is comics. The CCL has found that comics and graphic novels peak the interest in males that can promote and improve their literacy skills. Comics are real teaching and learning materials that can develop many of the same literacy skills as books. Students can follow a series of events, track up/down, or left/right to follow the narrative and decipher symbols and what will happen next. I was glad to find this article due to the recent controversy I heard in regards to graphic novels being new. Peanuts (and Charlie Brown) by Charles Schulz were just as much a graphic novel in the 1950’s as they are today. Granted the subject matter and content may be somewhat different but that is true for all materials. The difference is what creates a well rounded library collection. It is imperative to promote and provide adequate reading materials for boys and girls. 

     I found both of these articles to be helpful. The first article has encouraged me to include young adults in the selection of materials for the library media center and in the development of programs and planning of events when applicable. The second article confirms the need to have a well rounded library collection for both boys and girls. All different types of library materials need to be available for students. In particular, graphic novels should be part of the library media center's collection. 

References: 
School Library Journal. (2010, November 1). Teens’ love-hate relationship with reading. Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/articlereview/887424-451/teens_love-hate_relationships_with_reading.html.csp 

School Library Journal. (2010, July 23). Comics are key to promoting literacy in boys, study says. Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/newsletters/newsletterbucketextrah elping/886042-443/comics_are_key_to_promoting.html.csp

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"Requirements for Healthy Development of Adolescent Youth" Article

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The article entitled "Requirements for Healthy Development of Adolescent Youth" written by Gisela Konopka in 1973, was written and viewed as a foundation for national policy. It defines adolescence as beginning at age 12 and ending possibly at age 22.

The following adolescent ranges were given:
12-15 early adolescence
15-18 middle adolescence
18-22 possible late adolescence

Since the premise for this blog is the discussion of young adult literature, I think it is important to include that in contrast Michael Cart wrote an article in January of 2008 for YALSA stating that in the 1990's young adults could be classified by age as young as 10 years and as old as 25 years. It is easy to see that the boundaries for young adult age classification have changed over the years and possibly varies in opinion according to the research and studies conducted.

Konopka lists in her article key concepts of adolescence. They are as follows:
"Experience of physical sexual maturity."
"Experience of withdrawal of and from adult benevolent protection."
"Consciousness of self in interaction."
"Re-evaluation of values."
"Experimentation."

Konopka also includes qualities of adolescence. They are as follows:
"...Audacity and Insecurity"
"...Loneliness and Psychological Vulnerability..."
"...Mood Swings..."
"...Peer Group Need"
"...Argumentative and Emotional..."

Konopka says in her article, "Those working and living with youth can foster healthy value formation by encouraging open discussion and refraining from trying to superimpose their values upon them." I have found this particularly true with my experiences with young adults. They want to be heard not merely talked to. They want to feel a part not be a part that is being controlled.

Konopka contrasts the two sides of healthy developments in adolescent youth. She discusses the conditions for normal development and then discusses the obstacles to it. I found this part of the article to be interesting. In my opinion, often these obstacles can be some of the most detrimental to the development of a young adult.

The following are the obstacles that Konopka discusses:
"Violation of Adolescents' Self-Respect by Adult World"
"Society's View of Adolescence as Preparatory"
"Prolonged Economic Dependence of Youth"
"Limited Outlet for Experimentation by Youth"
"Popular Acceptance of the Generation Gap Concept"
"Influences That Encourage Adolescent Egocentricity"
"Lack of Opportunity for Moral Development"
"Society's Confusion About Sex"
"Society's Belief That Family is the Only Place for Youth"
"Dominance of Youth Organizations by Adults"
"Denial of Equal Participation to Youth"
"Uneven Laws Pertaining to Youth"

Since the 1970's several of these obstacles I feel have improved for young adults. Adolescents are now being asked to participate in the planning and creation of things as well as having a voice today more than ever before. However, I feel society still has the same values and opinions today as in the 70's for some of these obstacles.

I found this article to be enlightening. I think the point that Konopka makes about encouraging adolescents and helping to build their self-confidence is key when working with them. As an educator, I am much better off having read this article.

References:

Cart, M. (2008, January). The value of young adult literature. Retrieved May 29, 2011, from Young Adult Library Services Association website: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/profdev/whitepapers/yalit.cfm

Konopka, G. (1973). Requirements for healthy development of adolescent youth. Adolescence, 8(31), 1-26. Retrieved from http://www1.cyfernet.org/prog/teen/konopka.html


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