Tap into Writing for Readers and the
Young at Heart


Bill Tucker

On a sparkling spring afternoon, we held a fiesta of reading for the young-at-heart. Carolyn Berge and Carol Sliwka brought stacks of books to the subterranean section of LaFiesta, Dundee and fascinated us with new developments in literature, from picture books to steampunk.
Viewing the dizzying assortment of new genres, serial novels, and variations on gothic narratives gave us a glimpse of the amazing flux in literature for young readers. We came away with ample reading lists, and have provided Carol’s list below for eMuse readers.


Carolyn shared the critical work of Perry Nodelman (The Pleasures of Children’s Literature), which has shaped her reading over the past year, and then some texts that stretched the conventions of children’s literature: The Three Pigs (Wiesner), The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Selznick), When Cats Dream (Pilkey), and Agatha’s Feather Bed: Not Just Another Wild Goose Story (Agra Deedy). But she also gave tribute to her all-time favorite authors, such as Mem Fox, Partricia Polacco, and Chris Van Allsburg, who infuse a socially-conscious message in their writing.
Carol shared some websites that she found invaluable for young adult reading, including one from EMU graduate Daria Plumb: http://www.getemreading.com.
Her reading list included realism, historical fiction, “realistic fantasy,” “steampunk,” and a generous sampling of fantasy and science fiction. Among the new authors she recommended were Kristin Casore (Fire and Graceling), Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay –due August 24, 2010), Maggie Stiefvater (Shiver and Linger), and Matt del la Pena (Ball Don’t Lie and We Were Here).
It was a goldmine of new authors and genres we found in the caverns of LaFiesta. We’ll try to bring some of these treasures to the fall conference, if Carol and Carolyn can be coaxed. Check out Carol’s “What’s New in Young Adult Literature” list below!


2009 Top Teen picks
1. Paper Towns by John Green
2. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
4. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
5. Identical by Ellen Hopkins
6. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (book trailer)
7. Wake by Lisa McMann
8. Untamed by PC and Kristin Cast
9. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks by E. Lockhart
10. Graceling by Kristin Casore

Historical Fiction
Chasing Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
Ten Cents A Dance by Christine Fletcher

Fantasy
A Curse Dark As Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce Fire by Kristin Cashore
Stealing Death by Janet Lee Carey

Science Fiction
Candor by Pm Bachorz
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (Mockingjay due August 24, 2010)
The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
Fang by James Patterson
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
The Roar by Emma Clayton

Realistic Fantasy
Hunger by Michael Grant
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick (Book trailer)
Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Steampunk
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (Book trailer)

Alternative History
The Thirteenth Child by Patricia Wrede

Realistic
13 reasons why by Jay Asher
By the time you read this I’ll be dead by Julie Anne Peters
Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can’t have by Allen Zadoff
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Into the Wild Nerd Yonder: My Life on the Dork Side by Julie Halpern
Just Another Hero by Sharon Draper
Muchacho by Louanne Johnson
My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins & Fenway Park by Steve Kluger
North of Beautiful by Justina chen Headley
Pure by Terra Elan McVoy
Scars by Cheryl Rainfield
The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams
The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott
We Were Here by Matt de la Pena
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
Wish you were dead by Todd Strasser