‘We Need Diverse E-Books:’ Availability of Award-Winning Children’s and Young Adult Titles in Today’s E-Book Platforms

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Bernadette A. Lear ◽  
Andrea L. Pritt
Keyword(s):  
Knygotyra ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 76 ◽  
pp. 228-259
Author(s):  
Kasey Garrison ◽  
Mary Mary ◽  
Elizabeth Derouet

This research investigates the portrayal of masculinity in Australian young adult novels published in 2019. The novels were taken from the 2020 Children’s Books Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year for Older Readers Notables List. Established in 1946, these annual awards are considered the most prominent and prestigious in Australian children’s and young adult literature and are likely to be accessible and promoted to young readers in schools and libraries. The three texts studied were Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte, The Boy who Steals Houses by C.G. Drews, and This is How We Change the Ending by Vikki Wakefield. Using a Critical Content Analysis methodology (Beach et al., 2009), researchers completed a review of the literature and theories around masculinity and chose to analyse three exemplary texts using the attributes of the Hegemonic Masculinity Schema (HMS) and Sensitive New Man Schema (SNMS) as described by Romøren and Stephens (2002). Attributes from the HMS include traits and behaviours like being violent, physical or verbal bullying, and hostile to difference while attributes from the SNMS include being supportive, affectionate, and considerate and respectful of the space and feelings of others (especially females). In this method, researchers identify examples of the attributes within the main characters and minor characters from each of the three books, recording quotes and noting critical incidents depicting aspects of masculinity. Notable findings of the research include the acknowledgment and portrayal of a particular conception of hegemonic masculinity in the selected novels often informed or shaped by the presence of dominant father figures and the absence of the concept of “the mother.” The characters who aligned to the schema used within this research are often overshadowed by a dominant father figure who conformed to an extreme version of hegemonic masculinity and who shaped their child’s actions even if the fathers were absent from the novel. The research reveals commonly held conceptions of masculinity aligned to those used in the schema and demonstrated that young adult literature, like popular media, can be used as a vehicle for the dissemination of such concepts and reveal contemporary understandings of it. Outputs from this research include the development of a modified and more contemporary schema which could be applied to future research. Significantly, this interdisciplinary research bridges the library, education and literature fields to examine the different ways maleness and masculinity are depicted to young adult readers in prize-nominated Australian young adult novels.


Author(s):  
April M. Sanders ◽  
Laura Isbell ◽  
Kathryn Dixon

Educators looking for books to offer to children and young adult readers with LGBTQ+-inclusive themes can use these results to review award winning books and the themes found in the texts. This critical content study includes children's and young adult books winning the Stonewall Award from the American Library Association. The selected books are reviewed for themes applicable to mirrors and windows that are provided to readers in the text. Windows provide a way for readers to see an experience unlike their own while mirrors offer a reflection of experiences the reader has experienced. Both offer a way for readers to connect with the text.


2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Feisst

Bedford, Martyn. Flip. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2011. Print. Martyn Bedford is a lecturer in creative writing at Leeds Trinity University College in the UK and is the award-winning author of five adult novels, including The Houdini Girl. Flip is his first foray into the genre of young adult fiction. Fourteen-year-old Alex Gray rushes home one December Friday night in an attempt to beat his curfew. Feeling a bit foggy upon waking the next morning, he realizes that not only is he in a strange bedroom but he does not recognize the clothes he is wearing. An unfamiliar voice calls for “Philip” to get ready for school, and when he descends the stairs to the breakfast table, he does not recognize the people seated, though they seem to recognize him. It’s now the middle of June. Upon looking into the mirror to wash his face, another boy stares back. Alex does not know if he has gone mad, or worse—if it is all real. Alex has no choice but to go through the day while trapped in another’s body, that of Philip Garamond. Nicknamed Flip, Philip is an athletic, sociable girl-magnet who goes to a posh school, and though he is Alex’s age, seems the complete opposite in every other way. For a while Alex even enjoys his new, fit body and the attention that comes with it. But where is Philip, and where is Alex’s body? Alex needs to figure out why his psyche has become trapped in Philip’s body and how he can get back into his own before it is too late. This is an excellent psychological thriller and not your average teen fare. The characters are realistic and the plot is action-packed, yet believable. Bedford dips into heavy topics like existentialism and concepts such as the soul and memory with adeptness. Body-swapping stories have no doubt been done before in teen fiction, but Bedford has given this tale a contemporary flair with a satisfying conclusion. Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Debbie Feisst Debbie is a Public Services Librarian at the H.T. Coutts Education Library at the University of Alberta.  When not renovating, she enjoys travel, fitness and young adult fiction.


One of the most significant transformations in literature for children and young adults during the last twenty years has been the resurgence of comics. Educators and librarians extol the benefits of comics reading, and increasingly, children's and young adult comics and comics hybrids have won major prizes, including the Printz Award and the National Book Award. Despite the popularity and influence of children's and young adult graphic novels, the genre has not received adequate scholarly attention. This book offers a critical examination of children's and YA comics. The anthology is divided into five sections: structure and narration; transmedia; pedagogy; gender and sexuality; and identity, that reflect crucial issues and recurring topics in comics scholarship during the twenty-first century. The chapters analyze a variety of contemporary comics, including such highly popular series as Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Lumberjanes; Eisner award-winning graphic novels by Gene Luen Yang, Nate Powell, Mariko Tamaki, and Jillian Tamaki; as well as volumes frequently challenged for use in secondary classrooms, such as Raina Telgemeier's Drama and Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.


2018 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 89
Author(s):  
Karla M. Schmit ◽  
Bernadette A. Lear

Two years ago, we reported the beginnings of a collaboration between Education librarians at two locations within Pennsylvania State University Libraries (PSUL): the Education Library at University Park and the Penn State Harrisburg Library. We described our methods of cooperative purchasing of PreK–12 textbooks and instructional materials, which represented substantial costs and challenges to both locations.2 Since then, we have explored additional ways of sharing collection development tasks, while retaining much of the autonomy that librarians within PSUL prize. This article focuses on our efforts with our juvenile literature collections.


2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Feisst

Pearson, Kit. And Nothing But the Truth. Toronto: Harper Collins, 2012. Print. Victoria, B.C.-based and Governor General Award-winning author Kit Pearson delights yet again with her sequel to 2011’s The Whole Truth, which won the 2012 Canadian Library Association’s Book of the Year for Children Award and was previously reviewed in Deakin. Progressing three years since the first book in the ‘duology’, the year is now 1935, and our beloved heroine, Polly, almost thirteen years of age, is being made to move to Victoria to attend the same boarding school that her sister Maud excelled at and enjoyed so much. Polly would much rather spend the days with her doting grandmother, Noni, and exploring the wilds of Kingfisher Island with her sweet dog, Tarka, than attend St. Winifred’s School for Girls. Polly has her mind firmly set on not being a full time boarder and spending every weekend at home, to the detriment of her experience at St. Winifred’s as well as her ability to make friends at the school.  Noni, however, understands the need for a strong education and encourages Polly to stay full time even though they will miss each other dearly. The draw of attending Special Art classes every Saturday is finally enough to convince a budding talent like Polly, in addition to the gentle encouragement from her trusted art teacher. A magical scene in which Polly meets and interacts with the famous Canadian painter Emily Carr is especially poignant. Polly’s older sister Maud, now a university student in Vancouver, continues to play a large role in the story as well as in Polly’s life. Polly struggles amidst the headmistress’s constant reminders of what an intelligent and faithful student her older sister was. Now a young woman, Maud is changing and no longer readily accepting the ideals that St. Winifred’s instilled in her. As Maud suddenly begins to distance herself from the family, Polly yet again finds herself in a dilemma that threatens to tear their family apart. The ending, including the wonderful afterword that is often lacking from young adult fiction yet so satisfying, is bittersweet as we say goodbye to characters we have grown to love. This book and its prequel would make a lovely gift set for a tween girl. Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Debbie Feisst Debbie is a Public Services Librarian at the H.T. Coutts Education Library at the University of Alberta.  When not renovating, she enjoys travel, fitness and young adult fiction.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanne Pearce

Summer Reading ListsWith summer in full swing, there are a number of summer reading lists available to help find great books for your kids. The Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) list includes a great number of titles arranged by topic matter, reading level and age level. The CCBC has also recently launched of a new online edition of Best Books for Kids & Teens, an online version of the CCBC’s semi-annual selection guide to the best Canadian books for children and young adults. Other reading lists worth noting include the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) list for 2016, Bookology Magazine’s Quirky Book Lists and via the CBC 15 Pride reads for youth and 15 Canadian Indigenous Reads. Best wishes for a great summer of reading!Remembering Larry LoyieIt is with great sadness that we heard of the passing of Cree author Larry Loyie on April 18th, 2016. Loyie was born in Slave Lake Alberta and wrote a number of young adult and children’s books. Goodbye Buffallo Bay and As Long as the Rivers Flow told of his own experiences in a residential school when he was young. In The Moon Speaks Cree: A Winter Adventure a young boy learns about Cree culture and his award-winning Gathering Tree confronted issues of HIV with a younger audience. These books, along with many other works for adult audiences, will serve as a legacy to what was a powerful voice in first nations and Canadian children’s literature. Larry passed away at home in Edmonton.   Festivals and EventsMost book festivals across Canada have already passed for the summer but if you are looking towards the fall you can look into the Taleblazers Literary Arts Festival for Children put on by the Young Alberta Book Society from October 3-November 4, 2016.I am pleased to be writing my first News, Awards and Announcements for the Deakin Review. I have served as a reviewer and editor in past years and I look forward to sharing news on children’s and young adult literature in Canada and beyond. I am always looking for suggestions, so if you have news you would like me to include in future issues please send me an email at [email protected] wishes for a great summer of reading!HanneHanne Pearce has worked at the University of Alberta Libraries since 2004. Aside from being an avid reader, she has continuing interests in writing, photography, graphic design and knitting.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document