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The Value of the Youth Lens When Reading YA by Dr. Sharon Kane

3/30/2022

We are delighted to feature Sharon Kane's work today--especially since it focuses on the youth lens, which we've discussed on the blog before. Some helpful background information (referenced by Dr. Kane below) can be found in Sarigianides, Petrone, and Lewis's free access article titled "How Re-thinking Adolescence Helps Re-Imagine the Teaching of English."

Sharon Kane is a professor in the School of Education at the State University of New York at Oswego. She is the author of Literacy and Learning in the Content Areas: Enhancing Knowledge in the Disciplines (2019, Routledge) and Integrating Literature in the Disciplines (2020, Routledge). A new book, Teaching and Reading New Adult Literature in High School and College, also from Routledge, is forthcoming.

The Value of the Youth Lens When Reading YA by Dr. Sharon Kane

Ever since the January 2015 issue of English Journal explored the theme “Re-Thinking ‘Adolescence’ to Re-Imagine English,” I have used the youth lens when reading YA books, and have taught my student readers to use it, too. This theoretical framework calls for us to reject some of the dominant perspectives about adolescents, which are often framed in terms of deficits, stereotypes, and negative or limiting traits (immature, irresponsible, governed by raging hormones, melodramatic, rebellious, not intellectually curious, self-absorbed, egocentric, etc.) Sarigianides, Lewis, and Petrone (2015) point out that often, “... adolescents are generally understood as ‘becoming’ and valued for their promise and potential, yet rarely for who they are now” (p. 14). The authors offer the youth lens as an alternative, allowing us to view teens as already whole, complex, knowledgeable, and capable individuals. “... regarding youth as they are, rather than constantly worrying about who they might become, honors their present circumstances” (p. 14).

Perhaps because I have found such value in using this approach as I teach and read YA literature, I started noticing titles of books that include the word becoming. Evidently many authors find it a useful construct. Michelle Obama chose it as the one-word title of her memoir, Becoming. Joe Couloumbe titled his story Becoming Trader Joe, adding the subtitle How I Did Business My Way & Still Beat the Big Guys. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar offers Becoming Kareem: Growing Up on and off the Court. I found Saga Boy: My Life of Blackness and Becoming, by Antonio Michael Downing. Readers who have fond memories of Sesame Street might enjoy Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx, by Sonia Manzano. There’s no reason to think these memoirists viewed the word becoming as having a negative connotation.

Biographers have also found the construct of becoming useful. Here are a few titles: Becoming RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Journey to Justice, by D. Levy; Becoming Dr. Seuss: Theodore Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination, by B.J. Jones; Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader, by B. Schlender and R. Tetselli; Becoming Jane Austen: A Life, by J. Spence; Becoming Emily: The Life of Emily Dickinson, by K.P. Goddu; Becoming Bach, by T. Leonard; Becoming Ben Franklin: How a Candlemaker’s Son Helped Light the Flame of Liberty, by Russell Freedman; Becoming Madeleine: A Biography of the Author of A Wrinkle in Time by her Granddaughters, by Charlotte Jones Voiklis and Léna Roy; Becoming Beatrix, by Amy M. O’Quinn.

At least two recent biographies of Abraham Lincoln include the word becoming in their titles; it might be interesting for readers to compare how the authors deal with the evolution of Lincoln’s thinking and behavior in W.W. Freeling’s Becoming Lincoln and R. Kigel’s Becoming Lincoln: The Coming of Age of Our Greatest President. Our students can also see the construct at work in James Patterson and Kwami Alexander’s coming-of-age novel, Becoming Mohammad Ali as well as in the poetry collection You Don’t Have to Be Everything: Poems for Girls Becoming Themselves, edited by Diana Whitney.

And then there are all the nonfiction books out there whose purpose is to help readers prepare for and enter professions, such as J. Michael Straczynski’s Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer: The Artistry, Joy, and Career of Storytelling. Simon & Schuster’s Masters at Work series uses Becoming in every title. Students can explore the stories and advice in Becoming a Climate Scientist, by Kyle Dickman; or check out other titles to learn about becoming a baker, yoga instructor, private investigator, venture capitalist, sommelier, firefighter, video game designer, interior decorator, midwife, restaurateur, or one of many other professions.

Books containing Becoming in their titles offer varied examples of how real and fictional individuals follow unique paths toward constructing an identity, making decisions and changes in terms of work and beyond. We could look for instances where adults’ ideas about what the young people “should become” differ from how the protagonists perceive and value themselves, often causing conflict.

Librarians and teachers can invite students to think about the outside and internal forces that have shaped who they are so far, and then to envision the next steps on their quests for a purposeful life. What might they encounter on the road to arriving at whatever they aspire to? How can they play an active role in the forming of their future selves? The following is a sample assignment (adapted from Kane, forthcoming) that may help students explore and employ the construct of becoming:

Biologist Sy Montgomery named her memoir Becoming a Good Creature. Now that you have explored some of the books in our “Becoming” Text Set, choose one of the following options. Feel free to use a graphic format, with panels and speech bubbles, if that works for you.
A. What would your memoir about the people and events that made you who you are today look like? How might you structure the chapters? Looking ahead, what do you anticipate could be some key points in future chapters? Write ideas down to discover and share your story.
B. Choose a well-known person (historical or contemporary) in the field you are pursuing, and research their early lives and influences. What caused them, or enabled them, to become the person they are today, or that they became noted for in history? How would you approach writing a “Becoming” essay or book about them?
C. Interview an adult to find out about what personal characteristics or interests, events, and people influenced them throughout their childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. Explain that you are interested in the concept of becoming, and would like their opinions about how people can grow into the best versions of themselves; about how to match careers and passions; about what qualities young people should be developing and nurturing. As you listen, take notes, and ask probing questions if appropriate. How did they decide on or land the job they are in? What are their hopes for the future? What advice would they like to offer to you and your friends who are at an earlier stage of becoming? Be sure to thank them for the valuable gifts of their time and thoughts. Later, write a reflection based on what you heard.

Now let’s come back to the youth lens’s troubling of the concept becoming that I opened this post with. Are we faced with a dilemma? Am I contradicting myself by advocating the youth lens as a useful type of literary criticism, while simultaneously recommending that students read and write texts using becoming as a construct? I don’t think so. We don’t want to see teens as just on their way to some adult identity while diminishing their wholeness and completeness in the present, as being merely in the process of becoming. But we can recognize that all of us, no matter our age, are still striving to become more knowledgeable or better versions of ourselves. I like the way musician and actor Alicia Keys reflects about this in her memoir, More Myself: A Journey. Calling herself a “... person in process, from the me I once was to the me I am now,” she explains:

I’m also a breathing set of contradictions: a child who has known the greatest love there is, and one who longed for an affirmation that eluded me. I’ve been a builder of inner walls and a burier of feelings. I’ve been both someone in denial and a free spirit, an artist in hiding and a ‘hood hippie.... I’m discovering who I am at my core—and becoming, day by day, more myself. (p. 5)

References
Kane, S. Reading and Teaching New Adult Literature in High School and College. Routledge, forthcoming.
Keys, A., with Burford, M. (2020). More myself: A journey. Flatiron Books.
Sarigianides, S.T., Lewis, M.A., & Petrone, R. (2015). How re-thinking adolescence helps re-imagining the teaching of English. English Journal, 104(3), 13-18.

The Power of Persistence – Part II by YA Author Padma Venkatraman

3/23/2022

A special thanks to Padma Venkatraman for her contributions today as part of a two-part series! As stated in last week's post, Padma's writing is mentioned frequently on YA Wednesday; she has also participated extensively at the National Council of the Teachers of English annual conference. the ALAN Workshop, and the UNLV Summit on the Research and Teaching of Young Adult Literature.

Padma is the author of The Bridge Home, a 2019 Global Read Aloud, its companion novel, Born Behind Bars, and three other novels for young people: A Time To Dance, Island’s End, and Climbing the Stairs. She enjoys speaking to readers virtually or in-person (through her speaking agency, The Author Village).

The Power of Persistence – Part II by Padma Venkatraman

The pandemic has taken a toll on people all over the world. It also awakes within us larger questions – of why we do what we do, and how to keep going during tough times.
This is the second half of my two-part series, in which I reached out to author who not only write brilliant books, but whose perseverance and dedication also shine brighter than diamonds. Below are words of wisdom from Joe Bruchac, Barbara O’Connor, Mitali Perkins and Kashmira Sheth.
Reading these deeply centered responses helped me feel centered, and I trust that the words below will lift the hearts of all who are involved with and interested in young people. Whether you are a writer or not, these words speak to the core of what brings us together as a concerned community.

Dr. Joseph Bruchac:
Every since I can remember, writing has been the path my heart has wanted to follow. It hasn’t been for money. Or for any kind of fame. I could write a long essay about all the times I’ve been told that I couldn’t do it, that I should give up. I am not just talking about the hundreds of rejections I received when I was first trying to publish poetry in literary magazines —- rejections that ranged from the dismissive and the brutal (“If you want to pursue a hobby, why don’t you try coaching a little league baseball team instead of writing?”) to the occasionally helpful. In the first creative writing class I took at Cornell University, my instructor kept urging me to drop out because I would never be a writer. In a fiction writing class during my masters degree program at Syracuse University, another teacher told me that I just did not know anything about storytelling.
Needless to say, considering where I am now, I didn’t accept their judgments and give up. I believed that what I had to say was worthwhile, even as I saw early on how long a road it was going to be before I begin to achieve any real success.
I think what kept me going was a combination of things. First of all, I did not choose to be a writer. I really had no choice. Succeed or fail, it was the way that called me. Secondly, and this has become more apparent to me over the decades, I was not just writing to tell my own story. It was to speak for others – – both in the human and the natural worlds. To share the lessons that have been given to me by so many.
Here is a simple one that I learned from Swift Eagle, a Pueblo/Apache elder more than half a century ago “The way to climb a mountain is one step at a time.”
I’m still on that journey.

Barbara O’Connor:
I’ll confess that over the thirty years I’ve been writing for young readers, there have been times I’ve been discouraged. I didn’t get a starred review. I didn’t make a “best of” list at the end of the year. My sales figures weren’t what I’d hoped they’d be. I didn’t win a shiny gold sticker. But then, just in the knick of time, I’d get a letter from a reader or teacher that reminded me of the importance of books.
For instance, here is a letter from a teacher:
“J—- is a really small town with really big problems, and most of my students have seen it all. Your books allow them to make connections and realize that everyone has problems and gives them some hope or just some much needed good feelings.”
And another:
“I'll continue to put your books in their hands, to read your words aloud. Thanks for being reachable to kids who often feel overlooked and tossed aside.”
It’s letters like these that keep me going.
If I can make a difference in the life of even one child, my job is done - and I’ll keep going.

Mitali Perkins:

I wish I had treated my vocation of writing fiction with as much care as I do now. Maybe you can learn from my mistake.
I started out writing for fun. It was something I did on the side as a hobby. To my amazement, one of my stories won a contest and was published as a novel. Seeing my first novel reach readers was delightful, but it wasn’t until my second novel was published that I decided to invest in my writing as a career. That book, Monsoon Summer, was rejected by 22 different publishers and came out eleven years after my first novel.
Looking back, I wonder why I didn’t give up. But as I revised and revised and endured rejection after rejection, a sense of calling was deepening and growing. Driven by the love of my character (I didn’t want to see her disappear) and the conviction that stories really do change hearts and minds, I pressed on.
That was when writing changed from a pastime into a vocation. I began to invest in growing in the craft, taking classes in writing and seeking mentors. I also learned as much as I could about the publishing industry. I haven’t looked back since, and my sixteenth book just came out.
I love this quote by the writer Frederick Beuchner: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” If you, like me, find great gladness in creating stories, it’s easy to see that people are starved for them. Won’t you join me? Let’s get writing, friends, and treat the gift of being able to do it with great respect and gratitude.

Kashmira Sheth:
Sharing stories has been one of the greatest pleasures of my life. As a child I was dyslexic (though I didn’t know it at the time) and enjoyed listening to stories. My love of stories made me work hard at reading, and soon, I was devouring books. Most of those novels were written in my first language, Gujarati. I do believe that the original hunger of listening to stories and reading books later transferred into my love of writing stories.
Writing has brought me a lot of joy and I find that sharing stories with young readers is one of the most satisfying and fulfilling endeavors. In writing, as in any creative pursuit, there are times when it is difficult to keep going. When I am exhausted, when no new ideas seem to excite me, when what I have written seems terrible, I read fiction and non-fiction, read historical novels in my Gujarati language, and listen to vintage Hindi songs. Always, I reach out to my family and dive deep into my childhood memories. Most importantly, I draw strength from nature. Often gardening and digging in dirt provide me with perspective, answers and encouragement I am looking for.
My family has not only supported me in my writing but also has been an integral part of it. When I first started writing, my two daughters and my husband were the first readers of my stories. The Nina Soni series that I am writing now is inspired by my daughters’ childhoods. My parents provided me with a lot of details and family history when I wrote Keeping Corner. The places in which I grew up and the stories of my family members have provided concrete and evocative backdrops for my novels.
Finally, I remember how I enjoyed books when I was young and how they have impacted me and still impact me. Now, connecting with children via school visits or via letters has a tremendous positive impact on me. After one reader read Nina Soni, Former Best Friend, she told me how she saw herself in the story. Knowing that a child has not only enjoyed the story I wrote, but also has made a deeper emotional connection with it keeps me going.

Thank you, Padma, for sharing the wisdom of these authors. Now--to the rest of you--what keeps you going?

The Power of Persistence by YA Author Padma Venkatraman

3/16/2022

A special thanks to Padma Venkatraman for her contributions today! Padma's writing is mentioned frequently on YA Wednesday; she has also participated extensively at the National Council of the Teachers of English annual conference. the ALAN Workshop, and the UNLV Summit on the Research and Teaching of Young Adult Literature.

Padma is the author of The Bridge Home, a 2019 Global Read Aloud, its companion novel, Born Behind Bars, and three other novels for young people: A Time To Dance, Island’s End, and Climbing the Stairs. She enjoys speaking to readers virtually or in-person (through her speaking agency, The Author Village).

The Power of Persistence by Padma Venkatraman

I’m an author now, but I spent many years as an oceanographer. In my opinion, the field of writing is far more capricious and subjective than science, especially when it comes to material rewards. This can be especially hard during a time such as the pandemic, when everyone, including authors, may experience very real financial stress.

In this two-part series, I share inspirational quotes from some phenomenal authors whom I admire for two reasons: their brilliant books and their shining dedication to writing through long lean years (especially early in their careers, pre-WNDB and well before the pandemic). I hope their powerful responses about what truly motivates them will inspire and bring us together in positivity as we move forward as a community of adults dedicated to serving young people.

Featured below are Nikki Grimes, recipient of the 2022 Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement; Cynthia Levinson recipient of the Robert F. Siebert Informational Book Award, Melissa Stewart who received a Siebert honor, and award-winning author Cynthia Leitich Smith who founded the Heartdrum imprint that published more than one of the titles that were highlighted during the ALA Youth Media Awards this year.

Nikki Grimes:

What has always kept me going? Readers.

I once addressed a group of students who’d just read The Road to Paris. One girl had adopted the passage about keeping God in your pocket and had brought with her a basket of plastic discs on which she’d written the word God in gold, which she then passed around so that each child who wanted to, could take one. In that moment I knew I had written that book for her.

Readers. They always keep me going.

Cynthia Levinson:

Gratifying as they are to receive, we don’t write to win awards. Frankly, given the number of manuscripts I’ve written that never get past my agent or the dozen publishers who reject them, I’m pleased just to get published. So, why do I keep going? For me, it’s the need to understand what motivates people to do remarkable things—and then to share that understanding with kids.
*Why are children willing to go to jail to protest segregation—and why would adults allow them to go? (We’ve Got a Job and The Youngest Marcher)
*How do Arab and Jewish children learn to trust each other so much that they literally put their lives in each other’s hands? (Watch Out for Flying Kids!)
*What drives someone to run for president? (Hillary Rodham Clinton: Do All the Good You Can)
*How did we end up with the Electoral College?! (Fault Lines in the Constitution)
I often say that I am honored to write for kids, which gives me the opportunity to ferret out the people, the documents, the events, the details that assuage my own curiosity—and to pique it in children. It’s a calling.

Cynthia Leitich Smith:

When I left law for children's publishing, it was a heart decision--not one inspired by dreams of riches or acclaim. In fact, a few of my horrified, former law school classmates assumed I was having a quarter-life crisis and made every effort to talk me out of doing something so supposedly frivolous.
I had two clear goals: make meaningful contributions to this bookish community and center the intended audience. What do I mean by that? Off the page, celebrating fellow literary citizens was essential, and sometimes the best way to do that was by passing the mic, widening the circle or making room in the spotlight. On the page, I resolved to continue stretching, taking risks, and daring to be vulnerable in hopes that it would all be in service of young readers.

Melissa Stewart:

I think weathering the ups and downs of publishing has a lot to do with mindset.
A piece of paper on the idea board above my desk says: “Don’t be afraid to reinvent yourself.” Those six simple words are a constant reminder of a lesson I learned the hard way at the beginning of my writing career.
My first book, Life Without Light: A Journey to Earth’s Dark Ecosystems, was published way back in 1998. At the time, I was working as an editor, and I continued working at that job until 2000. By then, I had published two more nonfiction books, and I had six additional titles under contract. I was confident that I could support myself as a writer. But (you knew it was coming, right?) two things I never could have predicted happened in 2001. There was an economic recession, and Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act. These events along with the rise of the internet, which made straightforward, kid-friendly information widely available for free, spelled disaster for the nonfiction publishing market. Some publishers went bankrupt. Others adjusted their publication schedules, pushing books that were supposed to come out in 2001 to 2002, 2003, even 2004. They stopped acquiring new titles for several years. There was no work. Period.

I was single and had bills to pay, so there was only one option: I had to reinvent myself.

I began learning about other areas of the children’s publishing market. I wrote magazine articles for adults. I taught writing at a local community college. I worked as a substitute teacher. Most of all, I realized how foolish I’d been to put all my eggs into one publishing basket. I needed to diversify by writing for as many different markets as possible, and, going forward, I needed to pay close attention to how nonfiction writing for children changed over time. I needed to be flexible and adaptable. I needed to always be on the lookout for new opportunities. Some of the projects I’ve been involved with failed miserably. Early sales didn’t live up to publishers’ expectations, and books-in-progress were cancelled midstream. But enough of them worked out that my 191st book, Summertime Sleepers: Animals that Estivate, illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen entered the world in April 2021 and won a Sibert Honor in January 2022.

Invisibility/Visibility in Rhodes’s Black Brother/Black Brother by Dr. Melanie Hundley

3/9/2022

We are pleased to welcome Dr. Melanie Hundley to the blog this week! Aside from being a Monday Motivator curator for YA Wednesday, Dr. Melanie Hundley is a Professor in the Practice of English Education at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College. Her research examines how digital and multimodal composition informs the development of pre-service teachers’ writing pedagogy. Additionally, she explores the use of digital and social media in young adult literature. She teaches writing methods courses that focus on digital and multimodal composition and young adult literature courses that explore race, class, gender, and sexual identity in young adult texts. She has taught both middle and high school English Language Arts. She is currently the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Department of Teaching and Learning.

Invisibility/Visibility in Rhodes’s Black Brother/Black Brother by Dr. Melanie Hundley

Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes has been the topic of the weekly adolescent book club for three weeks now. It is a book they keep coming back to as they wrestle with the ideas and how they connect to their own lives. The day-to-day issues that Dante faces because of the color of his skin are situations they see. A key theme they keep returning to is the idea of being visible and being invisible. “I want to be visible when I want to be visible,” a student says, “not visible because I am a black kid in a store or walking down a street.” The students nod. Another student says, “What I think is important about this book is that it talks about a lot of things connected to this one kid. That makes it real.”

“It’s the play on words, I think,” Kari says quietly. “Donte keeps doing these things with words. He says that his mom thinks they are going to lose. Then he says that he thinks they are going to lose and then he says I’m lost.” She continues, “That stands out to me. It’s smart and subtle and makes me think.” Students in the literature circle nod. Another students picks up on this idea and explains, “He does this with disappearing too. He wants to be invisible and disappear so that he is not seen. But then he uses disappear in a way that make it seem like they were disappeared, like killed.”

They connect this idea with contemporary issues in society and argue about if it is better to be seen or to be invisible. Whether or not they are visible or invisible and whether it is by their choice is central to many of the discussions about school and about books. They return again and again to the multiple ways words are used—lose, lost, disappear, honor, win—and how that helps them think about the story but also about their very own stories.

Black Brother, Black Brother is a powerful story about a young man finding himself in the midst of an ongoing, daily battle with systemic racism. He is bullied; he is overlooked; he is blamed for anything that goes wrong in his vicinity. He wishes to be invisible. He wants Harry’s invisibility cloak or Frodo’s Elvish ring. These are ideas that many adolescents can engage with but being invisible is both a wish and a fear for students. Years ago, Maya, a student in a ninth grade class wrote a draft of a poem in a unit about identity. She said,

Who am I?
I am young, black, female

I raise my hand
slowly
because
I am black
and used to bein’ invisible
in THIS place
I hold my books tight
By my chest
try not to stand out
on THAT street
I am black
And scared
That cause I am who I am
Nobody will understand the words locked
In my head.
I am black
And female
And scared
That cause I am quiet
I will be overlooked.
that YOU will not see ME.

Donte wishes to be invisible; Maya worries that she will not be seen. The students talk about Donte and his battles about being seen for who he is and what he does; they recognize that Donte wants to be seen for the right reasons, for what he does, for what he accomplishes. He wants to be seen as Donte, not just black brother, black brother. Alan, one of the boys bullying Dante, tries hard to make Dante a target instead of a person.

In the end after Dante defeats Alan in the fencing match, Dante says,
I barely hear him. It doesn’t matter. I know--Alan sees me. Next time he might win the bout. Or I might. I don’t care.
He can even dislike me if he wants. But now he has to see ME. (p. 228)

Being visible as a person becomes important to Dante. He begins the book wanting an invisibility cloak and ends it confidant the he is seen for who he is. He is Dante. The emphasis in this book on being visible or invisible is something that adolescents identify with in their daily lives. The students in the reading group write about being visible/invisible in their lives. Like Maya, they have questions about whether or not they will be seen. Like Dante, they are trying to be proud of who they are.

In addition to being able to talk about what it means to be visible, Black Brother, Black Brother provides readers with a way to talk about complicated issues of race, class, and families. Dante spends much of the book figuring out who he is in the different spaces he goes—school, home, and the YMCA. Fencing provides an outlet for him, to grow as an athlete, to grow as a man. Mike, a student in the reading group, said, “What I liked is that Dante’s family is a real family; they love each other and they support each other.” Another student said, “I liked the relationship with Coach. There was respect on both sides.” “Relationships matter,” Mike agreed. “and I like how there were so many good relationships not just bad ones.” The students in the reading group focused on how important it was to see that Dante and his family were close and that when there were disagreements, they worked things out.

Black Brother, Black Brother is a book that resonates with readers. What books have brought especially great insights to your classroom lately?

Announcing the 2022 Summit on The Research and Teaching of YA Literature, June 9 (virtual) and June 10-11 Registration Link!

3/2/2022

Sarah Donovan, Sophie Ladd, and I are thrilled to share the UNLV SUMMIT LINK !

We are processing acceptances, finalizing the program, and making travel arrangements. The summit is happening!

Today we share THREE REASONS you should plan to attend the summit:

1. An all-star author lineup. Benefit from the art and expertise of Brandy Colbert, Varian Johnson, and Malinda Lo along with Ashley Hope Pérez, Brendan Kiely, and Alexandra Villasante!

2. More than one way to participate. This year the conference will be online one day and in person two days. Day one (virtual) will focus on empirical or conceptual research in the field. Days two and three (in person) will employ a practitioner focus. Those participating in all three days are welcome to attend with us in Las Vegas in person on the first day. See the UNLV Summit link for more details on participation and pricing.

3. Vegas is hustling, bustling, and ready for you. Meet colleagues for an outdoor coffee. Take a walk with your co-presenter. Head out for dinner and shenanigans after the late-afternoon panels! If you are like me, you'll take a morning run before the morning keynote. Regardless, there will be ways for you to enjoy Vegas while learning more about the future of Young Adult Literature.

We are eager for you to join us in Vegas so that we can collaborate and discuss the state and value of YA literature. Register today so that we can see you in June!

The Value of the Youth Lens When Reading YA by Dr. Sharon Kane

The Power of Persistence – Part II by YA Author Padma Venkatraman

The Power of Persistence by YA Author Padma Venkatraman

Invisibility/Visibility in Rhodes’s Black Brother/Black Brother by Dr. Melanie Hundley

Announcing the 2022 Summit on The Research and Teaching of YA Literature, June 9 (virtual) and June 10-11 Registration Link!

Dr. Steve Bickmore
Creator and Curator

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The Value of the Youth Lens When Reading YA by Dr. Sharon Kane

The Power of Persistence – Part II by YA Author Padma Venkatraman

The Power of Persistence by YA Author Padma Venkatraman

Invisibility/Visibility in Rhodes’s Black Brother/Black Brother by Dr. Melanie Hundley

Announcing the 2022 Summit on The Research and Teaching of YA Literature, June 9 (virtual) and June 10-11 Registration Link!

Dr. Steve Bickmore​Creator and Curator

Bickmore's ​Co-Edited Books

Archives

Categories

Blogs to Follow

Dr. Steve Bickmore
Creator and Curator

Bickmore's
Co-Edited Books