Textbook Reflections

Why do we share literature with children?

We share literature because it is fun. It lets us use our imagination and helps in children’s educational success. It helps with acquisition of language and development. The more children are read to the better they do in school and on testing. It helps develop their vocabulary early when we begin reading to them at an early age. Sharing literature helps develop empathy in children. They can live vicariously through the characters and develop experiences through books without having to experience it themselves. It also develops lifelong reader by developing an unconscious delight, where they discover their favorite author, genre or series of books. They read about autobiographical books about people similar to themselves. They get to experience things they would normally not be able to such as seeing other places, cultures, and deal with tough situations without having to suffer the consequences. They learn to question and form opinions about difficult or ethnical subjects through philosophical speculation. As they read they develop an appreciation for the written word through their aesthetic experiences.  It transmits culture and they learn about diversity. One last reason is that it develops their imagination, which is what we will need in the future generation.

I agree and will say that most of these are the reason I am a lifelong reader. The only one that I hated was the aesthetic experiences. I hated picking apart why the author used certain words to describe something. It ruined the experience for me- much like dissecting poetry. I normally just read for enjoyment and take it all in at once and appreciate it for what it is, but will try to pay attention to what/why they are phrasing something the way they do. Not promising though.

Divisions of Young People’s Literature

There are four major divisions of literature. Children’s literature which is for those who are 0-8 years old and consists of mainly picture books, easy readers, illustrated chapter books. Middle/tween is for those who are 8-12 years of age and deal with tougher issues. This is the age where you have to be careful which books you share because there is a lot of crossover of the ages. Middle/tween is not the same as middle grade books. YA books are for those 13-18, which can also fall in the middle school age group. You need to pay attention to the language and content of a book for the middle ages.  New adult books are for those 18-30. They are older than the YA books and deals with things such as college, first loves and making decisions with parent supervision.

I taught middle school for about 19 years. When I would read a YA novel, I always had to think- is this appropriate for middle school or is it more of a high school novel. I still do it when I’m reading even though I’m no longer in middle school. I think that sometimes the middle school is the forgotten age. I am glad to see more books that are geared for middle school.

Genres and Formats

Genres are divided into two major categories: fiction and nonfiction. All of the others are considered to be subgenres or formats of books. Each subgenre can then be broken down even further such as modern and traditional, historical and realistic, etc. Fantasy and science fiction can be broken down into low and high and hard and soft. I had never thought about the difference in low/high and soft/hard until watching the screencast. I now think about it as I’m reading a book and determine which one it is and why. I think many teachers get genres confused and teach everything as a genre. I did a lesson in the library recently and discussed about genres, subgenres and formats of books with kids. We discussed certain books they have read and which category it would fall under if not more than one: genre, subgenre and format.

What is YA literature?  

Young adult literature is told from the point of view of a young protagonist that shows the challenges and changes that adolescents go through such as growing up, learning responsibility for their actions and decisions as well as dealing with difficult situations or topics. I think I already pay attention to most of the characteristics of YA literature.  I think the only thing I have never paid attention to was the span of time. I never noticed that it was a short period of time. Now I keep thinking about books I’ve read and realize that most are a very brief amount of time, a few might span a year or so but most are just days or a few months.

How do adolescents develop?

There are three major development areas: physical, intellectual, and moral. There are many theorists who believe adolescences must move from one stage to the other and others who believe that there are multiple stages all happening simultaneously.  Everyone knows the physical aspects of development and the dreaded puberty. What stuck out for me was the intellectual idea of moving from concrete thinking to abstract thinking. There are many books that may be hard for even YA to understand, especially fantasy and/or science fiction. You can give them some help by scaffolding the thinking or trying to build some prior knowledge but it still may not be effective if they are still only thinking in concrete terms. I have found myself reading certain books and even asking myself- do I get this? And think to myself, there is no way the students will get this if I’m struggling with it too.

Literary Elements
Literary devices and elements are structures used by writers to help get their ideas and message to their readers. Literary elements are used to develop the story such as the plot, setting, characters, conflict, mood, theme, etc. Literary devices are words or phrases that make comparisons, give visual images, and help readers make connections so that they may enjoy, understand and analyze a literary work. 


I used to dread picking apart readings to pay attention to the devices that the authors used and why they used them. I knew I had to  do it to be prepared for my students. I think as one becomes an avid reader, it becomes natural to pick out all of the elements as you are reading and it becomes second nature.

Awards

There are so many awards and/or book lists for YA literature. There are awards that honor books that appeal to young readers; awards that exemplify literary excellence, awards that focuses on certain aspects such as disabilities, GLBT, or acknowledges roles and importance of relationships.  There are awards for different genres or formats such as nonfiction, audiobooks, graphic novels, and books written in other languages. Most of the awards are given annually and each has their own set policies and procedures for determining which books qualify and committees who make the decisions.

I never realized how many different awards there were. I recognize and know the most common ones, but it was interesting to read about some of the others and to read the guidelines on how to recommend a book for an award and even to being on a committee.  I think I will use the information mostly for adding to my collection. I want to keep adding award winning and honor books to our fiction collection. I may later start adding nonfiction, but fiction is our need right now.

Poetry

Poetry is the most neglected format of books. Many adults were taught in such a way that we dislike poetry. It brings back bad memories of having to memorize or break-apart the poems for meaning rather than just reading for enjoyment. Research says that the most sought after poems by kids are those that are narrative because they like the story aspect to them. Kids prefer poems that are funny, are about contemporary, familiar experiences, and those about animals. They like sound devices, such as poems that rhyme, or have repeated stanzas they can repeat. Poems need to be repeated so kids can become familiar and an interact with them; they can help read along such as the repeated stanzas, or in a reader’s theater. Poems need to create visual/sensory images for the students.  There are two major awards for poetry that are given out yearly as well as every few years. I am one of those who do not really like poetry for adults. I love children’s poems for the same reasons mentioned above. I would like to find a way to incorporate poems into my library program that is more than a lesson: maybe the poem a day. I could open each session with a short poem. Many of the teachers don’t bother with poetry to much because it is not tested. I would like to expose them to the types of poems they like so will be purchasing some of the books mentioned in the part 2 screencast, especially the NCTE newest edition.

Historical Fiction

Historical fiction can be confusing as to when a book is considered historical, but it normally is set in a time that has happened years ago. It can be before we were born and even during our lifetime. When evaluating historical fiction we need to look at the accuracy of the facts of the time period. Are they accurate? The story and the time period need to mesh to make a good story and has a believable plot. What were the social norms (clothing, speech, etc) and values of the time? Are they consistent and true to the events and time period? There should also be a universal theme that still relates to children today.  

I used to read historical fiction all the time. I read so many holocaust novels that I had to take breaks to clear my head from the horror of it. I should branch out and read about other time periods.  I paid attention to the story itself, and the social times, as the accuracy of fact to the 1930’s and 40’s.  There were times that I found inaccurate information and would go and check it myself. I probably wouldn’t do that with other historical fiction novels because I probably don’t know enough about the history to know any better. I find that many of the things I learn about history has been from reading historical fiction novels rather than nonfiction.

Realistic Fiction

 Realistic fiction novels are set during recent or current times. The stay true to the real world and the events, characters, setting could be real places in our current society.  When looking at criteria of realistic fiction, we need to look that it avoids stereotypes that the subject is relatable to our young readers. Many YA books touch on topics that used to be taboo. Years ago, Are you There God, its Me Margaret and Forever used to be considered taboo. Now YA novels cover many topics that young adults struggle with. It helps them to relate and see that they are not alone. Hopefully it will help them develop empathy for others and the struggles others are facing, as well.  I’ve always been a fan of realistic fiction because it is an escape from my own life and I can experience what others are going through.  I am happy to see many novels about topics that kids are experiencing so they have someone or something to relate to.

Nonfiction

Nonfiction are the only books defined by what it is not. It is an umbrella that has several different types of books that fall under the umbrella such as narrative, informational, biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. There are several criteria to look at when evaluating nonfiction such as the qualifications of the author. You can check their websites and read their author bios, and to read their suggested resources to see how well they researched their topics. The facts need to be accurate, which is a hard one because most of us are not experts, even those who review the books. It helps to see who is sponsoring the book and determine if they are reliable.  The purpose and scope of the book can be narrow or board, depending on your needs. The organization of the book sometime depends on the role of the purpose and scope of the book. It helps to see if it includes a table of contents, an index and/or glossary to find the information you need. You can evaluate the visuals. Does it break up the text to make it more accessible? It may have real world photographs or paintings that help the reader.

I am not much of a nonfiction reader. I normally only just read for information so I use the table of contents or the glossary to find what I am looking for. I had never thought about the questions that are included. I like that they warrant critical thinking about the information. It will make you think about a book in a way that you wouldn’t normally. It will make me analyze all aspects of the book such as the illustrations, to think about the author as well, instead of just the facts and information in the book. I always have a tendency to play a movie in my head when I’m reading when it is fiction, but have never really thought about it with nonfiction, but will definitely try.

Fantasy/Science Fiction

Fantasy is a genre that includes magically or supernatural phenomena such as talking animals or magical powers.  There is low fantasy which is similar to our world but with some supernatural aspect, and there high fantasy which can include other worlds, interesting creatures, etc. The characters still must behave in a way that is believable and consistent with the story. Science fiction is a sub-genre of fantasy. It is a blend of futuristic technology with scientific information. There is hard science fiction where science is the basis of the story and there is soft science fiction where the character is the more important part of the story rather than the science aspect.  Science fiction can also be broken down in different types such as apocalyptic, dystopia, artificial intelligence, time travel, and sensory perception.

I have always been a fan of fantasy and even science fiction. I don’t really care for hard science fiction. I have read some novels that are really hard to understand without more prior knowledge in science or astronomy. Since the beginning of this course, I now notice that I think about whether a story or book is just fantasy or considered science fiction. I also think about whether I would classify it as high or low. I think about it when I’m sharing book with the kids although they wouldn’t care one way or the other right now, but I do try to match their interests.

Graphic Novels

Graphic novels are a format rather than a genre that are full length stories told in paneled, sequential, graphic format. They have all the elements of a traditional book, but can be historical, fantasy, realistic and even nonfiction. They can be analyzed for their colors, art of line, media, composition, spacing and for the text itself. More students are reading graphic novels than are teachers, but they can be a great resource in the classroom.  They are for all readers and not just for reluctant readers but can be helpful for those with special needs. The different format and pictures can help them visualize and understand the plot a bit better.

I haven’t always been a fan of graphic novels, but have enjoyed reading them in my classes. They are easy reads that can cover so many different topics. They are quite popular in our library, so we shelf them separately so they are easily accessible. I will continue to read them now that I’ve seen the interest of the students and will try to find a way to incorporate a lesson into the library about graphic novels.

Peck’s Questions

Peck’s questions take comprehension a step further. It involves much more analysis and critical thinking about what they have read. They involve thinking about the characters and setting in a different way. I like the question about making a movie and the tone it should take. I especially love which character would you leave out if you had to- children would have to really analyze each character and their importance to the storyline and how will it change the story if they are left out. Children can make personal connections to the book or story- both the characters and why they choose this book and what kept them reading.  I have at times picture a movie in my head as I’m visualizing the story, especially if I know it is coming out as a movie soon. I think most of agree, the book is always better and we tend to dissect the movie and how it was different and who they got to play certain characters.  It’s hard not to. Something I would love to do is have students rewrite a short story and rewrite with either changing the setting or the gender of the main character and discover what would have to change in the story to make it work.