One of the great perks of working on this blog is the opportunity to read and think about what my colleagues are thinking. Many of my colleagues are doing a variety of interesting things. I like reviewing their pedagogical activities, their theoretical ideas, and their fresh take on old practices. Most of us who teach young adult literature do some sort of book talk activity. Many of us include self-selected book picks. It is unlikely that we all do them the same way. I am constantly amazed by the creative and engaging ways my colleagues teach. More often than not, I find myself modifying my own practices.
This week, Mary Warner talks about using book talks to helps students choose their reading selections and then how they go about discussing and then identifying their favorites. I always enjoy Mary's contributions. You can find her previous post here, here, and here. Go ahead and click on those previous links. You won't be sorry.
This week, Mary Warner talks about using book talks to helps students choose their reading selections and then how they go about discussing and then identifying their favorites. I always enjoy Mary's contributions. You can find her previous post here, here, and here. Go ahead and click on those previous links. You won't be sorry.
“And the Winners are…: YA Literature Students Identifying Their Favorites of the Last Five Years by Mary Warner
This blog addresses multiple topics under the umbrella of one of the overarching goals in my YA Literature course (designed primarily for upper division English prep for teaching majors, but including majors in literature, creative writing, and professional/technical writing) -- to introduce students who are future teachers and writers to as many newer YA authors and books as possible. The definition of newer here includes books published since 2013, though occasionally dominant books like The Book Thief or Deadline make the list. Typically, students coming into my YA course have a limited sense of the range and potential of YA lit. They know of The Hunger Games, The Harry Potter series; they frequently have been turned off by chick flick or romance novels. Thus, strategy number one the Book Pass expands their knowledge of the range, genres, and potential topics “trending” in YA.
 |  |
I do the Book Pass in the second week (or second class session) of the semester – prior to describing the Book Talk assignment. Students need to have paper ready to record titles that attract their attention, tap into their favorite genres or challenge their assumptions – and capture their interest as a book they might use for the Book Talk. The procedure is simple; though I model with a novel what they need to do in the 1-2 minutes for review:
- Look at the title. What does it suggest the book will be about?
- Look at the cover or book jacket if the book has one. Do be warned – you can’t always judge a book by its cover.
- Look at the back cover. Are there short blurbs or excerpts about the book?
- Read the first pages of the book or skim chapter titles if the book has these.
I come to class with 60-80 books (more if I can manage) – here’s where my ALAN workshop treasures and ARCs get their greatest advertising. I give every student a book, face down, until everyone has a book and then start the “timer.” Every 1-2 minutes, I simply say “pass”; students give the book to the student on their left, and the process continues for 40 – 45 minutes, giving the opportunity to see at least 20 books. Yes, students could simply be given a list and go to author’s websites, but the Book Pass allows for the actual not the virtual. Many times, students comment that their interest in and desire to read a book only happened because they “saw” and handled a book during the Book Pass or because of comments I might offer about the books.
The Book Talk assignment provides one venue for getting students reading and promoting their favorites. Each semester I provide a list of options from which they select. They can’t take a book they’ve read previously – the goal is to expand the YA reading list! No two students can do the same book either – again learning of more books and authors is our aim. The book selection list for the Spring 2019 class can be found at this link the specific handout is “Choices for Book Talks.”
At the same link, the “Elements of Book Talks” handout details the requirements for the oral and written components of the assignment. The heart of the matter for the written component – here’s another central insight I want future teachers to consider – is the choice of three quotes that convey the significance of the novel. The Book Talk assignment should take presenters and listeners far beyond trivia; identifying three essential excerpts and explaining their importance demands a careful and thorough reading.
The Book Talk assignment provides one venue for getting students reading and promoting their favorites. Each semester I provide a list of options from which they select. They can’t take a book they’ve read previously – the goal is to expand the YA reading list! No two students can do the same book either – again learning of more books and authors is our aim. The book selection list for the Spring 2019 class can be found at this link the specific handout is “Choices for Book Talks.”
At the same link, the “Elements of Book Talks” handout details the requirements for the oral and written components of the assignment. The heart of the matter for the written component – here’s another central insight I want future teachers to consider – is the choice of three quotes that convey the significance of the novel. The Book Talk assignment should take presenters and listeners far beyond trivia; identifying three essential excerpts and explaining their importance demands a careful and thorough reading.
| Do note that the Elements of Book Talks have specific questions for those planning on teaching: For those planning on teaching: How might you use this book in a classroom? Include some ideas for presenting the book. For what age level is the book most appropriate? Why should teens read this book? Which category of books (from Chapters 4-8 in Adolescents in the Search for Meaning: Tapping the Powerful Resource of Story) might this book fit? And for those who are creative writing or literature majors: For those not planning on teaching: Include bibliographic resources on the writer’s style, craft, endurability, or related topics to the author and/or the author’s writings. Which category of books (from Chapters 4-8 in Adolescents in the Search for Meaning: Tapping the Powerful Resource of Story) might this book fit? |  |
My students email an e-copy to be uploaded to my webpage and displayed as they do their oral presentations. Book Talks from Fall ’17, Spring ’18, Fall ’18, and Spring ’19 (a glitch is preventing the Fall ’16 book talks from displaying) are on the Students page of my website.
The next “step” in identifying the “winners” – those books chosen in multiple semesters – led me to compile a list of the student choices in Fall ’16, Fall ’17, Spring ’18, Fall ’18, and Spring ’19. (A disclaimer: the books reviewed during the Book Pass in a given semester definitely affect the selection. I only acquired some works like Len Vlahos’ Life in a Fishbowl Cath Crowley’s Words in Deep Blue or Adam Silvera’s History is All You Left Me in the last year.) Enjoy the list – see if the selections match what you might share with students.
The next “step” in identifying the “winners” – those books chosen in multiple semesters – led me to compile a list of the student choices in Fall ’16, Fall ’17, Spring ’18, Fall ’18, and Spring ’19. (A disclaimer: the books reviewed during the Book Pass in a given semester definitely affect the selection. I only acquired some works like Len Vlahos’ Life in a Fishbowl Cath Crowley’s Words in Deep Blue or Adam Silvera’s History is All You Left Me in the last year.) Enjoy the list – see if the selections match what you might share with students.
 |  |  |
Book Talk Selections from Fall ’16, Fall ’17, Spring ’18,
Fall ’18 and Spring ‘19
(alphabetical order by author’s last name)
| Abawi, Atia The Secret Sky Alexie, Sherman The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (selected Fa ’17 & Spring ’18) Anderson, Jodi Lynn Midnight at the Electric Anderson, Laurie Halse Ashes Andrews, Jesse Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (selected Fa ’16 & Spring ’19) Arnold, David Mosquitoland Beddor, Frank The Looking Glass Wars Budhos, Marina Watched Cabot, Meg The Princess Diaries (selected Fa ’16, Fa ’17) Cavallaro, Brittany A Study in Charlotte (selected Fa ’16, Fa ’17, Spring ’18, & Fa ’18) Condie, Ally Atlantia (selected Fa ’16 & Fa ’18) Crowley, Cath Words in Deep Blue (selected Fa ’18 & Spring ’19) Crutcher, Chris Deadline (selected Fa ’16 & Spring ’18) de la Peña, Matt The Living de la Peña, Matt Mexican Whiteboy Dessen, Sarah Saint Anything Dessen, Sarah The Truth about Forever Gaiman, Neil The Graveyard Book Garden, Nancy Endgame (selected Fa ’16 & Spring ’18) Grande, Reyna The Distance Between Us (selected Fa ’17, Spring ’18, & Fa ’18) Gratz, Alan Refugee Green, John The Fault in Our Stars (selected Fa ’16 & Spring ’19) Green, John Looking for Alaska (selected Fa ’16 & Spring ’19) Green, John Paper Towns Green, S. E. The Killer Within Haddon, Mark The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Hardinge, Frances A Face Like Glass (selected Fa ’17 & Fa ’18) Hautman, Pete Godless (selected Fa ’16 & Fa ’17) Heilig, Heidi The Girl from Everywhere Hopkins, Ellen Fallout Iglis, Lucy Crow Mountain Jones, Kelly Murder, Magic, and What We Wore Kidd, Sue Monk The Secret Life of Bees Kiely, Brendan The Last True Love Story (selected Fa ’17, Fa ’18, & Spring ’19) Kiernan, Celine Into the Grey Kirby, Jesse Things We Know by Heart (selected Fa ’16, Fa ’17, Spring ’18 & Fa ’18) Kluger, Steve My Most Excellent Year Lackey, Mercedes Hunter Lasky, Kathryn Night Witches Levithan, David Every You Every Me (selected Fa ’16 & Fa ’18) Lockhart, E. We Were Liars Lowry, Lois Gathering Blue (selected Fa ’16, Fa ’17, & Fa ’18) Lowry, Lois The Giver Mac, Carrie Ten Things I Can See from Here McCormick, Patricia Purple Heart (selected Spring ’18 & Fa ’18) Medina, Meg Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass Mills, Wendy All We Have Left Mukherjee, Sonya Gemini Myers, Walter Dean Monster Nelson, Jandy I’ll Give You the Sun (selected Fa ’17 & Spring ’19) Ness, Patrick A Monster Calls (selected Fa ’16, Fa ’17, & Spring ’18) Nielsen, Jennifer A Night Divided Niven, Jennifer All the Bright Places (selected Fa ’16, Fa ’18, & Spring ’19) Pierce, Tamora Alanna: The First Adventure Quintero, Isabel Gabi, A Girl in Pieces Reynolds, Jason All American Boys Rowell, Rainbow Eleanor and Park (selected Fa ’17, Fa ’18, & Spring ’19) Ruby, Laura Bone Gap Rudnick, Paul It’s All Your Fault Sánchez, Erika I’m Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter Sáenz, Benjamin Alire Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe Sáenz, Benjamin Alire The Inexplicable Logic of My Life Savit, Gavriel Ana and the Swallow Man Sheinkin, Steve The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights Shusterman, Neil Scythe (selected Spring ’18 & Fa ‘l8) Silvera, Adam History is All You Left Me Sitomer, Alan The Secret Story of Sonía Rodríguez Stork, Francisco Disappeared Thomas, Angie The Hate U Give (selected Fa ’18 & Spring ’19) Uwiringiyimana, Sandra How Dare the Sun Rise (selected Fa ’17 & Spring ’18) Vlahos, Len Life in a Fishbowl Wasserman, Robin The Book of Blood and Shadow Wein, Elizabeth E. The Pearl Thief Wells, Dan Bluescreen Williams, Carol Lynch The Chosen Ones Woodson, Jacqueline Brown Girl Dreaming Yang, Gene Luen American Born Chinese (selected Fa ’17, Spring ’18, & Fa ’18) Yang, Gene Luen Boxers and Saints (selected Fa ’16, Fa ’17, Spring ‘18) Yoon, Nicola Everything, Everything (selected Fa ’16 & Spring '19) Yoon, Nicola The Sun is Also a Star Zusak, Marcus The Book Thief (selected Fa ’16, Fa ’17, Spring ’18, & Spring ’19) |        |
Book Talk presentations take place over the course of the semester – seldom more than five presentation in a single class. During the presentations, my students complete a Response Guide, specifically noting “Response to the Book or to the Presenter/Presentation” and “Ideas to Remember.” After a significant number of presentations, I have a part of the Sustained Silent Writing prompt asking students to “Describe 3 of the book talks presented to date. Discuss what you liked about the presentation or why you’d like to read the book.” From Fall ’18 and Spring ’19, the following books emerge as the ultimate “winners.” For several of the books appearing as favorites, the book talk presenters simply “sold” the book well.
Cath Crowley’s Words in Deep Blue
Frances Hardinge’s A Face Like Glass
Brendan Kiely’s The Last True Love Story
Jennifer Niven’s All the Bright Places
Erika Sánchez’s I’m Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
Adam Silvera’s History is All You Left Me
Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give
Len Vlahos’ Life in a Fishbowl
Frances Hardinge’s A Face Like Glass
Brendan Kiely’s The Last True Love Story
Jennifer Niven’s All the Bright Places
Erika Sánchez’s I’m Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
Adam Silvera’s History is All You Left Me
Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give
Len Vlahos’ Life in a Fishbowl
Until next time.
RSS Feed