Literature for Today's Young Adults

by Nilsen, Alleen Pace; Donelson, Kenneth L.

• ISBN13: 9780321037886
• ISBN10: 032103788X
• Edition: 6th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-01-01
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon

Summary

This engaging text helps teachers learn how to motivate teenagers to become life-long readers. It offers a comprehensive, reader-friendly introduction to young adult literature framed within a rich literary, historical, and social context. It also provides teachers with criteria for evaluating books of all genres, from poetry and nonfiction to mysteries, science fiction, and horror. Coverage of timely issues, such as pop culture and mass media, help teachers connect with students' lives outside the classroom.

Table of Contents

Specialized Contents	xii
Preface	xv
PART ONE Understanding Young Adults and Books	1	(110)
Young Adults and Their Reading	3	(40)
What Is Young Adult Literature?	3	(2)
A Brief Unsettled Heritage	5	(1)
Today's Authors	6	(5)
Characteristics of the Best Young Adult Literature	11	(22)
Stages of Literary Appreciation	33	(8)
Notes	41	(1)
Titles Mentioned in the Text of Chapter One	41	(2)
A Brief History of Adolescent Literature	43	(35)
1800--1900: A Century of Purity with a Few Passions	45	(8)
1900--1940: From the Safety of Romance to the Beginning of Realism	53	(10)
1940--1966: From Certainty to Uncertainty	63	(11)
Notes	74	(1)
Titles Mentioned in the Text of Chapter Two	75	(3)
YA Literature, Pop Culture, and the Mass Media	78	(33)
Pokemon as Interactive Fiction	87	(2)
A Survey of Students' Relationships to Mass Media	89	(17)
The Ubiquitousness of Television	91	(4)
Animation	95	(1)
Magazines	95	(1)
A Night Out at the Movies	96	(5)
From Comic Books to Graphic Novels	101	(5)
Concluding Comments	106	(3)
Notes	109	(1)
Titles Mentioned in the Text of Chapter Three	109	(2)
PART TWO Modern Young Adult Reading	111	(200)
The New Realism: Of Life and Problems	113	(31)
The Chocolate War as a Tragedy	116	(4)
Post-Columbine Musings on the Value of Today's Problem Novels	120	(5)
What Are the Problems?	125	(15)
Family Relationships	125	(4)
Friends and Society	129	(1)
Living in a Multicultural World	130	(5)
Body and Self	135	(4)
Sex-Related Problems	139	(1)
The Future of the Problem Novel From Realism to Postmodernism	140	(2)
Notes	142	(1)
Titles Mentioned in the Text of Chapter Four	142	(2)
The Old Romanticism: Of Wishing and Winning	144	(31)
The Adventure/Accomplishment Romance	146	(4)
Izzy, Willy-Nilly as an Adventure/Accomplishment Romance	147	(3)
Other Symbols of Accomplishment	150	(17)
Sports and the Game of Life	152	(6)
Animal and Nature Stories	158	(3)
Westerns	161	(3)
Accomplishment Stories with Religious Themes	164	(3)
The Love Romance	167	(5)
Notes	172	(1)
Titles Mentioned in the Text of Chapter Five	172	(3)
Adventure, Mysteries, the Supernatural, and Humor From Goose Bumps to Giggles	175	(35)
Adventure Stories	176	(6)
Mysteries	182	(5)
Types of Mysteries	184	(2)
Tony Hillerman's Books	186	(1)
Mysteries Written for Young Adults	187	(1)
Stories of the Supernatural	187	(10)
From Chills to Giggles	193	(4)
Other Humor	197	(11)
Notes	208	(1)
Titles Mentioned in the Text of Chapter Six	208	(2)
Fantasy, Science Fiction, Utopias, and Dystopias	210	(26)
What Is Fantasy?	210	(3)
Conventions of Fantasy	211	(2)
Fears of Fantasy	213	(1)
Seven Significant Writers of Fantasy	213	(5)
Other Kinds of Fantasy	218	(3)
Animal Fantasies	218	(1)
Fantasy and the Mabinogion	219	(1)
King Arthur and Other Myths in Fantasy	220	(1)
Fantasy on Other Worlds: Here There Be Dragons	221	(1)
What Is Science Fiction?	221	(8)
Types of Science Fiction	225	(4)
Keeping Up-to-Date on Science Fiction	229	(1)
Utopias and Dystopias	229	(4)
Notes	233	(1)
Titles Mentioned in the Text of Chapter Seven	233	(3)
History and History Makers: Of People and Places	236	(38)
Trade Books for History Study	237	(6)
Historical Fact and Fiction	239	(4)
Outstanding Writers of Historical Fiction	243	(3)
Books About War	246	(7)
Literature of the Holocaust	253	(3)
Japanese Internment Camps in World War II	256	(1)
Personal Experiences	257	(1)
More Upbeat Personal Experiences	257	(2)
Biographies	259	(8)
Collective Biographies	264	(1)
Debunking Versus Fawning Biographies	265	(2)
Autobiographies	267	(2)
Connections Between History and Biography	269	(1)
Notes	269	(1)
Titles Mentioned in the Text of Chapter Eight	270	(4)
Nonfiction: Information, Poetry, and Drama	274	(37)
Information Books	274	(1)
Narrative or Storytelling in Nonfiction	275	(19)
New Journalism	276	(2)
Evaluation of Nonfiction	278	(4)
Contemporary Influences on the Publishing of Informational Books	282	(1)
Need for Scientific Literacy	283	(1)
Books to Support and Extend the School Curriculum	283	(6)
Nonfiction to Help Teenagers Learn Who They Are and Where They Fit	289	(5)
Authors of Nonfiction for Young Adults	294	(3)
Russel Freedman	295	(1)
James Cross Giblin	296	(1)
James (Jim) Haskins	296	(1)
Albert Marrin	296	(1)
Milton Meltzer	296	(1)
Laurence Pringle	297	(1)
Poetry	297	(6)
Reading Drama in English Class	303	(4)
Notes	307	(1)
Titles Mentioned in the Text of Chapter Nine	307	(4)
PART THREE Adults and the Literature of Young Adults	311	(128)
Evaluating, Promoting, and Using Young Adult Books	313	(44)
Evaluating Young Adult Literature	314	(8)
Writing About Books	314	(1)
Keeping a Record of Your Reading	315	(1)
Writing Annotations	316	(2)
Writing Reviews	318	(3)
Writing Scholarly and Pedagogical Articles	321	(1)
Deciding on the Literary Canon	322	(5)
Teaching Ethnic Literature	327	(3)
Using Young Adult Literature in the Library	330	(15)
Matching Books With Readers	331	(3)
Discussion Listservs	334	(1)
World Wide Web Sites	335	(2)
Booktalks	337	(2)
Displays	339	(2)
Programs	341	(3)
Magazines	344	(1)
Using Young Adult Books in the Reading Classroom	345	(5)
Guided Reading Classes	347	(3)
Using Young Adult Books in the Social Studies Class	350	(1)
Parents and Young Adult Literature	350	(2)
Clarifying Human Relation and Values	352	(3)
Notes	355	(1)
Titles Mentioned in the Text of Chapter Ten	355	(2)
Literature in the English Class: Short Stories, Novels, Creative Writing, Film, and Thematic Units	357	(33)
Principles of Teaching English	357	(3)
Using Young Adult Literature in English Classes	360	(3)
Using Short Stories in English Class	363	(8)
Using Novels in English Class	371	(3)
Using Young Adult Literature in Creative Writing	374	(6)
Teaching Film in the English Class	380	(5)
Using Thematic Units in the English Class	385	(3)
Notes	388	(1)
Titles Mentioned in the Text of Chapter Eleven	388	(2)
Censorship: Of Worrying and Wondering	390	(49)
A Brief History of Censorship	395	(3)
The State of Classroom and Library Censorship Today	398	(3)
Some Assumptions About Censorship and Censors	401	(3)
Attacks on Materials	404	(7)
Who Are the Censors?	404	(4)
What Do the Censors Censor?	408	(2)
Why Do Censors Censor What They Do?	410	(1)
Some Court Decisions Worth Knowing	411	(15)
Court Decisions About Obscenity and Attempting to Define Obscenity	411	(6)
Court Decisions About Teaching and School Libraries	417	(7)
Extralegal Decisions	424	(2)
What to Do Before and After the Censors Arrive	426	(4)
Before the Censors Arrive	426	(3)
After the Censors Arrive	429	(1)
Notes	430	(1)
A Starter Bibliography on Censorship	431	(8)
Appendix A: Glossary of Literary Terms Illustrated Y A Literature	439	(5)
Appendix B: Book Selection Guides	444	(4)
Appendix C: Some Outstanding Books and Articles About Young Adult Literature	448	(10)
Appendix D: A Brief Bibliography on Films Generally and on Transformations of Print into Film	458	(2)
Acknowledgments	460	(3)
Subject Index	463	(2)
Critics and Commentators Index	465	(2)
Author and Title Index	467