The world has voted, and the results are in!
NPR's list of 100 Best Young Adult Novels:
http://www.npr.org/2012/08/07/157795366/your-favorites-100-best-ever-teen-novels
I know I saw quite a few of my favorites on the list!
What do you think? Are there any that they missed?
Showing posts with label YA lit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label YA lit. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Rating YA Books
An article was published recently by U.S. News (and can be found here) that discusses the idea of rating YA books for content.
"Coyne thinks a ratings system on book jackets would help parents decide what's appropriate for their kids to read. It's a subject many are afraid to touch, with the talk of censorship or restricting books conjuring up images of book burnings and infringing on First Amendment Rights."
Content ratings, like age ratings, do nothing but take power away from the child. Children all grow and mature at different rates. What one 12 year old child is ready for may be completely inappropriate for another child the same age. By knowing your child, and having their interests and maturity and reading levels in mind, parents can help their children choose appropriate materials.
Kids and young adults will read what they are ready for. Does that mean that they are going to read books with profanity? Yes. Young adults use profanity. It's a fact of life. Teens swear and children talk about bodily functions. How they speak and what they talk about is reflected in their literature. Are these things going to stunt them for life? Probably not.
Maybe I'm biased because I grew up in a house where I was allowed to read whatever I wanted. I was never kept from reading something. If I wasn't ready for it, I would put it down and choose something else. And I think I grew up to be a rather well-adjusted individual.
Beth Yoke, YALSA's executive director, said it best, "Books can be a safe way for young people to explore edgier, sensitive, or complicated topics, and they provide parents the opportunity to help their teens grow and understand these kinds of sensitive issues."
By allowing children to choose, you open up the door for conversations about tough topics and issues that might not be discussed otherwise. And by talking with your children, you can let them know what is OK to read, and what topics should be avoided, at least for now. Just because the books aren't being read doesn't mean that their subject matter isn't happening in the real world. I would much rather have a child explore a topic by reading about it, especially the grittier aspects of life, instead of experiencing them firsthand. Allowing children access to books on tough subjects empowers them, opens their eyes to things that happen in the world, prepares them for the future, and shows that you trust and respect them.
There's a world of great books out there. Rating them would create a barrier to access and keep kids from learning about tough topics in a safe way.
Read and decide for yourself. This is only my opinion.
"Coyne thinks a ratings system on book jackets would help parents decide what's appropriate for their kids to read. It's a subject many are afraid to touch, with the talk of censorship or restricting books conjuring up images of book burnings and infringing on First Amendment Rights."
Content ratings, like age ratings, do nothing but take power away from the child. Children all grow and mature at different rates. What one 12 year old child is ready for may be completely inappropriate for another child the same age. By knowing your child, and having their interests and maturity and reading levels in mind, parents can help their children choose appropriate materials.
Kids and young adults will read what they are ready for. Does that mean that they are going to read books with profanity? Yes. Young adults use profanity. It's a fact of life. Teens swear and children talk about bodily functions. How they speak and what they talk about is reflected in their literature. Are these things going to stunt them for life? Probably not.
Maybe I'm biased because I grew up in a house where I was allowed to read whatever I wanted. I was never kept from reading something. If I wasn't ready for it, I would put it down and choose something else. And I think I grew up to be a rather well-adjusted individual.
Beth Yoke, YALSA's executive director, said it best, "Books can be a safe way for young people to explore edgier, sensitive, or complicated topics, and they provide parents the opportunity to help their teens grow and understand these kinds of sensitive issues."
By allowing children to choose, you open up the door for conversations about tough topics and issues that might not be discussed otherwise. And by talking with your children, you can let them know what is OK to read, and what topics should be avoided, at least for now. Just because the books aren't being read doesn't mean that their subject matter isn't happening in the real world. I would much rather have a child explore a topic by reading about it, especially the grittier aspects of life, instead of experiencing them firsthand. Allowing children access to books on tough subjects empowers them, opens their eyes to things that happen in the world, prepares them for the future, and shows that you trust and respect them.
There's a world of great books out there. Rating them would create a barrier to access and keep kids from learning about tough topics in a safe way.
Read and decide for yourself. This is only my opinion.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
YA is Most Certainly not just for Teens
I'm going to comment on this, but first I need to simmer down.
http://dft.ba/-notcool
Ok. Now that I have let this sit for a few days, here's my take on it.
This article was published in the "Room for Debate" section of the NY Times. Mr. Joel Stein seems to believe that by reading young adult books, I am embarrassing myself. Mr. Stein, it is you who should be embarrassed; embarrassed for thinking books written for children and teens would be anything but complex. He, like many others, seems to be taking the younger populations for granted, and belittling the great works of fiction that today's YA authors are writing for our children and young adults.
YA authors take risks. They delve into things that make us uncomfortable. As Patricia McCormick, author of Sold, a YA book about sex trafficking (Sex trafficking for YA! That is beautifully written!) wrote in her article "Authors Taking Risks Isn't Kid Stuff",
Yes, these things are located in the Children's or YA sections of our bookstores and libraries, but am I ashamed that these are the sections where I spend 90% of my time?
Absolutely not.
Mr. Stein, you say you do not know if the Hunger Games delves into problems of identity or self-justification, but let me say, you are missing out. It is so much more. More than a dystopic love story written for hormonal teens, but a commentary on society and where we are heading. (An interesting take on the Hunger Games, by Mr. Hank Green, brother to author John Green, can be found here.)
Feel free to stay up on your high horse with your "3,000 years of fiction written for adults," because then my lowly and embarrassing self who lives down here in YA land won't have to deal with you.
http://dft.ba/-notcool
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Ok. Now that I have let this sit for a few days, here's my take on it.
This article was published in the "Room for Debate" section of the NY Times. Mr. Joel Stein seems to believe that by reading young adult books, I am embarrassing myself. Mr. Stein, it is you who should be embarrassed; embarrassed for thinking books written for children and teens would be anything but complex. He, like many others, seems to be taking the younger populations for granted, and belittling the great works of fiction that today's YA authors are writing for our children and young adults.
YA authors take risks. They delve into things that make us uncomfortable. As Patricia McCormick, author of Sold, a YA book about sex trafficking (Sex trafficking for YA! That is beautifully written!) wrote in her article "Authors Taking Risks Isn't Kid Stuff",
"Here are a few audacious books you won’t find in the adult section of the library. A Holocaust memoir narrated by Death. A novel written entirely in electronic messages. A historical novel in prose poems. A murder mystery in screenplay format. A 550-page novel in pictures and words that may or may not have been written by an automaton... Young adults are willing to accompany an author just about anywhere -- to a dystopian future or the ancient past -- but they will not tolerate anything extraneous or self indulgent."
Yes, these things are located in the Children's or YA sections of our bookstores and libraries, but am I ashamed that these are the sections where I spend 90% of my time?
Absolutely not.
Mr. Stein, you say you do not know if the Hunger Games delves into problems of identity or self-justification, but let me say, you are missing out. It is so much more. More than a dystopic love story written for hormonal teens, but a commentary on society and where we are heading. (An interesting take on the Hunger Games, by Mr. Hank Green, brother to author John Green, can be found here.)
Feel free to stay up on your high horse with your "3,000 years of fiction written for adults," because then my lowly and embarrassing self who lives down here in YA land won't have to deal with you.
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