Young%20Adult%20Literature

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Young Adult Literature

• History and Characteristics

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What is Young Adult Literature?

• Simple Definition Literature written for or
  about young adults
• Also Called Literature for Adolescence,
  Adolescent Literature, Adolescent Fiction, Junior
  Teen Novels, Juvenile Fiction why should or
  shouldnt it be called by these names?

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Why is YA Literature Important?

• Contemporary adult society is a non-reading
  society
• In order to form lifelong readers, we need to
  choose lit that enables students to become
  emotionally and cognitively involved in what they
  read
• Young adults like novels that are realistic
  (conflicts in which young adults can find
  themselves and can realistically decide the
  solution to that conflict) discuss such as?

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Common Characteristics

• Conflicts consistent with experiences of young
  adults
• Themes are of interest to young people
• Protagonists/most characters are young adults
• Language parallels that of young people
• Themes should speak to readers about universal
  values and human conditions (such as?)
• Characters with whom young adults can identify
  dynamic/round characters allow readers to
  appreciate the many levels of growth that take
  place
• Effective Beginnings
• Humor

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Qualities Specific to YA Lit Which Make it
Appealing

• Existence of characters with whom young adults
  can relate in situations with which they are
  familiar
• Unique people and situations (plot/setting/charact
  ers) different from them and their lives but with
  which they can still make some connections
• More direct plotline than those often found in
  classics
• Stronger Hook/More Dialogue/More Action over a
  shorter period as opposed to classics
• Students like neatly tied-up ending with closure
  and answers, but young adult lit challenges them
  with a thought-provoking ending
• More cultural and societal diversity in young
  adult characters than those in classics
• Reflect societal changes, as well as current
  social and environmental issues

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Common Criticisms of YA Lit

• Young adults in literature do not relate
  positively to adults is this true?
• Use of profanity/slang is it appropriate to
  realistically portray characters?
• It is not quality literature (poorly written)

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History of Young Adult Literature

• Traditionally, literature adults wanted children
  and young adults to read reflected the social
  morals/expectations of the time

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Middle Ages

• Literature closely tied to religion and
  mythology intention was for young adults to
  emulate children expected to read to learn to
  act like adults and take on adult
  responsibilities if the need arose
• A Book of Courtesy (1477) 1st book published
  specifically for young readers in England
• Aesops Fables (1475-1480) written for adults,
  but audience shifted to children and young adults
• Le Morte dArthur (1485) - enjoyed circulation
  among older children

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17th Century

• Held on to traditions, but attitude towards
  children changed slightly primary emphasis on
  religious publication and faith in Christian word
• The Visible World in Pictures (1659) 1st book
  to convey info to children through pictures of
  real children
• King James Bible (1611), Paradise Lost (1667)

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18th Century

• Children still seen as deficient adults
  religious/moralistic literature
• A Token for ChildrenConversion, Holy, and
  Exemplary Lives Joyful Deaths of Several Young
  Children
• Early Childrens Classics
• Robinson Crusoe (1719)
• Gullivers Travels (1726)
• John Newbery began publishing small books for
  children wanted them to read for fun

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Lit from Middle Ages to mid- 1800s

• Most literature still held high values and
  morals, coming down on side of what was right
• Major shift earlier literature written for
  adults and read by children to model behavior
  began to be written specifically for young
  readers
• Major shift in characters realism of boy and
  girl characters in literature

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19th Century

• 1st age of great childrens books
• Lit for young women emphasized home and family
  values, conforming to societal expectations
• Lit for boys largely emphasized that hard work
  and traditional values would be rewarded by
  success
• Tom Sawyer (1876)
• Huck Finn (1885)
• Black Beauty (1877)
• Wind in the Willows (1908)
• Mason Locke Weems adventure books about George
  Washington

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19th Century Continued

• Domestic Novel Genre (traditional values and
  moral lessons)
• Dime Novels (sold for 5 cents to young boys
  standard characters/plots/values detectives,
  western heroes, revolutionary war heroes)
• Series Books
• Early realistic fiction - Louisa May Alcott,
  Little Women
• Early examples of science fiction - Jules Verne
• Adventure Stories Robin Hood, Treasure Island,
  Sherlock Holmes

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Late 19th Century into 20th Century

• Formula fiction dominated lit for young adults
  (Rover Boys, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew) mystery,
  excitement, suspense, protagonist triumphing
  against all odds stereotyped characters, poorly
  constructed plots, and lack of relationship to
  reality poor quality, but very popular

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20th Century

• Formula novels for pure entertainment (Rebecca of
  Sunnybrook Farm, Bobbsey Twins early 1900s)
• 1934 publishers 1st began to publish lit
  especially for young adults called them Junior
  Books historical fiction, sports stories,
  career novels (30s/40s)
• 40s/50s traditional social behavior,
  moralistic, superficial family, jobs, sports,
  dating, etc
• Shift towards more realistic characteristics
  1st reality novels appeared (Seventeen 1902,
  Seventeenth Summer 1942)
• 1951 Catcher in the Rye began the shift to
  what is called the new realism reflecting
  economic, political, and social problems of the
  era (Others Miracles on Maple Hill, To Kill a
  Mockingbird)

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New Age of Realism

• Emphasized unsympathetic or incompetent parents
  (The Pigman, The Outsiders) as well as poor and
  minority groups (Sounder, Judy Blume novels, etc)
• As realism genre evolves, lit reflects more
  conditions of society, told in straightforward
  stories (Julie of the Wolves, Cormier novels,
  Crutcher novels)
• As time progresses, quality of the writing is
  improving
• Other Popular YA authors Cynthia Voigt, Gary
  Paulsen, Paul Zindel, S.E. Hinton, Judy Blume,
  Lois Duncan, Walter Dean Myers, Robert Cormier,
  Chris Crutcher)
• Role of YA Lit Phenomenons Harry Potter,
  Twilight, Hunger Games