Textbook Summaries and Reflections 1-5



Why We Share Literature with Kids?

We share literature because it is fun. As we share a book with others and show enthusiasm, they will always experience the love and humor of that book. We share literature because it aids language and language development.  Birth-5 is when children develop a major portion of their vocabulary.  As we read books to children, their vocabulary grows by listening to the text of the book.

Literature develops empathy.  Research shows that reading fiction stories makes you more emphatic.  It provides an opportunity for children to know how someone else might feel in situations they have not experienced. Literature supports lifelong readers.  Series reading, reading books from the same author, and genres are all ways that students link from one book to another.  They provide reading ladders. Literature equips readers to read autobiographical, to see themselves in a book.  As we see ourselves in books, it helps us feel we count.  Books are mirrors. We need diversity in our library book collection so that all children can identify themselves within the pages. 

Literature allows readers to have vicarious experiences.  They can experience consequences from the character and learning from it rather than experiencing it themselves.  Literature is a glimpse into someone else’s culture as well as an area of interest unknown. Literature supplies the reader with a way to read for philosophical reasons.  It creates and answers the big questions – Who am I?  Where is my place in the world? Literature can be shared for the pure aesthetic of reading.  It provides an experience of reading for the joy, enjoyment, beauty and pleasure of a book. Literature develops the imagination; it helps answer the questions – What would happen if?.  To read is to fly and develop creativity.  Literature transfers culture beyond our own experiences.  Books shared should reflect all cultures, diversity and accessible at all times.

Literature creates a different vantage point.  Krashen says, “Reading enjoyment is more important for children’s educational success than their family’s socio-economic status”.  This statement is important to me because I work with students with very low economic status.  In addition, this statement is a reflection of me growing up, even though there were financial difficulties I developed a love a reading that changed who I am and what I do today.  I will use this research with administration and staff as a way to advocate for my library and students.    It is vital for our libraries to reflect diversity and multiple cultures. In our library, we had some diversity in our books but they were not readily accessible or introduced to students.  This year it was one of my goals to help others understand why we needed books with diversity.  Books need to reflect the student population but also books need to give others a window to see various cultures.

Division of Young People’s Literature

There are 4 divisions of Young People’s Literaturr
Children’s Literature - 0-8. These books include wordless books, picture books, illustrated chapter books and early chapter books.
 Middle Grade/Tween -  8-12.  These books include appropriate graphic novels, novels that reflect the ages and experiences of 8-12 years old.  Careful distinction should be made between the level of these books and the ages of Middle School students, which differs by a few years.
Young adult -  13-18.  These books deal with topics that reflect teenage years and experiences.  The topics and language in YA literature mature in nature.
 New Adult  - 18-30.  This is a new range of books with a target for 18-30, which in part was created to be more cutting edge fiction with protagonist slightly older than YA literature.  They can appeal to more of an adult audience.  The books can take place in college and without parents as characters. 

     We must be aware and thoughtful to provide appropriate books to the ages we service.  Students want to read up and want to read about characters that are older than they are, careful consideration is essential.  Most YA books are purchased for adult reading.

Genres and Formats

Genres and formats are often combined together but they are two distinct categories.  We must be succinct in their distinction.

Genres  - Fiction and Nonfiction

Fiction includes several categories:  realism - realistic modern contemporary, historical.  Fantasy – modern and traditional.  Within fantasy, there is traditional and modern fantasy. Traditional fantasy includes folktales, ballad, fairy tales, myths, legends and fables. Modern fantasy include hard science fiction (science is the main component of the story), soft science fiction (science is involved by the character is more emphasized), high fantasy (worlds and alternative universes are created), low fantasy (reflective of modern times but has talking animals or fairies, etc.).

Nonfiction incorporates informational – biography, narrative nonfiction and expository nonfiction.  Autobiography, memoirs and biography are within a subset.

Subject and categories are not genres.  They are included within genres and often confused with being a genre when they are subsets.  It is vital to make the distinction to students between genres and formats.

Formats consist of poetry, drama, novels, chapter books, short stories, picture books and graphic novels.

The distinction has been important for me as a librarian to determine if I want to genrefy my library. Several in my district have started to incorporate genrefication in their libraries. This discussion has given me another perspective and opened conversation between librarians to the options available and choices they have made and why.

 What is YA Literature?

According to Metz and England, young adult literature consists of having a youthful protagonist, a point of view from their perspective.  It has a directness of exposition and direct confrontation; there is a significant change or event in the main character’s life.  The protagonist is highly independent and shows growth or change within the storyline.  Young adult literature has contemporary issues and revolves around a main character that feels the effects and consequences of what is reflected within the story.  It encompasses a relatively short period within a specific scope and setting with few undeveloped characters other than the main character. It also reflects on the sense of how adolescents develop.

Knowing the characteristics of young adult literature allows a librarian to identify the markers of this division in young people’s literature.  It is particularly important within the transition ages of middle school and intermediate school ages.

 How Do Adolescents Develop?

To interpret how to match books and readers we need to understand their developmental stages. There are several aspects of development within adolescents. This chapter reflects the different parts of developmental aspects: intellectual, moral, developmental, physical and reader.

Physical development within adolescents revolves around puberty.  Everyone develops at different rates and various times. Physical appearance is very important; the physicality of an adolescent’s body usually takes precedence to everything else. A constant question is:  Am I normal?.

Intellectually – Most reference Piaget’s ideas as he speaks to the change from concrete to abstract. Over the years, the ages where concrete to abstract has changed to be around 14.  We need to reflect on understanding our students and what ages they are to present the best concepts that are age appropriate.  If a student is not at a concrete stage and we ask abstract questions, we should provide scaffolding to understand the concept.

Hivighurst’s research says development stages include learning to get along with peers, there is a shifting within peer groups that reflect more interest rather than childhood friendship and closeness.  Adolescent develop easier relationship with the opposite sex, while having a changing relationship with parents questioning and challenging their authority and values. At the same time, adolescents are starting to develop their own sense of morals and values. They like to work for pay; pay is independence and the beginning of defining themselves as independent.  At the same time, they will focus on future vocation choices according to their interests and skills. Adolescents are adapting to their physical bodies as well as social norms of sex roles.

Moral – Kohlberg’s Theory

*Preconventional  - based on rewards and consequences

*Conventional – based on religion, values, culture

*Post-conventional – seeing a higher authority other than the law when it comes to the greater good or a betterment of society. 

As librarians, we look for books to speak to where are students are at on this spectrum and also to challenge the stage they might be in at the time depending on the age.

 Maslow’s needs hierarchy – physiological, safety (both physically and emotionally), love and belonging, esteem and self-actualization. As we look to Maslow’s need hierarchy, we find books that help address the needs of the student as well as provide a safe place where those needs are met. As librarians, we should be thoughtful of how we are going to meet the needs at each stage. We should encourage you can be anything you want to be as we support our readers with books and emotional scaffolding.

Developing as Readers

As librarians, we want to assist in creating lifelong readers and look for books that reader can become enveloped in and ask questions. Why we teach literature and the combined layers of reading: Unconscious delight, reality falls away and readers can immerse themselves within the reality of the book.  Reading autobiographically, reading books similar to our own experiences, books as mirrors. Reading for vicarious experiences, reading books unlike our experiences and culture, books as windows. Reading for physical speculation within fiction and nonfiction, questioning the moral dilemmas of actions and what readers really believe to be true.  Reading for aesthetic experience, reading for the pure beauty and enjoyment of the text and what the author is trying to convey.