Thoughts and Links

Votes on my "what should I focus on for my portion of the Book Love grant winners' presentation at NCTE next fall" question clearly indicate a preference for what I'm calling "Low brow books to hook super reluctant readers."

And then I saw this post by teacher-author Teri Lesesne and felt even MORE sure it would be a good choice.

Which in turn reminded me that I've been keeping a stash of interesting bookish links that I should probably just share with you.

• School Library Journal has tons of fascinating articles, including this one about six YA #ownvoices novels.
• I found the executive director of the Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators to have a good suggestion for writing "diversity" if you're a person of privilege--don't write from the POV of someone who is from another group, but do include them in your story.
• Author Sarah Ockler puts in her two cents (well, more like a buck fifty--she has a lot to say!) on the same topic.
• Here's a discussion about the difference between middle grade and YA novels.  It's a tricky line, especially in a middle school classroom where different kids have different levels of maturity and life experience.
• I like the American Library Association's video about the ten most challenged books of 2016.  I really liked showing it to my classes and hearing their outrage over some of the titles being considered offensive.
• A call for the media to cover children's lit in their literary reviews at a rate commensurate with how popular it is.
• Some suggested trends for YA to explore, with examples.  I'd add Gabi, A Girl in Pieces to "Positive Body Representation for Girls of Color," and Pointe to "Dancing Queens," and I'd suggest the addition of "Trans and Non-binary People" to the list of characters we need to see more of.

Lots of food for thought. Enjoy!