Young Adult Literature at the Pedagogy in Practice Wiki
Use the following format when you add books to the wiki:
Title
Author
Publisher, Year
Number of pages
Lexile
Annotation: One or two-sentence summary of the book, focusing on subject and essential details
Topics: Two or more subjects; answers the question, “What is the book about?” with words and phrases such as “jealousy,” or “sibling rivalry.” These are also listed in the page’s tags.
Thematic statement: One or two concise, striking sentences that encapsulate the essential and universal ideas of the book; Ask yourself, “What does the author have to say about the topic[s] listed above?” Write your answer in complete sentence form. Sample thematic statement for Memoirs of a Bookbat: “Even the deadly combination of censorship, religion, and racism cannot eliminate one’s desire for intellectual freedom.”
Range of appeal: Grades or ages of likely readers.
Plot: Concise summary of the book; inclusive enough to recall the book at a later date; mentions important characters, actions, symbols, etc.
Evaluation/ Mini-rationale: Your thoughtful/analytical/critical appraisal of the value of this book for inclusion in the field of adolescent literature; answers the questions: “Why would you consider this to be a YA text? How is adolescence constructed in this text? Would you recommend or teach this book to adolescents?” Potential criteria might include: treatment of characters and issues; strengths, problems, or weaknesses of the text; style and quality; potential appeal to adolescents; personal reaction, etc.
Thought Questions: Questions that would be useful in discussing the book with adolescents; the best ones are often Real Questions, that is, questions you don’t already know the answer to.
Additional notes: This section is optional, but would be the ideal place to make notations regarding this book; possible items in this category include book awards, teaching notes/approaches [e.g., “This would be a great book for exploring the concept of imagery.”], items you’d want to note in book talks, etc.
Links: Any worthwhile links, as well as ones to LibraryThing (which has links to Amazon and other places to purchase the book) and WorldCat.org.
Format adapted from Cindy O’Donnell-Allen’s Adolescent Literature course at Colorado State University, 2004.