What are you doing next Monday and Tuesday? Well, I will be at the ALAN Workshop, but not before I spend several days at the NCTE Convention. This workshop is always the Monday and Tuesday after the main National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) convention.  Most of you who follow this blog know about ALAN, but for those who don’t, ALAN stands for The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE. ALAN and The ALAN Review have been around for enough years (the journal is now in its 46 volume and I believe that the assembly started that year or the year before) that most of the founders are gone or it is difficult for them to attend. Their legacy and commitment to education and reading is not to be forgotten.
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You can read a good history of the journal and the organization in Volume 40 Issue 3. It is free in the archives now and can be found at this link. It is worth the read. It has reports from the early editors of the journal and some of the authors who appeared in the first 40 years of the journal.

The ALAN Workshop is well established and now has an annual attendance of 500 people. This year it is in Houston. I am looking forward, not only to the program, but to meeting the people who are attending the workshop for the first time. I hope you introduce yourself. I will be trying to introduce myself to as many people as possible. If you aren’t attending the workshop, but are attending NCTE I hope to see you at some of the ALAN related events during the main NCTE convention.

The current President of ALAN, Mark Letcher, has put together a dynamite program. I am sorry if you can’t be there, but you can certainly browse the program, be inspired, and start planning on joining us in 2019 in Baltimore. It is not too early to start thinking about how to get there. 

​Every year I try to recruit attendees to write a couple of paragraphs about their favorite parts of the workshop. Last year, quite a few people were willing to help. Check out this link to see who contributed last year (By the way, I hope they all sending me a paragraph this year. I will keep my fingers crossed.) If you are attending the workshop, I hope you consider sending me a paragraph and photo or two.

​I have the privilege of introducing one of the sessions. I am very excited about this opportunity to introduce Ellen Hopkins and Kody Keplinger. They both have relatively new novels dealing with guns, gun violence, and school shootings. Ellen’s book is People Kill People and explores some of the reasons people feel the need to have guns and the consequences of those choices. Kody’s book is That’s NOT What Happened. This book tells the story of a school shooting through the voices of some of the survivors. I can’t wait to introduce them and to listen to their discussion. Guns and gun violence is an issue that is too frequently front and center in the minds of teachers and students. It shouldn’t be, but it is. I am looking forward to hearing about their motivations for writing the books and the reasons they framed their novels in the way they did. 

It is a topic that worries me quite a bit. I prepare teachers to go into classroom. I never worried about this as a teacher and now I would be remiss if I did discuss the issue of guns and gun violence with preservice teachers. I also have grandchildren that attend public schools. Is this an issue we should have to worry about?

I have written about the issue too many times on this blog. I wrote directly about the Orlando shootings at the Pulse Night Club. I live in Las Vegas and a little over a year ago I wrote about the horrible mass shooting that took place in my home town. The day after last Valentine’s Day I found myself writing about the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shootings in Parkland, Florida. To top it off I could be writing about several more shooting--Sutherland Spring, Texas; Tree of Life synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh; and, just a week ago in a night club frequented by college students in Thousand Oaks, California. I, for one, have had enough.

Last March, I joined with Shelly Shaffer and Gretchen Rumohr-Voskuil in a book project that took on the issue. We recruited quite a few people in the English Education and in the YA communities to write a chapter around their expertise. We are happy to announce that the book is in print and the official release date is Dec. 15, 2018. It is entitled Contending with Gun Violence in the English Language Arts Classroom. If you find one of us at NCTE or the ALAN Workshop we will have fliers with a discount code. (or you can download it here) We will be highlight the book on the blog around the official release date.

Here is the image and a flier with the details on how to get the book with a discount.

For awhile now, Michelle Falter and I have been working on a two books about grief and death. It has been a labor of love. The contributors have been wonderful and the books are officially in the world on November 23, 2018, the day after Thanksgiving. Come on, it will be Black Friday, maybe you should consider buying a couple of books.

Most of the contributors will be presenting on their chapters at this Roundtable session at NCTE. The wonderful and dynamic Sharon Draper has agreed to be the keynote. Her name isn't in the program, so spread the word. It is an early session on Sunday morning. Make sure that you put it on your schedule.

Below are images of the book covers and a flier with the opportunity to get the books with a discount.

​I hope to see many of you at NCTE Convention and the ALAN Workshop. If I know you, I will be looking for you so that we can sit and chat a bit. If I don’t know you yet and you are there, please say hello. 

​Until next week.

YA literature covers almost anything you would like students to know about. I can't think about a topic that YA doesn't treat seriously in fiction and, in most cases, in non-fiction. This week, we turn the blog over to Jon Ostenson to expand on YA and War. A few weeks ago, Marshall George discussed this topic by focusing on WWII. In this post, Jon discusses YA and Vietnam.

In September I was at the Air Force Academy for a conference on war literature where I presented on depictions of war in young adult literature. At the end of the presentation, a young cadet made a comment about how all she has ever known growing up is living in a country that’s at war. Born just before the fateful events of 9/11, she has no memory of a country that’s not at war with terrorists and that’s not at risk of attack at home or abroad.

It was a striking statement that I still, nearly two months later, continue to ponder. It reminds me, first, that the young people in our society often bear the brunt of the military conflicts we engage in. And it suggests to me that war may be something that young people often think about, and not just in the abstract ways I did growing up at the tail end of the Cold War. These young people don’t have to be soldiers deployed to foreign countries to suffer the consequences of war (although some of them will find themselves there). Younger siblings watch older brothers and sisters deploy to combat zones; some wait at home anxiously, counting down the months of a high school friend’s deployment; children are caught in combat zones and suffer deprivations or even injury and death. At the very least, we all may see footage on newscasts and read newspaper and magazine reports.

Marshall George wrote recently on this blog about young adult literature dealing with World War II. In this post, inspired by my encounter with this young Air Force Academy cadet, I want to focus on more modern concerns about war as portrayed in young adult literature. We’re fortunate that many writers in the modern era of young adult literature have taken their readers seriously and demonstrated confidence in their abilities to handle complex representations of war. While they may not reach the same level of popularity as books written about orphaned wizards or hunky vampires, these writers and their books thoughtfully explore the complexities and ambiguities of war and its consequences for the young people caught up in it.

​Lai’s writing is spare, as is typical of verse novels written for young adults, and powerful. The emotional depth in the poems that describe the family’s difficult to decision to leave their home behind (and their soldier father) are memorable, and the descriptions of their flight on a Naval ship are vivid. Ha’s experiences adjusting to life in America are poignant as she faces prejudice and bullying as she tries to adjust to a new country, culture, and language. This is an important text not only because it’s so powerfully written but because it showcases a voice from Vietnam, not often included in books about this topic.

Finally, I’d like to showcase a couple of excellent non-fiction titles about war, in this case the Vietnam War, written for young adults. These are meticulously researched and carefully crafted so as to encourage critical examinations on the same complexities and ambiguities of war that the fiction titles explore. Professional layouts and some amazing photographs make them even more attractive to readers.

​Even before they are eligible to become soldiers, young people deserve to be invited to understand and make sense of the experiences faced by soldiers and those who love them. In today’s environment especially, as we engage in a seemingly endless global war on terror, the likelihood is strong that combat or military service will influence the lives of most young people in some way. And even for those who don’t join the military or experience the direct hardships of war, they deserve a chance to understand the consequences of war, both so that they might gain insights into the experiences of those who do serve as well as those innocents who are caught up in conflicts. They can develop empathy for those who suffer, and the insights gained from this literature can help them make wise choices as citizens who vote and run for office or serve in other civic ways. We owe it to these young people to put good books and stories into their hands. 

Jon Ostenson is an Associate Professor in the English Department at Brigham Young University. He can be reached at jon_ostenson@byu.edu 

​Until next week.

"June was one of the first people I met when I arrived at LSU." I wrote that line four years ago when June was one of the first guest contributors to Dr Bickmore's YA Wednesday. June is a scholar who focuses on Adolescent Literature, Horror Literature, and Zombie Studies. I find this to be a fascinating combination. Her previous contribution was also a Halloween edition and was titled: The Monsters between the Book Covers: Halloween Treats as YA Novels. I hope you check it out. The introduction provides a bit more about her scholarly work. It has been ten years since we met and her knowledge in this area certainly surpasses me and, honestly, it scares me a little bit. Enjoy!

The monstrosity of children and teens is a common trope of the horror genre. The Children of the Corn (1984) are possessed to murder adults by the ancient deity known as He Who Walks Behind the Rows; Damien of The Omen (1976) and Rosemary’s Baby (1968) are the anti-Christ; and Rhoda of The Bad Seed (1956) is just plain evil; while Tony Rivers of I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) fulfills the experts prophecies about troubled male youth after an unethical psychiatrist regresses the boy back to an atavistic form that is more bestial than human. But, there are also many works of horror that represent teens as endangered by adults, who cannot or will not protect them from harm, and even want to kill them.  Not surprisingly, these teens fight back, which in some cases only confirms adults’ worst fears about the inherent monstrosity of the younger generation. 

This Halloween, I have three suggested titles that fit this description: Stephen King’s Carrie (1974), M. R. Carey’s The Girl with All the Gifts (2014), and Simon Clark’s Blood Crazy (1995). In spite of the age of some, all are easily available today, and would be of interest to teens who want something different.

​Carrie’s story is still relevant today, in a time when we are more aware of the effects of bullying and do more to intervene after the results have become more deadly for the victims and their peers. Many bullied teens turn their pain inward and self-harm or even commit suicide, while in some extreme but bloody outliers, bullied boys decide to bring guns to school to kill their peers.  Women rarely become mass shooters according to FBI statistics (Beckett 2014; Berkowitz 2018). Too, women’s anger is still that most unfeminine of emotions. Girls and women are punished in myriad ways just for verbally expressing their anger, and horror is full of women and female monsters (Godzilla, or the creature in Alien, for example) whose monstrosity is their anger.

June Pulliam works in the English Department at LSU she can be contacted at ​jpullia@lsu.edu

Until next week.

For as long I have been working in higher education, Judy Hayn has been giving me sound advice and opportunities to flourish. I am thrilled to turn this week's blog over to Judy's capable hands. Judy talks about her experience reading nonfiction for VOYA. I have to say, if you are not reading your share of nonfiction YA, you need to give it a try. Remember, there are some of our students who don't take readily to fiction, but might be waiting for us to guide them to some nonfiction choices about topics that interest them.

As a long-time reviewer for VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates), “the library magazine serving those who serve young adults,” I was excited to be asked to participate as a member of their 2017 Nonfiction Honor Award Committee.  Joining public school media specialists, teen and children’s librarians, high school teachers, and former educators, our group chose selections suitable for middle school/junior high readers in grades five through eight. 

I learned so much from this knowledgeable, collegial, opinionated, and dedicated group.  For example, the information at the end of a nonfiction book is back matter and ought to be stellar!  We searched through definitions, guidelines, and directions to identify a definition we could use.  Most of us liked this Celebrate Science blog post: "Behind the Books: The Nonfiction Family Tree". 

Seventeen winners are featured in VOYA’s August 2018 issue.  You have to be a member to access the entire article, but your library may subscribe to the journal through http://subscriptions@voyamagazine.com .
 
Each of us had a bias and that showed in our choices.  My background is in the humanities, so some of the technical options were not as entertaining for me, but I learned what to expect from a good nonfiction book in the sciences.  

I am a fan of biographies, and several resonated with me.  Martha Brokenbrough’s Alexander Hamilton: Revolutionary plays on the current popularity of the controversial firebrand.  Featuring impeccable research, the book for older middlers is filled with illustrations, subheadings and quotes, along with rich back matter.

I also love sports stories, but even in you don’t, you will get caught up in Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team by the popular, prolific Steve Sheinkin. Thorpe, a phenomenal athlete, set records and helped his coach “Pop” Warner create modern football before he was stripped of his Olympic Medals.  Sheinkin doesn’t negate the horrific practices at Indian boarding schools--part of our tragic history of native peoples.

Deborah Noyes takes a look at Harry Houdini’s role in the history of the spiritualism movement in The Magicians and the Spirits.  She examines Houdini’s efforts to expose the abundant fraudulent practices involved.  The layout of this book grabs the reader with its unique approach.

 My graduate assistant read Deborah Heiligman’s Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers for this blog. Daneele Dickerson says the story grabs readers and immerses them into the brothers’ close relationship. It’s filled with emotion, based on the actual letters written between famous artist, Vincent Van Gogh and his brother. The book creates a perfect balance between non-fiction and storytelling.

Sports journalist Tom Rinaldi ​in The Red Bandanna, presents an unusual subject, a book about one ordinary guy caught up in extraordinary events. Welles Crowther’s father gave him a red bandanna when he was a boy, and it became his signature, even as he went to his job at the World Trade Center on 9/11 and then disappeared. Eight months later his mother found survivor stories linked to red bandanna man. Crowther became an unlikely hero through horrific circumstances.

In another life. I taught social studies and language arts in tandem to seventh and eighth graders, and I have not lost my love of history.  Heather E. Schwartz unveiled the detention of thirty African American girls in 1963 in Locked Up for Freedom: Civil Rights Protestors at the Leesburg Stockade.  The discrimination the young women fought against through their teen activism followed by their subsequent arrest is a little-known incident in the Civil Rights Movement; black-and-white photos add to the power of the text.​

The work of Jacob Riis is familiar to me but not to contemporary young teens. Michael Burgan’s Exposing Hidden Worlds: How Jacob Riis’ Photos Became Tools for Social Reform captures the impact of the images the photographer published ground-breaking photojournalism that led to improvement in New York’s slums over a hundred years ago.  The stars of this book are the reproduced black-and-white photos of the misery Riis documented.
           
Informational books remain favorites with young teens, and popular actress Mayim Blayik wrote Girling Up: How to Be Strong, Smart and Spectacular for young girls.  “Girling up” is her terms for the transition to young womanhood.  Told in a conversational style, Blayik relies on factual information coupled with common sense advice.  A daughter of a friend, thirteen at the time, claimed that she learned a lot about growing up from the book.

Another book for young female adolescents is Reshma Saujani’s Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World.  The author knows her stuff from the fundamentals of computer operations to intricate coding projects.  The ultimate focus of her work, however, is on the empowerment of young women as they dream of entering the burgeoning world of computer science.

Stormy Seas: Stories of Young Boat Refugees by Mary Beth Leatherdale and illustrator Eleanor Shakespeare is the story of five different teens over several decades who risk their lives to escape horrific living conditions.  The mixed-media, collage-focused illustrations provide the backdrop that fits the needs of younger middle school readers.

A thoughtful, yet scary, informational selection called Eyes and Spies: How You’re Tracked and Why You Should Know by Tanya Lloyd Kyi  will have you updating your security settings after realizing the multiple dangers that reside in our cyber worlds.  She leads teens through real-life scenarios to show how technology tracks data from their online lives—a must for the young who believe themselves invulnerable and private when living through social media.

​Simon Winchester’s When the Sky Breaks: Hurricanes, Tornadoes, and the Worst Weather in the World. The photos are powerful and mesmerizing.  As a Midwesterner, I went back in time with the recounting of the Joplin, MO, tornado that destroyed much of that town. Winchester outlines the history of meteorology, ties weather events to history, and also examines climate change. 

Three science-focused books round out the selections.  Karen Romano Young’s ​Whale Quest: Working Together to Save Endangered Species examines the history of the whale through their exploitation to their role as communicators.  Alex Mihailidis and Jan Andrysek in New Hands, New Life: Robots, Prostheses and Innovation features the physically disabled whose lives change through cutting-edge technology.  HP Newquest in From Here to There: The Story of How We Transport Ourselves and Everything Else traces transportation’s cultural connections with historical influences.  All three books rely on vibrant photographs and illustrations.

Until next week.

Many of the students that enter our middle and high school classroom feel alone. Some are struggling with difficult situations that they don’t know how to talk about but feel that they should talk to someone. Adults in schools need to be better listeners. Those of us in Language Arts Classrooms should book talk more, should provide more reading options, and should worry less about constant assessment and, instead, promote more about authentic student engagement.

What I want to emphasize is that Laurie is not sounding this clarion call alone. There are a large number of YA authors who are also addressing the concerns raised by the #metoo movement and by the troubling reactions to the Kavanaugh hearings.

Let’s be clear, the novelists I will highlight here were writing about rape culture and the issues surrounding it before the Kavanaugh hearings. The statistics about the number of female and male adolescents who are raped is well established and you can read more about this on the RAINN webpage and other similar sources. What the hearings taught us is that males in power say they want to believe, but never quite find it plausible if it means that one of their colleagues might be culpable.
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I love the novel Speak, but I want to acknowledge that Anderson is not alone in writing fiction that depicts this ongoing problem. The novels I highlight below were all written before the hearings, but in the recent past. Nevertheless, they could be read as if they are responding to the emotional issues of recent events. Indeed, they are not. Instead, these authors are writing about the issue of rape and consent based on their own experience or the experiences of people close to them. Are we listening? Do we believe?

​This book first came to my attention a couple of years ago (Thanks Trevor Ingerson). I wrote about Wrecked as a result and included an interview with the author. This is a powerful text that deals with the aftermath of an abuse that takes place on a college campus. It is amazing that the types of parties and social interactions described in this book and others like it resemble the reports of Kavanough’s accusers. If you like Speak, then you should look for the opportunity to read Wrecked. It should be prominently displayed in classroom and school libraries.

Brendan Keily is a shining star in the field of YA literature. His co-authored book, All American Boys, with Jason Reynolds has been one of the more important books to be published in recent years. The issues that surrounds #blacklivesmatter and police shootings is not simple. It is quite complex. Working together, these two authors show a spirit of collaboration between a white and a black author who work together to shine a light on the issue of police brutality. By retelling an event through alternating points of view they demonstrate how emotionally fraught the issue can be.

Kiely followed that novel with The Last True Love Story, a novel about the relationship between a boy and his aging grandfather who is suffering from dementia. It is built around the metaphor of an Odyssey, as, together, the two characters attempt a journey home.

His most recent novel, Tradition, takes on rape culture on a college campus. It is another tour de force. In this book, both Jamie and Jules must confront the negative traditions and cultures that pervade the campus. Kiely does not shy away from difficult subjects. Instead he works to carefully craft a narrative that has believable characters in complex situations. Again, this is a novel that should be on your “to be read” list.

​For my weekend pick last Friday I selected Blood Water Paint. I keep recommending this book to everyone I talk to though out my day. I was stopped cold by both the beauty and the sorrow of this book. I was unaware of the historical events surrounding the life of Artemisia Gentileschi. In part I wrote in my annotation the following:

…this is a beautiful historical verse novel. The pages ran before my eyes as I was swept away by the narrative.  McCullough does a wonderful job of creating a strong character who draws her inspiration from two biblical characters, who have both been the subjects of Renaissance paintings, Judith and Susanna. You can find the paints of this remarkable painter by following this link.  

This novel demonstrates that the story of male abuse is not new. Artemisia’s trial against her attacker took place in 1611. It is lamentable that her success has not carried on through the centuries. Is it any wonder that women stay silent? This novel made the longlist for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. Frankly, I was pulling for it to make the short list, but alas it didn’t happen. Pick this one for your book group. The conversations will be rewarding.

​This last novel will be out in January. I was luckily enough to receive an advanced readers copy from Bill  when he was in Las Vegas for the 2018 Summit on the Research and Teaching of Young Adult Literature as a keynote speaker. I have included this book as a reminder that boys are also victimized by sexual predators. Konigsberg does a great job showing how difficult it is for a victim to share his trauma. He knows his mother and his new boyfriend care deeply about him. Nevertheless, his embarrassment and uncertainty about his role in the event causes him great concern and he hesitates. Bill's books resonant with teens. They provide strong narratives that engage readers. His books, from Out of the Pocket to The Porcupine of Truth , deserve a place on your shelves and his latest, The Music of What Happens, will be no exception. 

The name Laurie Hales Anderson carries weight throughout the YA community and on social media. I hope that as we move forward we strive to include more voices. Bill Konisberg, Joy McCullough, Maria Padian, and Brandon Kiely are four strong voices that write about his issue. They are not the only ones. A quick search on Google or by browsing through lists on GoodReads will provide many more novels that explore the topic.
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One thing is certain. Adolescents need to know that we care, that we will listen, and that we will believe them. Just maybe, the vicarious experiences provided by reading one of these novels will help them feel less alone. They might find the courage to resolve a problem or gain the tools to avoid a problematic encounter in the future.
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Until next week.

The first time I meet this week's guest contributor he was checking names at the entrance of an ALAN Workshop.  Marshall won't remember, I was a graduate student and was just learning about ALAN. He was already contributing to the field in major ways. He had written a state of the research piece for English Education (George, M. (2004). Furthering the Cause: The Study and Teaching of Young Adult Literature. English Education, 37(1), 80-84. ). Over the years we kept having conversations, presented together, overlapped our service on CEE (now ELATE), and now we are both focusing more and more on YA literature. He has been a steady supporter of the blog and has contributed twice before. George, M. (2016, March, 16). What is in a Name? Adolescent Literature? Young Adult Literature? Does it Matter?.
George, M. (June 27, 2017) The Sometimes-Forgotten Genres in Literature Written for Adolescents and Young Adults: Short Stories, Essays, and Poetry. 
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I love the approach he is writing about this time. We both seem to return to YA books that deal with history and can readily be used in cross-curricular contexts. In this particular post, he is focusing on YA books that deal with War, specifically WWII. Some of the books he mentions I know and love. The others will be added to my reading list. Thanks Marshall.

​In the early 1990s, I had the amazing experience of teaching at an international school in Brazil for three years. The opportunities that the experience afforded me were numerous.  I learned to look at the world in a very different way and through a different lens than I had before. I am now a fluent speaker of Portuguese-being multilingual impacts the way you view people and culture. In fact, my understanding of culture, language, and society evolved like you would not believe (if you are monolingual)! However, that is not the focus of this blog, so let me get to that…
 
While I was hired as a teacher of English Language Arts at the international school, at the end of my first year when the following year’s schedule was being developed, the leadership in the school realized that there was a group of seniors who needed various courses to graduate- some needed an additional course in English, others needed an American history course, and two needed a humanities/fine arts course (most students were getting two diplomas- an American one and a Brazilian one). There were not enough teachers to fill each of these needs in separate classes. Having taken an interdisciplinary course in my undergraduate program (it was one of my favorite elective courses), I volunteered to develop an “American Studies” class that would explore various periods of American history by examining the literature, music, and art from each era. Based on student engagement and feedback (and the fact that all were able to graduate thanks to the creative course offering), the class was deemed a huge success. I repeated a version of the course the following year with an 8th grade social studies class (one must be quite flexible when teaching in relatively small international schools). 

​In the 25 years since I taught those high school and middle school American studies classes, I have come to believe strongly in the potential of interdisciplinary curriculum planning and teaching at all levels- middle school, high school, undergraduate education, teacher preparation, even doctoral studies. While there are opportunities to utilize literature in all content areas, I think some of the most common and perhaps easiest connections are in the field of social studies education and I wrote about this almost 20 years ago.
 
I am drawn to historical fiction and there is an ever-widening body of literature written for adolescents and young adults that explores various periods in both world and national history. I spend a lot of time in middle and high schools in New York City and have the opportunity to observe students in their classes as well as during their independent reading time. While I have not engaged in any sort of systematic study of their interests, I have observed that they often have a real interest in World War II. After speaking with a number of social studies teachers, I have had my observations confirmed by many of them. Like many young people today, I have always been fascinated by the complexities of World War II and will often choose to read works of literature that focus on that conflict. In fact, as I reviewed the Excel file where I have recorded every work of adolescent/young adult literature I have read since January of 2000, I found that I have read over 50 books that were set during World War II. In a Washington Post column a few years ago, Valerie Strauss argued that it is very important to teach young people about World War II and suggested six rules to adhere to when doing so. It’s an interesting read and makes a good case. I would argue now, perhaps more than ever, we need to look to our past to guide us as we move into a future in an ever-changing world.

I think teachers at multiple grade levels and in both social studies and English have multiple opportunities to incorporate literature into their courses. Readers of this blog do not have to be convinced that adolescent/young adult literature can and should play an important part in the learning experiences of our young people. One of my favorite instructional strategies is the book club, as described by Taffy Raphael, Laura Pardo and Kathy Highfield. Alternatively, students can be given the option of reading independently or with a book buddy. Some teachers prefer whole class texts rather than text sets or independent reading. Whatever the approach, I encourage teachers of English language arts and social studies to consider utilizing works of literature written for adolescents and young adults as they explore the many facets of World War II.
 
Following are brief summaries of some of my favorite WWII books. I considered many different ways of organizing this list. I thought of using a thematic approach, but found that each of the books addressed so many different themes it was hard to categorize them that way. I considered creating a high school list and a middle school list, but I struggle against pigeon holing books by level (though I did note publishers’ recommended reading ages to make suggestions as to whether the books are marketed to young adult or middle grade readers, or both). I landed on organizing the list around the primary setting of the books. World War II was indeed a war that spanned the globe. I have not read WWII books set in Africa, the Middle East or Australia and would welcome suggestions in the comment section of this blog. 

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepyts (YA)
 
This fascinating novel is told from four points of view: a Lithuanian nurse, Joana; a young orphaned Polish girl, Emilia; a Prussian boy Florian, and a German soldier Alfred. This multinational cast of characters provides insight into the final months of the war in Europe, especially during Operation Hannibal, the evacuation of German soldiers and citizens when the Red Army was approaching Germany. Readers learn of a little-known WWII incident, the sinking of the Gustloff, a German ship evacuating German soldiers and civilians.
 
Orphan, Monster, Spy by Matt Killeen (YA)
 
Sarah is an orphaned 15-year-old Jewish girl who speaks numerous languages and looks like an Aryan. After her mother is shot by the Germans, she meets an unlikely ally, a British spy acting as a Nazi official. Sarah joins him in his spying endeavors, posing as his 13-year old daughter attending an elite school for Nazi youth. Her task is to foil a classmate’s father’s efforts to build a superweapon that could win the war for the Nazis. 

​Code Name Verity  and Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein (MG)
 
Code Name Verity is the story of a friendship between a British female pilot, Maddie, and a female spy, “Verity.”  When their plane crashes in Germany, “Verity” is arrested by the Gestapo. Through her interrogations she cleverly tells her story without giving away the information that the Nazis want.
 
Rose Under Fire tells the story of another female pilot who is captured by the Nazis and is sent to Ravensbruck, the notorious concentration camp for women. She survives the horrors of the camp and witnesses the trials against Nazi war criminals after the war.
 
These two books feature incredibly strong women who survive because of their bravery, their commitment, and their sheer will to live. 

​Under a War-Torn Sky and A Troubled Peace by L.M. Elliott (MG)
 
These companion books provide an important glimpse into France during and after the German occupation. The first, Under a War-Torn Sky, chronicles the war experience of a young pilot who is shot down behind enemy lines in France. In his dangerous attempt to avoid capture by the Germans, Henry Forester is helped by the French resistance. Henry comes to truly understand the importance of the work done by these brave men and women.
 
In the second book, A Troubled Peace, Henry has escaped Germany and returned to his home in Virginia. Unable to adapt to his “regular life,” Henry returns to post-war France to see what happened to the women and men who had helped him escape. There, he discovers the chaos that has been left by the ravages of war.  

​The Once, Then, Now Series by Morris Gleitzman (MG/YA)
 
In the first book, readers meet Felix, a young boy who is confused by what is happening to him and his family in Nazi Occupied Poland. Soldiers are burning books, beating and shooting people, and violently taking them away from their families.  Despite witnessing all of these horrors, Felix never loses hope.
 
In the second book, Felix and his friend Zelda escape a prison train that is taking them to a Nazi death camp. Both children have lost their parents, who were murdered by the Nazis. Felix and Zelda struggle to survive in war torn, Nazi occupied Poland. Their entire life is focused on survival- avoiding being turned in by citizens eager for a reward, being shot, or starving.
 
When the third book opens in Australia, Felix is a grandfather who has struggled his whole adult life to bury the painful memories of his childhood. When his granddaughter, Zelda, comes to spend time with him and faces relentless bullying, his memories come rushing back.  

​The Book Thief by Marcus Zuzak (YA)
 
Set in 1939 Germany, this is a story told by “Death” about Liesel Meminger, who has lost her mother and brother and is taught to read by her foster father. As her reading improves, Liesel steals books from Nazi book burnings and from the mayor’s home. The book examines the atrocities of the war as Liesel lives in a village outside Munich during the bombardment of the city and the experiences of a Jewish man hidden in the basement of her home.
 
My Mother’s Secret: A Novel Based on A True Holocaust Story by J.L. Witterick (YA)
 
Franciszka and her daughter provide shelter in their tiny home to two Jewish families who are hiding from the Nazis after the invasion of Poland. They also hide a defecting German soldier in their attic. Told from four different perspectives (though all in the same home) this novel provides great insight into the horror of living in Nazi occupied Europe and how citizens resisted and fought against the evil regime.
 
The Lost Childhood by Yehuda Nir (MG/YA)
 
This memoir provides a first-hand account of the author, who was nine years old when the Nazis invaded Poland. His father was executed, but the rest of the family was able to use their looks and language skills to pass as non-Jewish Poles to avoid being sent to the Nazi death camps like most of their family and friends. Nirs’ family’s life was not easy either, as they had to work for Germans. The horrors of life inside Nazi occupied Poland are explicitly told in this compelling memoir. 

​Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugee in Cuba by Margarita Engle (MG)
 
Many people are not aware that European Jews sought asylum in Cuba when the Nazi regime rose to power and began invading countries across Europe. After being refused asylum in New York, young Daniel, who had narrowly escaped Nazi Germany, was granted entry into Cuba instead. Told in narrative verse, Daniel’s story is a common one to refugees who live in fear of being returned to their oppressors by German spies among the fellow refugees.
 
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne  (MG)
 
Bruno’s father gets a promotion to commandant of Auschwitz and the family has to move from Berlin to the country. Lonely and board, Bruno makes friends with a little boy, Shmuel, who lives on the other side of the fence. Bruno does not understand the horrific reality of what is going on at this camp that his father commands. This devastating story provides a unique view of the juxtapositions that existed in the world of the Nazis. 

Prisoners of the Empire Series by Graham Salisbury (MG)
 
This series of books explores war in the Pacific Theater starting with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941. Book 1, Under the Blood Red Sun, traces the experiences of a Japanese-American boy (Tomi) and his family in Hawaii during and after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. His father and grandfather are interred in American concentration camps and Tomi and his mother must endure painful discrimination. Book 2, House of the Red Fish, continues Tomi’s story as he and his mother face increasing challenges as his former friends and neighbors see him as the enemy. Book 3 Eyes of the Emperor focuses on another Hawaiian of Japanese descent, Eddy, who is serving in the American armed forces. The Army uses Eddy and other Japanese-Americans in unthinkable ways. Nevertheless, Eddie endures as he wants to prove his loyalty to his country-America. Book 4 Hunt for the Bamboo Rat, chronicles the experiences of a Japanese-American recruit, Zenji, who is fluent in both Japanese and English. Once in the Army, Zenji is sent undercover to the Philippines to spy on the Japanese. When captured, Zenji is brutally tortured by the Japanese. He eventually escapes, but spends months in the brutal tropical jungle. 

​Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War II by Joseph Bruchac (MG/HS)
 
Based on actual historical events, this fictional story of Ned Begay exposes the fascinating and previously classified story of WWII when The US government utilized the native language skills of Navajo soldier to transmit coded messages for their commanders and troops. Ned, who had been taught at a boarding school that his native language was inferior to English, had the opportunity to become a code talker despite previously being rejected from serving in the military. Ned and his fellow code talkers were sent to Iwo Jima, where they participated in the battles there and on Okinawa. The code talkers were crucial to the war effort-without them, the war may have never been won by the Allies.
 
When My Name Was Keoko by Linda Sue Park. (MG)
 
Because the Japanese occupied Korea during WWII, Sun-hee and her brother are forced to study and speak Japanese in school. They are forbidden from using their native Korean language. Koreans were expected to fight on the Japanese side in the war. Sun-hee (whose Japanese name is Keoko) is shocked when her brother enlists in the Japanese army. Her uncle is part of the Korean resistance so the family appears to be divided. Keoko does not realize that her brother becomes a kamikaze as a way of protecting the family.
 
Incommunicado by Randall Platt (MG)
 
“Jewels” is a 12-year-old girl living in Oregon when the Japanese attack the United States. She and her mother work for Mr. Kaye, a kind Japanese-American who allows them to live in one of his beach cabins in return for their cleaning services. After the attack, the town turns against Mr. Kaye, sure that he is a spy for the Japanese. Jewels goes to great lengths to protect her friend as he is treated badly by the townspeople and is under investigation by the FBI.
 
When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka (MG/HS)
 
An entire Japanese-American family’s life is turned upside down when the US government considers them to be enemy aliens. The father is arrested for treason, while the rest of the family is sent to an internment camp in the Utah desert. The racism and xenophobia of American citizens during the WWII era has great impact on the children in this story (all of the characters remain nameless throughout) who suffered greatly for four years of internment.

​The War That Saved My Life series by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (MG)
 
This two-book series tells the story of a young English girl with  a club foot, Ada, who struggles to survive in war torn England. In the first book The War That Saved My Life. Ada lives under tragic circumstances, mistreated and abused by her mother. When Ada’s brother is evacuated from London to live in the relative safety of the country, she runs away as well. Ada connects with her foster mother and her life improves greatly, despite the dangers of living in Wartime England. In the second book, The War I Finally Won, Ada has successful surgery that repairs her foot and allows her to lead a relatively regular life (regular despite black out, rationing, air raid warnings). Ada loses her birth mother in a bombing of London, but gains a friend in a Jewish German girl who is living in England during the war. 

On the Wings of Heroes by Richard Peck  (MG)
 
Davey’s brother Bill flies B-17s in the war in Europe. He and his family at home certainly have it easier than Bill does, but the air raid drills, rationing, and rubber and paper scrap drives brings the war home to them in a different way. Waiting for word about Bill’s safety is especially hard for Davey and his parents. Indeed, life on the home front is a challenge for everyone in times of war.
 
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith (MG/YA)
 
Women on the homefront made great contributions to the war. Ida Mae Jones, a young small-town farm girl tried to do her part by collecting silk stockings for the cause, but wanted to do so much more. Having learned to fly crop dusting planes, she was a gifted pilot and wanted to join WASP, a semi-military unit of women pilots. However, because she was African-American, she was not allowed to join. Because she had light colored skin she managed to join WASP anyway and began flight training. Overcoming discrimination and fear of being discovered, Ida Mae bravely makes important contributions to the war effort.
 
Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights  by Steve Sheinkin (MG/YA)
 
This work of nonfiction tells the fascinating story of a huge explosion that killed more than 300 sailors on the docks of the Navy base at Port Chicago, CA. After the explosion, more than 200 African American soldiers refused to go back to work on the docks until the unsafe and unfair conditions were rectified. Of those, fifty men were charged with mutiny. The brave men faced prison or even execution for their actions, but they believed that they had to take a stand against the prejudice, discrimination, and injustices facing black sailors who were risking their lives for their country. 

​We know that the allies won the war, but what if that had not? While various authors and screenwriters have explored this possibility, Ryan Graudin has done so for young adult readers.
 
Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin
 
What if Hitler had triumphed? In this fantastical series, readers get to consider what would have happened in this nightmare scenario. Living in 1956, where the world is split between the German Third Reich and the Japanese Empire, a survivor of horrific medical experimentation, Yael, is able to “skinshift.” That means that she can assume any female role and agrees to become Adele Wolfe to help the resistance movement in their plot to finally kill Hitler. Yael participates in The Axis Games, an annual motorcycle race that commemorates the Great Axis Victory. Hitler will be at the victory celebration so Yael must win the race … and kill Hitler at the vVctor’s Ball. This fast paced and innovative novel will interest most young adults and may foster critical conversations about the outcome of the war.
 
Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin
 
Yael’s story continues in this sequel. After Yael’s assassination attempt fails, she ends up in an SS prison but manages to escape. She continues in her quest to kill Hitler. The sequel is equally fast paced and full of unexpected twists and turns. 

Marshall A. George
Hunter College of the City University of New York
Marshall can be reached at: mg2003@hunter.cuny.edu

​Until next week.

I wish everyone knew Sharon Kane. When I was just new academic, Sharon was always around to offer advice and to validate my efforts. Over the years she has been one of the great supporters of the blog and has been a constant presence at the ALAN Workshop and any YA conferences that I have managed to get off the ground. Her earlier blog posts cover a range of topics and they can be found here (a post about waiting for award winners), here (YA about Ada Lovelace), here (about revisiting awards), and here (about space and time in YA literature). This post focuses on how her students respond to A. S. King's wonderful novel, I Crawl Through It and, as an added bonus, King's response to her Skype visit with the class.

-I admire how you handled the issue of PTSD, and I think the book ended perfectly for this subject.

-I’ve never read a book where I could relate so much to so many characters (good and bad).

-I’m sure I can say for everyone that we loved seeing a glimpse into your beautiful twisted mind.

-I will take your advice about characters telling me what to write when completing my novel.

-I wish my religious Latina mother had read this book when I was a teenager.

-Thank you for paving the way for female YA authors.

-Thank you … for acknowledging the silenced voices of black and Latino kids.  

​I couldn’t wait to get home to read the responses students had written after reading the book, but before meeting the author. Their reflections provided evidence that I Crawl through It is a novel that makes readers work—hard. Yet these undergraduates were inspired to describe the writing as “graceful and eloquent,” and were stimulated to write creatively themselves. Taylor, for example, in her poem “I Went through It,” wrote verses narrated by characters that made me feel I knew them better; Drew’s “To Cope (Or is it Nope?”) was a list poem that made me shudder, and want better for the teens I love.  Taking my cue from them, I have written the following “found poem” using words from my students’ work/play. Below mine, you can find some of the poems my students produced.

​This book is one that scares you at first,
And makes you wonder what exactly you have picked up to read.
It gives the reader an illusion of understanding without really understanding anything at all.
Each character presented in a raw and uncut manner…
Brilliant. Relatable.
Maybe it is just too much obscurity for me.
What is the deal with the Bush Man?
We are all damaged.
The importance of a name in connection to a person’s identity is so strong
                 that it is odd
                when a person disassociates from it. 
How quickly things can escalate………
Trauma. Trauma. Trauma.
Reset. Reset. Reset.
I thought I would hate it.
A book can make you more tolerant!
It was like a puzzle.
I spent hours walking to and from classes,
               unpacking each and every aspect of the story.
I refuse to be afraid of A.S. King.
I am completely an A.S. King fan.
I Crawl through It could begin a conversation about mental health.
Hug. Love. See pain. Offer beauty.
Stay right side out.
The book that was made to confuse….
I enjoyed the ride. 

​“Blowing up isn't always external. It's not always easy to hear or see. Synapses fire every day in my brain. Thinking is just like exploding until it eventually scars you and you can't interact with people anymore. It's like one big, final detonation.”
― A.S. King, I Crawl Through It
 
Stanzi
 
I too, lost someone.
Not the lost that never
comes back.
 
It’s where
you don’t know
if they’ll ever come back.
But they can.
 
To my sister,
 
I regretted
the things I said,
and didn't say.
 
Not hugging you enough,
not telling you I love you,
enough.
 
Telling you to go away,
too many times.
 
Telling you not to hug me
Anymore.
 
To my sister,
I am sorry.
 
I am glad you’re back.
 
Gustav
 
We’ve all wanted
to
go away, fly away.
 
Maybe in an
invisible helicopter,
that took 9 months
to build.
 
Or a drive
you took at 1am.
 
Or a bottle of pills,
one by one
into your palm.
 
Did you get to where
you wanted to go?
 
Or do you wish,
beg,
to come back.
 
China
 
I didn’t swallow
myself to hide from the world.
 
I didn’t become my stomach
or colon.
 
I stayed right side out.
 
Instead,
I covered myself with
long hair
and long sleeves.
 
I didn’t dare
look in the eyes
of those I loved.
 
Because if I looked at those
I love,
they would know.
I was defeated.
 
I could never tell them.
 
Lansdale
 
I could never lie,
the way Lansdale did.
 
It was the only language she knew,
and all I know, is to tell the truth.
 
Even if it hurt.
Even if it meant losing.
 
I could never lie,
the way Lansdale did.
 
The Bush Man
 
I don’t know why,
The Bush Man
wanted kisses
For his letters.
 
I gave love,
for acceptance.
 
Maybe that’s why.
 
To be accepted.

Outline another day in red
As I realize this is now beyond my control
All I wanted was to feel
Other than the emptiness
That you were so eager to leave on my shoulders
It’s kind of ironic, but nothing
Is the heaviest burden I’ve ever held
And I don’t mean to seem masochistic
But I can’t help but run back to you
I always run back to you
It’s like I’ve been burned so bad
That I can’t even feel
So I hold on despite the damage
Until it all becomes too real
Do you find me pathetic?
I’m stuck in the turbulence of love
I’m not even sure was there to begin with
So I watch as all I have created
In my mind comes crashing down
All around me
And leaves me trapped and surrounded
By the wreckage of what was never there
And I offer to you all I have left
It’s not much use to you
But it means even less to me
And again I find myself running back to you

to cope is to escape from where you are;
     to read a novel about aliens
     to write a story where you're the hero
     to use your imagination in ways inconceivable
     to build an invisible helicopter.
to cope is to protect yourself from hurt, to build a giant wall;
     to limit who you interact with
     to only connect and befriend online
     to carry around a safety blanket
     to always wear a lab coat.
to cope is to never say anything, especially something that could alienate you;
     to keep your mouth shut, to never participate
     to always just not and smile, and never show your brain
     to go along with the crowd, to always be a follower
     to swallow your tongue and swallow your words and yourself.
to cope is to live in a world that you yourself dictate;
     to be the leader, the boss, and not let others define you
     to be the bully, using your words and your brute, to put others in their place
     to limit your world so that you will have set your limits
     to lie, about yourself and your world, to affect the real world.

​Everything will repeat in the end.
This cycle comes full circle, again.
Let’s go back to the world and its meaning,
The problem is all around us
but you’re not believing.
 
Empathy should be basic human decency,
you should know that rape
is still a possibility.
Reality will always be there in the end.
This cycle comes full circle, again.
REACT. FESTER. REPEAT.
An Unpredictable Ball of Nerves
cannot face their own baggage.
Therefore, their problems will remain captive.
You cannot teach your child what you do not know.
This cycle comes full circle, again.
 
On National Television, a respected pastor
groped a young woman.
He reached and grabbed her
side breast,
he held her there while she remained uncomfortable.
She runs from the stage
embarrassed.
But the viewers only notice how she’s dressed.
Reality is slapping you across the face.
Your daughter saw it on the news and felt it too.
If it were her, would you
feel more disgraced?
Would you speak up to challenge his hand or refrain?
 
Everything will repeat in the end.
This cycle comes full circle, again.

​Amy, my students could not have had a better experience to welcome them into the community of authors, teens,  teachers, librarians, parents, professors, and others who love YA Literature.  Thank you for your very special gift.  

When I saw on Twitter that Sharon was reading I Crawl Through It as her FIRST (!!!) book in her YAL class, I had to offer a Skype visit...because to me, that's a pretty gutsy move. My time with Sharon's class was profound for me. I often forget exact references in my books because I write several per year and this book was written years ago. A student asked me about a particular paragraph in the book and I couldn't really answer it. And then another student gave me the page number. It was great to revisit the paragraph in real time, in front of the class, and find the reason I wrote that part. I read it aloud and said, "Look at that last line! That's the reason for this scene!" And then we studied that line: "No blood is real blood unless someone cares," and we talked about what it means within the scope of the book and also through the lens of our culture and what students live through daily in modern-day American high schools. For that moment alone, this Skype visit pretty much changed me. It taught me a bit about why I write what I do, and it allowed me to share that with university students who are essentially filling up their own basket of why they do what they do.
​

Back to Steve: I hope you are reading A. S. King. These books are great. Not just great YA, great literature that speak to the tradition of surrealism and the absurd that has always been on the edge of great literature. Think Swift or Fielding. Think Bret Harte and Ambrose Bierce. Think Kurt Vonnegut and Robert Coover or Julio Cortazar, Jorge Louis Borges, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende. Okay, it is clear I am a fan. If you are reading Andrew Smith and Shaun David Hutchinson and ignoring A. S. King, you are missing the boat. All of the writers mentioned are fun to read, but it is fair warning to tell you that you better have your irony senors and your creative imagination at the ready.

Until next week.

Jennifer Cameron Paulsen has been making the selections for Dr. Bickmore's YA Wednesday Weekend Picks for the month of September. They have been fantastic picks and focused on a different theme each week. I hope that you check them out. Jenny and I know each other through the ALAN Workshop. I know that a couple of times we have worked as door monitors together early on Monday morning as people arrive to pick up their books at the ALAN Workshop. By the way, if you haven't registered for the ALAN Workshop, I highly recommend that you get on it. It is time to go to the NCTE website and go to the registration page. One of my interests in teaching and researching Young Adult literature is how this body of literature can be used to combine the curricula of the Social Studies and English Language Arts. I am glad that Jenny has touched on several ways that this might be implemented in the classroom. Take it away Jenny.

Policy has Human Consequences:  An Uninterrupted View of the Sky, a beautiful book by Melanie Crowder, demonstrates the consequences of the “War on Drugs” declared by the US on the indigenous people of Bolivia. In Margarita Engle’s book of verse Silver People, even the trees have a voice, stressing the sense of disturbance of nature itself in building the Panama Canal. These kinds of stories force us to face that actions have consequences, that our world is truly interdependent. ​

There are a number of other ways to use YA, these are just the ones I’ve decided to dig into first. I have a lot of work to do! I continue to seek more #OwnVoices texts, whether fiction or non-fiction or poetry to support my students in their pursuit of knowledge about the world and our collective past, so we can create a better future together for ALL of us.

I welcome your suggestions for my library!

In her 25-year career, Jenny Cameron Paulsen, has been an English teacher and an instructional and technology coach. She currently teaches middle level American history and world studies in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Reading YA hooked her in 7th grade when her best friend gave her a copy of The Outsiders. Teenagers are her chosen people.

Jenny can be contacted at jennifer.paulsen@cfschools.org.

​

I love this time of year!  I get to know and learn from a new group of students. Summer is ending and fall is beginning and, as a result, Las Vegas has great mornings and wonderful evenings. A start to think about the NCTE convention (I need to register tomorrow, but at least I have a hotel!) and the ALAN workshop. I get to chat with colleagues old and new; it is rejuvenating and inspiring. I hope to see many of you there. If don't know you yet, please say hello.

Perhaps, one of the most exciting parts of fall is the announcement of the National Award longlist for Young People's Literature. I love this list and others like it and the statements they make about quality literature. This list also allows us to keep a pulse on issues of diversity in authors, characters, themes, and genres. I watch carefully to see what is included and what isn't.

I have written about the award (You can read our article about cultural diversity in the award in the first 20 years of the ward here.). Some of the past winners are among my favorite books: Brown Girl Dreaming, Inside Out and Back Again, True Believer, and When Zachery Beaver Came to Town.  Of course, there are others that I admire, teach, and recommend. In fact, if anyone wants to make a case that Young Adult literature has an abundance of literary quality, just have a list of all of the final five books for this award since 1996. You would have a list of 115 books that could keep people reading for while. Don't worry spending a lot of time compiling the list, you can find the list here. 
*to all images are hot linked to a place get the book.

To begin with, I have to tell you that I feel like a slacker. I read a 100 or more YA books a year, but I have only read one on this years list, Boots on the Ground. A them.Couple more have been on my "to be read list," but I just haven't worked my to The Poet X, The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge, and The Journey of Little Charlie. Over the last several years I have had a better track record. Usually, I have managed to be over 50% and some years as many as 7 of the 10. Not this year. I have some reading to do over the next few weeks. I know that my colleague Sharon Kane (You should check out her past post on the contributors page.) will be examining this list as well. She usually has her students reading the books off the list. 

The following list has some hyperlinks. The authors name is hyperlinked to the a page inside the National Book Award web page. On that page you will find a description of the book offered by the publisher, a brief description of the author, and some links to other informational pages. The titles are link to a Kirkus Review with the exception of A Very Large Expanse of Sea with is linked to an interview in the Los Angles Times.

I have enjoyed browsing through the publishers descriptions of the book and reading the Kirkus reviews. I hope that you will spend some time exploring as well. I love the diversity in terms of authors, theme, genre, and settings. Perhaps, the most important thing you can do is share this list and the descriptions of these books with your student. That is exactly what I will be doing with the graduates I will be seeing next Monday. I will show them the post in advance and discuss a few of the books. I will encourage them to take a couple of minutes to share with their students as well.

This post is a just a bit on the short side, but it packed with some informative reading between now and when the winner is announce in on Nov. 14, 2018 in New York City. 

​Until next week.

This week’s guest contributor is Padma Venkatraman. I have had friendly a relationship with her for as long as I have been an academic and since she has been writing Young Adult Literature. I can still picture her standing at the podium at an ALAN workshop in a beautiful sari discussing her debut YA novel Climbing the Stairs. As she spoke I knew that I had to read it. I wasn’t more than a few chapter into the book and I knew I was going to try and write about it. It short order it turned in to one of my first publications. (Bickmore, S. T. (2011). Craftsmanship, ideology, and reader appeal in Climbing the Stairs. In A. Choubey (Ed.), Women on Women: Women Writers’ Perspectives on Women. (pp. 40-67). Jaipur: Book Enclave.) It was published in India and it is hard to find in the US. You'll just have to take my word about how good this chapter turned out.
 
I love Padma's work. Several years ago, I reviewed some of her work and conducted an interview with her for this blog. You can find it here. Padma has also contributed to the blog by writing about YA verse novels. It is engaging; and she points us to some books that shouldn’t be missed. Take at minute to read or revisit the post.
 
This week she discusses diverse books from an international perspective with a specific focus on how diversity is represented children's and YA literature in Germany. She does a great job with the topic, so I will get out of the way and pass it over to Padma.

We've spent the past eight months in Germany, where my husband and I were honored to recieve invitations to reside as "fellows" at the Hansewissenschafts Kolleg in Delmenhorst. Although our ten-year-old speaks German fluently, her reading level in German doesn't quite match her reading level in English. So, while she devours novels in English (and analyzes each with assiduity and the acerbic attitude of a future book critic) she doesn't read as many German books.

That said, one of the first things we did upon arrival was to pay for a membership at the local library. As we did so, I thought nostalgically about free libraries back home - the public library being, in my opinion, a cornerstone of American democracy. My ten-year old interrupted my thoughts with an observation. "Look at that book! It's racist!"

The book that she's pointing to is a picture book that has a problematic cover, showing an "Indianer" with a feathered headdress, a tomahawk and war paint on his face. Mistaking her horror for enthusiasm, the librarian is quick to bring out similar books, all of which depict characters who resemble Disney's Pocahontas; characters created by European authors who don't seem to have done a great deal of research and don't seem to have a great deal of sensitivity.  My ten-year-old, who, since early childhood, has been exposed to the work of exemplary authors like Cynthia Leitich Smith and Joseph Bruchac, is astounded, and proceeds to lecture the librarian about stereotypes. 

The librarian quickly moves away and my daughter searches on her own for another book. As I look at the shelves, I quickly notice that there are hardly any books at all with diverse protagonists (although I'm pleased to see the library does have a small section that contains kids book in Arabic). In fairness to the librarians, there's one book on display, with a cover my daughter finds unattractive, and a title that I don't find thrilling "Djadaji, Fluchtlingsjunge" (Djadaji, Refugee boy). The author is Peter Häertling, who was honored with the Deutsche Jugenliteraturpreis (a sort of German Newberry) for one of his children's books, and who was also a finalist for the Hans Christian Anderson Award, some years ago. He certainly appears to have been a compassionate person who sought to write about social justice issues. But he wasn't an immigrant. So, however well meant or well researched this title might be, it certainly isn't an #ownvoices contribution. Nonetheless, I borrow it, out of curiosity, if nothing else, and I insist my daughter should try reading it.
​
"Why?" she demands, and I tell her I want to know what she thinks of it.

My opinionated 10 year old declares that it is "really boring" and refuses to go beyond the first ten pages. I try it after she gives up, and I don't find it captivating either.

On our second visit to the library, we find another book with a non-white protagonist, this time written by an author who has an immigrant background: Das Mondmädchen by Mehrnousch Zaeri-Esfahani. This lyrically written tale interweaves fantasy with realism and we enjoy the poetic language as well as the beautiful black and white illustrations by Mehrdad Zaeri. But I can't find any more diverse books in stock in this library. 

Nor do I find diverse books at the Asylum Seekers Center, where I volunteer to spend time with refugee children. I am delighted to find several cases of books in excellent condition that I can use when I conduct reading workshops for the children. But I realize quite quickly that not one of these books features a protagonist who isn't straight and white. If the protagonist's religion plays a role, it's always Christianity. Not one protagonist is disabled, either.
 
So I start searching, somewhat haphazardly, for diverse kidlit whenever I can, during the next eight months of my stay. Granted, I don't conduct any kind of objective research. I wouldn't know how, anyway - after all my training was in oceanography, not social science. I just do a few searches on the internet, and visit libraries and bookstores wherever I happen to travel, and engage adults in conversation on this topic whenever I happen to think of it and the occasion seems right.

I'm pleased to discover a wide variety of books that qualify as immigrant literature in German for adults. Author Saša Stanišić, in the November 2008 issue of Words Without Borders, writes: Immigrant literatures are not an isle in the sea of national literature, but a component, both in the depths, where the archaic squids of tradition live, and on the surface, where pop-cultural waves hit the shore. And, as Professor Andreas Schumann states in an interesting  article on the subject (https://en.qantara.de/content/new-trends-in-germanys-immigrant-literature-the-guest-who-is-a-guest-no-longer ), the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize, "awarded since 1985 by the Robert Bosch Foundation for "major contributions to German literature by authors whose native language is not German", is a reliable indicator of developments in what can no longer be called "immigrant literature" – from Aras Ören and Rafik Schami in 1985 to the 2005 laureates, Feridun Zaimoğlu and Dimitré Dinev." In bookstores, recent works of immigrant literature (like Melina Nadj Abonji's TAUBEN FLIEGEN AUF) are prominently displayed and staff seem well informed about the subject and recommend several authors and books. Librarians, too, seem well informed about the literary canon and eager to discuss "Migrantenliteratur."

But my inquiry suggests there is significantly less diverse kidlit in Germany than in America. Many "multicultural" stories feature a white savior, and many seem to be written from the point of view of the white character. As for gender equity and inclusion, I don't see a great many examples in the middle grade and picture book categories. Based on casual conversations I have with librarians and bookstore personnel in several German cities, I get the impression that I'm the only customer/patron who has asked specifically for children's books with diverse protagonists. ​

​At every bookstore, if I ask for children's books, I'm shown a section where I inevitably see many old European classics, like Emil and the Detectives (by Erik Kaestner) and the Pippi Longstocking series (by Astrid Lindgren), but not a single authentically diverse book. Instead, I see stacks of comics replete with offensive depictions of people of color. Granted, the authors of these comics are usually from other parts of Europe, not Germany; but they are certainly very popular in Germany, with readers of all ages. 

And almost without exception, if I ask for German books about "die ureinwohner Amerikas" (indigenous people from the American continent), I'm told to read books by Karl May. May, a writer of Westerns, is described as a German institution - and his work, from what I can see by leafing through his books, is riddled with stereotypical portrayals that lack depth and respect. I'm upset to hear how popular and widely read his work remains.
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Most upsetting, however, are the typical responses with which my concerns are met. Not that I ought to be surprised, but at least in America, thanks to the dedicated work done by the leaders of the #WNDB movement, librarians and teachers and booksellers seem more aware of the issue. 

​In Germany, some summarily dismiss the idea that diverse books are necessary. I'm told, for example, that the argument about diverse children needing to see themselves in books is not important in Germany because "kids don't read much these days." I am sometimes met with outright resistance (those kids' parents don't read and they don't value reading - why should anyone write books for them unless they want to lose money), sometimes with ignorance (why are you telling me that kids need to see themselves in books when you seem to have done fine without that).  If I suggest that racist ideas in stories may be tacitly imbibed by young readers, resulting later in insidious prejudice, my listeners often declare that they are good people even though, as children, they may have read books that contained racial/gender/religious stereotypes, so they don't see what the problem is. Another common argument is that the immigrants, be they refugees or not, need to integrate. And integration is often interpreted as meaning that immigrant children need to read books that are classics "so they can better understand German culture" and that immigrant children will actually  benefit by reading books that are populated entirely with monochromatic characters who "truly reflect the values" of German society.

As for values - Emil and the Detectives is a book in which all the characters actively engaged in solving the mystery are white boys and the only girl character in attendance does nothing but bring the boys food and whine about the fact that she can't do anything adventurous because she's a girl, after all (and her job is to provide the men with material sustenance)!

As for Lindgren, I read and re-read the first Pippi book as a child - because, I suspect, it was one of the few who had a truly strong and adventurous female heroine. But even as a child, some of the humor in the book upset me. I detested the nonchalance with which Lindgren described Pippi's father's profession (which is still described in existing German editions of the book in terms that I find repulsive). Then again, of course I deeply respect and admire Lindgren's ability to create such a magnificently bold female character. When I suggest that most German children probably the book without ever being asked to question the rampant racism in it, I'm told Lindgren was just trying to be funny. Sure, it can be funny to laugh at another culture's expense. Sure, it makes some of us feel bigger and better if we decide "others" are somehow less important/beautiful/intelligent/humane etc. etc. But aren't there more refined ways to be humorous? Would a less culturally insensitive Pippi be a bad thing? Would it weaken her character if her crasser statements were substituted with equally raucous  yet sensitive humor? I don't even bother mentioning something else I picked up on and wondered about - at least one of the thieves in one of the Pippi books has a "Jewish" name; a name that a Scandinavian friend said was not Scandinavian; a name that Jewish friend confirmed was indeed Jewish. And the odd choice of name gave me pause.
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One evening, when I mention that Kaestner and Lindgren may not have had an entirely egalitarian idea of humanity as a whole, I manage to deeply affront a whole slew of Germans. Later, a German colleague knowingly describes it as "vertidigung der Kindheitserrinerung" - defense of childhood memories; and he's right - the incident is a testament to how deeply we identify with the books we loved as children. But although Kaestner and Lindgren have created characters that have stood the test of time, it doesn't mean that children should be allowed to consume every book they ever wrote without any reflection or discussion.  

​It always saddens me when my questions regarding diversity and multiculturalism in German children's literature are viewed as insulting and taken personally. Nevertheless, I continue, whenever I can, to engage people I meet in a discussion on this topic, and I try hard to speak issues of white privilege and different forms exclusion and privilege reflected in books. I share thoughts about broadening our understanding of gender and how children's books may help fuel cultural exchange and compassion and mutual respect.
I'm not sure I'm making much headway. But I keep trying.
 
Why?
 
Because Germany has opened it arms to embrace a staggering number of immigrants, and that is admirable. According to an article in the Washington Post last year, 22.5 percent of all people in Germany are migrants or have at least one parent who is an immigrant and 38 %  of all children under 10 in Germany are foreign-born or second generation. So all German children, whatever their culture, gender, or background, however they may choose to identify themselves, will surely live in a Germany more diverse than the one in which their parents grew up.   In some cities, such as in Bremen, where I once lived, there's an even higher proportion of children with a “migrant background.” And I want to help these children settle down in their new home, even if their new home isn't my country. I want do what I can in the years left to me, to help young people build a future world where, I hope, diversity and multiculturalism will be respected and celebrated, and society will be more compassionate and more egalitarian. And one small way to help, I hope, is to promote dialogue on this topic, which is close to my heart, and to support increasing diversity in German children's literature.