Chapter 1- Why do we share literature with
children?
SUMMARY
The first reason we share literature with
children is because it is FUN! The most important way to help children
develop the ability to read is to make sure that they love it.
Another reason that we share literature with
children is because it aids in language acquisition. Research shows that
children who read 20 minutes a day gain 1.8 million words per year and puts
them in the 90th percentile and children who don’t read gain only 8,000 words
per year.
Reading with children creates empathy.
Through reading fiction, students are able to gain an understanding of
other people’s situations and can move past sympathy and empathize with what
the characters- and eventually other people in real life- are going through.
When we read with children, we are creating
lifelong readers. There are several aspects to lifelong reading.
First, reading creates unconscious delight. One way this happens is
through reading series books as well as serial reading. Series books are
books that follow the same character on a continuing journey. Serial
reading is when a reader enjoys a specific genre or author and continues
reading based on the desire to have more of the same joy. Understanding
the series and serial reading can help librarians help students to choose books
to read. Another aspect of lifelong reading is to read autobiographically
(like a mirror) and read about people who are like you so that you see yourself
existing out in the world and conquering life. The opposing aspect is to
read for vicarious experiences (like a window) in which you read about people
who are different than you. This is beneficial because you can see the
consequences of certain struggles without having to live through them.
Another aspect of lifelong reading is to read for philosophical
speculation- to read books that answer the big questions about life.
Finally, lifelong readers read for the aesthetic experience of
reading. Literature is beautiful and it is satisfying to read something
beautiful, and sometimes even more satisfying to be able to share that
beautiful language with a fellow reader.
Reading with children develops imagination.
By reading imaginative literature, children are able to ask the question,
“What would happen if….?” One study shows that in Russia, imaginative
literature was banned and invention went down. The imagination is key to
so much of humanity’s progress and happiness, and we can feed that imagination
through reading.
Reading with children transmits culture.
Our stories, traditions, heritage, and the understanding of other
cultures are all shared when we read. Diversity needs to be shared all
year long, and books are an excellent way to accomplish this.
REFLECTION
I absolutely learned so much from this section.
I teach 8th grade Language Arts and I have a student who reads at a 1st
grade level. I have a few students who read at a 2nd grade level. I
have MANY who read at 3rd and 4th grade levels. They struggle every day
and they absolutely hate reading. I am always trying to find ways to get
them to read, but often I feel that I am too late. So, when I heard the
data about reading 20 minutes a day at home and the increase in vocabulary
versus the reading no minutes a day at home and the minimal gains, my teacher
heart perked up. I know that the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten is a
program for students before they ever get to me, but as a school district we
can support this program and send information home for our students’ families.
I looked up the program online and discovered that our public library
here in little Nacogdoches is a participant. As a librarian in a school, I will
be able help our families have access to this program so our future students
will have the best start possible. As a parent, I have already downloaded
the app and started tracking the reading of my 19 month old. I am going
to lead by example. This is the element of this chapter that I am most
excited about implementing with our elementary school libraries.
The most interesting part of this chapter to me
was the section about lifelong readers. I grew up in a middle class white family,
with a mom who stayed home and a dad and stepdad who worked. I grew up
reading autobiographically without ever realizing it. I saw heroines who
looked like me and had lives that closely mirrored mine or my friends.
The characters in Judy Blume and Lois Duncan’s novels that I read as a
teenager were girls like me. So that clicked in. And then I
realized that by reading autobiographically, I could see myself doing the
heroic things these girls did. I could see myself growing up and
conquering problems. Most of my students can’t relate to these people, so
I need to find the literature that my students will see themselves in. I
need to increase my repertoire to include novels about people with all kinds of
backgrounds- immigrants, people of color, Muslim, LGBTQ, etc.- that were not
around when I was young and reading YA as a student. My goal as a teacher
and a future librarian is to immediately begin finding books that my students
will relate to instead of recommending the books that speak to me. I need
to see their lives reflecting back at them, not mine reflecting onto them.
The part about reading for vicarious experiences
hit home, especially since I have started reading so many different novels for
this class. Even though I have always considered myself a supporter of
the Trans community, as I read LILY & DUNKIN, I realized that I was
learning empathy for Lily in a way that was more meaningful than anything I had
previously felt. I not only supported her because she was a human worthy
of respect, but I supported her because I loved her. As a teacher, we
learn to love everyone because we have experience knowing and teaching such a
diverse group of students. For our students to have that ability, we need
to bring it to them through the characters in these books. So, I am
absolutely determined to continue my study of diverse literature so that I can
ensure that my students are able to read both with a mirror and through a
window.
I was also impressed with the specificity of
serial reading and series reading. I have always used these methods for
helping students find books, but I never thought about what I was doing.
I also find the term “reading ladders” to be helpful in creating an
image of how we are teaching children to find books and help themselves grow.
Overall, sharing literature with children is one
of the most enjoyable activities in my life. I read VERDI with a group of
intervention students today, and I watched their tough, teenage faces light up
with the joy of a fantastic story.
Chapter 2- Divisions of Young People’s
Literature
SUMMARY
Children’s literature covers from the ages of
0-8- from picture books all the way up to easy chapter books, such as the
Ramona Quimby books.
Middle grade/tweens literature covers from 8-12
years old. ROLLERGIRL is one example of a graphic novel of this type of
literature.
YA literature covers from 13-18 years old.
Many of these books could be in a middle school collection. GRASSHOPPER
JUNGLE would not really fit in a middle school library because it has language
that wouldn’t be used in middle school. Romance also becomes a part of YA
literature, and some of these elements are also not appropriate for middle
school.
New Adult literature covers from 18-30 years
old. It is the newest division of literature for young people. It
started around 2009 when a publishing house wanted YA to appeal to an adult
audience; most of YA literature is purchased by adults for adults. New adult
books usually are about people going off to college and experiencing lots of
firsts- relationships, school, living on their own, etc. They are full of adult
issues that young people must face for the first time without parents... SWEET
HOME and other books are about young people at college and follow these
relationships- they are series books where each book follows a different
couple.
The conundrum in the divisions of literature for
young people shows up in middle school because people confuse middle school
with middle grades. Middle school is ages 11-13, and so that is absolutely
not the same. Middle school books would be a book like DRAMA or LILY
& DUNKIN. They deal with tougher issues like romance, LGBTQ issues,
abusive parents, etc. They deal with the ages of students who would be in
middle school. Again, middle school is a challenging place to choose literature
for because it is middle grade AND YA literature meeting in the middle with
some students still in the middle grades and some in the YA range.
REFLECTION
As a middle school teacher, I realize that I am
right in that “conundrum” zone about what to have students read. I
appreciate our librarian and that she must pay attention to which students are
grabbing which books. I know she has talked about before about how
important it is to know the
Students because some 6th graders are more ready
to read certain literature than others. By knowing the students, she is
able to help guide them to literature that is appropriate for them. As a
future librarian, I am cognizant of the importance of knowing my books and my
students, and being able to match them in a way that my students are
challenging themselves, enjoying their books, and reading literature
appropriate to them.
This chapter emphasizes for me the lesson in
chapter one about people wanting to see themselves in the literature they read.
They also want to see people succeeding in the worlds they are entering.
I think this gives them courage and strength to take on the challenges they
face. This is why it makes sense that kids want to “read up” and read
about kids who are a few years older than them.
Chapter 3- The Anatomy of a Book
SUMMARY
There are lots of parts that make up the anatomy
of a book:
First, the endpapers are the two sheets at the
beginning and end of a book. Then, there is a case wrap, which is what is
underneath the jacket (if it is a hardcover book). After that is the book
block, which is the main body of the book. The gutter is the blank space
between the binding and the printing area and the headband is the small strip
at the top and bottom of a case bound book that fills the gap between the spine
and the cover. The backbone, also called the spine, is the back of a
bound book.
That is not all; there is even more book-making
vocabulary:
A mock-up is an early “fake” version of the book
that doesn’t necessarily have all the pages. It is usually used to
represent books for upcoming seasons that aren’t actually ready to go yet.
A format is something that invites someone to
interact with the product- like a guided journal, a game, a pencil, etc.
A proof is a press sheet used to proofread
before the binding occurs to make sure that each page is accurate and
consistent.
A saddle stitch is the way booklets are fastened
by stitching through the middle fold of the sheets.
An F&G is short for Fold and Gather.
It is an unbound copy of a book and is usually created for children’s
illustrated books.
REFLECTION
I’m not going to lie- there is so much more to a
book than it appears! It is very interesting to see all the work that
goes into creating a book. It makes me appreciate my books even more.
I love the ease of e-books, but nothing beats a real book, and now I know
that there is a good reason. Lots of work goes into creating them!
I think that it will be an important lesson for
students to see some of the parts of a book so that they understand the
importance of taking good care of them.
Chapter 4: Genres and Formats
SUMMARY
Genres are different than what many librarians
and schools have been using with the genrefying of the library.
What we are calling genres are actually not genres at all…
There are two genres- fiction and nonfiction -
everything else is a subgenre.
In the genre of fiction, there are sub-genres of
realism and fantasy. Realism covers realistic modern and
contemporary and historical fiction.
The subgenre of fantasy is divided into two
sections as well. In traditional fantasy are fairy tales, myths, legends,
folktales, ballads, and fables. In modern fantasy there is hard science
fiction (science is the main part of the story), soft science fiction (science
involved but character is part of the story), high fantasy (worlds have been created
like LORD OF THE RINGS) and low fantasy (more down to earth, take place in a
recognizable world with elements that are not possible, such as talking
animals, fairies, etc.).
Nonfiction is informational, which includes:
biography, autobiography (the whole span of a life), memoir (one portion of
someone’s life), narrative nonfiction (tells a story such as NOTORIOUS BENEDICT
ARNOLD), and expository nonfiction (gives facts and information such as
TORNADOES).
Formats of literature include: poetry, drama,
novels, chapter books, short stories, picture books, and graphic novels.
Often these formats are posted as genres in a
library- you can have a historical fiction graphic novel. So where do you
put it? Students will have to guess which “genre” the book belongs in.
In genrefied libraries, there are also
categories such as Chick Lit, Mystery, and Guy Reads. These are often
promoted as genres, but these are categories or subjects, NOT genres.
These sections can create problems in a library. What if a boy wants
to read TWILIGHT? Is he going to have to walk into the pink “Girl”
section? Students would have to guess. Genrefying sets the kids up to
browse instead of use the catalog. There are pros and cons to
genrefying a library, and each future librarian needs to research and learn
what they believe is the right thing to do.
REFLECTION
I currently teach in a genrefied library.
For our school, it seems to work well. We have a very high
circulation rate, and we only have a few sections. We don’t have any of
these “guy” “girl” only sections; we have just a few broad ones.
It was pretty awesome to see the actual
classifications of genres and subgenres and categories and formats. As an
English teacher in Texas, I have been teaching the four “genres” of Nonfiction,
Fiction, Poetry, and Drama to correspond with our TEKS. Now I know where
these all really fit and I love having the final, actual answer so that when I
teach my students, we can be clear. It simplifies everything.
I think knowing the actual terms and having a
correct idea of where things go will go a long way in teaching my students
correctly. We will be using the correct language of the discipline.
As a librarian, I am going to need to seriously think about the pros and
cons about having a genrefied library. I like the idea of the students
being able to look for what they like (thinking about the “reading ladders”
from a previous chapter), but I also realize they need to be practicing their
skills for finding books in other libraries. At my public library, I use the
catalog and search because there is no genrefication. I don’t want to
send students out into the real world unable to find a book. If I keep
the genres sections, I will definitely have to teach specifically how to search
for books and make some activities for them to practice. If I decide to
keep the “genres’ sections, I am going to need to find some different
terminology to use so I am not using language wrong. I want my students
to be able to adapt what I teach them to the real world.
Chapter 5- What is YA Literature?
SUMMARY
There are certain requirements for literature to
truly be Young Adult Literature. The protagonist must be youthful, highly
independent, and go through gradual change as the novel progresses, but they do
not achieve full growth. There must be significant change in the life of
this protagonist, and they must receive consequences for their decisions and
their actions. These elements are shown through the adolescent’s point of
view, which keep the conflicts and exposition simple and clear. The
setting is limited and covers only a brief time period with few fully developed
characters. It is clear that the author has a sense of how adolescents
develop.
REFLECTION
In reading the definition of “What is YA
Literature?” I am able to think about the YA books I have been reading recently
and fit them in to these definitions. I looked up the term “directness of
exposition” to make sure I had a clear understanding. We teach
exposition, and I learned the term for this element of YA literature.
This is how the exposition is in most of what I teach. One of the
things I learned as a teacher was that we must teach our students “to think
about what they are thinking about,” in other words, we need to analyze our
learning process and the steps we take. I do not naturally do this, so
reading this list of requirements for a book to be classified as YA helped to
create an outline that I can put the books I read into. I feel much more
confident now in knowing the distinctions between the different age groups of
literature and will be able to use this knowledge as a librarian.
