Youth Literature Research Articles

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

266 CLA JOURNAL Book Reviews Thomas, Angie. The Hate U Give. New York: Balzer & Bray--Harper Collins Publishers, 2017. 464 pp. ISBN: 978-0062498533. $18.99 Hardcover. Angie Thomas’s debut novel, released in February 2017, is a timely and wellexecuted book for young adult audiences. The strengths of Thomas’s novel are evidenced in her contemplation of culturally relevant themes like activism, police brutality, and code-switching, which unfold in a first-person, fast-paced narrative. The novel offers readers an engaging story that examines violence against black bodies, micro-aggressions, racism and non-violent protest movements like Black Lives Matter. The novel balances hard hitting moments with familiar cultural references that result in an authentic and genuine portrayal of the challenges of navigating two opposing worlds: white, elite private school, suburban life and an urban, black, close-knit but economically challenged community. The novel’s protagonist, Starr Carter, straddles two lives, her poor, black, and gang riddled neighborhood and the suburban, mostly wealthy, white prep school she attends. Starr keeps her two lives strictly divided, her school friends, including her white boyfriend, don’t meet her neighborhood friends and, likewise, her Garden Heights friends never meet her at the suburban Williamson Prep. All of that changes, however, when Starr witnesses the brutal murder of her childhood friend Khalil by a local police officer. The national news coverage, following real life trends, paints Khalil as a thug and drug dealer.While she grieves with the members of her community, her relationships with her Williamson Prep friends suffer. The local police force rallies around the officer, and the members of the Garden Heights community, angered by the lack of progress in Khalil’s murder investigation, take to the streets in protest. Through all of this, Starr struggles with her anger, fear, guilt and grief as the novel progresses, and she decides whether or not to come forward to testify before the grand jury on Khalil’s behalf. When discussed within the larger discourse of African-American popular culture texts, The Hate U Give would have benefitted most significantly from greater character development. There is a reliance on cliché and all too familiar tropes among the novel’s secondary characters. Other challenges include Thomas’ approach, which reflects moments of 90s nostalgia that many of today’s teens may dismiss as dated. Additionally, The Hate U Give mirrors the code-switching Starr frequently enacts at Williamson Prep, black-splaining rather than smoothly transitioningintocomplexdiscussionsof race.Whenexaminedbesideatextsuchas Jason Reynold’s Long Way Down, a novel in verse that successfully navigates topics of race and gun violence, Thomas’ novel could expand important discussions. Ibi Zoboi’s novel American Street, a National Book Award Finalist for youth literature, likewise tackles issues of race, police violence, and identity through strong and nuanced characters. CLA JOURNAL 267 Book Reviews At the same time, Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give has been widely accepted, leading to the 2018 Morris Award for a debut author. The novel was on the National Book Award long list for youth literature and was a Coretta Scott-King and Michael L. Printz honor book. Timelessness is among the criteria for most of the Youth Media Awards, and given the novel’s first-person narrative voice, accessible language and subject matter, the reasons for the book’s accolades are clear. Ultimately, readers will find The Hate U Give an enjoyable introduction to conversations about police brutality and, arguably more importantly, how teens can become their own advocates and speak out against institutional oppression. Latrice Ferguson is a Ph.D. student at the University of Pennsylvania where she studies Children’s Literature. She holds masters degrees in Library Science and Children’s Literature and is former librarian for the Chicago Public Library. ...

‘The brainy ones are leaving’: the subtlety of (un)cool places through the eyes of rural youth

ABSTRACTThe aim of this paper is to study place dynamics in relationships between academically-oriented young people and their local rural places. With point of departure in rural settings with less obvious flagship attractions and cultural assets compared to urban high amenity settings, the paper contributes to the limited literature on the perception of place among academically-oriented youth, who in future potentially belong to the professional category of knowledge workers. Addressing identity, place and the concept of cool in relation to rural youth, we analyse the findings from 23 qualitative, in-depth interviews conducted with 49 young people in secondary education in two rural regions of Denmark to identify place dynamics in the relationships between these young people and their local places. The paper adds to the youth literature by demonstrating how rural youth produce, articulate and maintain identities and visions for desired futures with aspirations for urban lifestyles. Findings show that the interviewed youth's relationships to their local rural place are characterised by conflicting feelings of attachment, detachment, pride and entrapment, and that such feelings reflect on identity construction and seem to play an important role for future migration intentions.

Women Writers of Gabon: Literature and Herstory. By Cheryl Toman.

In this new study Cheryl Toman contextualizes the historical, socio-cultural, and political settings that have delayed the visibility of Gabonese women's writing in the field of literary criticism. Taking us three decades back in time, Toman reveals the prevalence of women in the Gabonese literary scene through the fictional works of Justine Mintsa, Honorine Ngou, Sylvie Ntsame, and Angèle Rawiri, among others. Examining their novels, youth literature, and youth activism in their communities, Toman demonstrates the feminist vein in which these Gabonese women write. This is observed through daring themes (such as tribalism, prostitution, infertility, homosexuality, and third gender) that expose female characters having to negotiate complex issues of identity, sexuality, oppressive aspects of African tradition, and Westernization. These subjects are examined through critical readings of African feminism and Western radical feminism in order to expound the ways in which these writers provoke transnational and transcultural discussions on issues of race, gender, sex, and class. A very interesting segment of Toman’s study resides in a rare exploration of the role and importance of the Fang culture in Gabonese women’s writing. This extensive examination of a non-archival system of ephemeral and indecipherable transmissions from Gabon (and surrounding areas) echoes the notable work of performance studies scholar Diana Taylor, by stressing the ways in which the traditional ‘performatic repertoire’ (The Archive and the Repertoire: Performing Cultural Memory in the Americas (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2003), pp. xvii and 4) makes us move away from an imperialistic frame of reference that locates the material (tangible) at the top of the line of dominance of Western logic. The traditional repertoire is thus analysed as a valuable form of knowledge (stretching from oral tales of the Fang and myènè, Mvet (epic oral literature), Fang myth and spirituality, birth and funeral rituals); it allows Toman to contend that these authors proceed to a literary decolonization of the African francophone novel. By elucidating their feminist rewriting of the Fang traditions (conventionally dominated by men), Toman guides our appreciation of the works and critical thoughts of these Gabonese women writers. Her scholarship contributes to recent critical works in the fields of literary and cultural studies on Afro-Diasporic traditional practices, bringing to the fore what Jeannine Murray-Román termed ‘performance events as ekphrases’ (Performance and Personhood in Caribbean Literature: From Alexis to the Digital Age (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2016), p. 3). We also observe how the ‘performatic repertoire’ illustrates concerns and solidarity among various ethnic groups. Toman intersects genres and cultural and geographical boundaries by putting these Gabonese texts in rich conversation with the works of various critics and writers of the African Diaspora. For instance, the critical feminist dialogue with the works of Leopold Sedar Senghor (his poem ‘Femme noire’), Mabik-ma-Kombil (on storytelling), Werewere Liking (on the use of Bassa culture), and Berthrand Matoko (on issues of queerness) holds compelling comparative studies. While an in-depth conversation between Chantal Magalie Mbazoo-Kassa’s literary works with those of Mintsa and Rawiri would have been desirable, the book nonetheless remains a timely, much-needed, and resourceful study of Gabonese women's writing.

The Influence of Literature on the Improvement of Teenagers' Spatial Knowledge

According to Haunt, “Iran has a head start over most of its neighboring countries in the establishment of schools, but progress were slow, and there were comparatively few books written for children in Persian” and so schools had to rely on translating books from other countries (2004, p784) . The first narratives for young people in Iran were published in Keyhane-bacheha, which was a weekly magazine that began publishing in 1956. In addition, there emerged other authors such as Nader Ebrahimi who published books for Iranian children and there were handful of youth novels that depicted young people and their relation to urban areas. But a lack of attention to the history and identity of Iran through the publication of youth literature has been criticized by many Iranian authors, especially in recent years. For instance,(According to ), Nasser Takmil Homayoun, who is an Iranian historian, in a panel session about Iranian identity, stated that “Identity is not just culture and history . In fact, physical space is also important. For instance, when I think of Ghazvin( my home town) I remember our old house in which we lived , and its valuable architecture. The rooms and niches. These items also shape my identity. Even now, Ghazvin means very much to me” (Takmil Homayoun, 2005,p.11). Because of the lack of published Iranian literature for children, the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (Kanun), initiated a project called “Today’s Young People” in March 2009, The aim of the project was to write and publish books specifically for Iranian adolescents. Consequently, 20 books were published by the institute. One of the critiques of these new works for youth is of their lack of descriptions or mentions of Iranian spaces. In September 2015, panel sessions of the “Representation of Tehran in young people’s literature” were held by the support of Shahr publications and the Revayat institute. One of the panelists, Mostafa Kharaman, a well known Iranian children’s writer argued that “the problem with our contemporary literature is that the location is not obvious. It is not clear where the story happens. While we all know that we have various lifestyles in Iranian cities,these differences are not represented in young adults’ stories. Mohittababtabaei, a well known Tehranologist, observed that in these published stories, as well as in school books for young people, Iranian streets, squares and other spaces have not been portrayed. The spaces that are explained in these books seem to be “nowhere.” While we all know that people in different cities in Iran have different lifestyles according to their culture. So, Tehranians have different way of living from people in other cities of Iran. Mohittababtabaei further argued that some descriptions of the old and famous streets and mosques of Tehran should be incorporated in the school books so that young people can learn about the urban history of Tehran. So physical space is often absent from these young adult novels but, as I argue, it should be one of the main elements in new fiction for youth in order to help young people know their history, and as a key element in identity construction.

Teacher–Student Relationships, Student Engagement, and Academic Achievement for Non-Latino and Latino Youth

Teacher–student relationships are crucial to engagement and school success for youth. However, forging caring and supportive teacher–student relationships can be challenging. Further, engagement appears to decline along with achievement. Regardless of limited research reviews on teacher–student relationships, engagement, and achievement for school-aged students, there is an urgent need for reviews focused on youth and Latino youth in particular. This study synthesized 26 studies on teacher–student relationships, engagement, and achievement for non-Latino (16 studies) and Latino youth (10 studies). The findings were similar for non-Latino and Latino youth, with positive associations and engagement as a mediator. Teacher–student relationships (emotional support, instrumental help, clear expectations, and classroom safety) and student engagement (behavioral, emotional, and cognitive) were defined as multidimensional constructs. The findings primarily focused on emotional support and behavioral engagement. Both bodies of literature were theoretically driven (self-determination theory, ecological theory), employed surveys as the primary measure and reliable measures. There was a lack of studies with experimental, longitudinal design, qualitative methods, random sampling, power analyses and reported validity of the measures. Major differences included mixed results for the moderation effect of gender among non-Latino youth. The quality of the literature for non-Latino youth was relatively more rigorous and stronger.

Esopo em Portugal: das origens à contemporaneidade

Esta investigação pretende compreender como se processoua recepção de Esopo na Literatura Portuguesa, da Idade Média àcontemporaneidade, analisando a relação entre o gênero fabulístico e aliteratura infantojuvenil e para adultos. Partindo de um corpus de fábulasesopianas e, dentro dele, de uma fábula específica, este trabalho analisará ascaracterísticas que permitirão demonstrar a alteração, ao longo do tempo, dotipo de público-alvo e do objetivo edificante das obras em estudo. Observarse-á, assim, que a fábula, em Portugal, passou de um gênero de literaturapara adultos para um típico da literatura infantojuvenil, registando-se,atualmente, alguma tendência para o regresso às origens a este nível.

If I Was Your Girl by M. Russo

Russo, Meredith. If I Was Your Girl. Flatiron Books, 2016.At 18 years old, Amanda is taking a cautious approach to her new lease on life. Assigned the male gender at birth and named Andrew, Amanda endured bullying as a child and disappointment from a father who viewed his “son” as effeminate and ill-equipped to handle life’s challenges. Post-transition life in Atlanta wasn’t much easier, and a traumatic instance of violence led Amanda’s mother to decide to send Amanda to live with her father in small-town Tennessee. While the rural American South might not seem like an accepting environment for a transgender teen, Amanda is keeping her past sex a secret.As Amanda decides not to reveal her past to the Lambertville locals (known in the transgender community as going “stealth”), she starts to live the life of an average teenager for the first time. Her beauty attracts much attention from boys, and she finds friend groups with both the in crowd and social misfits - all of whom appear to be harbouring secrets of their own. As things get increasingly serious with her boyfriend Grant, Amanda grapples with sharing her own history.Russo’s debut novel depicts a round protagonist with whom all teens should be able to relate, on some level. As a trans woman herself, Russo deftly depicts teenage belonging and the politics of going stealth, while acknowledging that she intentionally chose a character that could easily “pass” to demonstrate the conflict. Moreover, the author’s note sends an inspirational message to trans youth that validates the uniqueness of their experience and the importance of self-love.Although Russo occasionally falls into YA romantic cliches, it’s not as though the genre is overflowing with romantic storylines featuring trans characters. If I Was Your Girl is a vital and timely addition to YA literature, and should have a place in every library for transgender, cisgender and non-binary teens alike to discover.Recommended: 3 stars out of 4Reviewer: Kyle MarshallKyle Marshall is the Planning, Assessment & Research Analyst for Edmonton Public Library. He graduated with his MLIS from the University of Alberta in June 2015, and is passionate about diversity in children's and youth literature.

English-language best-selling novel series for children and teenagers in contemporary Polish media space

The essential purpose of the study was the attempt to illustrate the reception of several foreign media cycles of bestselling English-language novels from the field of fantastic literature for children and youth. These included, in chronological order: The Chronicles of Narnia by Clive Staples Lewis, Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials , the Harry Potter septology by J.K. Rowling, Inheritance by Christopher Paolini, and the Twilight saga by Stephanie Meyer. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis, taking also into account the chronology and geography of the phenomenon, it was decided to reconstruct the polyphonic information space around a selected novel (and adaptation) in the press and on the Internet. Taking into account the cultural background that determined the assimilation of these books in Poland and stimulated their above-average popularity, it was sought to recreate mechanisms that affect the creation of a new type of bestseller. It was also decided to focus on the important aspect of marketing and the phenomenon of feedback between the reception of the books and their adaptations.

The All-Heterosexual World of Children’s Nonfiction: A Critical Content Analysis of LGBTQ Identities in Orbis Pictus Award Books, 1990–2017

Despite increased attention toward children’s nonfiction and informational texts in recent decades, there is still little research that investigates the ways in which various cultural identities are depicted in nonfiction children’s books. Focusing specifically on the 143 winners and honor recipients of the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction Literature for Children (1990–2017), this article reports the findings of a critical content analysis of depictions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) identified people in award-winning nonfiction youth literature. The authors look across this set of texts as a literary construction of the world, making explicit where and how LGBTQ people are visible in these award-winning books for young readers. By analyzing specific depictions of queer-identified people, the authors argue the creators of these books rely upon heteronormative constructions, queer erasure, and compulsory heterosexuality to minimize (and even eliminate) queerness.

Medialne reprezentacje kultury literackiej, czyli wiedza o książce dla dzieci – (nie) tylko w Sieci

The purpose of the text is to identify and description certain dimensions of literary culture that are represented in digital media and relate to the children’s recipient. The method used content analysis, mainly Polish websites, indicate the dominant media enabled representations of knowledge about children’s book and its contexts (reading culture, the role of intermediary). Described some forms of presence of literature for children and youth in cyberspace, such as portals and blog reviewers, websites writers and books, journals and literary blogs, forums readers, radio and TV programs. Scientific knowledge of literary culture is represented in the network to a lesser extent in comparison to popularizing, commercial and promotional activities of publishers and other entities. The source of scientific information are the pages of international conferences, associations, organizations and libraries. To a lesser degree, open source licenses are digitally released as original scientific studies, such as books, journals and research reports.

Collection Diversity Has No Borders: A Librarian’s Experience at FIL, CILELIJ and FILIJ

Many public libraries in communities where Spanish is a language preferred by a significant percentage of the population have dedicated Spanish language collections and bilingual/ bicultural staff that provides library services and programs. In Oregon, the Latino population is growing faster than the national average, and nearly half of Oregon Latinos are bilingual (Oregon Community Foundation, 2016). In alignment with best practices, and upholding the core values of our profession, libraries dedicate funds and shelving space to Spanish language materials to serve the informational, educational, and recreational needs of Spanish-speaking communities. Libraries that are dedicated to developing and maintaining rich and diverse collections that support thriving and empowered communities demonstrate this commitment through a holistic effort encompassing community engagement, strong relationships with vendors, as well as active participation in professional associations both locally and internationally. In my work as a bilingual/bicultural librarian, previously in California and currently in Oregon, I contribute to selecting and promoting rich and diverse Spanish language collections. As part of this work, I have been able to expand my knowledge of Spanish language materials while connecting with and learning from professionals locally and internationally. In this article, I will share my experience at three professional development events held in Mexico between 2012 and 2016: FIL (Guadalajara International Book Fair), CILELIJ (Iberoamerican Congress of Language and Literature for Children and Youth) and FILIJ (International Book Fair for Children and Youth). Lastly, I will highlight the benefits of being an active member of a professional organization like REFORMA, and working to develop and promote library resources and services within the Latino/Spanish-speaking community.

Compliance With Mobile Ecological Momentary Assessment Protocols in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BackgroundMobile device-based ecological momentary assessment (mobile-EMA) is increasingly used to collect participants' data in real-time and in context. Although EMA offers methodological advantages, these advantages can be diminished by participant noncompliance. However, evidence on how well participants comply with mobile-EMA protocols and how study design factors associated with participant compliance is limited, especially in the youth literature.ObjectiveTo systematically and meta-analytically examine youth’s compliance to mobile-EMA protocols and moderators of participant compliance in clinical and nonclinical settings.MethodsStudies using mobile devices to collect EMA data among youth (age ≤18 years old) were identified. A systematic review was conducted to describe the characteristics of mobile-EMA protocols and author-reported factors associated with compliance. Random effects meta-analyses were conducted to estimate the overall compliance across studies and to explore factors associated with differences in youths’ compliance.ResultsThis review included 42 unique studies that assessed behaviors, subjective experiences, and contextual information. Mobile phones were used as the primary mode of EMA data collection in 48% (20/42) of the reviewed studies. In total, 12% (5/42) of the studies used wearable devices in addition to the EMA data collection platforms. About half of the studies (62%, 24/42) recruited youth from nonclinical settings. Most (98%, 41/42) studies used a time-based sampling protocol. Among these studies, most (95%, 39/41) prompted youth 2-9 times daily, for a study length ranging from 2-42 days. Sampling frequency and study length did not differ between studies with participants from clinical versus nonclinical settings. Most (88%, 36/41) studies with a time-based sampling protocol defined compliance as the proportion of prompts to which participants responded. In these studies, the weighted average compliance rate was 78.3%. The average compliance rates were not different between studies with clinical (76.9%) and nonclinical (79.2%; P=.29) and studies that used only a mobile-EMA platform (77.4%) and mobile platform plus additional wearable devices (73.0%, P=.36). Among clinical studies, the mean compliance rate was significantly lower in studies that prompted participants 2-3 times (73.5%) or 4-5 times (66.9%) compared with studies with a higher sampling frequency (6+ times: 89.3%). Among nonclinical studies, a higher average compliance rate was observed in studies that prompted participants 2-3 times daily (91.7%) compared with those that prompted participants more frequently (4-5 times: 77.4%; 6+ times: 75.0%). The reported compliance rates did not differ by duration of EMA period among studies from either clinical or nonclinical settings.ConclusionsThe compliance rate among mobile-EMA studies in youth is moderate but suboptimal. Study design may affect protocol compliance differently between clinical and nonclinical participants; including additional wearable devices did not affect participant compliance. A more consistent compliance-related result reporting practices can facilitate understanding and improvement of participant compliance with EMA data collection among youth.

The Wolf’s Boy by S. Williams Beckhorn

Williams Beckhorn, Susan. The Wolf’s Boy. Disney-Hyperion, 2016.Shortly after he is born, Kai’s parents discover his clubfoot and decide to abandon him to a pack of nearby wolves. Rather than become a meal for the wolves, they care for him until his mother comes to reclaim him to a human upbringing. Yet still, Kai’s childhood in the human village is not exactly easy for someone whose foot is considered to have made him tabat (cursed). He is dogged by taunts from his peers, who call him “Wolfboy”, and reproaches from his father, who is quietly ashamed of his son’s perceived limitations. Banned from taking part in hunting, Kai toils doing children’s work and harbours a secret artistic streak. His loneliness is eventually placated when he adopts a local wolf club (Uff) but, eventually, their existence in the village becomes untenable and Kai sets out with Uff on a dangerous adventure of self-discovery. Along the way, they learn to hunt, meet a giant Ice Man and develop a friendship that is believed to be impossible between humans and wolves.The Wolf’s Boy is Beckhorn’s second foray into prehistoric children’s fiction, following her 2006 novel Wind Rider. Here, she fashions a fairly complex story for young readers, with liberal usage of the villagers’ fictitious language that is seemingly unsupported with definitions (until the reader stumbles across the book’s glossary of term definitions). These challenges, however, will reward advanced readers looking to hone their reading skills on more advanced prose. Beckhorn quickly departs from The Wolf Boy’s familiar Jungle Book beginnings to establish the novel as a memorable work in its own right, and she uses beautiful, descriptive language to tackle bullying, promote body diversity and even explore the ancient beginnings of humans’ fears of “otherness”.Given Beckhorn’s success at using a prehistoric setting to illustrate the depth and genesis of human relationships with animals, it’s almost surprising that authors have not mined this territory consistently before. With certain appeal for children interested in prehistory, dogs and survival stories, The Wolf’s Boy will reward strong readers.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Kyle MarshallReviewer biography: Kyle Marshall is the Planning, Assessment & Research Analyst for Edmonton Public Library. He graduated with his MLIS from the University of Alberta in June 2015, and is passionate about diversity in children's and youth literature.

Perception and Reception of Nonfiction for Children and Youth in Slovenia

Perception and Reception of Nonfiction for Children and Youth in Slovenia Tina Bilban (bio) In Slovenia, the publishing of high-quality fiction for children and youth has traditionally been considered crucial for national culture. In contrast, nonfiction for children and youth has not been admitted the same importance and has been, after introduction of capitalist economy, completely subjected to the open market. Publishers have avoided original nonfiction as it is expensive to produce and considered difficult to sell (readers have moved to other media, such as educational television programs and the internet). With little public interest in nonfiction for children and youth, its unfortunate state would have gone unnoticed if not for systematic expert assessment of children and youth literature. The systematic assessment of children’s and youth literature in Slovenia started with the establishment of the first Slovenian children and youth literature journals—Otrok in knjiga [Child and book] in 1972 and Šolska knjižnica [School library] in 1991—which published recommendations, assessments, and reviews of selected titles. Since 1998, an independent systematic assessment has been made annually by an expert committee gathered around Pionirska, center for youth literature and librarianship, Ljubljana City Library. Today the assessment, titled Priročnik za branje kakovostnih mladinskih knjig [Manual for reading quality youth literature, the Manual for short], includes a list of all books for children and youth published in Slovenia in the past year, with grades from 1 (very low quality) to 5 (excellent). Books with grades 4 or 5 are annotated, and the latter are also visually promoted with a Zlata hruška (Golden Pear) mark. The Golden Pear has become recognized as a symbol of quality, and the Golden Pear stickers guide visitors in most Slovenian libraries and bookstores towards high-quality literature. In 2012, the expert committee established the Golden Pear Award in three categories: best original fiction, best translated fiction (awarded jointly with the Slovenian section of IBBY), and best original nonfiction for children and youth. The Golden Pear is the first literary award for nonfiction for children and youth in Slovenia. Since its establishment, The Manual has served as a catalyst for expert evaluation of nonfiction for children and youth, which lead to the observation of its alarming decline in quality and quantity. In 2013, the [End Page 46] share of nonfiction in the annual production for children and youth was only 13 percent; further, only 17 percent of all nonfiction received a recommendation, and the Golden Pear Award in category best original nonfiction for children and youth could not be awarded that year. This alarming state was not a consequence of the lack of original nonfiction material. In 2013, many educational books were published that could not be replaced by translated best-sellers, but most as half-finished products. Either expert writers decided to self-publish or publish at academic publishing houses with no experience in publication for children and youth or the books were published by one of the main publishing houses which failed to invest sufficiently in editorial work and illustrations. Pionirska, the main force behind the Manual, decided to intervene and address the stakeholders in the nonfiction for children and youth production with a set of monthly expert seminars in 2014. In the seminars, experts, from science promoters to psychologist, presented the importance of nonfiction—which encourages children to perceive the world from another perspective, offers background for their imagination, and sparks interest in science. It was emphasized that many less diligent readers prefer reading nonfiction to fiction; therefore, the promotion of quality nonfiction can maintain their positive attitude towards books. Media coverage of these expert seminars mediated the expert appeal to the lay public. The improved media coverage and public interest in nonfiction lead publishing houses to the perceived promise of better sales figures, while expert analysis of the current situation pointed out the existence of proficient authors willing to write about their field of expertise for children and youth. The expert committee of the Manual observed some positive changes in quality—but not yet in quantity—of the nonfiction works produced in2014, with 34 percent nonfiction titles receiving a recommendation. Among original non-fiction titles, eight were excellent and the...

A Step from Heaven: On Being a Woman of Color in Children's Literature Studies

A Step from Heaven:On Being a Woman of Color in Children's Literature Studies Sarah Park Dahlen (bio) I didn't know I was invisible until college.1 When I was a child, I did not see myself in youth literature. My teachers and librarians did not connect me with the scarce Korean American children's books that were then available. In college, I majored in history and Asian American Studies and learned that my stories—and the stories of Chinese railroad workers, incarcerated Japanese, Vietnamese and Hmong refugees, and Korean adoptees—had been rendered invisible in the classroom and on library shelves. But in 2001, Linda Sue Park published A Single Shard, a historical novel set in Korea, and won the John Newbery Medal the following year. Also in 2001, An Na published her immigrant coming-of-age young adult (YA) novel A Step from Heaven, which won the Michael L. Printz Award. In 2002, we commemorated the ten-year anniversary of the Los Angeles Riots. North Korea was in the news, and in 2004, chapters of Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) started springing up on college campuses. By the time I began my Asian American Studies masters degree program, Korean pop culture (Korean Wave or Korean Hallyu) was spreading like wildfire across the globe. It was in this context that I first read A Step from Heaven. I had seen my culture in many places, but it was the first time I saw myself in youth literature. I identified with the heroine, Young Ju, although I had an older brother whereas she had a younger one, Joon. My family was (is) very patriarchal, and I often felt invisible next to my brother. Like many Korean American families, we had domestic troubles, enormous pressure to do well in school, and other issues. And like many Korean American families, we didn't talk about them. So when I saw all of these dynamics through Young Ju's eyes, I almost couldn't breathe. I wasn't alone. I saw for the first time that these things happened to other people too, other people who looked like me. Whose parents looked like mine. [End Page 82] Whose mother suffered as mine did. Whose father was absent as mine was.2 Each time I read A Step from Heaven, I am overcome with emotion because I see myself, my story. A Step from Heaven is my mirror, the first and clearest mirror I have ever had. As Rudine Sims Bishop has argued, and the Cooperative Children's Books Center data shows, young people today still have too few mirrors in which to see themselves, and windows through which to see others.3 And too many in the publishing industry, librarianship, and children's literature studies resist efforts for change; some do it subtly, and some actively fight against it. But I continue to have hope, because I also see scholarly, professional, activist pushback against the status quo. This work is not easy, and it's difficult to do alone. At UCLA, Clara Chu was my masters thesis chair; she held a joint appointment in Asian American Studies and Information Studies, so in her I had a mentor who looked like me and who had had similar life experiences. I also had the privilege of working with Virginia Walter and Don Nakanishi.4 But as I began applying to Library and Information Science (LIS) doctoral programs, I could not find one that was both strong in children's literature and had faculty of color whose work included critical race studies (there were of course scholars such as the late Eliza Dresang, whose work on multicultural children's literature remains influential). In the end, I chose the University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science (now the School of Information Sciences), which, despite being ranked the best LIS program in the country, did not at the time have any people of color on its faculty.5 However, the University of Illinois also has a strong Asian American Studies program, and within GSLIS I was fortunate to work with Christine Jenkins and Betsy Hearne, two "foremothers" who were committed to raising up...

The Sino-Japanese War and Youth Literature: Friends and Foes on the Battlefield by Minjie Chen

The Sino-Japanese War and Youth Literature: Friends and Foes on the Battlefield by Minjie Chen

The Sino-Japanese War and Youth Literature: Friends and Foes On The Battlefield by Minjie Chen

The Sino-Japanese War and Youth Literature: Friends and Foes On The Battlefield by Minjie Chen

Representaciones y problematizaciones de la organización familiar en la literatura infantil y juvenil argentina.

El objetivo principal de este artículo es describir, analizar y comparar las configuraciones familiares en la literatura infantil y juvenil argentina luego de la reforma del Código Civil (Ley 26.994), promulgada en 2014, y la sanción de la Ley n.°26.618 de Matrimonio Igualitario, aprobada en 2010. El estudio se enfoca en las familias homoparentales como nuevo contexto jurídico y social. Pretendemos dar cuenta de cómo la industria cultural argentina narra esas historias, analizando los elementos que aparecen y se omiten en los textos.

East meets West: Literature for children and youth in Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus

East meets West: Literature for children and youth in Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus

“Jeg er en flekk“: Om menstruasjon og jentepubertet i nyere norsk barne- og ungdomslitteratur

Title: I'm a Stain: On Menstruation and Female Puberty in Contemporary Norwegian Literature for Children and Youth In recent years, we have seen a vigorous exploration of the phenomenon of menstruation in the Scandinavian public sphere and within Scandinavian literature, to the extent that it has been coined a “menstrual revolution”. In that context, this article examines how contemporary Norwegian novels for children and young people treat the topic of menstruation, and in particular the topic of menarche, the first menstruation. The books put under scrutiny are Marianne Viermyr’s Blodig alvor , Anneli Klepp’s Hvis du elsker meg , Vera Micalsen’s Hyperpubertet , Heidi Linde's Pym Petterson mislykka skoleball , and Gro Dahle and Kaia Dahle Nyhus' graphic novel Megzilla . All five novels highlight the social, cultural and relational meanings and consequences of menarche and menstruation. In these novels, puberty implies the risk and anxiety of exposure by one’s one body, and hence a strong need to exert control over the body. Prominent themes in these books are furthermore the difficulties of managing the menstruation and keeping it private, the importance of female support, and mother-daughter relationships marked by ambivalence. To shed light upon these findings, the literary works are discussed with reference to sociological and psychological research, in particular from the work by Laura Fringeson, Elina Oinas and Wendy Weil, as well as with reference to Swedish girlhood studies.