I've had the pleasure of teaching a Young Adult Literature course in the MLIS program at Rutgers University for several years now. Although I don't get to teach it every semester, I look forward to each opportunity to dive into the world of young adult literature with preservice librarians. That said, while I don't publicly share the syllabus for this course, I do share its reading list.
Three things to note about this course:
I focus the work of this course on helping my students develop strategies for connecting our most vulnerable readers to books that might serve as touchstones. All semester long, we read each book through the lens of trying to identify its potential "touchstone readers." Then we look at everything from book talks, displays and even cataloging to ensure that these practice are built in a way that make it more likely that the kids who need library most can find the books their hearts most need. Building on the work of Donalyn Miller and JoEllen McCarthy, I created this infographic for students to help them further understand the idea of a "touchstone reader."
With that in mind, each semester, I choose to focus my reading list on titles published in the prior 24 months. I do this for several reasons, but the primary ones are that a) I'm guessing the collections my students will inherit will be filled with older books, so I want to use my course as an opportunity to introduce them to the best in NEW books for young people. And b) because, despite the fact that we still have work to do in this area, there's never been a time when books published for young people were more diverse and inclusive. By focusing on newer books, I am able to ensure that my students are exposed to the broadest variety of voices and stories.
Finally, I organize our weekly modules by awards/distinctions given to books published for young people. I do this for purely selfish reasons! Way back, when I took the Praxis test to earn my school library endorsement in NC, one of the (essay) questions focused on a specific author (whose books I'd never read) and their history of earning a specific youth media award (which I'd never heard of). It's ONLY because, SLJ had done a cover story on this particular author a few months earlier, that I was able to answer that question. Even though it's been decades since I took the Praxis, I'm clearly still scarred by the randomness of that question AND the sheer dumb luck that helped me answer it! That said, while I cannot prepare my students for exam questions that focus on specific authors, I can TRY to make sure they've got a broad knowledge of youth media awards.
All of that said, here's my reading list for the summer 2024 semester. I hope you find it useful!
Happy reading, y'all!