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RE: Lessons in Y.A. Literatu
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From: sully_at_sully-writer.com
Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:42:07 -0700
When Lisa Belkin says young adult novels "should teach a lesson," she is saying stories can only be "good" if they impart some kind of moral wisdom upon the reader. That is an assumption unfortunately held by many people, typically by those w ho know little about YA literature and who have no understanding of wh y people of all ages are motivated to read stories. Such an assumption grea tly diminishes the power and value of story. Belkin's assumption that novels "teach lessons" is the same one held by those who try to keep books out of the hands of young people. I'm not accusing Belkin of being one of those people. The underlying assumption of all would-be book banners is that young people must be protected from the dangerous lessons a story may impart. Reading Annie On My Mind &nbs p;will teach young people the dangerous lesson that homosexuality is normal and acceptable. How many people have pursued a career of witchcraft after reading the Harry Potter books? How many people turned
to atheism after rea ding Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy? I have yet to see any documented cases.
I'm not suggesting that one does not learn from the stories one reads. Gaining insight i nto oneself and into one's world is one of the greatest rewards of reading stories. I have read novels that are clearly about teaching the lessons tha t Belkin argues is so important, but those are some of most didactic, clumsily written books I have ever read and they are not the kinds of books teens will want to read. Edward T. Sullivan, Rogue Librarian Author, The Ultimate Weapon: The Race to Develop the Atomic Bomb (Holiday Hou se, 2007) Visit my web site, htt p://www.sully-writer.com Visit my blog, Rogue Librarian: All About B ooks and Reading http://sullyw riter.wordpress.com Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/sullywriter
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nal Message -------- Subject:
Lessons in Y.A. Literature F
rom: Megan Schliesman schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu Date: Thu, August 18, 2011 9:54 am To: "ccbc-net, Subscribers of" ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu
Thank you to everyone who con tributed to our discussion of series books.
For the second half of A ugust, the CCBC-Net topic is "Lessons in YA Literature."
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It seems a given that a good young adul t novel should tell a good story. But should it teach a lesson, too? A recent New York Times review thought so. Lisa Belkin's Ma y 12, 2011 analysis of Jennifer Brown's "Bitter End" (Little, Brown, 2011) and Deb Caletti's "Stay" (Simon Pulse, 2011), began, "The purpose of young adult literature is often twofold: to tell a story, and to send a message, usually in the form of a much-needed lesson."
Belkin is a journalist and blogger for "Motherlode,", not a librarian, teacher or professional re viewer. Her perspective is perhaps more parental than professional wh en it comes to the realm of young adult literature. But hers is not a solitary assumption about young adult (or children's) literature. Like it or not, many people believe books for youth should be message-laden. What are your expectations when you pick up a young adult novel?&nb sp; And as you read books that traverse complex realities of adolescent liv es, to what extent do specific titles fulfill your expectations for what a young adult novel should be--or do?
Megan -- Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Boo k Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park S treet, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706 608/262-9503 schl iesman_at_education.wisc.edu www.education.wisc.edu/c cbc/
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Received on Thu 18 Aug 2011 04:42:07 PM CDT
Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:42:07 -0700
When Lisa Belkin says young adult novels "should teach a lesson," she is saying stories can only be "good" if they impart some kind of moral wisdom upon the reader. That is an assumption unfortunately held by many people, typically by those w ho know little about YA literature and who have no understanding of wh y people of all ages are motivated to read stories. Such an assumption grea tly diminishes the power and value of story. Belkin's assumption that novels "teach lessons" is the same one held by those who try to keep books out of the hands of young people. I'm not accusing Belkin of being one of those people. The underlying assumption of all would-be book banners is that young people must be protected from the dangerous lessons a story may impart. Reading Annie On My Mind &nbs p;will teach young people the dangerous lesson that homosexuality is normal and acceptable. How many people have pursued a career of witchcraft after reading the Harry Potter books? How many people turned
to atheism after rea ding Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy? I have yet to see any documented cases.
I'm not suggesting that one does not learn from the stories one reads. Gaining insight i nto oneself and into one's world is one of the greatest rewards of reading stories. I have read novels that are clearly about teaching the lessons tha t Belkin argues is so important, but those are some of most didactic, clumsily written books I have ever read and they are not the kinds of books teens will want to read. Edward T. Sullivan, Rogue Librarian Author, The Ultimate Weapon: The Race to Develop the Atomic Bomb (Holiday Hou se, 2007) Visit my web site, htt p://www.sully-writer.com Visit my blog, Rogue Librarian: All About B ooks and Reading http://sullyw riter.wordpress.com Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/sullywriter
; FONT-FAMILY: verdana; COLOR: black; MARGIN-LEFT: 8px; FONT-SIZE: 10pt" id
-------- Origi=
nal Message -------- Subject:
Lessons in Y.A. Literature F
rom: Megan Schliesman schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu Date: Thu, August 18, 2011 9:54 am To: "ccbc-net, Subscribers of" ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu
Thank you to everyone who con tributed to our discussion of series books.
For the second half of A ugust, the CCBC-Net topic is "Lessons in YA Literature."
style="WIDTH: auto; HEIGHT: 300px" id=letterhead_body class=mceIfram
It seems a given that a good young adul t novel should tell a good story. But should it teach a lesson, too? A recent New York Times review thought so. Lisa Belkin's Ma y 12, 2011 analysis of Jennifer Brown's "Bitter End" (Little, Brown, 2011) and Deb Caletti's "Stay" (Simon Pulse, 2011), began, "The purpose of young adult literature is often twofold: to tell a story, and to send a message, usually in the form of a much-needed lesson."
Belkin is a journalist and blogger for "Motherlode,", not a librarian, teacher or professional re viewer. Her perspective is perhaps more parental than professional wh en it comes to the realm of young adult literature. But hers is not a solitary assumption about young adult (or children's) literature. Like it or not, many people believe books for youth should be message-laden. What are your expectations when you pick up a young adult novel?&nb sp; And as you read books that traverse complex realities of adolescent liv es, to what extent do specific titles fulfill your expectations for what a young adult novel should be--or do?
Megan -- Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Boo k Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park S treet, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706 608/262-9503 schl iesman_at_education.wisc.edu www.education.wisc.edu/c cbc/
---
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or send a blank email to -16441090-19249010.a8d04c8dce1ed2219c15feadee9a1e5c_at_lists.wisc.edu" target sc.edu
CCBC-Net Archives
The CCBC-Net archives are available to all CCBC-Net listserv members. The archives are organize d by month and year. A list of discussion topics (including month/year) is available at http://www.education.wi sc.edu/ccbc/ccbcnet/archives.asp
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Received on Thu 18 Aug 2011 04:42:07 PM CDT
