Chapter 1: Reason’s to Share Books with Kids
- · Because it is fun! It is also a form of play. Use books that are silly like Snappsy the Alligator to engage kids. Note that the term kids is applied here to people of all ages K-12.
- · Because it aids in the acquisition of language and language development. Birth through 5 accumulate the most language. Say It! By Charlotte Zolotow uses rich language.
- · Develops empathy, knowing how you feel. Going through the same emotion literally or through a book. Reading fictional stories increases empathy.
- · Develops life-long reading habits.
Mirror- reading autobiographically= reading books about people like the reader. If you can’t see yourself in a book, you can have the feeling you don’t exist.
Window- reading about other’s experiences can experience consequences vicariously in safety. You can read for philosophical speculation. Read to help form an opinion about issues in their life. Gail Giles states that she writes Brother’s Grimm for YA. She writes to “show our readers the dark woods in hopes they won’t venture into them.”
- · Read for aesthetic reading. Read for the joy and beauty of reading. A great example is Always Remember by Cece Meng.
- · Literature develops the imagination. Helps people imagine what would happen if…Tuesday by David Weisner is one of my favorites.
- · Reading can transmit culture. Make sure that you include diverse books, pay attention to the cultures you are featuring, part of the entire culture. Make sure not to just feature books about different cultures at certain times of the year.
John Green created a great YouTube video giving the backstory behind many children’s books. It would be really fun to share some of these with my students.
I would love to share these reasons for sharing books with kids at back to school night and parent/teacher conferences. The graph about reading minutes from the slideshow was especially impactful to me as it would be for parents. I like having this reminder of why we should continue to share books with kids. I’ve started a bulletin board in my fourth-grade classroom where we share what we are reading. It is also a reminder to me to not shy away from books that might be a little edgier than I would normally choose. Of course I make sure they are age appropriate, but I will consciously make sure that they are diverse not only in types of characters portrayed but also the subject matter.
Chapter 2: Divisions of Young People’s Literature
1. Children’s Literature- 0-7 years old. Children’s Lit spans from wordless picture books, picture books, and easy readers to chapter books including early and full novels. It includes everything from Pat the Bunny to Charlotte’s Web. Another example is Princess Black by Shannon and Dean Hale
2. Middle Grade/Tween- 8-12 years old includes Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson and George by Alex Gino. Geared toward upper elementary school and early middle school.
What about middle school????
11-13 years old deals with tougher issues. Not the same as middle range. Included are Drama by Raina Telgemeier Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart and Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt
3. Young Adult- 13-18 years old Look at the topic of the book. Be aware of the language. Examples include Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry, Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith, First by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, and Nimona by Noelle Stevenson.
4. New Adult- 18-30 years old. This is a new category that appeared on the scene in 2009 after St. Martin’s Press hosted a writing contest. Books in this division deal with newly adult topics like going off to college, living on your own for the first time, first sexual encounters, etc. Some books included in this division are Sweet Home by Tillie Cole, This is Falling by Ginger Scott, and November 9 by Colleen Hoover.
My take away from this chapter is that I need to make sure that I am carefully reading what I add to my classroom library. I tend to err to the side of lenience verses strict adherence to what age child the book was geared toward which in some cases can be a mistake. I have a copy of Drama in my fourth-grade classroom and so far so good but I don’t know that it would be appropriate for all my students. Since our elementary school contains a sixth grade, my students often ask for books that are on the more mature side that they’ve seen in the “red dot” (sixth grade) section of our library. I pre-read any books that overlap that section of our library and our classroom library but sometimes I can’t keep up. I rely on websites such as commonsensemedia.org if I can’t read the book myself and always email parents of individual students if I am in doubt. When I taught fifth grade, I had a very mature student who was adamant about reading The Life of Pi. I emailed his parents before loaning him my personal copy. The student and I had a great conversation about book and disappointing endings. It led several passionate conversations about other books, but I would have not felt ethical about loaning him the book without speaking to his parents first and voicing my concerns.
Chapter 3: The Anatomy of a Book
1. Endpapers- the two sheets of paper at the beginning and end of a book. Can be patterned or color.
2. Casewrap- the part of a book under the jacket. Can be laminated so it includes patterns, etc. There’s a great link on the website to fun casewrap examples.
3. Block- The main text of the book. The edges can be decorated.
4. Gutter- the margin on the page that separates the print from the binding.
5. Headband- textile that fills the gap between the spine and cover.
6. Backbone- the spine of the book
7. Other interesting terms-
*mock-up-and early version of a book that is partially printed and gives a good idea of what the finished book will look like
*format- something that invites the recipient to interact with the product
*proof- checks the book before binding
*saddle stitch- a binding method
*F & G- Fold and Gather- an unbound copy of a book
Also included on the page are really interesting links including my favorite “The surprisingly complex principles of a successful picture book”.
I would love to share this webpage with my students. They have no idea that there are that many parts to a book and that they all have names. I would like to take apart a damaged book and give them the experience of dissecting it and naming the parts. So interesting!
Chapter 4- Genres and Formats: They Might Not Be What You Think
Fiction- Realism= Realistic: Modern Contemporary or Historical
Fantasy= Modern-hard science fiction, soft science fiction, high fantasy, or low fantasy
Traditional- legend, myth, fairy tale, ballad, or fable
Nonfiction- Informational- biography/autobiography/memoir, narrative nonfiction, expository, nonfiction
Formats include poetry, drama, novels, chapter books, short stories, picture books, and graphic novels. An example is Mett the Dullards by Sara Pennypacker and Daniel Samieri which is Fantasy/Low in a picture book format.
There are common categories that people use when they genrefy libraries. They are NOT GENRES. There are pros and cons to genrefying a library.
Categories include horror, dystopia, humor, action/adventure, and sports fiction.
While watching this video I had a eureka moment. Every year I teach students about different genres by making a huge chart where they read several books from a genre and look for similarities that help us create definitions. What if instead, I posed a question to them, “Where does this book belong?” I had them read the book and think about which genre it fits in. As fourth graders, I think that they would be able to handle a conversation about whether or not to genrefy a library and we could discuss category verses genre. They love debates!
Chapter 5- What is YA Literature?
Chapter 5- What is YA Literature?
1. The protagonist is a kid.
2. Sees things through a kid’s eyes
3. Direct theory and confirmation
4. Significant change in main character
5. Very independent main character
6. Small change as well as incomplete growth in main character
7. Reflects timely issues
8. The protagonist has consequences for their choices and actions
9. Limited setting and character development may be part of the story
10. Reflects how kids develop
These points are important to keep in mind as I am selecting books for our classroom. While there are great YA books that do not necessarily fit these generalities, it is nice to have an outline of key similarities. I had not thought about the protagonist being youthful. It was always something that I took for granted but makes perfect sense. It was one of the guidelines for submitting a book to Chronicle Books. I can’t believe that I never realized such a basic fact of YA literature.
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