Every once in awhile you have the opportunity to contribute to a great project. When I was first introduced to the YA research Committee, Jeff Kaplan was one of the very first people to welcome me. I felt his genuine concern for my projects and he has never failed to support my efforts along the way. Shortly after, Judy Hayn welcomed me while she was chairing the CEE Commission on the study and teaching of Young Adult Literature. Together, with Karina Clemmons they have put together a second edition of Teaching Young Adult Literature Today: Insights, Considerations, and Perspectives for the Classroom Teacher. The book was well received the first time around and the new edition is more than just a reworking of the first. It has new chapters and insights that will help us navigate a new decade of research into the teaching of young adult literature. If you love YA and want more help considering the variety of ways it can be introduced into the classroom, this book is a must have addition to your shelf. Who knows, it might help you frame a chapter for the 3rd edition in a few years. Below Jeff and Judy provide and overview of the book.
When Judy Hayn and I, Jeff Kaplan, were first asked to submit a second edition of Teaching Young Adult Literature Today: Insights, Considerations, and Perspectives for the Classroom Teacher (Rowman and Littlefield, 2016), we were thrilled that this book was being used in enough college adolescent literature courses to warrant a re-examination and re-issue. Adding a third editor, Karina Clemmons, we then asked previous authors for their interest in contributing a new chapter to this second installment. To our surprise, everyone agreed. We were off and running.
We have long believed – as educators, as readers, and as lover of good books for kids – in the validity of young adult literature as a force for good, but also as a vital and vibrant power in changing teen lives, literacy and learning. Today, with our political establishment more bent than ever on destroying every social norm that we believe to be just and right, the time is now to introduce books that deal with issues of social justice – and to discuss them with growing and impressionable adolescent minds.
For today – the efficacy and popularity of young adult/adolescent literature is apparent – in the emerging teen read sections in bookstores; the expansion of young adult libraries; the growing of number of websites and blogs devoted to the discussion and review of young adult literature; to the proliferation of adolescent literature – in television shows, movies, and streaming online platforms – in social media.
Thus, the purpose of this welcoming second edition – is to review, recognize and reimagine this genre – young adult literature, in all its variations – so no matter its name, books for teens become part and parcel of the lexicon of what matters most for helping young people understand and become part of the 21st century
We have long believed – as educators, as readers, and as lover of good books for kids – in the validity of young adult literature as a force for good, but also as a vital and vibrant power in changing teen lives, literacy and learning. Today, with our political establishment more bent than ever on destroying every social norm that we believe to be just and right, the time is now to introduce books that deal with issues of social justice – and to discuss them with growing and impressionable adolescent minds.
For today – the efficacy and popularity of young adult/adolescent literature is apparent – in the emerging teen read sections in bookstores; the expansion of young adult libraries; the growing of number of websites and blogs devoted to the discussion and review of young adult literature; to the proliferation of adolescent literature – in television shows, movies, and streaming online platforms – in social media.
Thus, the purpose of this welcoming second edition – is to review, recognize and reimagine this genre – young adult literature, in all its variations – so no matter its name, books for teens become part and parcel of the lexicon of what matters most for helping young people understand and become part of the 21st century
Section One – Where Has Young Adult Literature Been?
| Section one begins with Judith Hayn and Jay Cobern’s “Young Adult Literature: Defining the Role of Research,” an examination of the empirical research that cites adolescent literature and research as the framework for study. Hayn and Cobern analyze scholarly research published in the last five years. This is followed by Jeffrey Kaplan and Elsie Olan’s “Young Adult Literature and Today’s Reader: The Many Faces, Changes and Challenges for Teachers and Researchers in the Twenty-First Century,” update of where we are in the study of young adult literature – a review of current, popular genres (contemporary realism, fantasy, dystopian/utopian) – and applaudes of many new and groundbreaking genres (graphic novels, LGBQT, and audio books). Section one concludes with Susan E. Elliott-Johns’ “Literacy Teacher Education and the Teaching of Young Adult Literature: Perspectives on Research and Implications for Practice,” focusing particularly on current academic research in regards to classroom, teacher and student use. Her conclusion – as many will rightly concur – is that the study of young adult literature – and its subsequent use and popularity in the classroom and among adolescents – is just in its infancy – and thus, requires further research, emphasis, and support. |   |
Section II – Where Is Young Adult Literature Now?
In Section II, young adult literature experts review the current landscape of young adult literature – as a popular and ever-present element in today’s culture.
We begin with Kelly Byrne Bull and Juliann Dupuis’ “Young Adult Literature as the Sustaining Force: An Interdisciplinary Force in Teaching Environmentalism,” – an intriguing and engaging read about how young adult books are perfect for engaging and motivating young minds to becoming increasingly aware of today’s world – and how they can be agents of environmental change. Complete with lessons on group inquiry projects – with young adult books about scientific issues – as the basis, this is a smart read for advocates of interdisciplinary teaching.
We begin with Kelly Byrne Bull and Juliann Dupuis’ “Young Adult Literature as the Sustaining Force: An Interdisciplinary Force in Teaching Environmentalism,” – an intriguing and engaging read about how young adult books are perfect for engaging and motivating young minds to becoming increasingly aware of today’s world – and how they can be agents of environmental change. Complete with lessons on group inquiry projects – with young adult books about scientific issues – as the basis, this is a smart read for advocates of interdisciplinary teaching.
Next, Nance S. Wilson and Michelle Kelley ask the perennial question, “Avid Readers in High School: Are They Reading for Pleasure?”. In this detailed review, they conclude that ‘yes, kids are reading less,” but, with smart and perceptive teaching – teaching that allows students to self-select what they would like to read – more and more students will reap the benefits of being an engaged reader. A sharp and pointed reading inventory questionnaire for adolescents is included in this good chapter.
Crag Hill and Janine Darragh follow with a most poignant essay – “Is Poverty the Result of Poor Decisions: What Young Adult Literature Contributes to the Conversation,” – where they carefully outline how young adult books are ripe for helping adolescents learn decision-making skills by focusing on issues of poverty and neglect – in their own lives and in the lives of the characters they are reading. Books and activities to raise awareness about issues of social justice make this a most provocative and intriguing read.
Sexuality and gender are found in Laura J. Renzi, Mark Letcher and Kristin Miraglia’s “Crossing Boundaries: Exploring the Fluidity of Sexuality and Gender in Young Adult Literature,” a bracing chapter about how young adult literature continues to challenge sexual norms – by introducing characters and stories that reflect the changing mores of today’s society – particularly in the ever-evolving and more pronounced world of LGBTQ teens.
Liza Hazlett and William J. Sweeney follow this illuminating read with their own version of today’s changing young adult literature scene – “The Literary Community’s Definition: Balancing, Creating and Updating Young Adult Literature Reading Lists while Retaining Quality Titles,” – where once again, they challenge the misconception that haunts YAL – that adolescent literature simply lacks the quality of classics in the canon. They applaud the use of young adult books as valid literary works in and of itself – that do not need ‘literary masterpieces’ as a tool to justify their use in the secondary classroom.
“Civil Rights and Social Justice: Then and Now – How Much Progress Have We Made?” – penned by Barbara A. Ward, Deanna Day-Wiff and Terrell A. Young – argue that teaching civil rights and social justice in schools – receives little or no attention – and that using young adult books, can do much to make these notions and discussions prevalent among our classroom teachers and their lessons. Suggested YA titles and teaching suggestions make this a most worthwhile read.
Our own Steve Bickmore and his son, Isaac, bring us “Music and the Young Adult Novel: Assessing How Adolescents “Read” the Music of Their Lives,” – a thoughtful, reflective and informative thesis about how connecting music and books – both through the eyes of teens – can do much to engage young people in the two worlds that often mean the most to them – music and lyrics. YA books, contemporary music selections, and class projects – demonstrate the power of merging adolescent’s musical and literary lives.
Community-service is on the mind of Lois T. Stover, Jacqueline Bach and C. J. Carver in their social conscience driven chapter “Activism, Service-Learning, Social Awareness, and Young Adult Literature.” In clear, crisp and detailed language they call for teachers to help their students become social activists for awareness and change – a call that is rooted in young adult literature – and through examples, texts, and action plans, they demonstrate how students can be motivated to serve through reading young adult books.
“Fat Female Protagonists in YAL and in Classrooms: Exploring the Impact of Anti-Fat Bias on Identity” is a provocative and revealing piece by Linda T. Parsons. Examining the often under-examined and under-reported world of fat female characters in teen literature and how their obesity challenges female body concept – is a topic that deserves every teacher – and teenager’s – attention.
Kristina R. Clemmons and Laura Langley’s “YAL and English Learners: Activating Funds of Knowledge” explores the potential and powerful impact that English Learners – and our immigrant population – have on the growth and appeal of young adult books – and how their lives – as revealed through literary creations – are more relevant today than ever before.
In “Celebrating All Voices: Assuming Diversity in Young Adult Literature,” Wendy Williams and James Blasingame close out Section Two with a rich discussion on the myriad of circumstances that today comprise the world multiculturalism in books specifically targeting adolescent readers. Their long, detailed lists of young adult books, online resources and refrences on the teaching of multicultural literature are most welcome.
Section Three – Where is Young Adult Literature Going?
In the concluding section, Melanie Hundley and Teri Holbrook write about the growing use of technology in increasing the frequency and use of books for young adults. Their prescient words in “Exploding the Page: Digital, Multimodal and Transmedia Young Adult Literature,” will help even the novice technology neophyte find comfort in this advanced and futuristic world.
Colleen Sheehy Mulholland’s “Pushing the Edge of Possibility: A New Look at Integrating Technologies with Young Adult Literature Across Content Areas,” urges readers – and ultimately teachers and educational leaders – to revisit their definition of literacy – to include technology – and all that it implies – and means for the reading, reviewing and disseminating of literature for young adults.
Finally, Melanie D. Koss describes in vivid detail the intersection of social media with the lives of teenagers – always plugged in (literally and figuratively) – to the latest fad, fashion and pop culture phenomena. In “The Influence of the Internet and Social Media on Teens’ Engagement with Young Adult Literature,” she demonstrates how teachers can utilize adolescent social media involvement in teaching adolescent literature and literacy.
Thus, with great joy and pride, we present this latest edition - Teaching Young Adult Literature Today: Insights, Considerations, and Perspectives for the Classroom Teacher (Rowman and Littlefield, 2016) – the growing audience of young adult literature teachers, readers and ‘just plain enthusiasts’ – in the hopes that you will use good books for teens as a tool and a technique to instill in young people everywhere – a passion for reading and a desire for social justice.
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