Please click HERE to view YA Books 17-25 Annotated Bibliography

Please click here to view YA Books 9-16 Annotated Bibliography

Please click HERE  to view 6 books that cover Dr. Lesesne's required reading list, 1 book from the Author's list, and 1 required book from the New York Times Bestseller list.  A total of 8 books have been annotated. 

Chapter 17: We Need Diverse Books Summary : Weneeddiversebooks.org is a non-profit organization of children’s books that advocates essential changes in the industry of book publishing.  Their aim is to produce and promote books that honor and accommodate the lives of all young people. Based on their website, their mission statement is, putting more books featuring diverse characters into the hands of all children.  They aim to have all children reading from an autobiographical perspective by accommodating all walks of life and experiences within their stories. We Need Diverse Books also has a blog in order for followers to stay up to date with awards, grants, Q&A’s, book talks with newly published works, cover reveals, and book excerpts. Reflection/Response : We all need to see ourselves in books.  Because if we don’t see ourselves in books we might not feel as connected to the human experience.  It’s also important to read about people who aren’t like u...

Chapter 16: Crowdsourced List of Middle School Authors Summary : A crowdsourced list is information or input obtained by enlisting the services of a large number of people, typically from the Internet.  The list provided in Chapter 16 of the Young Adult Literature textbook LSSL 5385, provides authors names that have been published in the young adult literature realm.   Reflection/Response : The crowdsourced list of middle grade authors is important to keep on hand when you’re a public school librarian of any grade level (because you will have advanced/low readers when in elementary or high school), but especially if you are a librarian working in a middle school.  I’ve always tried to focus on a list of book titles to acquire in my collection I will have, but this chapter made me realize it’s also important to have an authors list on hand. It just another way to facilitate you in creating a versatile collection for everyone. So not only do we librarians need...

Chapter 15: 10 Questions to Ask about a Novel Summary : Richard Peck was a well known author who made many contributions to the modern young adult literature world.  He composed a list of 10 pertinent questions that can be asked to entice readers to look further into the story being read.  This list allows readers to delve deeper and attain a broader understanding of the piece of literature being read. Here are the ten questions to ask about a novel: What would the story be like if the main character were of the opposite sex? Why is the story set where it is? If you were to film the story, would you use black and white or color and why? If you could not use all of the characters, which would you eliminate and why? How is the main character different from you? Would this story make a good TV series? Why/why not? What one thing in the story has happened to you? Reread the first paragraph of Chapter 1.  What is in it to make you read on? If not...

Chapter 14: Graphic Novels Summary : Graphic novels are stories told through pictures, much like a comic book or wordless picture book.  The best part about graphic novels is that they are not tied to any specific type or age of reader. They don’t even have to be used for learning.  However, you can still find graphic novels in history, fantasy, nonfiction, and all the sub-genres. Graphic novels hold just as much information as traditional literature, if not more.  They still follow the guidelines of possessing proper literary elements and literary devices, but the illustrations provide a better understanding of the story being told. A strong point in graphic novels is that the illustrations can make abstract concepts more concrete with the visuals that are given.  Graphic novels have some basic information in order to fully understand them. They are as follows: Graphic novels are not sequential art Graphic novels are more complex than picture books ...

Chapter 13: Fantasy and Science Fiction Summary : Stories that don’t follow the laws of physical reality are a part of fantasy fiction.  Books can have a sense of realism but when something happens within the story that truly cannot happen in real life, is when the book has crossed over into fantasy; for example talking animals or time travel.  Science fiction is a sub-genre of fantasy. It’s important to note that all science fiction falls into fantasy, but not all fantasy is considered science fiction. Criteria for evaluating science fiction and fantasy are as follows: Despite fantastic aspects of a story, it still must behave and be consistent in believable ways. There still must be rules within the fantasy world. Authors must assist readers in the “willing suspension of disbelief” which means to sacrifice realism and logic and read for pure enjoyment. All the themes must explore universal truths in even the fantasy realm. Types/Characteristics of F...

Chapter 12: Nonfiction Summary : Nonfiction is an umbrella term for books defined by what they are not.  Nonfiction books include narratives, expository approaches, biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs.  There is a wide array of books that fall under the umbrella category of nonfiction and they have criteria/questioning to follow in order to distinguish quality nonfiction text.  They are as follows: What are the qualifications of the author? Check the author’s website or author’s notes in the back of the book. Kathleen Krull, James Cross Giblin, Steve Jenkins, Don Brown, Loree Griffin Burns, Seymour Simon Are the facts accurate? The Children’s Book Council- Science Tradebooks Notable Tradebooks- Social Studies What is the purpose and scope of the book? Narrow scope or broad scope? It’s Perfectly Normal: Sex, sexuality, and changing bodies It’s So Amazing: Meant for younger kids How does the organization of the book ass...

Chapter 11: Realistic Fiction Summary : Realistic fiction is also known as Contemporary Realistic Fiction (CRF) or Modern Realistic Fiction (MRF).  No matter how the term is coined, the storyline should always be believable and the characters, settings, and events reflect that of the real world.  Since realistic fiction follows the guidelines of realistic events, it completely separates itself from the historical fiction, fantasy, and science fiction.  In order to evaluate realistic fiction and decipher quality work, you must follow three guidelines. They are as follows: Is everything consistent with the real world?  The story must be believable. Does the theme happen naturally in the story? More than one theme Theme should emerge slowly and consistently throughout Does the topic relate to modern readers? Discusses sensitive and tough topics Death/loss Sexuality/sexual orientation Changing family structure Possibly once taboo ...

Chapter 10: Historical Fiction Summary : Historical fiction is considered to be any story that is set in the past. The tricky part of historical fiction is the age of the student depends on what they deem to be considered history. Young children might think history is what they ate for breakfast in the morning. Older students think history to be something that took place when they were younger. Adults tend to think of history as something that happened before they were born. This is why it's important for librarians to think about what they put in the historical fiction section of their library, simply because history means something different for everyone. Certain criteria have been laid out in order for us to properly evaluate historical fiction for children. They are as follows: - Does the book tell a good story that effortlessly blends the history into the story itself? - Are the facts of the historical period accurate? It's important to rely on accurate and...

Chapter 9: Poetry Summary : Poetry is NOT a genre, rather a format of literature. It can be found in fantasy, historical fiction, realistic fiction, or traditional literature. It's important to share poetry with children and Jean Le Pere gave us six valid reasons on why it's important: 1. Enjoyment 2. Provides knowledge of concepts 3. Increases vocabulary 4. Helps children identify with people and situations 5. Helps children understand their feelings 6. Grants insights to their feelings and universal emotions There are 5 criteria for evaluating poetry for children: 1. Is it within reach of the child's understanding 2. Does the poem use imagery? (sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and textures) 3. Does the poem rhyme? It's important for beginner poetry to rhyme so they can then scaffold later on and appreciate blank verse and other forms that don't rhyme. 4. How is rhythm used? (natural vs. forced rhythms) Does the rhythm fit the subject of th...