Hi, all! Gretchen here with some updates and introductions. As Dr. Bickmore has stepped back from blog work for now in order to serve the Uganda Kampala Mission, we welcome some new blog curators for YA Wednesday. These curators will be helping with our Monday Motivator posts as well as our Weekend Picks, rollling up their sleeves to send contributor reminders, provide book cover pictures, insert hyperlinks, and copyedit submissions. Widening our curator community widens our overall YA circle, spreading our admiration for YA literature farther and wider--our own mission of sorts. Below are our curators.
Dr. Gretchen Rumohr, YA Wednesday Chief Curator
 | I am preparing a future YA Wednesday post for a more developed introduction, but at the very least, I'd like to say that I am delighted to work as YA Wednesday's chief curator. I have worked with Dr. Bickmore on many projects, but this very big project takes the cake! Since last spring, Steve has provided hours of blog-related instruction and explanation, preparing me for this transition. I am certain that I will make mistakes, but I am grateful for a stellar team of co-curators who will help things along. A bit about me: I serve as a professor of English and department chair at Aquinas College, where I teach writing and language arts methods. I am also a Co-Director of the UNLV Summit on the Research and Teaching of Young Adult Literature. At Aquinas, I find tremendous joy and purpose in matching each of my students with the right YA books, and I am an absentminded professor when it comes to which books my students borrow and return. At home, I find tremendous joy and purpose in my four girls--all YA lovers--as well as running, hiking, and canning. I should also mention Gracie, my five-pound Yorkshire Terrier, who serves as a steady lap-dog whenever I read a book. |
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Monday Motivator Curators
We are excited to share Monday Motivator posts, which will describe pedagogical ideas that can be done that very day or week. Below are our Monday Motivator curators.
Abbey Bachman
Abbey hopes to share her knowledge as well as learn more resources for teaching YA lit and reading new and relevant YA picks. She was a secondary English teacher for 11 years before earning my PhD in Curriculum & Instruction. Her research centers around student choice in texts and the classroom, so staying relevant on new YA books is a passion that she shares with others.
Jason DeHart
In all of his work, Jason hopes to point teachers to quality resources and books that they can use. He strives to empower others and not make his work only about him or his interests. He is a also an advocate of using comics/graphic novels and media in classrooms, as well as curating a wide range of authors.
Melanie Hundley
Melanie is a voracious reader and loves working with students, teachers, and authors. As a former middle and high school teacher, she knows the value of getting good young adult books in kids' hands. She teaches young adult literature and writing methods classes. She hopes that the Monday Motivator page will introduce teachers to great books and to possible ways to use those books in classrooms.
Emily Pendergrass
Emily loves reading, students, and teachers! And her favorite thing is connecting texts with students and teachers. She hopes that the Monday Motivation page is helpful to teachers interested in building lifelong readers and writers!
Our Weekend Picks feature returns for 2022! In these posts, guest contributors take book selfies with their perfect weekend read. Below are our Weekend Picks curators.
Nikki Bylina-Streets
Nikki is a elementary librarian who just keeps reading YA literature. She is a constant advocate for reading at every level. You can also follow her through her Instagram account dedicated to my school library work. @thislibraryrocks
Cammie Jo Lawton
Cammie is especially interested in how YA can affect readers, create empathy and possibly shift thinking. I think it could be interesting to incorporate interviews or choice picks by scholars in the field of YA texts that are promoting/have promoted growth and change in connection to self or others.
Leilya Pitre
Leilya taught English as a foreign language in the Ukraine and ELA/English in public schools in the US. Her research interests include teacher preparation, clinical experiences, secondary school teaching, and teaching and research of Young Adult and multicultural literature. Together with her friend and colleague, Mike Cook, she co-authored a two-volume edition of Teaching Universal Themes Through Young Adult Novels (2021).
Moving Foward
Kudos to these new curators! Together we will bring exciting new YA content for 2022.
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