I firmly believe that we are in a golden age of young adult literature. As many of us prepare to usher preservice teachers into the pedagogical possibilities of young adult literature at the beginning of a new semester, it might be nice to remember that the academic resources available to help us are equally rich. Through recent conversations with others who teach YA at the university level and by examining the early data results on study of 300 young adult literature syllabi, I believe that not very many of us are using or requiring textbooks. That situation is neither a good thing nor a bad thing in and of itself. The real questions might be: (1) Are we consulting the rich offerings that are available in academic books that either introduce or critique young adult literature? and (2) Are preservice and inservice teachers and librarians introduced to these texts in their course work so that they know them for future reference?
I am a big fan of YA courses that include the opportunity for the students to read widely through a variety of genres and authors. At the same time, I think the students should be guided to journals and textbooks that can help their critical understanding of how to advocate, to teach, and to critic. In my courses, I always include a list of textbooks to supplement my student’s ongoing understanding. This posting briefly surveys five textbooks. Granted, five books isn’t very many and there are more that should be on your shelves; nevertheless, let’s start somewhere. If you are looking for a starter set you can’t go wrong with these textbooks.
I am a big fan of YA courses that include the opportunity for the students to read widely through a variety of genres and authors. At the same time, I think the students should be guided to journals and textbooks that can help their critical understanding of how to advocate, to teach, and to critic. In my courses, I always include a list of textbooks to supplement my student’s ongoing understanding. This posting briefly surveys five textbooks. Granted, five books isn’t very many and there are more that should be on your shelves; nevertheless, let’s start somewhere. If you are looking for a starter set you can’t go wrong with these textbooks.
My first choice is Literature for Today’s Young Adults in its 9th edition. Over thirty years ago the first of edition of this book was just about the only choice for a comprehensive introduction to the study and teaching of young adult literature. The original authors, Alleen Pace Nilsen and Kenneth L. Donelson, were the founding editors of The ALAN Review in 1974. Those scholars who have worked with young adult literature in the 1980s and the 1990s are probably quite familiar with the early versions of this work. Ken has now passed on, but his legacy is very much alive in the work of his students and through the various editions of this touchstone work. The authors of the 9th edition are listed as Alleen Pace Nilsen, James Blasingame, Don Nilsen, and Kenneth Donelson. In reality, Don, Alleen’s husband, has always been part of the work of young adult literature. He has probably attended as many ALAN workshops as anyone. Jim Blasingame is well-known in the YA community. He is a professor at Arizona State University and was Alleen’s colleague before her retirement. Jim is also the new executive director of ALAN. Congratulations Jim! The scope of this textbook is impressive and some of the key definitions about the nature of young adult literature come from this reliable and vital source.
The Second choice is another collaboration. Early in my academic career I was asked to review for publication the second edition of Young Adult Literature: Exploration, Evaluation, and Appreciation by Katherine T. Bucher and KaaVonia Hinton. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. While it covers some of the same ground as the earlier text, I found that it added to the conversation. During that review I noted that I found the introductory chapter quite strong and I appreciated the genre approach to its exploration of YA literature. Again, in my syllabus study the genre approach to teaching YA seems to be quite common. I look forward to exploring the 3rd Edition of Young Adult Literature: Exploration, Evaluation, and Appreciation and I hope you do as well. I had the opportunity to do a small project with KaaVonia and I found her to be an insightful scholar and she has her own blog. The work we did together can be found in this volume of First Opinion, Second Reaction.
My third selection is another book that I find myself returning to over and over again. It is Pam B. Cole’s Young Adult Literature in the 21st Century. Pam is another scholar who has been contributing significantly to YA scholarship for a while. She is now an Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in the Bagwell College of Education at Kennesaw State University. When I discovered Pam’s book, I liked it immediately. I love how she incorporated the voices of author’s personal stories throughout the book. I asked to review it and was able to write a review of the book in the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. You can find the review here. If you would like a collection about authors talking about their inspiration for writing young adult literature, you will find a nice collection as part of this book.
The fourth text is different in tone and scope than the other three. It is a collection of critically essays that examine themes in YA literature. I have another personal connection to the text. I was asked by the publisher to review The Critical Merits of Young Adult Literature: Coming of Age edited by Crag Hill. In short, I found the book to be fantastic. My only complaint was that I wasn’t invited to contribute. Fortunately, I was invited to write the forward. In the forward I state: “Each chapter serves as a model and theoretical foundation for other scholars to stand on as the field of YA literature moves forward.” Many of these authors I knew causally, but I went out of my way to get to know all of their work better. I think it is worth the effort to have this book on the shelf so that you can easily reference emerging scholars in the field of YA literature. Many had significant publications before this collection and almost all of them now have additional contributions. Crag put together a collection that is important to the field of YA scholarship. He has an eye for quality work. I feel lucky to be working with Crag as we push forward to further establish Study and Scrutiny as a new force in young adult scholarship.
The final selection for this week’s posting is a brand new book. The editorial team of Judith A. Hayn, Jeffery S. Kaplan, Amanda L Nolen, and Heather A Olvey have two new books. Both books discuss how to use YA literature in the classroom in an era of standards driven education without getting hung up on the standards. The first is Teaching Young Adult Literature: Integrating, implementing, and Re-Imagining the Common Core. This is a great book, but I would like to talk briefly about the second, Young Adult Nonfiction: Gateway to the Common Core. (Spoiler alert: I contribute to one of the chapters in this book, but I promise it is an excellent collection notwithstanding my participation.) The publisher asked me to write a cover blurb for this book and I wrote:
With this book, Young Adult Nonfiction, Hayn, Kaplan, Nolen, and Olvey have gathered together a collection of scholars whose advice and wisdom raise above the demands of the common core and provide teachers with a vision of how young adult nonfiction can be a useful key to seamlessly introduce informational text, cross-curricular knowledge, and text complexity into the language arts classroom. This book will remain an important guide for using nonfiction with students for many years after the hoopla of the common core has passed precisely because it focuses on the timeless issues of good pedagogical practices.
I believed it when I wrote the blurb and I still do. I was thrilled to get a copy in the mail just a few short weeks ago. Too often we forget how intimately connected the subject matter of the English Language Arts curriculum is related to Social Studies, the sciences, math and the arts. If you are considering any plan for the integration of curricula using YA literature, then this book is a must buy selection for your library.
Until next week.
With this book, Young Adult Nonfiction, Hayn, Kaplan, Nolen, and Olvey have gathered together a collection of scholars whose advice and wisdom raise above the demands of the common core and provide teachers with a vision of how young adult nonfiction can be a useful key to seamlessly introduce informational text, cross-curricular knowledge, and text complexity into the language arts classroom. This book will remain an important guide for using nonfiction with students for many years after the hoopla of the common core has passed precisely because it focuses on the timeless issues of good pedagogical practices.
I believed it when I wrote the blurb and I still do. I was thrilled to get a copy in the mail just a few short weeks ago. Too often we forget how intimately connected the subject matter of the English Language Arts curriculum is related to Social Studies, the sciences, math and the arts. If you are considering any plan for the integration of curricula using YA literature, then this book is a must buy selection for your library.
Until next week.
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