8. Poetry
- Not a genre, but a form.
- Most neglected format. People aren’t comfortable with it or a bad experience.
- Kids (elementary) prefer narrative poetry; dislike free verse and haiku based on research.
- Rhyme, rhythm, sound devices were preferred.
- Funny poems, poems about familiar experiences, poems about animals.
- Preference for contemporary poems.
- Evaluation of poetry for children:
- Visual images that allow images to expand. Sensory poems.
- Poetry should not be brought down to a child’s supposed level.
- Allow kids to interact with a poem. Chiming, reader’s theater
- Good enough for repeated readings
- “If You’re Not Here, Please Read Your Hand” - Kalli Dakos
- Concrete poetry - “Technically it’s not my fault”
- “Many luscious lollipops” - series on parts of speech
- NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry
- Originally every 3 years
- Looked at body of work
- Transitioned to every year
- Awards: NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children, Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Awar
Knowing how to evaluate children’s poetry, and more importantly, what kind of poetry students truly enjoy, will help me choose poetry collections for my library, as well as recommend poetry for the teachers on my campus to include in their curriculum.
9. Historical Fiction
- Any story set in the past
- History defined by the age of the student
- Allows readers change to experience living in another time period
- Criteria:
- Does it blend history and a story without effort?
- Accurate facts
- Time period values evident
- Time period clothing, language, architecture, etc. accurate
- Theme relates to modern reader
Historical fiction is an area of literature that isn’t widely chosen to read by YAs. Being able to evaluate it properly can shed a new light on it when talking with both teachers and students about quality historical fiction. This type of literature can breathe new life into history classes that are full of facts and sometimes lacking fun.
10. Realistic Fiction
- Set in modern times, believable.
- All elements are present in the real world.
- Criteria:
- Characters, language, etc. are modern and believable by readers
- Naturally emerging theme
- Subject relates to readers. Sometimes tackles sensitive and tough topics.
Realistic fiction is a subset of literature that is loved by readers of all ages. As discussed in a previous
chapter, literature can either be a mirror or a window. This area of literature either lets students into
an world unknown by them or lets them experience a world of familiarity to help them deal with it.
This criteria will help me determine quality realistic fiction for my library, as well as how to help students evaluate the literature they read.
11. Nonfiction
- Umbrella term: includes, narratives, biographies; not one template for NF.
- Resource: Nonfiction for YA: From Delight to Wisdom
- Great teacher resource
- Criteria:
- Author qualifications
- Accurate facts
- Purpose and scope of book
- Organization of book and locating information
- Visuals to enhance the book’s information
Nonfiction is rough. It can be dry and boring. But, with this information, I can show both teachers and students what quality nonfiction is and how it can be different than their expectations, reading full of
facts and displayed in an engaging way.
12. Fantasy and Science Fiction
- “Violate laws of physical reality”
- Science fiction is subgenre of fantasy
- Criteria:
- Characters or believable despite being in a fantasy world
- Other world must have rules
- Author’s have to help the reader believe this world
- Themes are still universal and apply to current world
- Hard sci-fi: more science than story and plot
- Soft sci-fi
- Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic
- Biopunk subgenre: hackers, oppressive government, manipulating human DNA, putting things in
- Lots of “punk” subgenres
- Dystopian text - fighting government, govt. conspiracy
- Extra-sensory perceptions: 2nd sight, books about telepathy, clairvoyance, knowledge of the future
- Robots/Android/Artificial Intelligence
- Virtual Reality and Gaming
- Miscellaneous
This area of literature is so wide in scope and very much loved by YA readers. There are so many sub-categories, and literature that doesn’t fit any of them, knowing criteria for many of them lessens the stress of trying to find good sci-fi/fantasy for readers. I believe that many adults, myself included, dislike this sub-genre because of the bad sci-fi/fantasy we have read as kids. For me, when I hear these terms, I turn off and disconnect from the book. I’m not interested in it and have a very hard time reading it. This will have to be adjusted once I become a librarian because my own opinion cannot affect my reader’s opinions.
13. Graphic Novels
- Form, not a genre or subgenre
- Range from elementary to secondary in scope
- Graphic novels are for everyone, not just ELL or reluctant readers
- Can just be read for enjoyment, not always learning.
- CCR - diverse media and formats of content
- Basic info:
- Combine text and illustration to convey a story
- Complex
- Enjoyed by wide range of readers
- Parts:
- Cover, inside pages
- Panels, gutters, dialogue and thought balloons, captions, sound effects
- How to read:
- Top to bottom, left to right, front to back
I LOVE using graphic novels in my classroom. Ask my students the one book they remember in high
school and they will tell you Maus I in Mrs. Gerb’s class. Every single student not only enjoyed the format, but the story they were given. They were sad to find out that I didn’t have Maus II. It has taken me 5
years to finally have the budget to get it and my seniors are PUMPED. Graphic novels truly are for all
levels of readers. I was exposed to this particular GN in a college history class at SHSU. They are so accessible, yet in-depth. This chapter will help me teach and advocate for the use of graphic novels in classrooms.
14. 10 Questions to ask about novel
- Great collection to ask students that relate to setting, tone, other literary devices, narrative form, consumerism, imagination, symbolic titles.
These are 10 easy questions that can be asked in the library or the classroom that will help students move beyond just knowing a piece of literature, to truly understanding it’s purpose, what draws them to it, and how they think about it.
15. Crowdsourced list of Middle School Authors
- Incredible extensive list of over 550 middle school (grades 5-8) titles. As previously discussed, this grade/age range is hard to define. These are that funky age of about 11-13. They aren’t little kids and they aren’t truly YA yet. This requires finesse and knowledge when choosing books for them.
If I ever end up on a JH or middle school campus, this list will be incredibly helpful when finding
appropriate literature for this tricky age group.
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