This week the American Library Association has Teen Read Week. It is a week devoted to young adult literature. I think many adults probably ask themselves, “Why would I read a young adult novel?” Honestly, I would have asked my-self the same thing until this class. The only young adult literature I was familiar with was Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Princess Diaries, Gossip Girl, etc. I was only into the “girly” reading; I liked that, so that is what I only read. This class has broaden my horizons so much to y.a. lit, a genre I love. There are so many books I would recommend to my mom, aunts and uncles, and cousins who are in their 30s. Some of my favorite novels have been Looking for Alaska, Sorta Like a Rockstar, and We Were Here. I would highly recommend these to my friends and family. This just proves why Teen Read Week is such a great idea. Many people underestimate the great writing and stories that can be found in this genre, even if you are an adult. I do not know if anyone else knew of this week, or has any particular thoughts on this. I found this interesting, and I thought I would share it with everyone.
-Abby Kilian
I had no idea that this week was Teen Read Week, but I love the concept! Teen read books are so powerful and I don't think that most adults or teachers give them credit for that. The books I have read this semester have been great and this class has totally broadened my horizons as well because I thought of ya lit as girly vampire books and now I realize there is so much more.
ReplyDelete- Jo Scott
Abby, I'm really glad you informed people about Teen Read Week. This is really a library event, but I think it helps raise the profile of teen services librarians and all they have to teach us as literate adults and as future teachers. Teen services librarians know how to meet young readers where they are, respect these readers' tastes and choices, and give them books that will sustain their interests and even cultivate new ones.
ReplyDeleteIf any of you want to find out more about what you can learn from teen services librarians about promoting and thinking about the purposes of reading, you should try subscribing to the YALSA-BK listserv, which has taught me so much. Find out how to subscribe here:
http://lists.ala.org/wws/info/yalsa-bk
Teen Read Week sounds awesome. Many of the books we've read in the class have been more powerful and had more of a message then the last Adult books I've read.
ReplyDeleteI've also found myself recommending several of these books to my friends, and they have all been enjoying them as well! It's great that Teen Read Week exists to raise awareness about young people's literature and encourage reading.
ReplyDeleteI think that teen read week is great idea but I don't think that it should just be done for a week. I think that we need to instead make a push for teens to read book all the time. I know that in high school I did not read a lot because I didn't know so many great books were out there that not a lot of people knew about. I think libraries should push getting information about books out there. They should let people know about books more in a culture where reading books is becoming less and less popular and the internet is becoming more and more popular.
ReplyDelete---Amer
I got my mom to read The Hunger Games and she didn't think she would like it. It's always hard to change to a new genre.
ReplyDelete