This week’s guest contributor to the LSU YA Wednesday blog is Dr. Alan Brown. Alan was one of the participants at the 2014 LSU YA Literature Conference and Seminar. He conducted a workshop, gave a keynote address, and serves on the advisory board. In essence, he was one of the major contributors to the success of conference. Alan is one of the many rising academic stars of YA literature. One of his interests happens to be sports literature. During the week that sees the beginning of the college football season, I thought that it would be great to have Alan contribute. The only downside is that this column is dedicated to the support of the LSU Fightin’ Tigers and Alan graduated from a little football school in Alabama that will remain unlinked. This is also a timely posting for us because Alan happens to be one of the current guest editors of this month’s English Journal, he will explain more about that below. 

I plan to have a guest contributor once a month. I have a list of great minds that I would like to invite; nevertheless, I am open to suggestions. Nominate yourself or someone else and send me an idea. 

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Six years ago this month, I moved from the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to begin a Ph.D. program at The University of Alabama. My decision to leave North Carolina was difficult; I would miss greatly my family, friends, colleagues, and students. Professionally, I would miss teaching English the most, but I would also miss coaching high school basketball. Ultimately, I knew I needed to get away from basketball, one of my greatest passions, to focus on my studies.

So I moved to Alabama.

On my first visit, I met with an associate dean in UA’s Graduate School. Out of curiosity, I asked about the university’s basketball teams. He replied, “What’s a basketball?”  To this day, I don’t know whether or not he was kidding.

Upon arrival, I began hearing horror stories about the anti-academic nature of athletic coaches, many of them football coaches, who also served as core content area teachers in the public schools.

As I began researching the existing scholarship on core content area teacher-coaches and examining the landscape of interscholastic athletics, I quickly realized that where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire.

Nevertheless, I also found many teacher-coaches who were just as devoted to academics as athletics— these were often educators more concerned with intellectual and athletic development than standardized test scores and win/loss records.

Despite my interest in this research, something felt missing, namely my connection to the English language arts curriculum. In turn, I began thinking about ways to connect sports and literacy; academics and athletics; and popular culture, out-of-school spaces, and the English classroom.

Enter young adult literature.

As I planned my first NCTE and ALAN sessions, Lisa Scherff, my adviser during my time at The University of Alabama, encouraged me to reach out to Chris Crutcher, one of the most popular writers of sports-related young adult literature, to be a keynote speaker.

So I did, and he said yes.

Soon after, so did Matt de la Peña, Thomas Newkirk, and Doug Merlino. 

In recent years, the NCTE session, which has come to be known as “The Intersection of Literacy, Sport, Culture, and Society,” has helped teachers, teacher educators, and librarians from across the country consider the possibilities that come with connecting students’ natural curiosities with the English language arts curriculum.

Through it all, young adult literature has led the charge thanks to the generosity of authors such as Chris Crutcher, Matt de la Peña, Chris Crowe, Robert Lipsyte, Rich Wallace, Sandra Neil Wallace, Lisa Luedeke, Joshua C. Cohen, Bill Konigsberg, Matthew Quick, and Geoff Herbach, all of whom have helped us consider the topics and issues associated with sports culture.

As the summer comes to a close, I am reminded that football season is almost upon us. Personally, I’d rather read about basketball, but, as with most things, this column isn’t just about me. The purpose here is to provide resources that will assist teachers, parents, and librarians as they encourage teenagers, namely student-athletes and other sports-minded adolescents, and particularly reluctant and/or unmotivated readers, to engage in the act of reading based on their own personal interests.

With these students in mind, here are a few YA novels that might appeal to the football fanatics in your classroom, those who spend much of class watching the clock and thinking about future gridiron glory.

Looking for books with well-rounded protagonists who also happen to play football? 

•   Deadline by Chris Crutcher
  

•   Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach
  

Looking for contemporary and canonical classics in which the topic of football plays a lesser role?

•   The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
  

•   The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
  

Looking for books that deal with the severity of steroids and/or concussions?

•   Gym Candy by Carl Deuker
  

•   Second Impact: Making the Hardest Call of All by David Klass and Perri Klass
  

Looking for books that portray the issues of bullying and homophobia that are sometimes found in jock culture?

•   Endgame by Nancy Garden
  

•   Raiders Night by Robert Lipsyte
  

•   Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg
  

Looking for books that showcase football in rural settings?

•   Knights of the Hill Country by Tim Tharp
  

•   Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
  

Looking for football books that will attract reluctant middle grades readers?

•   Pop by Gordon Korman
  

•   Unstoppable by Tim Green
  

Looking for football books with a female protagonist?

•   Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
  

•   The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
  

Looking for nonfiction texts that will appeal to football players?

•  Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger
  

•   The Blind Side by Michael Lewis
  

For more information on connecting sports and literacy, particularly through young adult literature, take a look at my sports literacy blog where Amazon links are provided for each of the books listed above under the Football tab.

For more information about contemplating and critiquing sports in the English classroom, check out the September issue of English Journal entitled “A Whole New Ballgame: Sports and Culture in the English Classroom,” which I had the great pleasure of guest editing with Chris Crowe.

Finally, I hope you will join us for this year’s NCTE session on Saturday, November 22, in Washington, DC, which will be sponsored by the National Writing Project and will feature authors and scholars including Chris Crowe, Michael W. Smith, Rich Kent, Lisa Luedeke, and Peter Smagorinsky.


Thanks again, Alan
Steve T. Bickmore

If you meet a scholar from a non-English speaking country, who was interested in your scholarship on Young Adult Literature, how would you explain it? What books would you offer? 

Well, this happened to me last week. I had some wonderful conversations with Haipeng (Malcolm) Duan. Obviously, Malcolm is his selected English name. He explained to me that he liked the Scottish heritage of the name and he felt that it was unique. He didn’t what to be another Chinese academic known by David, John, or Michael. 

Malcolm was on his first trip outside of his native China. He selected Baton Rouge, in part, because through his internet search, the city has a reputation as a friendly place with a major university. Furthermore, it sits on the famed mighty Mississippi River. Now, imagine his bravery, his willingness to risk, as he contacted me through email. I know, everyone is thinking: “Bickmore, are you crazy responding to an introductory email from a foreign country?” Well, maybe, but this one felt right and my son, Walker, speaks fluent Mandarin (He says he is fluent, so I am always looking for opportunities to test him).  Malcolm also mentioned, from the very beginning, that he was traveling at his own expense. I followed up by asking for links to his university, Teachers College of Guilin—here is a very helpful link if you speak Chinese. 

Initially, our face to face connection was delayed. I left Baton Rouge for vacation as he arrived. We connected last week and discussed what English Education means for both of us. For me, it is the education of teachers who will teach reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills to native speakers of English—primarily. For Malcolm, it means teaching English to native Chinese speakers in their public schools. He taught English for ten years in a high school setting and now works with pre-service teachers preparing to teach English in Chinese schools. 

I have arranged for Malcolm to visit several schools in the Baton Rouge area—that is a completely different posting for another time.

As I explained my interest and work around Young Adult Literature, I wanted to offer some concrete examples. I gave him several copies of The ALAN Review—all three issues of volume 41. Sorry, they aren’t online yet. The information about the journal under the new editorial team of Wendy Glenn, Ricki Ginsberg, and Danielle King can be found here. In addition, archived issues can be found here and the journal’s Facebook page here. 

 I then wanted Malcolm to have some concrete examples of established YA titles—Okay, before you read further, what ten books would you offer up as established, quality YA fiction if money and availability is not an obstacle. Quick, are they on your shelves? Make a list and send it to me or post it on Facebook as a response to this blog posting. 

I selected two familiar texts. I have to admit that they were both included as part of the discussion in a special issue of First Opinions, Second Reactions (FOSR V7, I1) By the way, share this around as it is a good journal and this is an interesting issue. These novels and a few others have been on my mind over the last six months as a result of this project. The first was The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton.  I like the way the book troubles the American Dream and discusses how we separate ourselves by economic lines in this country. I also like how Jennifer Dail and Sophia Tatiana Sarigianides discuss the novel in their contribution to the special issue of FOSR-Discussing the Classics of Young Adult Literature. For me, The Outsiders remains a book that still speaks to students and marks a moment for the acceptance and growth of YA literature. 

I would have been amiss if I hadn’t offered a YA novel that dealt with the issue of race in the landscape of American Culture. Like you, I bemoan the tragic event in Ferguson, Missouri. Clearly, we haven’t made all of the progress we think we have in a society that people too quickly want to label as post-racial. Two articles focus on past and current statements by President Obama. First, the Washington Post a few days ago, and second, was posted yesterday in the GlobalPost. 

My second choice was The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. I love this book. I think I see myself in Kenny as he innocently plays with toy soldiers. Kenny’s journey is one from naiveté to a clearer understanding that violence might explode out of our prejudices.  Again, I appreciate how both KaaVonia Hinton and E. Sybil Durand treat the novel in their brief essays in FOSR. 

For the time being, Malcolm has a couple of quality examples of YA literature that might give him a slightly broader picture of American adolescence. What else should I offer? I realize now that it might be a more difficult task than I imagined explaining YA literature to a foreign “English Educator.” What he is able to take with him as he reenters China, might be an issue as well. We imagined an interchange in which his future pre-service teachers read the same YA novel that my students might read as a touchstone text in a methods class to use in practicing and discussing teaching strategies. Would either one of these texts provoke an exchange of questions between his future English teachers in China and my students in Baton Rouge, Louisiana? What would these novels say about equality, race, culture, and education? Well, I hope we get to find out. 

I would love your collective wisdom about what we should consider as we move forward. Don’t forget to send me your list of ten YA novels to share internationally.

Until next week, 

Steven T. Bickmore

During the week that I have returned from vacation and am back in the office, I keep revisiting a conversation with my son about reading, then, I keep picturing both my son and grandson as they draw, write about, and talk about robots together. Yesterday, as I was framing this week’s YA Wednesday, my memory of an out of school literacy activity among three generations of readers kept pushing its way to the front of my mind. It was locked into place by two Facebook postings--thank you Sara Kajder and Kylene Beers.

I am a proud father and grandfather. I loved spending time with all my children and grandchildren over the last several weeks. As an avid reader I connect many events—past and present—to reading experiences. My oldest son, Isaac, is working on a Ph.D in music education at Arizona State University. While we were visiting his office space and the building in which he both takes and teaches classes, I couldn’t escape the fact that I was once again visiting a campus that housed the first incarnation of The ALAN Review. Alleen Nilson and Ken Donelson began the journal as early career professors over forty years ago. The journal returned to ASU under the direction of Jim Blasingame and Lori Goodson, for another editorial cycle from Volume 31 through Volume 36. I just finished an editorial run with my co-editors Jackie Bach and Melanie Hundley, so I was understandably nostalgic. Conversations and the context of the conversations almost always reminds me of books.

In the midst of doing graduate work, Isaac stays intimately connected to the literacy development of his two sons, Will, 5,  and Van, 3. Both of his children are extremely bright and interested in reading, writing, and drawing (no grandparent bias here, of course). Isaac has nurtured this impulse by creating and self-publishing an alphabet book based on robots—one of Will’s seemingly endless obsessions. Everyone should buy one of course!


This post is not about shameless family self-promotion, okay, well maybe a bit. Mainly, it is about my literacy memory that occurred as Isaac shared his book and as we chatted about reading. I was reminded of a book from my own early adolescence that I think about from time to time--Andy Buckram’s Tin Men by Carol Ryrie Brink. This was a wonderful book. I read it a couple of times as a kid and as a teacher and, now, as an English educator that focuses on reading and young adult literature, it is a book I wish I owned.

            Sara Kajder posted on Facebook about her challenges with participating in an independent reading program driven by Accelerated Reader. She describes a son, who, while a reluctant reader, is beginning to read more and more. He has found a series of books he likes, but reading those books generates no points from the AR program. So, as far as the program is concerned, he would not be “reading.” Come on! As an English Educator I know this is bunk, as a past editor of The ALAN Review it drives me wild, and as a parent it breaks my heart. I started wondering about Andy Buckram’s Tin Men and other books I read growing up. Would they pass the test to be qualified as AR books at any level?

            I picked four books or book series--Andy Buckram’s Tin Men (Brink & Mars, 1966), Homer Price (McCloskey, 1943),  the Herbert series —that I enjoyed in my late elementary years to see how they measure up or if we are losing track of classic children’s and adolescent (juvenile) books. To say that I enjoyed them is an understatement. These are the books, that as I read them, I would jump up, find my mother, and read her passages I thought were funny. It is her own fault that she had to endure these impromptu moments of sharing; she started it all with that bedtime story routine.  Poor Andy and his wonderful Tin Men don’t make the AR list. It is out of print; hopefully, it is still hiding in public libraries. It was written by a Newbery winner, Carol Ryrie Brink. Are we destined to only keep track of the award winning titles?  

            Homer Price has a better outcome that Andy. Two books featuring Homer have AR ratings, both at the 6 grade level. This makes me uneasy. I like that they are acknowledged, but resist that they are labeled.  I think curious, slightly mischievous boys would relish participating, even vicariously, with Homer in his adventures. Perhaps Homer fairs better than Andy because his author, Robert McCloskey, won two Caldecott Medals as opposed to Brink’s single Newbery Award. Even more troubling, we frequently hold on to older books written by males as opposed to females; dare I even open that can of worms?

            The Herbert series doesn’t even get a mention in the AR BookFinder. This is disappointing. Hazel Hutchins Wilson wrote over 15 books for adolescent readers. Some of them are fiction and others are based on historical figures. She was a librarian throughout her life and her papers are collected at the University of Oregon. She made a notable contribution to children’s literature as a writer. In addition, she worked at secondary schools and universities as a librarian. I devoured these books. It bothers me at the thought that if a parent or a child found these wonderful books at a library, a bookstore, or a garage sale they just wouldn’t be adequate for the boundaries of an AR program.

            Of all of the characters, Rupert Piper, Ethelyn M. Parkinson’s creation, fares the worst. Her books don’t have a single mention in the AR BookFinder. I loved these books. I thought they were funny, engaging, and creative. I still have a specific memory of reading to my mother from a Rupert book as she worked in the kitchen. I read and laughed as she carefully listened; I become a reader, a high school English teacher, an English educator, and a critic of young adult literature. My parents took me to the book mobile and the library and they didn’t care which books I checked out or whether or not I finished them. My teachers took me to the library as well; they suggested books, but mainly, they encouraged reading through modeling. Parkinson wrote quite a few adolescent novels. It is hard to find information about her or many of her books. The LSU library didn’t have any of her books. Some can be found on Amazon. I hope others discover the Rupert books and find them as quirky as I did.  Granted, Rupert, Homer, Herbert, and Andy represent a different era in publishing. Nevertheless, the principle is the same. I became a reader because I was ushered in slowly. I was read to by my mother and by teachers. They nurtured my interest and suggested titles. I kept charts and wrote reports. I know that there were rewards along the way, at home and at school--I got to be one of the classroom librarians in our sixth grade in-class library. But I never had to read to a specific list or take a test on my self-selected reading, thank goodness. Some of my choices were too tough the first time around;—Moby Dick didn’t cut it when I was in the seventh grade, or the eleventh grade, but I inhaled it in college. Kylene Beers suggested in a recent Facebook post: “The right book isn't determined by a Lexile level (or an AR ranking). It's determined by your inability to stop reading it no matter what anyone says.” If we find a kid reading and then we find out that child is communicating with parents or guardians, we should  make some suggestions, monitor progress, teach pre, post, and during reading skills, encourage conversation, and more importantly, get out of their way. Rather than discourage reading by limiting reading choices through tightly defined programs, we should be fostering true self-selected reading.

Until next week,
Steven T. Bickmore

One of my (Steve’s) favorite books last year was Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park. It is the kind of book you want to see on every list. I taught high school for 25 years and I can tell you that Rowell understands adolescents. Her characters ring true and their challenges, and how they tackle them, simultaneously break your heart and make your spirit soar. I was excited when the book was named as a finalist for the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award in mid-July and elated when they announced it as the winner (A side note is important. All of the finalist were outstanding; I am not sure that they could have gone wrong selecting any of these books More about these books in future columns.) I knew that my colleague and friend, Mark Letcher, was on the award committee. Since the award is fairly new and not many people have firsthand experience about how these award committees function, I asked him to be a guest contributor to this week’s YA Wednesday to talk about the Walden Award and his experience on the committee.
Thanks, Mark. 

When Steve approached me to write about the experience of serving on the Walden committee, I thought of some questions I had when I first heard of the award, and applied to be on the committee. I felt those same questions, with answers, might be helpful to those who don’t know about the award itself, and might be interested in how the process works.

What is this award? First, let’s look at the basics. The Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award is presented annually to a young adult book “that exemplifies literary excellence, widespread appeal, and a positive approach to life.” More on these tricky criteria later. To read more about Walden herself and her work, check out this guide to her papers collection at the University of Oregon.

Who picks it? Every year, the Walden committee is comprised of 11 ALAN members (1 chair, 1 past-chair, 3 classroom teachers, 3 librarians, and 3 university professors). Committee members serve from 2-3 years, and are rotated off, so that there are always new members each year.  

How many books are considered for the award? In each of the last two years, between 250-300 books have arrived at my door. The committee is formed in September, and books start arriving soon thereafter. It’s important to note that the committee does not receive copies of every YA book published each year; the publishing houses determine which books they want to submit for award consideration. Committee members can also suggest books, if they have not already been submitted.

Do you actually read all of those books? No, not even close. Once the committee members are selected, smaller reading groups are formed. This allows us to “divide and conquer” all the books that come in, because let’s face it, we all have other jobs that keep us busy. Each group is assigned titles and reading deadlines by the chair, and we “talk” about our books via email. We also establish a private group on Goodreads, so that we can easily manage larger discussions of books in the later rounds. If a group decides that a book meets the award criteria, and should move forward, that book moves on to Round 2. We try to narrow down the books as much as we can in this first round, based on the criteria.

There’s a Round 2? There are as many rounds as are needed, until the committee can agree on finalists and an eventual winner. After the initial reading and winnowing down of all titles by the small groups, the committee is left with a number of books that the groups feel are deserving of a wider read, and could qualify for the award (we had about 40 left this year, as an example). In Round 2, everyone on the committee reads all of the remaining titles, and there is more discussion and voting. We talk and vote, and talk and vote some more, until we arrive at a slate of finalists. Then, we vote on which finalist should actually receive the award. Each year, there is room for 1 winning title, and up to 4 honor books.

What are the discussions like? Friendly, respectful, and open. The people on this committee love YAL, and are giving up a ton of their own time to serve, so they take this process incredibly seriously. I’ve never met some of my fellow committee members in person, but I feel I know them very well, by reading and talking about books with them. In terms of our discussions, think about the conversations we have with our own students: we don’t allow them to simply state whether they like or don’t like a book - they have to offer reasons why. On Walden, we do the same thing, and our “why’s” have to stick closely to the award criteria. I’ve had many books I love not make it out of Round 1, simply because the groups reading them didn’t feel they met the criteria. This is much more than picking which books we all love. Opinions may change, and a book that I liked earlier in the process may not seem as strong, once it’s stacked up against other high-quality titles.

So back to the award criteria. Why are they so tricky? Like all good criteria, the Walden’s are both specific and vague enough to invite interpretation. Many of our online discussions focus on the nature of the criteria; every reader is different, so we all may read the criteria slightly differently. Being on Walden has forced me, in the best way, to closely examine how I read, and how I articulate what I look for in an “excellent” book. I’ve also become more comfortable expressing my opinion on a book, sticking to it, and backing it up with specific elements. This committee is always comprised of passionate, smart readers, all of whom want the best possible titles to represent ALAN and Amelia Walden. I’ve been satisfied and disappointed with votes throughout my time on Walden, but I always know that every book has received a thorough analysis, fair discussion, and that the finalists have survived intense scrutiny and multiple close readings.

I’m sold. How do I apply? Look to the ALAN website for the call for applications. You’ll need to prepare a letter, outlining your experience with YAL and committee work. You also must be an ALAN member in good standing. The call for applications goes out in late summer, once that year’s committee has made its final selections. I wasn’t selected the first couple of times I applied, so keep throwing your name out there. If you are selected, know that hard, rewarding work awaits. Being on Walden has made me a better reader and teacher of YAL, and I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.

Mark Letcher is an Assistant Professor of English Education at Purdue University Calumet, where he teaches courses in adolescent and intermediate literacy methods, young adult literature, and content-area reading. He has been a regular attendee of the ALAN workshop since 2004, and is currently a member of the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award committee and the ALAN Board of Directors. He can be reached at markeletcher@gmail.com, and @m_letcher on Twitter.

Thanks Again, Mark

Steve T. Bickmore