Textbook Reflection 1-5

Why do we share literature with children?

One of the most important reasons we share literature with children is for the pleasure of reading. Reading to children helps them acquire and develop language, as well as imagination. Kids learn to be emphatic when the books allows them to place themselves in the character’s shoes. Sharing literature supports life long readers. Books can act like mirrors or windows to children, they can relate or experience something new. Children learn to make philosophical expectations, forming their own points of view of what they read. Sharing literature can help transmit culture without having to wait for a certain holiday to inform children. I believe is important to keep thriving to share literature with our young adults, specially to close the gaps they might of have as children.

Divisions of Young People’s Literature

Children’s literature is for kids 0 to eight years old. Books in this division are wordless, illustrated, or novels with few illustrations. Middle Grade Tween division are books for 8 to 12 year olds.Young Adult literature targets 13 to 18 years old audience, characters are usually in the high school level and dealing with young adult issues. When suggesting a young adult book to a reader, the reader’s age has to be consider because the  books can contain language and content suited more for an 18 year old and not so much a 13 year old. Middle school, 11-13 years old, is not division, but it is a group of kids that have difficulty finding books of interest since the they’re too old for children’s books, but too young for young adult literature. The New Adult Division is for readers 18-30 years old, it concentrates on college and adult issues. In order to suggest appropriate books to our readers is important to get to know their interests and know their age or grade level so the content of the literature is interesting, understandable and something our reader can relate to and will want to keep reading.

Genres and Formats

Categories such as mysteries, chick lit, or sports are not genres, neither are formats such as poetry, drama picture books, or chapter books. Organizing books in categories or formats limit students choices. For example if a book is categorize in to chick lit, it is automatically limited to the boys. A librarian needs to be thinking of all kinds of readers that can be interested in a certain book when deciding what category a book can belong to or what categories to use.

What is YA literature?
Young adult literature are books that contain youthful protagonists. The point of view of the narrator whether 1st person or 3rd person presents an adolescent's interpretation of events. The young adult protagonist makes gradual and incremental changes through out the story without making a complete growth, he/she starts as an adolescent and ends an adolescent. To evaluate a young adult book one has to know the current trends as well as be informed on current issues and social issues involving young adults.

How do adolescents develop?
When adolescents develop physically they often have inner questions regarding puberty. Each person develops at a different rate, so many times adolescents question themselves when they see and feel different then their peers. When young adults start developing intellectual they can make a transition from concrete to formal thinking. This usually happens around 14 years of age, therefore teachers and librarians need think about the books they choose for kids and the questions they will ask to make sure students are able to think abstract and enjoy the literature. Developmental stages according to Havinghurst, a developmental theorist,  are stages as we transition from childhood to adolescents. Adolescents also develop as readers. They read for aesthetic experiences, or for enjoyment. They read for vicarious experiences, which is learning about new experiences through a book. When an adolescent sees themselves in a book and can relate to it, he/she is reading autobiographically. Unconscious delight is when the reader reads about the same topic, same author, series, etc. The last development of a reader is the development of empathy, in this stage the reader feel compassion and is responsive to the literature and to everyone that can relate to it. This developments don't necessarily develop in sequential order, they can all develop at different rates and time just like our adolescents.