Literature for Today's Young Adults

by Donelson, Kenneth L.; Nilsen, Alleen P.

• ISBN13: 9780205410354
• ISBN10: 0205410359
• Edition: 7th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-01-01
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon

Summary

With new features and thoroughly updated, the number one text in Young Adult Literature continues to help teachers learn how to motivate teenagers to become life-long readers.

Table of Contents

Specialized Contents	xi
Preface	xv
Part One Understanding Young Adults and Books	1	(110)
1 Adults and Their Reading	1	(46)
What Is Young Adult Literature?	1	(4)
A Brief Unsettled Heritage	5	(4)
Today's Authors	9	(5)
Characteristics of the Best Young Adult Literature	14	(24)
Stages of Literary Appreciation	38	(5)
Questions about Gender and Literacy	43	(3)
Notes	46	(1)
2 A Brief History of Adolescent Literature	47	(30)
1800-1900: A Century of Purity with a Few Passions	48	(10)
1900-1940: From the Safety of Romance to the Beginning of Realism	58	(10)
1940-1966: From Certainty to Uncertainty	68	(7)
Notes	75	(2)
3 Pop Culture YA Lit, Big Business, and Archetypal Images	77	(34)
A Youth-Oriented Culture	79	(4)
YA Lit as Big Business	83	(4)
A Survey of Students' Relationships to Popular Media	87	(11)
Archetypes in Literature and the Pop Culture	98	(11)
Concluding Comments	109	(1)
Notes	109	(2)
Part Two Modern Young Adult Reading	111	(174)
4 Contemporary Realistic Fiction: From Tragedies to Romances	111	(32)
The Modern Problem Novel	115	(7)
What Are the Problems?	122	(8)
More Optimistic Novels	130	(11)
Concluding Comments	141	(1)
Notes	142	(1)
5 Poetry, Drama, and Humor	143	(30)
A New Day for Poetry	143	(9)
Making Drama a Class Act	152	(5)
Humor Matters	157	(15)
Concluding Comments	172	(1)
Notes	172	(1)
6 Adventure, Sports, Mysteries, and the Supernatural	173	(26)
Adventure Stories	173	(7)
Sports and the Game of Life	180	(5)
Mysteries	185	(7)
Stories of the Supernatural	192	(6)
Concluding Comments	198	(1)
Notes	198	(1)
7 Fantasy, Science Fiction, Utopias, and Dystopias	199	(26)
What Is Fantasy?	199	(12)
What Is Science Fiction?	211	(8)
Utopias and Dystopias	219	(5)
Concluding Comments	224	(1)
Notes	224	(1)
8 History and History Makers: Of People and Places	225	(26)
Historical Fiction	225	(9)
Westerns	234	(2)
Books about War	236	(6)
Literature of the Holocaust	242	(5)
Books about Vietnam	247	(2)
Concluding Comments	249	(1)
Notes	250	(1)
9 Nonfiction: Information, Literary Nonfiction, Biographies, and Self-Help Books	251	(34)
Information Books	252	(2)
Narrative or Storytelling in Nonfiction	254	(13)
Memoirs and Personal Experiences	267	(2)
Biographies	269	(4)
Autobiographies	273	(1)
Nonfiction to Help Teenagers Learn Who They Are and Where They Fit	274	(6)
Outstanding Authors of Nonfiction for Young Adults	280	(4)
Concluding Comments	284	(1)
Notes	284	(1)
Part Three Adults and the Literature of Young Adults	285	(120)
10 Evaluating, Promoting, and Using Young Adult Books	285	(43)
Evaluating Young Adult Literature	286	(9)
Deciding on the Literary Canon	295	(4)
Teaching Ethnic Literature	299	(4)
Using Young Adult Literature in the Library	303	(14)
Using Young Adult Books in the Reading Classroom	317	(3)
Using Young Adult Books in the Social Studies Class	320	(2)
Parents and Young Adult Literature	322	(1)
Clarifying Human Relations and Values	323	(3)
Concluding Comments	326	(1)
Notes	327	(1)
11 Literature in the English Class: Short Stories, Novels, Creative Writing, Film, and Thematic Units	328	(32)
Principles of Teaching English	328	(2)
Using Young Adult Literature in English Classes	330	(3)
Using Short Stories in English Class	333	(5)
Using Novels in English Class	338	(9)
Using Young Adult Literature in Creative Writing	347	(6)
Teaching Film in the English Class	353	(2)
Using Thematic Units in the English Class	355	(3)
Concluding Comments	358	(1)
Notes	359	(1)
12 Censorship: Of Worring and Wondering	360	(45)
A Censorial Spirit	360	(3)
A Sampling of Early Attitudes toward Censorship	363	(3)
The State of Classroom and Library Censorship Today	366	(2)
Some Assumptions about Censorship and Censors	368	(2)
Attacks on Materials	370	(6)
Some Court Decisions Worth Knowing	376	(13)
A New Kind of Censorship	389	(1)
What to Do Before and After the Censors Arrive	390	(7)
Concluding Comments	397	(1)
Notes	398	(1)
A Starter Bibliography on Censorship	399	(6)
Appendix A Glossary of Literary Terms Illustrated by YA Literature	405	(6)
Appendix B Book Selection Guides	411	(4)
Appendix C Some Outstanding Books and Articles about YA Literature	415	(20)
Appendix D A Brief Bibliography on Films Generally and on Transformations of Print into Film	435	(2)
Acknowledgments	437	(2)
Author Index	439	(9)
Critics and Commentators Index	448	(2)
Subject Index	450	(1)
Title Index	451