Why Do I READ?
“We now have a quarter century of studies that document three findings: literacy blooms wherever children have access to books they want to read, permission to choose their own, and time to get lost in them.” -Nancie AtwellWhy Do I READ? If for some reason you cannot access this video from the embedded link please just go to www.youtube.com and find the mcelmeel101 channel and search for the Young Adult Literature list and you will find the video listed - Why Do I READ? by a performance poet.
The news items in this newsletter are about reading and reading instruction - but it is also about creating readers for a lifetime - an effective way to do that is to promote reading.
The intent of these news items is to help you find new ideas, new books, and new inspiration to help literacy bloom -- we will be discussing how to make literacy bloom in YOUR environment. Our focus will be on finding ways to improve access to books, motivating young learners to want to read, ways to involve young learners in choosing their own books, and how to carve out more time to allow learners to read, and read some more.
One way to build a culture of literacy is to create reading as a BRAND.
Miller, Donalyn. (9 Sept 2012) What the Kardashians Taught Me About Reading Instruction (No, For Real). Education Week Online. Retrieved from http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/book_whisperer/2012/09/what_the_kardashians_taught_me.html
Focus on 5-Year Publication Window
Our discussions will focus primarily on discussing books for the young adult reader (basically grade 6 - grade 12), that have been originally published within the past five years. There are many classic titles and great authors that have published previous to this span of time -- however, if the books are older than five years and not widely popular chances are the book has gone out of print and is no longer available to those who do not have it. And books that are older than five years and which are either classics or popular enough to be still in print are most often very well known and well written about. These newsletters seek to introduce you to books that have not been around since your childhood or early years of teaching -- in short; we want to extend your repertoire regarding books to use in the classroom.Please note the following:
- A recent copyright on a paperback most often suggests a much earlier copyright of the hardback edition. For purposes of establishing recency, please use the hard back copyright data. The authority for this information is the Library of Congress catalog (NOT Amazon or other popular sales sites)
- Feel free to use older titles as suggestions for collaborative reads (titles with similar themes, storylines, and so forth) in conjunction with the main citation for a recent title that you are discussing.
- Mentioning established authors/illustrators and a recent title often merits a mention of that authors/illustrators titles in his/her collective contribution to the body of children's literature.
Connecting Google Doodles to Literature and Research
Connect the image to this book: Hill, I. (2013). When the beat was born: DJ Kool Herc and the creation of Hip Hop. illustrated by Theodore Taylor III. New York: Roaring Brook Press.
In 2014 -- the Google doodle was created by children's book illustrator and animator, Christian Robinson ( RAIN; HARLEM'S LITTLE BLACKBIRD, and LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET) Focus on Robinson as an illustrator --a great interview with illustrator Christian Robinson:
Sherman, J. (2019 Mar 28). An interview with award-winning children's book illustrator Christian Robinson. Book Riot. Retrieved from: https://bookriot.com/2019/03/28/christian-robinson-interview/.
Search the Google Doodle archive and find other google doodles that you can connect to children's literature: Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (one of the subjects of Chelsea Clinton's She Persisted Around the World), Mark Twain, Edward Lear, Rosa Parks, Hans Christian Anderson (205th birthday), scientist Marie Curie, Maya Angelou, ...
Find a Google Doodle and share it and connect to a book or literacy resource.
Try an activity with young learners -- study an author/illustrator and create your own google doodle to share on the author/illustrator's birthday or some other significant date associated with the person. There is an annual competition for student submitted google doodles.
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Best Selling Young Adult Books
How many of those you are familiar with; or have read?
One of the titles on the list is The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (HarperTeen)
It is a verse novel - a coming of age tale told in verse. What do you think of the books that are the the list?
Status based on marketing or reviews?
Hype or quality?
If you were making up a list of the 10 top books read by YOUR students (not assigned by adults but chosen by teens) - what titles would be on the list?
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Graphic Novels are Here to Stay
Over a decade ago, in 2007, the publishing community in American firmly joined the growing trend begun in Asia (Japan specifically) when the American Library Association selected a graphic novel to honor as the 2007 Printz Award book.
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (First/Second Publishers, 2006).
And in 2020, the writer and illustrator Jerry Craft won the year's John Newbery Medal for “
Read About Comics-Where to Find Out What's Really Good. (2006 Aug) Review: American Born Chinese. Retrieved from http://www.readaboutcomics.com/2006/08/28/american-born-chinese/Yang's 2013 titles include: Boxers and Saints.
There are other graphic novel titles including a popular series (Amulet). A recent addition is Amulet Book Seven: Firelight by Kazu Kibuishi (2016) and Book Eight: Supernova (2018).
Use NovelList* see note below <www.ebscohost.com/novelist> to search for other popular graphic novels. Remember the term graphic novels is a generic term for both fiction and informational books created in the graphic format. And a graphic novel is a format not a genre. Remember graphic novels are not strictly novels as graphic novels include information books, biographies, and so forth. The term graphic novels is not a genre the term indicates a format -- any genre can be presented in graphic format.
And ...
Raina Teigemeier has become a very popular middle grade graphic novelist with her debut titles: Smile and Sisters. Late in 2019 she began an "It takes Guts" tour to promote her 2019 title. Check out her website at https://goraina.com/. And read this article about her 2019 book, GUTS.
**Novelist - http://www.ebscohost.com/novelist/ -- often available for free through your local public or university library. Some states (such as Wisconsin make Novelist available statewide).
Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Bookfinder databasehttp://booklists.yalsa.net/about
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Graphic Novels
Influenced by Pop Culture; and the Influence on Reading Habits
The author begins with a list of reasons to hate graphic novels, then goes on to explain & refute each of the reasons. He recommends a list of top 30 graphic novels (keep in mind the year of this article and the publication dates of the graphic novels he cites), those that really struck him when he read them, and stand the test of time. He studies a few pages from each book, and provides details and explanations of technique, meaning, and background. He includes information about other books with similar themes, and gives additional details about them. The book is large and colorful, easy to read, and great for those new to graphic novels. Look for it. Added note: The book opens with a few quotes; one is from Dave Eggers, an author of adult books.
- "The graphic novel is not literary fiction's half-wit cousin, but, more accurately, the mutant sister who can often do everything fiction can, and, just as often, more." -- Dave Eggers
The interview was printed in the Digital edition of the New Yorker, September 27, 1993.
Comic strip from In the Dumps page 84 New Yorker. Maurice Sendak died May 8, 2012 -- see http://mcbookwords.blogspot.com/2012/05/maurice-sendak-1928-2012.html.
++++ End of Week 1 newsletter.
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