Teen Literature Day
As you may know, this week is National Library Week! The American Library Association (ALA) first sponsored national Library Week in 1958. According to the ALA, National Library Week is “a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support,” and all kinds of libraries from school libraries to public libraries participate. Three celebrations are held during the week: National Library Workers Day, National Bookmobile Day, and Teen Literature Day.
Today is Teen Literature Day and libraries everywhere in the country are participating! Teens and lovers of teen literature are also encouraged to jump in among the celebrations. The ALA states that the purpose of Teen Literature Day is to “[raise] awareness among the general public that young adult literature is a vibrant, growing genre with much to offer today’s teens.” Celebrations for today can include holding a book club meeting featuring teen literature, recognizing outstanding teen literature authors and their works, and of course reading classic teen literature titles. Teens can also go online and vote for their top ten favorite books of the previous year. Last year’s top ten included ‘Eleanor and Park’ by Rainbow Rowell, ‘Earth Girl’ by Janet Edwards, and ‘The Rithmatist’ by Brandon Sanderson.
According to Michael Cart, an author and the former president of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), the first novel written for teenagers was ‘Seventeenth Summer’ by Maureen Daly, and was published in 1942. Since then, teen literature, which falls in the young adult literature category, has been through many phases. In the 1970s there was ‘Go Ask Alice’ by Anonymous and ‘The Chocolate War’ by Robert Cormier. Romances and book series made their comeback in the 1980s, while the horror genre made its introduction. From the 1990s to today, many more genres have entered the young adult category such as realism, fantasy, and dystopian.
One thing that all teen literature and young adult literature have in common is that they have a protagonist who is trying to figure out his or her own way into the world. His or her journey is never easy and is filled with challenges that seem impossible to overcome. But, the characters and readers of young adult literature soon realize that nothing is impossible. Some obstacles might seem daunting at first, but with hard work, a solid network of friends and family, and a belief in himself or herself, obstacles will be overcome. It is this lesson that readers learn from reading teen literature and young adult literature in general, that makes them so relatable and popular among readers of all ages.
To help navigate the expansive world of teen literature, YALSA has lists of books and media for people to browse. A few of their lists include: Best Fiction for Young Adults, Fabulous Films for Young Adults, and Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults. YALSA also gives awards to books that left a mark on teen literature that year. There are six awards that are handed out: the Alex Awards, Edwards Award, Morris Award, Nonfiction Award, Odyssey Award, and Printz Award. The Alex Awards Committee chooses the Alex Awards winners, which are “ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults.” The 2015 Alex Award winners include ‘Everything I Never Told You’ by Celeste Ng, ‘All the Light We Cannot See’ by Anthony Doerr, and ‘Bingo’s Run’ by James A. Levine. The Morris Award honors a previously unpublished author who gives a new life to teen literature. This year’s Morris committee chose ‘Gabi, a Girl in Pieces’ by Isabel Quintero as its winner. A complete list of awards, award winners, booklists, and media lists can be found at http://www.ala.org/yalsa/.
Teen literature can be enjoyed by readers of all ages, not just teenagers! So celebrate Teen Literature Day by revisiting an old favorite teen literature title! After all, Ernest Hemingway once stated, “There’s no friend as loyal as a book.”
Sources
http://wikis.ala.org/yalsa/index.php/Celebrate_Teen_Literature_Day
