As the new year starts, I have been considering what I should reread. I need to thank Jo Knowles for part of this trip down memory lane, but more about on another posting soon. As Young Adult Literature (YAL) continues to expand, I believe we shouldn’t forget those who paved the way. I picked four authors from the early years of YA. (I know there could be a host of others—please feel free to add your selections in the comments or shoot me an email. Or, better yet, you might want to write your own post recommending other authors.) These four jumped to mind, because of the gigantic presence when I was starting out as a young teacher and, unfortunately, they are now gone. I picked Robert Cormier, Virginia Hamilton, Paul Zindel, and Walter Dean Myers. Walter has only been gone since 2014, but the other three have been gone for 17, 15, and 13 years respectfully. Do people who have recently entered the field in any capacity know about the tremendous contributions of these authors?
I have two concerns. First, I worry about creating a canon of YA authors and books that limits our understanding of the past. Second, while social media and the internet can keep teachers, librarians, and academic stay current with new authors, current award finalist, and new releases; how do we keep older, great books alive in our classrooms.
I have two concerns. First, I worry about creating a canon of YA authors and books that limits our understanding of the past. Second, while social media and the internet can keep teachers, librarians, and academic stay current with new authors, current award finalist, and new releases; how do we keep older, great books alive in our classrooms.
Robert Cormier has always been a presence in my teaching life. I entered the classroom with The Chocolate War and I am the Cheese. They were always on the shelf. On the other hand, I was not always as proactive about promoting YAL as I should have been. Still, it was I am the Cheese that showed me that young adult literature was complex, sophisticated, and worthy of our attention at every level. I return to this wonderful novel more frequently than I care to admit. If the only novel by Cormier that you know is The Chocolate War, it is time to expand your horizons. I would pick I am the Cheese, but I don’t think you can go wrong with any of this titles. Grab the first one in your library.
Virginia Hamilton is a trailblazer worthy to follow in the steps of such pioneers as Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman. Her books were published and respected when a female African American children’s and young adult other was a rare commodity. Indeed, her first novel was published in 1967, a year often considered the beginning of the modern beginning of adolescent literature. It would be hard to ignore the impact and guidance of books like M. C. Higgins, The People Could Fly, and The Planet of Junior Brown. Hamilton was the first African American author to receive the Newbery Medal. Once again do you know these wonderful books?
Paul Zindel wrote his most successful play, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds in 1964. It was performed in my high school when I was a senior. I had friends that acted in the play that ran on Broadway and garnered Zindel the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1971. Perhaps, it doesn’t hurt if Edward Albee was your teacher, mentor, and advocate. For high school teachers he was long the go to author for the students who were alienated, quirky, or heard a different drummer. The first book of The Pigman Trilogy, The Pigman, is a good place to start. Nevertheless, My Darling, My Hamburger or Pardon Me, You’re Stepping on My Eyeball! are books that will remind you why Zindel was an important fixture in the syllabi of early Young Adult literature courses.
Last, but by no means the least on this list is Walter Dean Myers. With more than 100 books to his credit his reputation is secure. He won the Coretta Scott King Award five times and was a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature three different times. Novels such as Game, Scorpions, and Slam engaged many reluctant readers. Novels such as Fallen Angels and Sunrise Over Fallujah remind us how much the USA depends on and requires of our young men in uniform. While many may not know some of Myers early work, it would be hard to miss the impact of Monster over the last ten years in America’s classrooms.
I hope you add some books by these authors to your “books to be read soon” list. I think you will enjoy them and will want to share them with students. If you would like to write a blog post about one of these authors, I would welcome it with open arms. If there are authors I missed, and there surely are, I would like hear about those as well
Until next week.
Until next week.
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