Okay, I realize that few people really want to buy a textbook near the end of the semester. Personaly, I know that I would like to curl up with a good crime novel (I know I am not got up with at least Jo Nesbo, Michael Connelly, and T. Jefferson Parker), but I have miles to go before I sleep. I have grading to attend to, a chapter to finish, some book chapters to review and a few other tasks. In addition, there are a list of YA novels that looking forward to--Girl in PIeces, Out of Darkness, and I am interested in the new Lock & Mori Mind Games. But they will all wait while I finishing Bonnie-Sue Hitchock's wonderful novel, The Smell of Other People's Houses.
Again, NCTE was a great conference this year with a ton of connections to YA literature. Now, let's see if I can point to three new textbooks connected to Young Adult Literature in a short post. (I know. That will be difficult for me.) I purchased two of the textbooks while at the conference and one the other one should be coming to me in the mail. In the past I have recommended that it is important for those of use who teach YA literature to preservice teachers or want to know about how this body of literature is being researched and taught would do well to pay attention to these textbook. Clearly, it won't replace scholarly articles; but paying attention to both sources provides a rich supply of information to draw from. I would not require a single textbook in a young adult literature course. Instead, I would provide a list of quality textbooks and have each student buy one. Depending on the size of the class, the students individually or in pairs would report on their selected text. As a result, these future teachers would be introduced to several textbooks that could inform their use of YA lit in the classroom.
The first is Jennifer Buehler's Teaching Reading with YA Literature: Complex Texts, Complex Lives, Jennifer is the immediate past president of ALAN and she is just about as knowledgeable as it comes for a source about young adult literature. Among her many achievements, my favorite is that she introduced me to Matt de la Pena. Several years ago she wrote an exceptional article for The ALAN Review that featured his work. The book is an NCTE publication and has an accompaning resource page. This book is a valuable addition to the field and would make a great addition to your resource shelf.
The next is Developing Contemporary Literacies through Sports edited by Alan Brown and Luke Rodesiler. These scholars have worked together to gather a collection of chapters that address literacy through sports. While the book references young adult literature throughout the chapters, it would be dismissive to suggest that it is just a book about sports and YA. It is a great deal more. You should quickly browse through the table of contents and then buy the book. Since it is an NCTE publication, there is a companion website. If you ever wonder how to engage those kids who might be thinking more about balls and sports workouts than they do about books, get this book.
And the last selection is the second editon of Teaching Young Adult Literature Today that comes with updated material and new chapters. This is a second edition that should be purchased. The new material demonstrates how much scholarship and various topics surrounding young adult literature have expanded in the four years since the first edition. If you quickly browse the table of contents of this new editon to the first edition, you will quickly understand that one does not replace the other. Judith Hayn, Jeff Kaplan, and Karina R. Clemmons have gathered chapters that explore what the title states. The chapters are, indeed, a collection of discussion about what could and should be occuring in classrooms using the resources of quality young adult literature.
Again, NCTE was a great conference this year with a ton of connections to YA literature. Now, let's see if I can point to three new textbooks connected to Young Adult Literature in a short post. (I know. That will be difficult for me.) I purchased two of the textbooks while at the conference and one the other one should be coming to me in the mail. In the past I have recommended that it is important for those of use who teach YA literature to preservice teachers or want to know about how this body of literature is being researched and taught would do well to pay attention to these textbook. Clearly, it won't replace scholarly articles; but paying attention to both sources provides a rich supply of information to draw from. I would not require a single textbook in a young adult literature course. Instead, I would provide a list of quality textbooks and have each student buy one. Depending on the size of the class, the students individually or in pairs would report on their selected text. As a result, these future teachers would be introduced to several textbooks that could inform their use of YA lit in the classroom.
The first is Jennifer Buehler's Teaching Reading with YA Literature: Complex Texts, Complex Lives, Jennifer is the immediate past president of ALAN and she is just about as knowledgeable as it comes for a source about young adult literature. Among her many achievements, my favorite is that she introduced me to Matt de la Pena. Several years ago she wrote an exceptional article for The ALAN Review that featured his work. The book is an NCTE publication and has an accompaning resource page. This book is a valuable addition to the field and would make a great addition to your resource shelf.
The next is Developing Contemporary Literacies through Sports edited by Alan Brown and Luke Rodesiler. These scholars have worked together to gather a collection of chapters that address literacy through sports. While the book references young adult literature throughout the chapters, it would be dismissive to suggest that it is just a book about sports and YA. It is a great deal more. You should quickly browse through the table of contents and then buy the book. Since it is an NCTE publication, there is a companion website. If you ever wonder how to engage those kids who might be thinking more about balls and sports workouts than they do about books, get this book.
And the last selection is the second editon of Teaching Young Adult Literature Today that comes with updated material and new chapters. This is a second edition that should be purchased. The new material demonstrates how much scholarship and various topics surrounding young adult literature have expanded in the four years since the first edition. If you quickly browse the table of contents of this new editon to the first edition, you will quickly understand that one does not replace the other. Judith Hayn, Jeff Kaplan, and Karina R. Clemmons have gathered chapters that explore what the title states. The chapters are, indeed, a collection of discussion about what could and should be occuring in classrooms using the resources of quality young adult literature.
You know have a shopping list to encourage you self-selected professional development. The field is growing. If you have been teaching YA literature for a long time or if you are new to the field these three books are informative, timely, and full of inspiration.
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