Library & Information Science, Course 262: Resources for Young Adults.
Copyright, 2006 Dr. David Loertscher
Fall 2006

Course Outline

Recommended Movies of Fall 2006

• Marie Antoinette - October
• Stormbreaker - October
• Fastfood Nation - October
• Employee of the Month, - October
• The Guardian - September
• Idiocracy - September
• Eragon - Cecember
• The Departed - October
• Bobby - November
• Casino Royale - - November

Recommended movies for Summer 206

Cars

Superman Returns

The Devil Wears Prada

Nacho Libre

Click

Pirates of the Caribbean II

Crash
Napoleon Dynamite
Whale Rider
Thirteen (for those with strong stomachs)
Lord of the Rings trilog
Matrix trilog
Star Wars Episonde III and I, II, IV, V, VI on DVD
Batman Begins and other Batman movies on DVD
Harry Potter I, II, and III on DVD and IV in theaters/dollar movies
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants on DVD
Cinderella Man on DVD

Required reads:

• The 2006 Winner, or Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (2005 Newbery Award winner), or, Avi. Crispin: The Cross of Lead. (2003 Newbery Award Winner)
• Park, Linda Sue. A Single Shard (2001 Newbery Award Winner)
• Out of the Dust (98 Newbery Winner)
• Because of Winn-Dixie DiCamillo, Kate and see the movie.

Read at least one of the following:

• Peck, Richard. The River Between Us(2003), or, A Year Down Yonder (2001 Newbery Winner) or its predicessor: Out of Chicago
• Louis Sachar. Holes. (1999 Newbery Winner) + the Movie or its new sequel: Small Steps
• One of Christopher Paul Curtis' books: The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963. Bud, Not Buddy (2000 Newbery Award Winner), or Mr. Chickee's Funny Money

   

Topic: Building a repertoire of the best in all forms of media - the good, the bad, the ugly (a book a day keeps the Bs away... plus other stuff)

Note: the following list is beging replaced by the wiki YA Literature and Multimedia at http://seedwiki.com. It has been left here for one last semester.

• skimming, scanning, gulping, enjoying.
• finding good bibs of the best (bestbibs.html)
• finding reviews of YA materials (w1bc.html)
• people and conferences
• Awards (w1bl.html)
• organizations (w1w.html) (YALSA, NCTE)
• Building a database and a repertoire.
• Participating in our electronic community
• Booktalking (Mediatalking) with Joni Bodart. (w1bb.html)
• The professional literature. (w1aa.html)
• focusing on curriculum materials and activity ideas. (w1bd.html).
• becoming a mini-expert in an area.
• starting to know the YA authors (w1af.html)

Topic 2: How It All Got Started

Read one:

• Hinton. The Outsiders (She published a new book in 2004)
• Cormier. The Chocolate War (Robert Cormier passed away in Nov. 1999)

Topic: History of materials/media for young adults

Student Project: Robert Comier (w1cg.pdf)

Resources (w2 started.html) - being replaced by the wiki YA Literature and Multimedia

Topic 2a: The Juvenile Novel

• Read one:
  • For girls: Brashares, Ann. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. 2001 and the movie; or its squel: Summer of the Sisterhood (2003); or, the third one: Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood; or, Louis Remison's Away Laughing on a Fast Camel or , Startled by His Fury Shorts
  • For boys: Crutcher, Chris. Whale Talk (2001) or Ben Mikaelsen. Spirit Bear; or, Monster by Walter Dean Myers
  • Lipsyet, Rebert. Raiders Night (206)

 Read one from the YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2005 or 2006.

Read one other juvenile novel popular with teens you encounter.

Topic 3: Teen Pop Culture

Read or experience:

• any YA series book (The Gossip Girls Series, Mediator, etc. - check your local bookstore to see what is being currently stocked)
• a graphic novel or Manga such as Maus; or "Oh My Goddess!" (several in the series); or The Hobbit, illustrated by David Wenzel (Balantine Books); or Ranma 1/2 story and art by Rumiko Takahashi (Japanese); Talbot, Bryan. The Tale of One Bad Rat. (Dark Horse Books)
• any cult movie of teens (a movie that teens see so many times they probably have the lyrics memorized - such as Rocky Horror Picture Show or now the Matrix trilogy, Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Napoleon Dynamite)
• any popular video game such as Halo 2, World of WarCraft, Final Fantasy, The Fear, Battlefield II, Grand Theft Auto series.
• any anime film or comic book based on an anime film
• any pop Internet site for teen surfers such as Homestarrunner.com or MySpace.com, or Youtube.com
• any romance book for teens
• any occult, horror, or stalker fiction/film title such as The Ring or Final Destination, 28 Days Later, Freddy v. Jason, Texas Chainsaw Massacre
• any popular movie for teens you haven't had a chance to see such as 10 Things I Hate About You, Pirates of the Caribbean II, Chasing Liberty, Thirteen, Whale Rider, Holes, Elf
• teen music groups such as: 50 cent, Beyonce, Clay Aiken, Coldplay, Justin Timberlake, Good Charlotte, Eminem (should see the movie 8Mile), Jennifer Lopez, Avril Lavigne, Puff Daddy, Dashboard Confessional, Evanescence
• Actors and actresses that appeal to teens such as: Hilary Duff, Tom Welling, Orlando Bloom, Ashton Kutcher, Ben Affleck, Julia Stiles, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen
• Television shows such as: The O.C., Smallville, Survivor, Punk'd, MTV, any soap popular with teens

Topic: The Popular Sub Culture - It's a Jungle Out There.

• Knowing the stuff
• Talking the talk - making connections
• Bridging out to the better
• The librarian as media advisor
• The librarian as programming advisor (see Teen Programming Resources (w3d.html)
• The celebrity scene and teen idols
• The world of romance

Resources: (w3 trash.html)  (beting replaced by the wiki: YA Literature and Multimedia)

Topic 4: It's Very Personal (fact and fiction)

Problem: What is this thing called adolescence? Do the materials written and produced for this group mirror reality and provide possibilities? How can professionals use these materials with teens in school and public libraries?

Read One of the following fiction works:

• • Johnson, Angela. The First Part Last (2004 Michael L. Printz Award) A 16-year-old teen discovers fatherhood.
  • Frost, Helen. Keesha's House
  • Going, K.L. Fat Kid Rules the World
  • Mackler, Carolyn. The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things
  • Draper, Sharon M. The Battle of Jericho.
  • Oates, Joyce Carol. Big Mouth & Ugly Girl (Oats' first novel for teens - two misfits come of age)
  • Myers, Walter Dean. Monster (Steve is in big, big trouble and in court)
  • Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. (Passivity vs. passion)
  • Reynolds, Marilyn. Love Rules: True-to-Life Series from Hamilton High (A young woman's struggle with her sexual identity),
  • Smack by Melvin Burgess, Holt, 1998 (14-year-old Gemma and her boyfriend Tar try heroin and then become junkies, turning to prositution and theft to fund their habits - blunt sex and drugs),
  • American Pie 1 or 2 - the movies: Four teenagers vow to lose their virginity on Prom night and then go to college. And the newest: American Wedding.
  • Any title by Louise Rennison such as: Startled by His Furry Shorts, Away Laughing on a Fast Camel, etc.

Read one nonfiction title directed at teens: (read one.) Suggestions:

• • Halpin, Mikki. It's YOur World - If You Don't Like It, Change It: Activism for Teenagers (2004)
  • Simmons, Rachel. Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Agression in Girls.
  • Always Running by Louis Rodrigues
  • House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
  • Johnson, Spencer. Who Moved My Cheese? for Teens: An A-Mazing Way to Change and Win! 2002.
  • Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul (any title from this series targeted at teens)..- browse through and read a few stories.
  • Jacobs, Thomas A. They Broke the Law: You Be the Judge: True Cases of Teen Crime. Free Spirit Press, 2003
  • Espeland, Pamela. Life Lists for Teens: Tips, Steps, Hints, and How-Tops for Growing Up, Getting Along, Learning, and Having Fun. Free Spirit Press, 2003.
  • Huegel, Kelly. GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Queer and Questioning Teens. Free Spirit Press, 2003.
  • Covey, Sean. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens : The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide
  • Wilkinson, Bruce. Prayer of Jabez for Teens.Multnomah Publishers, 2001
  • Hirschfelder, Arlene. Kick Butts!: A Kid's action Guide to a Tobacco-Free America. Scarcrow, 2001
  • Goldstein, Mark A. and Myna Chandler Goldstein. Boys Into Men: Staying Healthy Through the Teen Years. Greenwood, 2000.
  • CQ Researcher on Teens in America. CQ Press, 2001
  • Grimbol, William R. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Spirituality for Teens. Alpha Books, 2000.
  • Woods, Earl and the Tiger Woods Foundation. Start Something: You Can Make a Difference. Simon & Schuster, 2000.
  • Vizzini, Ned. Teen Angst? Naah... Free Spirit Publishing, 2000
  • Johnson, Julie Tallard. The Thundering Years: Rituals and Sacred Wisdom for Teens. Bindu Books, 2001
  • Desetta, Al, ed. The Struggle to be Strong: True Stories by Teens About Overcoming Tough Times. Free Sprit Publishing, 2000.
  • McGraw, Jay. Life Strategies for Teens. Simon & Schuster, 2000
  • Packer, Alex J. Highs!: Over 150 Ways to Feel Really, Really Goodd...Without Alcohol or Other Drugs. Free Sprit Publishing, 2000
  • Williams, Terrie. Stay Strong: Simple Life Lessons for Teens, with an Introduction by Queen Latifah. 2001.
  • Beroff, Art. and T.R. Adams. How To Be a Teenage Millionaire. Entrepreneur Press, 2000
  • Greene, Rebecca. The Teenagers' Guide to School Outside the Box. Free Spirit Press, 2001.
  • Morisette, Alanis. Conversations With God for Teens. Hampton Roads, 2001.
  • Wilson, Jacqueline. Girls in Love. Delecorte, 2002.
  • Jukes, Mavis. Guy Book: An Owner's Manual. Crown, 2002

   

  Directed at adults: (read one) Suggestions:

  • Strauch, Barbara. The Primal Teen: What the New Discoveries About the Teenage Brain Tell Us About Our Kids. 2003•
  • Horn, Wade F. and Carol Keough. New Teen Book: An Z to Z Guide for Parents of 9- to 16-Year Olds. (Merideth Corp. 1999).
  • Pollack, William. Real Boys. Owl Books, 1998.
  • Mary Pipher. Reviving Ophelia. (book or audiotape); or
  • Dave Pelzer A Child Called "It" (Health Communications Inc., 1995) or any of the "It" books; or
  • Geoffrey Canada's Reaching Up for Manhood (Becon Presss, 1998)
  • Dr. Laura Schlesinger. Parenthood by Proxy : Don't Have Them If You Won't Raise Them (book or audiotape) (2000)
  • Hersch, Patricia. A Tribe Apart: A Journey into the Heart of American Adolescence. Balantine Books, 1999.
  • Panzarine, Susan. A Parent's Guide to the Teen Years: Raising Your 11- to 14-Year-Old in the Age of Chat Rooms and Navel Rings. Facts on File, 2000.
  • Drowns, Robert W. and Karen M. Hess. Juvenile Justice. 3rd ed. Wadsworth, 2000.

  • Read several issues of magazines aimed at teens

Topics:

Advocacy for Teenagers: A Librarian's Professional Responsibility

Adolescent Development:

• Physical development
• Emotional development
• Social development
• Spiritual development

 Censorship

Resources (w4 personal.html) (being replaced by the wiki: YA Literature and Multimedia)

Topic 5: Give Me Real History (but I might want it fictionalized)

Read and view one of the following movie/book tie-ins:

• Cold Mountain. Book by Charles Frazier. Movie in theaters Jan. 04. (Civil War - older teens)
• Seabiscuit. Book by Laura Hillenbrand. Movie now on DVD. (Depression Years - older teens)
• Pearl Harbor or 13 Days with accompanying screen version in the book stores or a book about the events (movies released 2001).
• October Sky: A Memoir by Homer H. Hickam Jr. (Bantam, 1999) (also titled Rocket Boys: A memoir) and the movie October Sky - now in video stores. Hickam has also issued a second volume covering about the same time period titled The Coalwood Way. Volume three in the series A Sky of Stone: A Memoire is out.
• Schindler's List (the movie) then read one book about the Holocaust such as: Opdyke, Irene Gut. In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer. (Knopf, 1999), or Wareen, Andrea. Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps (Harper Collins, 20001); or tour the Holocaust Museum web site or the actual museum (a visit to Washington D.C. would be nice)
• Or a historical movie w/ no particular book attached, such as Troy, Alexander. or King Arther
• Killer Angels by Michael Shaara and the movie Gettysburg.

Read:

•Peck, Richard. The River Between Us; or, Ambrose, Stephen E. This Vast Land: A Young Man's Journal of the Lewis and Clark Expedition; or, Rees, Celia. Pirates! - historical fiction

• Patricia Polacco. Pink and Say (professor reads this in class) - picture book of Patricia's ancestor)

• Hitler Youth (Best Book for YA 2006) - (non-fiction); or: Fleischman, Sid: Escape! The Story of the Great Houdini (2006); or, Nelson, Pete and Hunter Scott. Left for Dad! A Young Man's Search for Justice for the USS Indianapolis (2003)

• Any historical fiction title or Western

Topics:

Bringing the Past Alive:

• Across time
• Across cultures
• Across the disciplines

Resources (w5 history.html) (being replaced by the wiki: YA Literature and Multimedia)

Topic 6: Give Me Real People

Read one more-serious biography written for teens or a person who teens would be required to read about. Examples:

• Strongly recommended: Armstrong, Lance: It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life. 2001. The cycler who continues to with the Tour de France in spite of testicular cancer. Also recommended, his second book: Every Second Counts.

Or other samples:

Freedman, Russell. The Voice that Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights (2004)

Silverstein, Ken. The Radioactive Boy Scotut: The Frightenin gTrue Story of a Whiz Kid and His Homemade Nuclear Reactor (2005)

Ali (the movie) and any biography of Muhamed Ali

Myers, Walter Dean. Bad Boy: A Memoire. (Harper Collins, 2001). A reflection on his teen years.

Isaacson, Walter. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life. 2003 (for older teens)

McCullough, David. John Adams. (for older teens - remarkable love story)

Sharp, Ken. KISS: Behind the Mask: The Official Authorized Biography. 2003

Bruchac, Joseph. Sacajawea. (Harcourt, 2000) A dollar and now a biography of the most famous Indian woman.

Marrin, Albert. Tatan'ka Iyota'ke: Sitting Bull and His World. (Dutton, 2000) - a new look at the most famous Indian chief.

Lowry. Lois. Looking Back: A Book of Memories. (Delacorte, 1998) - growing up and now an author.

Bernstein, Sara Tuvel. The Seamstress (Putnam, 1997) - a Holocaust survivor

Corbett, Sara. Venus to the Hoop (Doubleday, 1997) - basketball gold in the Atlanta Olympics

Krakauer, Jon. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster (Villard, 1997); or, Boukreev, Anatoli. The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest. (St. Martins, 1997); or, Weathers, Beck and Stephen G. Michaud. Left for Dead: My Journey Home from Everest (Villard Books, 2000)

Malcolm X book or movie

The Aviator (movie)

Ray (movie) and any biography on Ray Charles

Read one Pop Biography:

• read one grocery store/newstand biography of a hot musician, sports hero, or other celebrity that teens are interested in this season.

Read:

• Cormier, Robert. Heroes. Delacorte Press, 1998

Topics:

• Appreciating the people of yesterday and today
• What is truth in biography?
• Heros and Celebrities
• Sports (in fact and fiction)
• Revisionist biography
• Biography in a multicultural/world community

Resources (w6 people.html) (Being replaced by the wiki: YA Literature and Multimedia)

Topic 7: I Wish I Were a Scientist...

(the world of science and technology from research scientists to medicine to auto mechanics)

View/Interact/Read:

• A Beautiful Mind; or, Apollo 13 - the Movie

• March of the Penguins (movie narrated by Morgan Freeman)

• NASA Web Site - catch up on the space station and the Mars probe

• Any nonfiction pop-science book

Topic: The fascinating world of real science

• The development of readable science
• Who's persuading teens into the sciences?

Resources in Science (the following being replaced by the wiki: YA Literature and Multimedia)

• Timeline of Scientists (w7a.html) a list of scientists young people might be interested in researching.

• Other resourses (w7 science.html)

 

Topic 8: ...But I'll Take Science Fiction or Fantasy

Read/view at least two:

• Paolini, Christopher. Eragon or its sequel: Eldest.

• Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter I-VI and the three movies I, II, or III, IV or; Philip Pullman. Golden Compass and its two sequals.

• Stroud, Jonathan. The Amulet of Samarkand (The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 1) 2003 or any of its sequels.

• Lord of the Rings trilogy of movies and/or the books

• Matrix trilogy

• X-Men I and II

Also:

• any other science fiction or fantasy title enjoyed by teens such as Brian Jacques (Redwall series), Orson Scott Card (Ender books), Terry Brooks (Shanara series), Michael Crichton (any title), Heinlein (early books), Dune books, Frank Herbert, Marion Bradley Zimmer, Donaldson (Thomas Covenant series), Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time)

• any recent science fiction movie you haven't been able to see: Star Wars III, Batman Begins, War of the Worlds, Superman Returns

Resources: (being replaced by the wiki: YA Literature and Multimedia)

• Science fiction: Professional articles (w8 scifi.html) and tools to help keep up.
• Fantasy: Professional articles (w8 fantasy.html) and tools to help keep up.
• Movies of books currently in production: A Series of Unfortunate Events (Snicket); The Eric Saga (Moorcock); The Chronicles of Narnia (Lewis); Artimis Fowl (Coffin); Eragon (Paolini); and, His Dark Materials (Pullman)

Student contributions:

• Bibliography of Works by Piers Anthony (w8c.html)

• Student project: (Aug 98) Loreen Schallon serves up an interesting web site on Time Travel. Lots of good links, too.

Topic 9: Culture is a Matter of Taste..

(film, theater, dance, art, music, classic literature, poetry)

Read, view, or listen to:

• any classic literature and it's recent adaptation to film such as Pride and Prejudice, The Importance of Being Ernest, Gosford Park, Sense and Sensibility or Emma or The Crucible; or, Shakespeare in Love (movie), or any recent Shakespeare film/play such as the movie The Merchant of Venice (2005), Hamlet (2000) or "O" (Othello released Aug. 01)

• any multimedia item of the art world such as an Internet site or videodisc of an art collection; or, a book about an artist poular with teens such as: Greenberg, Jan and Sandra Jordan. Andy Warhol, Prince of Pop (204)

• any play / film adaptation of a play teens should know, such as The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

• any book of poetry aimed at teens or a poet that teens have adopted.

• any concert or video concert of a group teens know or should know

• Top Ten on radio or most popular on MTV (listen to one hour)

Topics:

• Classical literature: See: Marjorie Lewis: Outstanding Books for the College Bound. Chicago: American Library Association, 1996.
• Poetry
• Short stories
• Drama
• Movies.
• Humor (including TV such as Comedy Central, South Park, The Simpsons, The Tom Green Show)
• Music in the Teen World (Alternative, R & B, Rock, Rap, Light Rock, Country, Techno, Grunge)

Resources (w9 culture.html) (Being replaced by the wiki: YA Literature and Multimedia

Topic 10...In a Multicultural World

Objective: To help budding professionals discover the wide variety of resources and programming strategies to promote inclusion in the modern American experience.

Read:

• Hesse, Karen. Witness. Scholastic, 2001. A small Vermont town finds itself under siege by the Ku Klux Klan.

• Jeanne Wakastsuki Houston and James D. Houston. Farewell to Manzanar. (younger readers); or: David Guterson: Snow Falling on Cedars (older readers) (movie out now in video); or, Wolff, Virginia Euwer. Bat 6: A Novel. (Scholastic, 1999) (for grades 5-7); or, Gold, Alison Leslie. A Special Fate: Chiune Sugihara: Hero of the Holocaust. (Scholastic, 2000); Nye, Namomi Shihab. 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East. (2002)

• any book for teens set in the culture of your own heritage

• any book for teens set in a culture other than your own heritage

* See the movie Crash the night before the last class.

Resources (w10 multiculture.html) (Beiong replaced by the wiki: YA Literature and Multimedia)

Topics:

• Multiculturalism or division by culture?
• Must we divide by race?
• Programming and educational experiences to promote multiculturalism

Topic 11: Move Over, Adults, We're Interested in Your Stuff Too...

(Best sellers, Expose', Westerns, Romance, Mysteries, Espionage, Horror, Crime, Public Figures and Celebrities)

Read:

• Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci Code and see the movie

• Any other book on the bestseller list, fact or fiction, hardback or paperback:
USA Today
Publishers Weekly
New York Times

• A blockbuster film of the Summer

Topics:

• Adults - Professional Reading
• What are bestsellers, anyway?
• Media hype in the world of pop adult fare
• Genre-by-genre background

Topic 12....But We're Not Sure We Like the World We've Inherited.

(War, Environment, Politics, Post modernism, Cultural Conflict, Values or Lack Thereof, Deconstructionism)

Read:

• any nonfiction adult book of interest to teens (See the Alex Awards done by YALSA for recommendations)

Topics: Is there anything of redeeming value in today's adult world for young adults?

Resources (w12 adultnonfiction.html) (being replaced by YA Literature and Multimedia wiki)

Topic 13: It's an Information Blitz: Becoming a Reference World Junkie in the World of Teens

Read:

• Peruse and bring to class any title or photocopied sample of a significant reference work of use to teens (see "Youth Services Recommended Reference Sources Compiled by the Youth Services Reference Evaluation Committee of the Suburban Library System, Burr Ridge, Illinois" published in JOYS, Spring, 1996)

• Peruse at least one Internet reference site or CD-ROM reference title that teens would use for reference.

• check out Blanche Woolls reference column for The Gale Group at http://reviews.gale.com/index.php/reference-for-students/2006/04/>http://reviews.gale.com/index.php/reference-for-students/2006/04/

Topics:

• The world of reference information for teens
• Being alert to authority, accuracy, and currency

Resources (w13 reference.html) (Being replaced by the wiki: YA Literature and Multimedia)

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This page was last revised on July 2006