Status Updates From Young Adult Literature in A...

the yaoi/yuri mention made me cackle

"Often just the threat of a challenge is sufficient for some school officials to pull a book from the shelves or even from the curriculum. It is every librarian's duty to deal with challenges and to fight censorship and maintain the integrity of his or her collections."

"To some educators it may seem odd to celebrate books that are controversial, but the idea is to celebrate young adults' freedom to read. By focusing on books that have been challenged or have been banned from school or public libraries, we encourage the defense of young adults' right to read."

"Think of the term 'intellectual freedom' as a large umbrella. Underneath that umbrella we find both negative actions (censoring, banning, challenging, labeling, and reconsideration) and positive actions (selecting, reading freely)."

"We know that the freedom to read is a right granted to citizens of the
United States through the freedoms of the First Amendment to the Constitution. That freedom is granted to children and teenagers, articulated in 'Students' Right to Read' by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and in 'Library Bill of Rights,' adopted by the ALA."

"The American Library Association (ALA) defines intellectual freedom as 'the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored.'"

"Entice readers with novels and then show them how an informational book can deepen their understanding of the novel. If readers are only interested in informational books, show them how they can read a historical novel and be a detective by checking the facts of the story."

"It's all about the technology available in libraries, meaning it's all about funding. Databases can be double the cost of print sources, but they do allow libraries to serve patrons well by broadening availability and access to digital materials."

"Readers can learn from fiction about
their options in life, such as ways to handle emotional situations. Readers of informational book can gain facts about the world, but for some, maybe
many readers, learning information about the world is entertainment as
well."

"Biographies and memoirs allow young adult readers to vicariously experience other people's lives and historical periods. Those experiences can add another dimension to their understanding of human nature and human history.”

"Fantasy often features a character or a creature to add humor and relieve tension or despair."

"Historical fiction often focuses on stories of conflict; in times of great moral crisis, what we consider personal history is made through the actions or reactions to events happening in our lives; this is no different from the
motivations or call to action of characters in historical fiction"

"S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders is an example
of this classic type of novel. Thee Socs, a gang of rich kids, continually push
and challenge a group of "greasers." Ponyboy, one of the greasers, is a
likeable protagonist who becomes fully engaged in the battles between the
two groups with tragic results."

"the typical 'problem novel' of the 1960s. Typically,
those novels 'focused on one social issue and how it complicated the
protagonist's life' (Hart 2004, 40)."

"Stories of surviving hardships in the wilderness...are peopled with heroes who survive on their own against great odds, or they save someone else's life at great risk to their own life. Heroes exhibit admirable qualities of loyalty,courage,honor,faith,and sacrifice.They are self reliant, independent problem-solvers who may have to spend long periods of time alone."

"Loss is part of the human condition, and whether it's coping with the loss of a loved one, a friendship, or loss of part of one's expectations for themselves or others, young adult contemporary realistic fiction offers thought provoking selections where readers can gain insight through the lens of the characters they encounter through the novels they read"

"Possibly 'twenty percent of all teenagers have some degree of same-sex orientation' (Whelan 2006, 46). With a population that large, school and public libraries need to include LGBTQAI+ fiction and nonfiction books in their collections if they are intent on serving all young adults."

"While such novels often make adults uncomfortable because of the content of these books, the best examples of darker contemporary fiction do so in a manner that is genuine and honest, respecting teen readers and their ability to appropriately process these stories."

"These books challenge readers to continue the story and draw their own conclusions; regardless of the questions they may pose to the reader or the discomfort they are left with from grappling with the events of a novel, readers of contemporary YA should be given the space to examine their own beliefs while using the story's messages to grow in personal ways"

"Unlike adult chick lit, young adult novels were not about careers but about the hilarity and tragedy of being a teenaged girl. The gender stereotyping/
trappings of female preoccupations with clothes and boys, cellphones and
computers, parties and ladies' rooms, lots of crying, and the color pink
frequently and persistently showed up in the pages of teen chick lit."

"“Listening is fundamental to learning all the other competencies within the language arts: reading, writing, and speaking.”

"“In addition to enhancing literacy skills by expanding comprehension capabilities, building vocabulary, providing models for fluent reading, and encouraging independence, audiobooks offers opportunities to develop critically important listening skills”

"Our goal as young librarians who serve young adult
patrons is to make our collections as inclusive as possible. Diversity is the
common term that's utilized, but inclusive collections are the goal because
all patrons deserve representation"

"“Effective librarians have always committed to searching for and collecting books that offered wide representation, but doing so has been challenging due to the lack of diversity in children's literature being published, as well as a la of understanding the differences between stories about a culture and stories by someone of that culture,” (40-41)