Tag Archives: YA

Podcasting Books and Libraries: We Are YA

You probably know that we run a couple of podcasts here:

So, yeah – we are big fans of podcasts! They can be such a good way to share ideas with your community.

Each week we share a podcast about books and/or libraries, so you can join us in expanding podcast community and admiring the work others are doing to share cool info!

I read a lot of YA and there are some really fantastic YA book podcasts out there. A new one I’m really enjoying is We Are YA from Penguin Teen. So far they’ve had a great variety of YA authors, including Laurie Halse Anderson, Renée Ahdieh, and Gabby Rivera. The conversations are illuminating and funny and at the end of each episode, the author shares a book recommendation as well as someone they enjoy following on social media. I definitely recommend this one! 😊

From Penguin Teen: “YA books are longer than 280 characters. Conversations about YA should be too. Welcome to the We Are YA podcast! Host Anna Borges will be talking all things YA with the amazing authors that make up the modern YA community. “

Get Excited for Teen Lit Con 2018!!

Do you work with teens that love to read? Then you absolutely need to start planning to attend this year’s Teen Lit Con! (It’s a FREE event for teens!)

This year the event will be held Saturday May 12th from 10am – 4pm at Chaska High School. According to the Teen Lit Con site, “the purpose of this day is to celebrate teen literature, promote reading and writing, and to create a community of readers by connecting teens and authors.”

If that’s not enough, read this recap from Rogers High School Media Specialist Bethany Kauffman, which describes the joy of last year’s event, along with some awesome pictures.

And finally…the authors this year are fantastic! Authors at this year’s event include:

We hope you are able to share this event with your students/teen patrons and encourage them to take part in this fantastic, FREE day of YA literature!

 

Booked for the Evening event

Are you a school, children’s or teen librarian looking to connect with others in your field and get some great book suggestions at the same time? Definitely check out Booked for the Evening, an event at St. Kate’s in St. Paul. Attendees will be able to “hear from expert panelists as they review the best new literature for kids and teens.”

The event is only $20 and takes place Monday, November 13, 6:00–8:45 p.m. in the Rauenhorst Ballroom.

The event features a “panel of expert librarians, who are graduates of the St. Kate’s master in library and information science (MLIS) program, will highlight books for primary, intermediate, and young adult readers. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear about the best in recent literature for youth.”

Read the schedule, meet the experts, and register for this fun event here!

Guest Blogger: Teen Lit Con 2017 Recap!

This is a guest post from Bethany Kauffman, Media Specialist at Rogers High School, about attending Twin Cities Teen Lit Con 2017.

There is something special about finding “your people” in the world.  As book lovers, we seem to find our kindred spirits almost organically at work, church and in our neighborhoods.  Finding “your people” is such an important part of life that I relish any chance to help my students meet and connect with other teen book lovers like them.  CMLE made that happen for Rogers and Sauk Rapids – Rice high school students this past spring.

On Saturday, May 6 2017 at Henry Sibley High School, Minnesota’s metro public libraries brought one of the most popular and controversial authors of the moment to Twin Cities teens.  Sauk Rapids – Rice and Rogers High Schools were able to load up teenagers and get them to St. Paul for the big event through the support of CMLE.  What made the day so hype-worthy was that we saw, wait for it… Jay Asher!  Yes, that Jay Asher, whose books had suddenly become the topic of controversy and passion with the airing of 13 Reasons Why on Netflix.

Adults had suddenly become aware of Jay Asher and his writing, his honest conversations about hard subjects and the power that words and ideas can have in a teenager’s life.  Those of us who work with teens, read YA and love the awkward eagerness of all things before age 25 already knew all about Jay Asher.  We spend our days talking to young adults about serious and not so serious topics.  Sometimes hair color and friend drama is as deep as it gets but that’s what makes this age so great.  They are thinking, growing, learning, observing, trying on different personas nearly every week and they aren’t shocked when a YA book tackles a tough topic like suicide.  Young adults welcome stories that push the edges and make them think deeply about life.

As a result, I wasn’t surprised when we were packed into the auditorium at Henry Sibley High and the atmosphere was what I can only describe as electric.  It was the first session of what was going to be a day filled with book-loving kindred spirits galore.  When Jay Asher, Jeff Zentner, Box Brown and Meg Medina walked onto the stage for the first author panel of the day the auditorium exploded with the kinds of screams and roars and clapping that is usually only heard at a rock concert.  I am not kidding.  The teenagers shook the roof!  Let that soak in.  Teenagers screaming their heads off, nearly fainting over authors not athletes, millionaires, movie stars or music icons.  They were with their people and they were screaming at the top of their lungs for what they loved – ideas, emotions and creativity in books.

The rest of the day went well.  It followed a typical conference schedule with a variety of sessions and activities.  The teens had opportunities to be a part of several writing workshops, meet Minnesota authors, buy books, get autographs, try out Book Speed Dating, discuss creative nonfiction, find out about the behind-the-scenes work of creating graphic novels and meet real book editors.  One of the most highly attended sessions dealt with mental health issues in YA lit.  You literally could not get in the door of that session it was so full.  There were also t-shirts and concessions and an exhibit hall and temporary tattoos.  All good events have temporary tattoos.

When the afternoon came to an end, my 11 students from Rogers High School and the 25 students from Sauk Rapids – Rice High School piled into the bus and started home.  I was so grateful that we joined the teens from another high school for the long ride.  There were plenty of awkward introductions and graphic novel discussions and shy exchanges of artwork and books between students who had never met before.  Book lovers find common ground quickly and everyone headed home happy.  CMLE was the impetus behind this amazing day.  They encouraged us to coordinate between our schools, facilitated our communication and awarded us a grant to cover the cost of the bus.  As a result, this day was free to our students and for several of them, I’m sure, that made attending Teen Lit Con possible.

The new school year is here and it’s once again time to bring teens and books together.  It’s time to start fostering relationships that drifted over the summer, get the book clubs up and running, unpack the first book order of the year AND it’s time to talk to our teens about Twin Cities Teen Lit Con 2018.  Why not join us?  Rogers High School is going to make sure we are at the next convention.  We’d love to connect with your teens and share the love of all things authors, illustrators, writers and YA lit with you.  Start thinking now about giving your teens the opportunity to find “their people” at Twin Cities Teen Lit Con in the spring.

https://teenlitcon.com/

Bethany Kauffman
Media Specialist
Book Club Advisory
Rogers High School
Rogers, MN
bethany.kauffman@isd728.org

Looking for book suggestions: Donor-conceived characters in YA or MG literature

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CMLE members: this is a library person looking for suggestions. She found a few already, posted below; but if you have others, post them to the comments!

“Once a year I ask the collective wisdom if they’ve come across any donor-conceived characters in YA or MG literature in their past year of reading since one person (me) can’t possibly read everything!

I’m wondering if any of you have come across any more. Donor-conceived people are those conceived with sperm, egg, or embryo donation, usually to single mothers by choice, gay parents, or those with fertility struggles in heterosexual families who can’t use their own gametes to conceive. I am interested in how identity as a donor-conceived teen or tween is represented in YA or MG literature.

I curate a list on my YA Books for Door Offspring blog and I am always on the look out for more fiction on this topic.”

You’re Welcome, Universe / Whitney Gardner

The Upside of Unrequited / Beckly Albertalli

The Secret of a Heart Note / Stacey Lee

Swing Sideways / Nanci Turner Steveson

The Other F-Word / Natasha Friend

Saving Montgomery Sole / Mariko Tamaki

Spirit Level / Sarah N. Harvey

Ashes to Asheville by Sarah Dooley

The Lotterys Plus One by Emma Donoghue