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| Via Flavorwire, the caption for this image is the best part: a librarian helps a young hooligan. |
I don’t know about anyone else, but I am so glad to say it finally feels like spring here in Wisconsin. We had snow even through last week, so a string of warm days — with sunshine — has been beyond welcome. But rather than write an essay about how glad I am to see spring, I’ll instead share some of the best and most interesting things from around the internet the last couple of weeks. As always, if there’s something I may have missed worth reading, leave a link for me to check out.
- We talk a lot about YA covers here, but have you thought about what kids themselves think about cover trends or what covers might be saying about the books meant for them? The Bank Street Center for Children’s Lit posed this very question to 6th graders set loose on a bookstore chain. The results are fascinating. Of course, go back and read Part I and Part II of this discussion of covers and representation, too.
- Roger Sutton wrote an editorial in this month’s The Horn Book Magazine that is well-worth the read. He’s questioning age ranges and whether teens have become outsiders in the literature that’s meant for them. There is a LOT to this little piece to chew on.
- It’s been a year since Tor went DRM free on their ebooks. What have the results been?
- I’m purposefully posting this piece from The Daily Mail rather than some of the other sources I’ve seen. But did you know that a number of original American Girls dolls have been archived and new dolls are being sold? I think it’s interesting the response this has gotten, as the dolls are less about history and more about what’s in vogue right now (see the organic gardener).
- Here’s your sentimental piece for the roundup: memories of bedtime book club.
- For some fun, how about six modern horror movies repackaged as 80s teen books.
- Ever wonder how publishers figure out when they’re going to publish their books? How do they make the schedules? First Second has a nice post about how they create theirs.
- I’ve blogged before about the differences between contemporary YA and historical YA fiction. Michael Cart delves into this very topic himself, too, and it’s well worth reading. Also, for anyone who has any interest in the development or history of YA needs to read Cart’s books because they are foundational.
- “And then she was pretty. The end.” I’m not sure I agree with everything in this post, but the conversation about beauty and appearance in YA fiction is well-worth reading and thinking about.
- I still don’t think it’s true that “new adult” is here to stay. I’m still firmly in the camp these are crossover titles. That’s all they need to be.
- What should we call girl pain? This is a really interesting discussion about Hollywood and the problems that many of the females who grew up with fame are now dealing with. I remember this article VIVIDLY and reading it in high school (it came out when I was a senior). And now seeing the careers and personal traumas these girls have had — it’s eye-opening. I like the wider angle of what do we do about this or call it brought up by the original poster.
Thanks for the Horn Book editorial. I thought it was really interesting. I'm curious, do you see this tying in with the New Adult debate?