Rationales for Teaching Young Adult Literature - Softcover

Hayes Neufeld, Jamie; Reid, Louann

9780867095999: Rationales for Teaching Young Adult Literature

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0867095997 ISBN 13: 9780867095999

Publisher: HEINEMANN, 2009

This helpful book addresses two related concerns.Teachers and students today are eager for quality literature to replace or supplement traditional fare.Yet finding appropriate modern reading materials can be a time-consuming chore. Furthermore, the very content that makes a work interesting and germane to adolescents will frequently open it to attack by parents or others in the community.

While no one book can be expected to provide complete solutions to these problems, Rationales for Teaching Young Adult Literature is an invaluable resource for finding appropriate books and, when necessary, defending them against challenges.Twenty-five educators recommend proven novels, nonfiction works, and short story collections that adolescents enjoy. Contributors provide synopses, sample excerpts, and brief author biographies, along with activities and objectives for teaching the works.Also provided are ways to deal with potential challenges.

Comments from teenagers supplement many of the rationales. Selection guides categorize titles by theme and by age level. Finally, each rationale offers alternative and related titles.This is truly a book for everyone involved in the teaching of young adult literature.

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About the Author:

Jamie Hayes Neufeld is a graduate student in English education at Colorado State University. She is a licensed English teacher with experience teaching in Japan.

From School Library Journal:

This volume emphasizes the importance of teaching young adult literature in middle and high schools and offers guidance for dealing with the resulting challenges that may arise. The 22 novels, all chosen for their quality and potential for controversy, are discussed by practicing and experienced English teachers. Each entry includes an excerpt from the novel, bibliographic information and intended audience, a plot summary, a discussion of how the novel relates to the curriculum and its possible impact on students, potentially controversial subjects and ways to address them, and alternative and related works. The titles selected represent various genres and include Marion Dane Bauer's Am I Blue?, Trudy Krisher's Spite Fences, and Cynthia Voigt's When She Hollers. A few adult titles read by young adults are also covered. While topics like graphic language and homosexuality are discussed, the rationales appear defensive and offer little concrete advice about dealing with censors. Nevertheless, the book may be helpful to teachers who are comfortable with taking the information and filling in the blanks with their own teaching strategies.-Pat Scales, South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, Greenville, SC

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