LSSL 5385 Textbook reflection- chapter 10- REALISTIC FICTION

It's important to remember that realistic fiction, although realistic, is still "make-believe." It's not a true story from history, but rather a credible, realistic story from the mind of the author who wrote it. That being said, it's something that could happen in real life, hence the word, realistic! This means that the characters are also realistic, they don't have superpowers, and they could exist in our world today, which means aliens and talking animals would NOT be examples of realistic fiction.

When reading a fiction book, ask yourself- Can you relate to the story? Could it happen to you, or someone you know? If so, you are likely reading a realistic fiction book. Perhaps you can relate to the problems the characters face, and the resolution of conflict is authentic.

Several of the books I have read so far this semester are great examples of realistic fiction, for example, Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. Realistic fiction books can be purely for enjoyment, but they are also an opportunity for learning and growing for our students. Realistic fiction books often act as mirrors and give readers the chance to feel validated, and accepted.

LSSL 5385 textbook reflection- Chapter 11- NONFICTION

As you know, non-fiction is a huge section of your library and covers so many categories and types of books. Non-fiction biographies, autobiographies, expositories, narratives, memoirs, and more, and it's so all encompassing that you will find so many different works in the non-fiction genre. They aren't always what you think, either. One of my favorite non-fiction picture books is What To Do About Alice? by Barbara Kerley. It was humorous, colorful, fun, while still being factually accurate, informative, and historically appropriate. It's a perfect example of a non-fiction book in a format that perhaps you wouldn't expect.

As we talk about non-fiction, it's important to review some of the criteria that we use to evaluate non-fiction, particularly young adult non-fiction books.

First, what are the qualifications of the author? 

It's important to evaluate the author and become well-informed on the authors that are reputable regarding their accuracy and research as they present information in their non-fiction books. You will come to find certain authors, like Kathleen Krull and Steve Jenkins, are reputable, accurate, and excellent at researching their information prior to writing their books. Learn to be familiar with the names that you can trust. It's also a great tool to simply look at the jacket of the book and check out the acknowledgements from the author.

Are the facts accurate?

When we read a non-fiction book, the reality is that you and I may not know if the facts are accurate. We aren't the experts, that's likely why we are reading the book! That's where we have to rely on the authors, and that's why it's important to learn who you can trust. One way you can fact check for yourself is to get several books together on the same topic and read them all. After reading you'll find the information that overlaps and what doesn't. That may help you narrow down what is questionable and what information is repeated in several books.

What is the purpose and scope of the book?

As an educator, decide what you need regarding scope- do you need a broad scope or narrow facts? Figuring out the scope of the book will help you understand the purpose and if the book fits your needs or not. This can apply both to the classroom, and also when helping users/patrons find the correct book during a reader's advisory interview.

How does the organization of the book assist readers in locating information?

Does it have a table of contents, index, or glossary, and does it help students/readers find the information they are seeking?

What role do the visuals play in the book?

Do the visuals, such as pictures, illustrations, and graphics, add to the text and elaborate on the subject matter? Are they relevant and and realistic? Graphs, tables, photographs, and elaborate illustrations add to the intrigue, understanding, and overall impact on the reader.

Non-fiction books are such a huge section of our library and they are so vital for many reasons. Once again, these books can be both mirrors, windows, and doors for our readers. It's so important to make sure that you appropriately evaluate non-fiction books with the criteria above and get the best books on your shelves for our patrons and students.

LSSL 5385 textbook reflections Chapter 12- SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY

Science fiction novels are books that don't follow the laws of the physical world that we live in today. These books may have realistic components, but at some point they turn off into fantasy as unrealistic things happen, perhaps in unrealistic settings or situations, like animals talking or toys coming to life. Science fiction is a subgenre of fantasy, and there are many different types of science fiction:

-Apocalyptic/post apocalyptic- the world ending and survivors are left
-Steam punk (named for generations with "steam powered machinery")- Victorian England, etc
-Cyber punk- hacking and cyber issues
-Bio punk- genetic engineering
-Dystopia- propaganda used to control citizens, independent thought being restricted, citizens having to conform etc. Common subject is resistance to government. Example- Hunger Games
-Extra sensory perception (ESP) - concept of second sight, telepathy, clairvoyance, supernatural awareness of objects or events, precognition
-Time travel/parallel universe- books who transfer characters through scientific time travel
-Virtual reality/gaming- in a virtual world, total body immersion in a different reality
-Miscellaneous- doesn't necessarily fit one certain category

Often, the themes of these books, both fantasy in general and science fiction, explore universal truths. The author must maintain consistency even in the most unbelievable situations, which is the one of the most fun and intriguing parts to me. I'll be honest, in the past, I haven't really loved science fiction books, but I really appreciated the YouTube by Karin Perry about science fiction, and it truly got me intrigued by a lot of the books mentioned- I took notes and plan to read some!! Furthermore, I know young adults love fantasy and science fiction books, so I totally see the importance in being well informed on them, particularly when advising readers on what to read, and helping teachers pick books for the classroom.

LSSL 5385 textbook reflection Chapter 13 GRAPHIC NOVELS

Graphic novels have really gained popularity in the last couple of decades, and they are gaining credibility in the classroom as well. Graphic novels present information in a new way for young adults to read and gain interest in the subject matter through comic-like drawings, narration, thought-bubbles, panels, and dialogue. This format can be seen in both fiction and non fiction stories, so it's important to remember that both genres and many categories of books can take graphic novel format.

The scope of graphic novels is wide and can appeal to elementary, middle school, and high school students alike. Often, educators overlook the value of graphic novels in the classroom, but I really see the value in them. They can be educational, but also enjoyable, and I think they're very memorable.  While I think they have the potential to pull in reluctant readers, that's not their only purpose. Graphic novels are for everyone, and for all levels of readers.

The book Persepolis really changed my opinion of graphic novels. Never had I read a novel that presented such moving information and writing in graphic novel format. I had read some really cute stories, like Babymouse and Lunch Lady, but Persepolis opened my eyes to a whole new perspective on the value of graphic novels for all levels of readers.

LSSL 5385 Textbook reflection 9 HISTORICAL FICTION

When evaluating, critiquing, and choosing historical fiction for children, it's important to remember that history is relative and different generations are going to consider "history" differently. Reading historical fiction will allow children to experience a time period that they were likely not even alive for.

There are many important elements of historical fiction that we can look for when evaluating this type of literature. Sometimes when we say "history," kids are probably a bit turned off and uninterested. However, the great thing about historical fiction is that it reads like a story, but the background information and time period should be factually accurate. It's also important to recognize that the values of the time period are there. For instance, as it pertains to women's rights, civil rights, and religious aspects, you want to make sure the historical evidence portrays the cultural climate accurately. What about the clothing, language, habits, past times, laws? They should be factually accurate relative to the historical period as well. Lastly, is the theme universal, despite the change of time period? Do the lessons ring true for today, as the time period?

By utilizing these characteristics of historical fiction, we can better equipped ourselves and our young readers to explore this genre.

LSSL 5385 Textbook reflection 8 POETRY

I've learned a lot about poetry from this section of the textbook as well as the featured YouTube videos. Poetry is a form of writing, and it can be seen in many genres. Poetry can also be quite intimidating. That fact makes it especially important for us to understand what type of poetry kids enjoy so that we can encourage it and appeal to our audience when necessary.

Research has shown narrative poetry (poetry that really tells a story) is what kids like the most. They typically dislike free verse and haiku poetry, as it has less emphasis on rhythm and rhyme, and that's what children really associate poetry with! Kids really enjoy sound elements in poetry, such as alliteration, and just the sing-song rhyming pattern, which is emphasized by this research. Similar to the novels they enjoy, children really love relatable topics in poetry. I would argue that this is likely true for anyone, at least, it is for me! Kids also show a preference for contemporary poems, which goes hand in hand with it being relatable, as they utilize language that kids understand well. Children also really love poetry that affects imagery with sensory words that make you feel like you are there. For this reason, kids, particularly of elementary ages, tend to really love poems about animals, too.

It's vital to expose them to poetry often. However, don't feel the need to "dumb down" poetry for kids. Remember that some poems are very short and sweet, and it's so easy to incorporate poems into everyday teaching and enjoyment for kids! Also, repeated reading is important. Don't hesitate to read the same poem to them a few times!

I think it's really important to continually expose kids to poetry even if we feel uncomfortable with it and even if they don't like it. Poetry doesn't have to rhyme and there are no rules, surely, kids will love that!



Suggested poetry book for kids: If You're Not Here, Please Raise Your Hand poems about school

Note: I remember reading Many Luscious Lollipops when I was young!

LSSL 5385 Textbook reflection 7- AWARDS

Being familiar with different literary awards and acclaimed lists is so important so that we can recommend the best and most relevant books to those that ask for our help. It allows us to foster a love for reading and create lifelong readers if we can develop a knack for recommending great books. These literary awards and lists can help us do that. 

For example, the annual list "Best fiction for YA" are a list of fiction titles published for young adults in the past 16 months that are recommended reading for ages 12 to 18. The purpose of this is to help us better serve those readers in this age group who are looking for the best fiction novels, and it helps us narrow our choices and go from there.

The Printz Award also really stuck out to me. It's an award that displays literary excellence in young adult literature. The 2017 winner of the Printz Award is the graphic novel entitled March by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell.

Another notable list to utilize is the Readers’ Choice list which is intended to find books that engage a broad audience of educators and teens alike by choosing the most popular teen titles in a given year..  It provides librarians with a easily accessible list and means of identifying popular teen titles on an ongoing basis.

These are literally just a few of the notable lists and awards available for reference. This list of awards, particularly for YA novels, is broad, ongoing, and vastly helpful when it comes to librarians finding great reads for users. The value of these lists is priceless if we have knowledge of them and stay up to date with them. 

LSSL 5385 Textbook reflection 6 LITERARY ELEMENTS

This section of our textbook broke down literary elements and devices to help us better assess the books and novels that we read from a literary perspective. While most of these terms are not new to me and I'm sure my fellow scholars would agree, it's great to have a "refresher" of some of these terms as they can often get mixed up in common conversation.

A few of the terms that I needed a quick review of were archetype, allegory, and theme.

Archetype is something that represents an idea, and has therefore become generally known and reused. For example, Romeo and Juliet are generally known to represent tragic love, and that can convey a lot of meaning to readers when used as an archetype.

Allegory, for me, is a little hard to understand or explain, but the best way I think is to say it is an extended metaphor of sorts. In other words, rather than being a simple comparison, it's an extended comparison throughout an entire plot, almost like a greater, implied message presented by the author.

Theme is such an important term as it relates to literature and while I'm very familiar with it, it's such an important device to revisit often. A theme is a global idea, presented in a full sentence, that doesn't just apply to the story you are reading, but is an underlying message or lesson learned by the entire body of literature. For example, "Love conquers all," or "War strips us of our humanity" are examples of possible themes.

Among these terms there are many others, so I won't go into detail about each one, but these are the terms that I needed a review of. In addition, there was one term I had never heard of, and that is Deus ex machine. This refers to a situation where the author presents an unlikely character or even a supernatural solution to resolve a conflict, in order to present a favorable outcome to the story. It's often frowned upon. In what I've gathered, it seems like a lazy, unrealistic way to tie the loose ends of the plot.

It's so important for us as students and future librarians to be able to properly asses literature from a technical perspective, removing opinions and bias and just breaking down the body of work using these literary elements and devices.

LSSL 5385 Textbook reflection 5- How adolescents develop

Understanding how adolescents develop and the stages that they go through physically, mentally, and emotionally is so important to us as teacher librarians. Whether they are dealing with the physical changes of puberty or the emotions of their teen years, if we can dive into a deeper comprehension of where they are developmentally, we can provide them with tools and books that will aid in their development in a positive way.

Starting with puberty, kids are in such an uneasy time of change. Physically, new things are happening that often lead to feelings of insecurity, clumsiness, and awkwardness. Books can be a great resource for kids to reassure them that they aren't alone in this time, and that the things they are going through are completely normal.

Adolescents also go through an intellectual change, where their thoughts and capacity for mature thought processes start to evolve. When kids are young, they operate on a very "concrete" basis: facts, base level thinking, and they do what they are told. As they start to grow and reach those teen years, they can adopt a more "abstract" level of thinking: i.e. "what is the theme of this book?" They start to understand purpose and motivation behind actions, and they start to develop their own thoughts, feelings, and beliefs on a moral level.

Relationships change, as we often see in literature. Adolescents start to develop a different relationship with friends, as well as with members of the opposite sex. They choose a "vocation," and develop specific interests that give them purpose and passion. It's a perfect opportunity to provide them with books that can validate their feelings, expand their growing imaginations, or just give them a break from the stress of everyday life! Allowing them to read simply for aesthetic enjoyment is a huge part of why we want to develop lifelong readers- it can evoke emotions, provide an outlet for creative thought, and encourage empathy.

LSSL 5385 textbook reflection 4- What is YA literature?

Young adult literature typically involves a youthful protagonist who gives the reader an adolescent point of view. This independent protagonist will go through some major change or life event, and usually will suffer/reap the consequences of his/her decisions throughout the novel. Young adult literature gives the reader a peek into the growth and gradual development of adolescents, and often reveals concerns over a contemporary issue. Ultimately, all of these factors lend it to be very relatable for young adults going through major life changes and experiencing some major life events for the first time. I think this is one reason why young adult literature is so influential. When I read young adult literature, it gives me a peek into the window of the minds of our youth and helps me to empathize with the feelings they may be feeling. Knowing that these authors are writing with the persective of an adolescent allows me to appropriately critique and review the language, writing style, and book format.

5385 Textbook reflections 3- Genres and Formats

Genres, categories, and formats are probably different than you may realize.

Genres are divided into Fiction and Non Fiction. Let's talk about fiction first. Fiction is divided into realistic fiction and fantasy fiction, which is pretty self explanatory. From there, realistic fiction is divided into modern/contemporary vs historical fiction. Fantasy is divided into modern fantasy vs traditional fantasy fiction. When we talk about traditional fantasy, we are talking about folktales, ballads, fairtytales, fables, etc. With modern fantasy, we are talking about hard and soft science fiction, high and low fantasy.

On the other hand, we have non fiction, which is informational. These informational non fictions are divided into three categories- biography, narrative, and expository. Biographies can be autobiographies or memoirs. Narrative non fiction is written more like a story, and reads like a traditional novel. Lastly, expository non fiction is written with facts and not written like a novel.

Categories are completely different from the above genres. Examples of categories are chick lit, horror, sports, guy reads, etc. These are not genres of writing but more of another way to categorize stories.

Lastly, formats are just that- the format of writing that the book is written in. Examples are poetry, novels, chapter books, short stories, picture books, and graphic novels, to name a few.

Understanding genres, categories/subjects, and formats is so important as I pursue a career as a librarian. It allows me to correctly organize my library, appropriately guide my users to the correct books, and correctly identify these books based on their genres. Since getting clarification on this, I've been trying to "label" the books that I read based on this information. It's great practice!

5385 Textbook Reflections 2 Divisions of young people's literature

There are 4 divisions of young people's literature. Children's literature is the first one, mainly spanning ages 0-8. For our youngest readers, these are your beginner books, easy readers, wordless picture books, etc. Since this category does cover 8 years of life, clearly there must be a progression of reading levels as the child gets older. The 7-8 year old reader would be reading illustrated chapter books that take on more of a "novel" form, which is still considered children's lit.

Tween or middle grade literature is for kids of ages 8-12. Remember, middle grade is not the same as middle school. A great example of middle grade/tween is Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo. These are going to be chapter books with less controversial or complicated themes.

The next division for ages 13-18 is, of course, young adult books. These are going to be chapter books with "tougher" topics. Often, this division discusses many "firsts," for example, first love, first sexual encounter, or first high school experience. A few examples of young adult books are Lily and Dunkin, Annie on my Mind, or Pushing the Limits.

New adult books will be our last division which is targeted to ages 18-30. This division is fairly new as it really took off in 2009. These books typically have a cutting edge protagonist who would be slightly older than your young adult characters. These characters are more relatable for an adult audience and they are usually dealing with college experiences, or first major relationships. Examples of these books would be This is Falling, Sweet Home, or November 9.

Understanding the divisions of young people's literature is an important tool when picking books for specific age groups. It's important to find age appropriate material that will challenge the reader but still staying age appropriate. Paying attention to these age divisions will really help me to accurately evaluate the books for young people as I read them, and it helps me to understand the perspective of the author as their write for a target audience of youths.

5385- Textbook reflection 1- Why do we share literature with children?

Why do we share literature with children?

There are truly too many reasons to name, but let's talk about some of the most important reasons we have a responsibility to share literature with chidren.

First of all, we share literature with children because it's fun! Reading is such a joyous, fun, and intriguing experience that can truly be an adventure for kids. Aside from the reading itself, the cover art, illustrations, character development, and dialogue from the book, among other things, is so much fun for kids! We also strive to share literature with youth to aid in the acquisition of language and language development among kids. I consider myself to be a strong speller, reader, and writer, and I definitely attribute much of this success to the fact that I was always reading as a kid. The development and awareness of a wide range of vocabulary is truly fostered by reading a lot.

One of the main reasons it's so important for us to share books with kids is because it develops empathy. I always say that every novel I read helps me to find out something about someone else, and something about myself. It truly allows the children of our world to development empathetic bonds with the characters in the books they read, and therefore they can relate that situation to their daily lives out in the real world as well. It's so important that we develop lifelong readers so that they continue to learn these lessons, and they eventually share it with the children of their world, too. Similarly, it's vital that they have an opportunity to read about characters or people that they can relate to. Reading about someone that is like you is such an important aspect of literature; it helps us to not feel alone, and it allows us to learn more about ourselves without feeling like a complete outcast!

Another purpose that literature can serve for kids is to allow them to form their own opinions about issues in the world. Reading gives them the opportunity to "philosophically speculate" about things going on in the world simply by reading about similar situations. It gives them a chance to answer those big life questions: why am I here? What is my purpose on earth?

Literature also develops the imagination and helps readers to think outside of the box. For example, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter can open up the minds of readers and force us to enter into a new realm that we never knew existed. It allows us to go to a new place of imagination and creativity! This can help kids be inventors and creative thinkers in all aspects of life!

Lastly, literature can truly transmit culture. It can help us to learn about new cultures, different qualities of life, religions, traditions, and economies. For kids, this is vital. If you don't learn about what's going on around the world, you can form well rounded opinions, build empathy, or fully understand other cultures. This purpose ties together many of the others and encourages us as future librarians to make sure we are providing a wide ranger of variety and diverse books.

The truth is, we could go on forever listing reasons why it's important to share literature with children. It's so important on so many levels. Reading allows us to relate to each other no matter how many differences we have, and that's what makes it so special. Reading gives us the opportunity to jump into the life of someone else and experience the feelings and events that we may not have the opportunity to otherwise experience.