Chapter 9: Historical Fiction

Historical fiction is a story set in the past.  As we age, we might have different ideas of what "historical" means.  As young kids, it might mean whatever happened prior to that exact moment (like 2 hours ago at lunch), older kids might think of it as something that happened when they were younger and adults tend to think of history as events that occurred before we were born.  We need to keep this in mind when we label books and place them within genre.  Historical fiction allows readers to vicariously experience a previous time and place.
In regards to 9/11 specifically, I remember my first year teaching and realizing that class of third graders I had, were born in 2011 and had no idea what it was.  It was the first time I had ever experienced that feeling that is hard to explain- I knew I wasn't old but I felt old and it was strange not being able to express all the feelings and emotions that went along with that day, to 8 and 9 year olds.  It made me realize how my parents felt about JFK's assassination.

Criteria for evaluating:

• Is it a good story that blends the history in the story?  
• Accurate facts-  Might have to rely on other resources for accuracy and authenticity.  Can refer to CBC's (Council on Books for Children) list of Notable Trade Books in Social Sciences
• Values of time brought to life- some time periods valued things differently than today and readers need to know this.  
• Consistency- clothing, architecture, music, speech can reflect the time period
• Theme- should apply to contemporary readers.  Should be universal.  

Chapter 8: Poetry

Poetry is a form that literature can take, not a genre. It's one of the most neglected forms of literature because people don't understand it, don't know how to read it, they're afraid to evaluate it, or we've had a bad experience (because we were made to pick them apart).  I can ABSOLUTELY relate to this!  I LOATHED having to dissect poetry when I was in school.  It really ruined poetry for me.  And I still feel a lack of confidence in reading poetry, for lack of understanding.
There's a lot of freedom in poetry- there's no real rules/format.
In a research study there were 5 conclusions when they looked at what kind of poetry kids liked and what kinds of poetry worked well for them (elementary students were surveyed)

• kids prefer narrative poetry- makes sense because kids are used to reading stories so it seems natural to them.
• two types they disliked were free-verse and haiku, possibly with the exception of writing them, because writing it is easier than listening to it or writing it.  Maybe dislike them because it feels like they have a lack of what they think makes up poetry (like rhyme and rhythm)
• rhyme, rhythm, and sound devices were strong preferences.  They like the play with language.
• funny poems, poems about familiar experiences and animals are liked.  
• preference for contemporary poems, perhaps because it's more familiar.  The language is something they recognize rather than dated words or words they aren't very comfortable with.  

additional criteria:

• visual images and words that allow the child's imagination to expand.  The poem creates some kind of image or sensory feeling.  These are things kids can grab hold of and see an image for.  
• Also, poems shouldn't be brought down to the "child's level."  Don't talk down to kids.  
• a good poem for kids allows kids to interact with the poem (readers theater).  
• Repeated readings- they get to hear and read the poem multiple times because they get to really know their part and adds to their enjoyment.  

There are some major awards for poetry.  NCTE Award is a great place to start.  It went from every 3 years to every year, because poetry began to grow.  

We need to not overlook poetry, but emphasize it.

You really have to shove into kid's heads that it DOESN'T HAVE TO RHYME!  And if you're the poet, you can make it be anything you want.

Always have a short poem nearby.  We should have short poems we can share with kids at any time. Share a poem a day! Then we can expose them to SO many poems!  

Criteria for evaluating poetry.

1. Familiar subject to children.  We need to be aware of where children are in their development (abstract versus concrete thinking) and make sure to read and share several poems about subjects, with children.

2. Imagery- poems should use imagery that is accessible to the age of the reader.  Imagery includes sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and textures.

3. Rhyme- while poems don't have to rhyme, young readers need the scaffold of rhyme initially so that later they can appreciate forms that do not rhyme.

4.  Rhythm- we can teach kids different "beats" as we read and how it fits the subject of the poem.

5. Sound- Alliteration, consonance, assonance, onomatopoeia all play a role in sounds

Chapter 7: Awards and Lists

Students should be aware of the following awards and lists and familiar with the criteria of each award, as well as how to access them.

Awards and lists can be accessed from the ALA website.

Printz 
Given to books that exemplify literary excellence in young adult literature

YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction
Honors best nonfiction books published for young adults

Great Graphic Novels for Teens
Recommended graphic novels and illustrated nonfiction for young adults

Best Fiction for Young Adults
Recommended reading for young adults that was published in the past 16 months

Margaret A. Edwards Award
Honors an author, as well as a specific body of their work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.

ALEX Award
Given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults

Odyssey Award
Award given to producer of best audiobook for children and/or young adults, available in English in the U.S.

Morris Award
Honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature

Outstanding Books for the College Bound
A list of books, developed every five years, that offers opportunities to discover new ideas, and provide an introduction to the variety of subjects within an academic discipline.

Popular PaperbacksA list of books to encourage young adults to read for pleasure

Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers
A list of titles aimed at encouraging reading among teens who dislike to read for whatever reason

Readers' Choice
A list of books that seeks to engage a wide audience of librarians, educators, teens, and young adult literature enthusiasts in choosing the most popular teen titles in a given year, as organized by broad genres.

Teens Top Ten
 A "teen choice" list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books for the previous year.

Amazing Audiobooks
An annual list of notable audio recordings, released in the last two years, significant to young adults

YA Choices
A list of books that will encourage adolescents to read

Lone Star Reading List 
A recommended reading list, in Texas, developed by public and school librarians from the Young Adult Round Table, to encourage students in grades 6-8 to explore a variety of current books, for recreational reading.

TAYSHAS Reading List
A list of titles to motivate young adults, grades 9-12, to become lifelong readers and participate in the community of young adult readers throughout Texas

Maverick Reading List
A list of graphic novels to encourage young adult readers to explore a variety of current books in graphic novel format

Edgar Award for Mystery
Awarded to mystery books

NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children
Awarded to poetry books for children

Orbis Pictus
Awarded to outstanding nonfiction for children

Batchelder Award
Given to most outstanding children's book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the U.S., and translated into English for publication in the U.S.

Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction 
Awarded to an author for a meritorious book published in the previous year, for children and young adults

Pura Belpre Award
Presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth

Schneider Family Award
Honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability of experience for child and adolescent audiences

Sibert Award
Awarded annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published in the U.S. in English during the preceding year

Stonewall Award
Honors books for exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience

Chapter 6 Literary Elements

Literary Elements

·         Antagonist- enemy, or foe, of the protagonist

·         Character- person/creature that interacts with others in a story

·         Conflict- struggle between opposing forces

·         Mood And Tone- atmosphere and author's attitude toward topic

·         Plot- events of the story

·         Protagonist- main character

·         Setting- time and place the story happens

·         Themes- underlying message or big idea

Literary Devices

·         Allegory- figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another

·         Allusion-a direct or implicit casual reference

·         Archetype- reference to the original idea/famous concept

·         Deus ex machine-implausible concept/character brought into story for resolution

·         Hyperbole- exaggeration for grand effect

·         Imagery- mental pictures

·         Metaphor- a comparison that isn’t literally applicable but suggests resemblance

·         Motif- repetition of concept/idea/element through whole story

·         Point of view- manner the story is narrated/depicted and who tells story

·         Simile- comparison of unrelated things using “like” or “as”

·         Symbolism- one thing represents something else

Chapter 5: How Do Adolescents Develop?

In order to match kids to books successfully, we need to know readers!  There's several ways to know readers.  For young adults, we need to take into account their physical development, intellectual development, physical and emotional needs, as well as their reading development.
Physically, young adult readers are going through puberty.  It happens at a different rate and at different times for everyone.  They constantly asking "is this normal?" It's never an easy time and their physical reality gets in the way of basically everything.  There are lots of books that have main characters going through this stage of life and we need to look for these books!  We want to be able to assure the kids going through puberty, and what better way than to give them characters to relate to?
Intellectually there's also a lot of change- kids start going from concrete to abstract thinking.  It usually takes place around 14.  We need to be aware of the questions that we are asking kids about books and provide scaffolding.  We need to think about the books we are giving kids- are they concrete or abstract?  Where are our kids in their development?  Will they understand what they're reading if they aren't there developmentally?  There are stages from childhood to young adulthood.  The stages are constantly changing and developing.  Kohlberg's theory is that most kids are at the preconventional level so we are looking for books that speak to where they are and moving them forward- from concrete to abstract.
It is critical that we think about and know about the needs being met and not being met, physically and emotionally (Maslow).  We want our libraries to be safe places- physically and emotionally.  We need to show respect to our kids' opinions about books.  We want to meet their needs individually and we want to find books that reflect these needs too.
We also develop as readers.  It's not a hierarchy and we don't leave one level permanently and move to another.  We need to make sure that we have a diverse collection so we are meeting kids where they're at.  We need books that look into the bigger world.

Knowing how adolescents develop will help us (school librarians) to better match our readers to books that will impact them either educationally, emotionally, or both.  I think that if we are aware of young adult's needs- physically, emotionally, developmentally, we will be able to introduce them to books that will positively affect them and in turn keep them reading for the rest of their lives.

Chapter 4: What is YA Literature?

Young adult literature is geared towards the young adult audience so it has a lot to do with young adult characters.  The protagonist is generally a young adult and the story is told from their point of view with their interpretation of what's happening.  Usually the main character has a significant life change that is gradual and incremental.  There is also incomplete growth in the main characters.  The subjects usually have something to do with contemporary issues while the main characters deal with consequences of decisions and actions.  YA literature is usually set over a brief period of time with few fully developed characters.  YA literature draws upon the sense of how adolescents develop.

I think it's important to be aware of what is available for our young adult readers, since young adulthood is such an influential time in a person's life.  It's also a crazy and confusing and weird time in a person's life so reading has a lot of power during this stage of life.  Because of this, it's crucial that school librarians stay abreast of young adult works and keep their libraries stocked and up-to-date so that our young adults can feel the normalcy of this crazy part of life.

Chapter 3: Genres and Formats

**They might not be what you think**

After watching this video, it's clear that we must be intentional on teaching students about genres vs formats and categories.  The word "genre" can be thrown around and be misleading.  Genrefying libraries has pros and cons, but it's important to remember that genrefying a library can easily lead to students simply browsing the shelves.  It also alienates students (ex: a boy wants to read a book that is typically a "chick lit" book or a girl wants to read a book that is typically a "guy read"... will they really go into that section?).  Also, some books can belong to many categories, so you're banking on students thinking like you, in order to find the books (without the catalog) You should research the pros and cons of genrefying.

There are really just 2 genres- Fiction and Nonfiction.

Fiction is a large umbrella over:
realistic fiction: modern contemperary
historical fiction
fantasy

• modern
• hard science fiction (science is main part of story)
• soft science fiction (sciences is involved but character is bigger part of story)
• high fantasy (worlds are created, languages are created)
• low fantasy (more down to earth- takes place in a world we recognize, but has things that are impossible- talking animals, fairies in NYC)
• traditional (typical 398.2s)
• folktale
• ballad
• fable
• legend
• myth
• fairy tale

Nonfiction is larger umbrella over:

Informational:

• biography
• autobiography (spans a whole life)
• memoir (about a particular part of a person's life)
• narrative nonfiction (written in a story form.  Ex: Notorious Benedict Arnold" By Steve Shankin)
• expository nonfiction (more facts and information.  Ex: Seymour Simon books)

Categories and subjects (NOT GENRES!!):

• chicklit
• mystery
• guy reads
• horror
• sports fiction
• action/adventure
• paranormal
• war
• classics
• humor
• dystopia

Formats (NOT GENRES!!)

• poetry
• drama
• novels
• chapter books
• short stories
• picture books
• graphic novels

**might see these listed as "genres" in genrefyed libraries