Strollerderby : young adult literature

Learning to Read through Video Games

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:30:00 GMT

Increasingly, books for children and young adults are being released with related video games. Since 97 percent of children ages 12 to 17 play computer and video games, this seems like a surefire to draw at least some reluctant readers into books. But when libraries host gaming tournaments and elementary schools incorporate video games into English lessons, you have to wonder, “Is this still reading?”

A large number of writers, publicists, and educators believe it is—and that, in the age of digital media, computer skills may be more important than proficiency with print media.

PJ Haarsma is a former advertising consultant who now designs online games about his science fiction novels for preteens. He argues that pairing video games with young adult literature “brings the book into their world, as opposed to going the other way around.”

But, as I pointed out in my tribute to Roald Dahl, the mark of a good book is precisely the ability to get lost in it, to live inside a world of which one has no experiential knowledge. This is particularly important for children, who largely learn empathy, respect for the imagination, and the value of introspection through reading. When one is being tested about a book’s plot in order to advance in a video game, the quiet, self-forgetful pleasure of being lost in a good book gets obliterated completely. Children learn that the only character who matters is the one holding the controller.

Photo: New York Times

Banned Books Week

Marley Was Dead. And Apparently Dickens Is, Too.

JasonAvant — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 11:04:00 GMT

I never thought I'd be one to sing the praises of Young Goodman Brown, The Canterbury Tales, Billy Budd, or any of the classics forced upon me as a freshman in high school. (In my defense, I was 14, and if you asked me then who I considered to be a literary genius, my answer would have been Neil Peart.) With age comes appreciation, and while my tastes still gravitate towards writers who didn't wear powdered wigs or who worked by the light of an oil lamp, I'd argue that the classics still help us to understand the world today. But is classic literature being phased out of the classroom?

Janine Wood thinks so. In this article, she details her challenges in finding a copy of Great Expectations for her 12-year-old son, a quest that turns interesting as she finds that very people she encounters have read the book, and even fewer are remotely interested in it. (Before you ask - no, I haven't either. I was going to, right after finishing the Tom Clancy book I'm working on.)

One father she talks to asserts that "teachers don't read Dickens, so they don't assign him." Indeed, her son's assigned reading list is missing a number of writers that should be standard issue - no Mark Twain? Really? Undaunted, Wood offers up tips on getting your kids to read great literature; she suggests reading the works along with your kid, and forming book groups to help them navigate their way through all the "prithee"s and "anon"s.

Like I said, when I was a kid, the classics weren't my bag. But there were a few I liked - I might have been the only 8th grader who read Moby Dick by choice, even if it was after I heard that Melville provided inspiration for The Wrath of Khan. The piece got me thinking that I need to put some Golden Oldies into the rotation (I do feel obliged to clarify something - the Tom Clancy line? Sarcasm. With a capital "arcasm".); I've been reading a ton of nonfiction lately, mostly about the Middle East. Maybe I'll revisit Shakespeare; after all, his Henry IV had some pretty interesting advice about a ruler's need to "busy giddy minds with foreign quarrels."

2006: Good Times For Kid Lit

Patti — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 12:00:00 GMT

It's my favorite part of a new year: the enumerating, the categorizing, the criticizing. It's Award Season! And it's happening in the blogosphere and it's happening to children's and young adult literature, as the short lists are out for the Cybils. Eight categories, five finalists in each (ten for graphic novels, split into two age groups). Winners should be announced early next month.

In the meantime, the wonderful kid-lit blog Fuse #8 has announced the winners of the Golden Fuse Awards with lots of fun categories like "Most Excessive Use of Violence In a Children's Book" and "Best Translated Picture Book", as well as several awards for cover art.

Leaving no stone unturned and no award unawarded, the Longstockings are calling for nominations for the 2006 Flappies, honoring the best cover-flap copy in children's literature (via the fine and always entertaining kid-lit blog The Miss Rumphius Effect)

Outside the blogosphere, for your consideration:

The American Library Association's 2006 Notable Children's Books

2006 Newbery Medal Winner and Honorees

2006 Caldecott Medal Winner and Honorees

Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2006 (scroll down for children's books in three categories)