LM_NET: Library Media Networking
Hello. I have posted the list of highlights from my TARGET->
evaluating, promoting, and using YA lit -- here are the actual
responses, for those who may want to read "from the horse's mouth."
Denice
adkinsdc@ccit.arizona.edu adkinsdc@arizvms.bitnet
**
From: Betsy Stine <BSTINE@RCNVMS.RCN.MASS.EDU>
Subject: RE: TARGET-> using, promoting, evaluating YA lit
To: ADKINSDC%ARIZVMS.BITNET@SUVM.SYR.EDU
Message-id: <01HAB839YMG2B3MO2F@RCNVMS.RCN.MASS.EDU>
Denice: One thing we do for summer reading is to send our copies of titles
on the summer reading list to the public library, where they can circulate
throughout the vacation months. It has proved to be very successful and
saves on the ever-dwindling town library budget. Besides, who wants all
that good reading to just sit on the shelf and get dusty? Good luck on your
project. Betsy Stine Danvers (Massachusetts) High School.
**
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 1994 15:03:59 -0500 (EST)
From: pbennett@sun.cc.westga.edu (Priscilla Bennett)
Subject: RE: TARGET-> using, promoting, evaluating YA lit
To: ADKINSDC%ARIZVMS.BITNET@SUVM.SYR.EDU
Message-id: <9403232003.AA15147@sun.cc.westga.edu>
Denice, My students who are HS media specialists love Book Report, VOYA
and ALAN Review but this is almost always in addition to Booklist and
SLJ.
they do a good bit of booktalking (I have beat it into their heads that
it is effective). Some do other projects with English teachers but HS
teachers are hard nuts to crack some times. With parenting classes and
such they soemtimes do classes in Children's lit (not what you asked) and
all are working hard trying to get YA titles on teacher's reading lists
especially for less motivated students. some have done units that paired
YA titles with classics. That is all I can summon up right now. --
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Priscilla Bennett (404) 836-6558
Media Education pbennett@sun.cc.westga.edu
West Georgia College Carrollton, GA 30118
All beginnings are hard. Chaim Potok from In The Beginning
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
**
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 1994 17:34:39 -0500 (EST)
From: t_toy@mentor.unh.edu
Subject: Ya evaluation of literature
To: adkinsdc@CCIT.ARIZONA.EDU
Message-id: <0097BDFB.5E217140.25373@mentor.unh.edu>
Hi Denice,
I have a copy of my selection criteria at my desk, and read it every
once in a while. I am careful about using the YA label exclusively
as criteria for suitability to my audience because I have the young
end-- jr high grades 7-9. If a book is judged to be 5-8 it is really
very young in the characters. The 7-9,10, or 12 I feel will better
appeal to my particular group. I use School Library Journal, Book
Report, ALAN, Booklist, KLIATT (for paperbacks --which I order from
Baker and Taylor and get "coverups" a firm plastic covering for an extra
$1.50 or so.) I initial any review that looks good to me. Usually, most
of the starred reviews, more selectively from the unstarred reviews.
I have a parent volunteer translate the info from the review into a
database. I have them type the star preceeding the title. With the
luxury of a volunteer, I don't worry about checking the same title more than onc
e.
At the end of the year, the only time I have money, I sort the titles,
and the starred items float to the top of the list. Then, I look
over the database and put my own star in front of titles that have
several reviews. I cross out the duplicate entries and hand it back to
the volunteer who edits the database. I use the final printout
as my ordering sheet attached to my Purchase Order. Hope this helps,
hope to hear about what I could do to improve my process.
Theresa Toy t_toy@mentor.unh.edu Rundlett Jr High, Concord, NH 03301
**
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 1994 18:07:53 -0800 (PST)
From: "Rachel H. Carlson" <rcarlso@eis.calstate.edu>
Subject: YA Books
To: adkinsdc@CCIT.ARIZONA.EDU
Message-id: <Pine.3.89.9403231759.A27660-0100000@eis.calstate.edu>
Hi - Read your query and have a few ideas to add to your file. First,
for evaluating YA Lit, I use BookList primarily, although with one
caution which is that the reviewer doesn't always indicate the presence
of "sophisticated" material. By and large, however, it's a good source.
A second source, aimed directly at the school librarian, is The Book
Report. Their reviews are done by LMT's and are usually pretty good.
Format is very useful. Nominees for California Young Reader Medal are
always a good bet. And finally, I go to author sessions and book review
sessions at our Library Conventions. Hearing the author speak is really
revealing.
Guidelines for selection really come from curriculum and student wishes.
For example, multiculturalism is a big issue here in So. Cal., so I try
to find books that deal with youngsters' problems assimilating into a new
culture, or with diverse cultural backgrounds. I'm a firm believer in
reading for pleasure, so I try to select books that appeal to students'
sense of adventure, special interests (sports, surfing, dance, music,
etc.), or genre preferences (lots of sci.fi. fans at one school; lots of
mystery/thriller fans at another).
By the way, I read a lot of the books--
How to use the books, you ask. I do lots of one-on-one;kids will ask
what's a good book. I have a special browsing rack for the paperback
YA's. It's pretty popular. I will booktalk books to a class anytime a
teacher requests, and it works really well. Sometimes I think that half
the battle is letting kids know what's there (advertising our wares).
Since I'm only half time at two schools, I've quit doing projects - not
enough time.
Do teachers cooperate, team-teach? Some do. Special ed. and reading
teachers find a wealth of motivational reading among YA titles, so
they're among my steadiest customers. US History and English teachers
with heterogeneously grouped classes will often allow YA titles of
quality as book report or extra reading books, so I'll booktalk them
there as well.
I hope this gives you some ideas.
Sincerely,
Rachel Carlson (rcarlso@eis.calstate.edu)
Huntington Beach, CA
**
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 1994 21:08:08 -0500 (EST)
From: JCONSTANT@umassd.edu
Subject: SELECTING AND EVALUATING YA LIT
To: ADKINSDC@CCIT.ARIZONA.EDU
Message-id: <01HABQ8OXYOY8Y59J7@umassd.edu>
Organization: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, MA, USA
The JOUrnal of Reading has a list of young adult favorite books for the year,
as well as monthly reviews or recommended books. We also use School Library
Journal and School Library Media Quarterly. Hope this helps.
JConstant@umassd.edu
**
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 1994 20:41:34 -0600 (CST)
From: Karen Jean Hollenshead <khollens@tenet.edu>
Subject: RE: TARGET-> using, promoting, evaluating YA lit
To: Denice Adkins <ADKINSDC@CCIT.ARIZONA.EDU>
Message-id: <Pine.3.03.9403232032.A11132-a100000@gaston.tenet.edu>
Denice,
My favorite tools for selecting YA books are SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL and
THE BOOK REPORT. As for promoting, we have a real problem because most of
our teachers tell their students that YA's are "baby" books and won't let
them check them out for assignments. I have tried to convince them that
these books are usually better than a lot of adult literature and at the
very least are stepping stones to higher quality. I use displays (a
different theme each month) and reading incentive contests to encourage
teens to check out these books.
Karen Hollenshead khollens@tenet.edu
Langham Creek HS
Houston, TX
**
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 1994 10:32:43 -0500 (EST)
From: "Sandra L. Parks" <sparks@vdoe386.vak12ed.edu>
Subject: RE: TARGET-> using, promoting, evaluating YA lit
To: ADKINSDC%ARIZVMS.BITNET@suvm.acs.syr.edu
Message-id: <9403241532.AA02541@vdoe386.vak12ed.edu>
One of my favorite tools for identifying YA books is Best Books
for Senior High Readers by (William or John) Gillespie. It
features a lot of paperbacks, anthe subject/genre divisions are
very useful for identifyings books/themes. Some of our English teachers
require independent reading on a specified theme, so this is
really helpful in pulling books. There is also a JR. High
version.
Sandy Parks
Harrisonburg High School
Harrisonburg, VA
sparks@vdoe386.vak12ed.edu
**
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 1994 19:50:18 -0500 (EST)
From: CAROLAN@ids.net
Subject: RE: TARGET-> using, promoting, evaluating YA lit
To: ADKINSDC%ARIZVMS.BITNET@suvm.acs.syr.EDU
Message-id: <940324195018.6cbe@ids.net>
Denice--As a junior high LMS I have worked closely with the Language arts
department to develop an independent reading program for our 7th and 8th
graders. This program is based on YA lit in the library. We have over
900 titles in it at this point. I circulate various lists found in the
journals, maintain the database both for the lists and for the questions
used with each book.
Favorite review sources are SLJ, VOYA, EMERGENCY LIBRARIAN, BOOK REPORT.
And, student recommendations...
This program is based on the research which concludes that reading is the
way to learn to read, to build vocabulary and spelling and to develop
lifelong reading habit.
carolan@ids.net
LM_NET IS A JOY!
**
Date: Fri, 25 Mar 1994 19:41:03 -0500 (EST)
From: bbvschlib@shrsys.hslc.org
Subject: Read YA Books
Sender: bbvschlib@shrsys.hslc.org
To: adkinsdc@CCIT.ARIZONA.EDU
Message-id: <0097BF9F.5B0B94E0.31163@shrsys.hslc.org>
Dear Denise,
What tools do you use for evaluating YA lit?
Booklist
School Library Journal
Voya
Wilson Library Bulletin
Do you have a favorite?
yes Voya because it reviews SciFi the best
Are there any particular guidelines that you follow personally
(without evaluation tools)?
1. If I have read it and approve it.
2. If some of the better students recommend it for purchase
3. Recommended by a teacher through their journals or personal
experience
How do real-life librarians use YA lit with the YA audience?
1. Many booktalks both formal and informal on the spot.
2. Projects that have developed over time. For instance, Robin
Cook is read in anatomy class and a project is done for the
classroom teacher.
3. Our seventh and eighth do not use basal readers at all. We
have two reading teachers who use different formats but the main
purpose is to get students to read books. I do a lot of
booktalks to those grades.
4. One of the English teachers does SSR in the nineth grade on
Fridays. It must be a book. I wish it were run differently but
she is supporting reading so I don't complain.
5. I cooperate with many teachers on a variety of projects.
Some teachers are very hard to cope with and others are a
pleasure to work with. The ones who are difficult think they
know your job and when you say infomation can't be found on
whatever they tell you that you are wrong. They assign the
project to students anyway and then complain when the students
can't do the project because they can't find the information.
The teachers I love to work for really do collaborate with me and
we jointly create projects. Some are great, others fail but we
learn and grow together.
Hope this helps!
Janet Johns
Librarian / Media Specialist
Berlin Brothersvalley High School (7-12)
email bbvschlib@hslc.org
fax/phone 1-814-267-5137
**
Date: Mon, 28 Mar 1994 20:28:43 -0500 (EST)
From: "Linda S. Locker" <KBU_LOCKER@MEC.OHIO.GOV>
Subject: YA Review Literature
To: adkinsdc@CCIT.ARIZONA.EDU
Message-id: <01HAINPJR6KI934X57@MEC.OHIO.GOV>
Denice,
I recently completed research for my MLS at Kent State University. My
master's research paper was entitled, "The Young Adult Book Review Media: An
Evaluation." It was submitted to ERIC in December. The research included
statistics on eight of the most popular reviewing journals. It may be of some
interest to your inquiries. Quite frankly, I have not checked ERIC to see if
it is indexed yet. Personally, I read reviews in SLJ, Booklist, and Book
Report to select YA titles. I appreciate the inclusion of some negative
reviews in SLJ and Book Report, which are not generally included in Booklist.
VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) includes unique evaluation codes which predict
potential teen popularity for titles, which are extremely helpful. Book Report
also includes a picture of book jackets for the titles reviewed, another
helpful feature for selection when dealing with discriminating teens who only
select books with book jacket appeal.
Gook luck with your research. If I can help with additional information,
please let me know. Linda Locker "kbu_locker@mec.ohio.gov"
Linda S. Locker, District Media Specialist
Berne Union Local Schools (614) 746-9956
Sugar Grove, Ohio 43155
Internet: "kbu_locker@mec.ohio.gov"
Sugar Grove, Ohio 43155
Internet: "kbu_locker@mec.ohio.gov"
**
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 1994 23:16:51 -0500
From: bf455@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bonita Kale)
Subject: RE: Book Buddy Programs
Sender: pubyac@nysernet.ORG
We have a small scale book buddy program. Children 3rd grade and under
sign up as little buddies, 6th grade and over as big buddies. The
big buddy is given the little buddy's phone number, and they make their
own arrangements to meet. The idea is for them to meet once a week
in the library, for the little buddy to read to the big one (with help over
hard parts). It's all very low-key.
They do sign in, and buddy reading time counts for stickers, etc., in the
summer reading program (which tracks time, not books). There's a certain
amount of "where is my big buddy; can I call him?", etc. Some of the big
buddies have been in for years, and an occasional adult signs up, too.
Bonita Kale
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