A few days ago, Jenn Haight posted a blog on Allvoices, that posed a question I am always interested in: Which contemporary young adult novels will be considered classics? She mentions the need to reexamine, from time to time, what we consider classics, the use of YA books as ladders to the classics, and discusses some the characteristics of YA fiction. I think she is on the money. I also think she mentions titles that might have the staying power of The Cather in the Rye or The Outsiders. Clearly, if you follow my blog or academic articles, you know these are issues I think about.
As I mulled over Jenn’s post, I was driven to the library on campus. Specifically, I went to visit the LSU library’s children and YA collection. I started to wonder which “older” children's or young adult writers we might be starting to neglect as we devour the works of some of the author’s Haight suggests: Levithan, Chbosky, Brashares, Forman, Lockhart, Forman, Garcia, and, the oldest reference in her list of classics from Goodreads, Cormier. I wanted to browse through the stacks and see what names I found that we ought to remember; authors who have contributed over time and whose books are worth remembering.
Walk with me through the first six letters of the alphabet as I select authors who, I think, ought to be remembered if we create a list of “classic” texts. Without question there are authors that some of you love that I won’t mention. Make your own list as you browse through your university, school, or public library. There really is a legacy of great writers of children's, juvenile, and adolescent fiction that contribute to a collection of what we are now calling Young Adult Literature.
As I mulled over Jenn’s post, I was driven to the library on campus. Specifically, I went to visit the LSU library’s children and YA collection. I started to wonder which “older” children's or young adult writers we might be starting to neglect as we devour the works of some of the author’s Haight suggests: Levithan, Chbosky, Brashares, Forman, Lockhart, Forman, Garcia, and, the oldest reference in her list of classics from Goodreads, Cormier. I wanted to browse through the stacks and see what names I found that we ought to remember; authors who have contributed over time and whose books are worth remembering.
Walk with me through the first six letters of the alphabet as I select authors who, I think, ought to be remembered if we create a list of “classic” texts. Without question there are authors that some of you love that I won’t mention. Make your own list as you browse through your university, school, or public library. There really is a legacy of great writers of children's, juvenile, and adolescent fiction that contribute to a collection of what we are now calling Young Adult Literature.
The first author is Avi. He is a valuable contributor to the field of adolescent literature having produced memorable books since 1970. He won the Newbery Medal in 2003 with Crispin: The Cross of Lead. Slightly more than a decade earlier he was a runner up for the Newbery award twice: first, in 1991 for The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and second, for Nothing but the Truth: a Documentary Novel. I think it would be easy to argue that with these three novels Avi has made a significant contribution to a classic body of YA literature. Furthermore, I found out he is the first cousin of the actor, Alan Arkin, how cool is that?
The letter B was almost too productive. I landed on J. M. Barrie, but I almost chose L. Frank Baum. Baum’s Oz books shaped my introduction to fantasy reading during my late elementary years, but I decided these were more closely aligned to children’s literature rather than YA. Barrie, of course, wrote Peter Pan. It would be hard to measure the influence of Peter Pan on our understanding of childhood and adolescence over the last century. The literary influence currently continues with the The Never Land Series and the Starcatchers series, both are written by the writing team of Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson.
Beverly Cleary became the clear choice for me. I read Henry Huggins as a kid and my daughters read through the Ramona series. Cleary has won numerous awards and demonstrated remarkable staying power. She has been recognized as a “Living Legend” by the Library of Congress and remains with us at age 98. I hope kids keep reading her books for years to come.
The letter D was an easy choice. While many academics argue that The Catcher in the Rye is the first modern YA novel, it is hard to ignore the impact and influence of Maureen Daly’s Seventeenth Summer which was published in 1942. Could it be that we favor narratives from a boy’s perspective over those from a girl’s as we attempt to establish benchmark texts and assign books to a list of “classics”?
I understand that the letter “e” is the most commonly used letter in the English language, but for some reason this section of the stacks had the slimmest offering of children’s and YA authors. I was immediately tempted to stop my search with Kathryn Erskine. Her novel, Mockingbird, won the National Book Award and is already a significant contribution to YA literature. However, I saw a large collection of books by Eleanor Estes. As I looked closer I saw that the novel, Ginger Pye won the Newbery Medal and three more of her books The Middle Moffat in 1943, Rufus M. in 1944, and The Hundred Dresses in 1945 were Newbery Honor Winners. Even though she is a children’s literature author, Estes represents the kind of author that I often think we are in danger of forgetting. After a little bit of research I discovered a life-long librarian and children’s author who captured the struggles of childhood: what it means to be a middle child, to live in your imagination, and to be different for the other children in your class.
While I do not read a wide variety of children’s and adolescent fiction written about animals, I readily admit their impact and appeal for many readers. When I got to the F section of the stacks I was struck by the large number of Walter Farley books. Farley’s The Black Stallion began capturing the imagination of children and adolescents in 1941. It is almost hard to believe that it took nearly forty years to produce a movie version of the book; especially when you consider the literary and film success of National Velvet, Black Beauty, and My Friend Flicka. Farley’s contributions are certainly books with a lasting impact that have managed to stay in print over many decades.
I will continue to browse through the library and report the rest of my discoveries in future posts. I hope you also venture on a trip through the library stacks near you. Hopefully, the trip stimulates your own memories of past reading experiences and inspirations as you contemplate just which books might be classics.
Until Next Week,
Steven T. Bickmore
I will continue to browse through the library and report the rest of my discoveries in future posts. I hope you also venture on a trip through the library stacks near you. Hopefully, the trip stimulates your own memories of past reading experiences and inspirations as you contemplate just which books might be classics.
Until Next Week,
Steven T. Bickmore
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