Chapter 7
Literary Elements
The following basic literary elements and devices are important to know in order to critically evaluate YA literature:
- Antagonist: character(s) opposing main character
- Character: person/figure/object/animal in a story
- Conflict: protagonist's difficulty (with self, world, others); struggle between opposing forces
- Mood: author's emotional stance used to evoke a response
- Tone: author's attitude towards a character/place/audience
- Plot: storyline; events that make up a story
- Protagonist: central character; sometimes the "hero"
- Setting: time/place/mood in which story takes place
- Themes: complete sentence which conveys the main global message(s)
LITERARY DEVICES:
- Allegory: tangible symbol of a more abstract concept
- Allusion: connected referral to another place/event/literary work
- Archetype: prototype for understanding
- Deus ex machina: implausible conflict resolution which brings a pleasing solution
- Hyperbole: exaggeration for emphasis
- Imagery: using senses to create mental images for the reader
- Metaphor: comparison without using "like" or "as"
- Motif: noticeable and recognizable theme present throughout
- Point of view: perception of the storyteller; the way a story is narrated and by whom
- Simile: comparison using "like," "as," or "such as"
- Symbolism: object/action holding more than literal meaning
Theme is important to understand. When determining the theme(s), ask yourself the following questions. What message is the author trying to convey to readers? Is this message universal? In other words, does it apply outside of the story to the world at large? Remember that theme is a message suggested by the author, it must be stated in a complete sentence, it must be a truism, there can be more than one per literary work, and there must be evidence from the text to support it. A theme is not the main idea, a topic, a summary statement, an old saying such as a moral, or a single word.
Prior to reading this chapter, I knew many of the basic literary elements and devices mainly from helping my children with their English homework. Terms that were either new to me or those that I needed to understand more thoroughly were theme, archetype, deus ex machina, and motif. Because I've been a math teacher in my most recent teaching years, I have not had to utilize these terms in my everyday life. So, the information was helpful. I am sure that when I begin working with students as a librarian that I will utilize these terms as I teach/read with students and collaborate/co-teach with teachers. Out of all of the information shared in this chapter, I learned the most from the video on themes. It was beautiful to see how numerous themes could be extracted from a picture book such as Where the Wild Things Are. It excites me that picture books convey such wonderful messages about the world. I can't wait to guide students in finding them!
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This chapter contained links to 27 different literary awards. Here is a description of each award, when the awards/lists are announced, and a link to access them.
Wow! There are a lot of literary awards/lists. How wonderful! I think the best way for me to learn them all is to read selections from each. I definitely think that reading 10 books which received the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Pura Belpré, and Geisel awards for my LSSL 5360 course helped me to understand and remember those awards. Of course, with the number of awards/lists included here, reading selections from each will take a lot of time...so that is a long-term goal. For now, I will be more attuned to listening for the mention of these awards and will look for them when I receive my School Library Journal and American Libraries Magazine. Once I have a library to oversee of my own, I will know where to go when seeking books to add to our collection. In addition, after reading descriptions of these awards/lists, as well as the most recent recipients of each, I feel more equipped to help students find books of interest within our school library. Now, when a student says they enjoy mysteries, I can pull up the Edgars website and connect them with Edgar Award for Mystery winners.
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This chapter is chock-full of content. Here is a summary:
Even as an adult, I prefer the types of poetry that elementary school children enjoy to more abstract poetry. This is probably because the latter was read in my high school and college courses for evaluation, not for enjoyment, as mentioned in the video. I think that the research shared regarding types of poems that children prefer ties into Piaget's intellectual stages. Because younger children are sensorimotor or concrete learners, poems that relate to those stages appeal to them because they can understand the content. When poems do not rhyme, I feel like it is important for them to still have a pleasing rhythm/sound. The poem which Dr. Perry read at the end of the video by Judith Viorst ("Our Mom's a Real Nice Mom But She Can't Cook") did not have a pleasing rhythm/sound to my ear, even though Viorst is an amazing writer. Every 5th line sounded like it ended too abruptly and seemed forced. It might have sounded better if the 5th line rhymed with the 4th, rather than the 1st. When I oversee a library of my own, I think it will be fun to read poetry to and with the children all year long, but especially for fun if they are doing a poetry unit...to give them a breathe some air back into it in case their teacher spends too much time removing the fun from it. :-)
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Historical fiction is set in the "past," but this is a term which is relative to the age of the reader. So we have to be careful when we classify literature as historical fiction. Historical fiction allows its readers to live vicariously in a past time and place.
The criteria for evaluating historical fiction (from Barbara Z. Kiefer and Cynthia A. Tyson) includes:
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Chapter 8
Awards
This chapter contained links to 27 different literary awards. Here is a description of each award, when the awards/lists are announced, and a link to access them.
Award/List
|
Description
|
When Announced
|
Where to Find Listing
|
Printz Award
|
Book exemplifying
literary excellence in YA literature
|
Annually at ALA
Midwinter Meeting
|
|
YALSA Excellence in
Nonfiction
|
Best nonfiction book
published for young adults (12 – 18) between 11/1 and 10/31
|
Annually at the ALA
Youth Media Awards; shortlist named first week of December
|
|
Great Graphic Novels
for Teens
|
Recommended graphic
novels and illustrated nonfiction for young adults (12 – 18) because they
have appeal to teen tastes in reading
|
Annually at ALA
Midwinter Meeting
|
|
Best Fiction for Young
Adults
|
Recommended fiction
for YAs (12 – 18) published in the past 16 months
|
Annually in January
|
|
Margaret A. Edwards
Award
|
Honors author and
their body of work for significant and lasting contribution to YA literature
in helping adolescents become self-aware and addresses questions about their
role in relationships/society/world
|
Annually at ALA
Midwinter Meeting
|
|
ALEX Award
|
Awards 10 books for
adults that appeal to YAs (12 – 18)
|
Announced beginning of
February
|
|
Odyssey Award
|
Awarded to producer of
the best audiobook for children or YA available in English in the US
|
Annually in January
during ALA Midwinter Meeting
|
|
Morris Award
|
Honors a book
published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating new voices
in YA literature
|
Annually at the ALA
Youth Media Awards; shortlist named first week of December
|
|
Outstanding Books for
the College Bound
|
Must offer
opportunities to discover new ideas and introduce a variety of academic
discipline subjects
|
List is developed
every 5 years
|
|
Popular Paperbacks
|
List of books which
encourage YAs to read for pleasure; widely available in paperback
|
Annually by the end of
the ALA Midwinter Meeting
|
|
Quick Picks for
Reluctant Readers
|
List identifying fiction/nonfiction
books which encourage teens who dislike reading to read
|
Annually in January
|
|
Readers’ Choice
|
List of books which
engage a wide audience of librarians/educators/teens/YA literature
enthusiasts
|
Nominations are posted
monthly; final vote in November
|
|
Teens Top Ten
|
Books nominated by
teens as their favorites
|
Nominations posted on
Thursday of National Library Week; winners announced the week following Teen
Read Week
|
|
Amazing Audiobooks
|
Notable audio
recordings which are significant to YAs from the last 2 years
|
Annually in January
|
|
YA Choices
|
List of new books that
encourage adolescents to read
|
Annually
|
|
Lone Star Reading List
|
List of recommended
reading for 6th – 8th graders developed by public and
school librarians
|
Annually on December 1
|
|
TAYSHAS Reading List
|
High School reading
list to motivate YAs (9th – 12th grade) to become
lifelong readers and to participate in the Texas YA community of readers
|
Annually on December 1
|
|
Maverick Reading List
|
List of graphic novels
which encourage YAs (6th – 12th grade) to explore a
variety of GNs
|
Annually on December 1
|
|
Edgar Award for
Mystery
|
Most prestigious
mystery award
|
Presented last week of
April at the Edgar Awards banquet
|
|
NCTE Award for
Excellence in Poetry for Children
|
Honors a living
American poet for aggregate work for children (3 – 13)
|
Presented in even
years at the Children’s Book Awards Luncheon during the NCTE Annual
Convention
|
|
Orbis Pictus
|
Recognizes excellence in
nonfiction writing for children with purpose of sharing information
|
Presented annually at
the Children’s Book Awards Luncheon during the NCTE Annual Convention
|
|
Batchelder Award
|
Awards most
outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than
English and in a country other than the US that has been translated into
English for publication in the US
|
Annually in January
during ALA Midwinter Meeting
|
|
Scott O’Dell Award for
Historical Fiction
|
Award for author of a
meritorious historical fiction book for young readers published by US
publisher, set in South/Central/North America, and US citizen as author
|
Usually awarded during
annual ALA Conference, but sometimes during Winter Meeting
|
|
Pura Belpré Award
|
Award for Latino(a)
writer and illustrator whose work best portrays/affirms/celebrates the Latino
cultural experience for children and youth
|
Annually in January
during ALA Midwinter Meeting
|
|
Schneider Family Award
|
Honors and author or
illustrator of a book that embodies and artistic expression of the disability
experience for children and adolescent audiences
|
Announed at ALA Youth
Media Award Press Conference during Midwinter Meeting
|
|
Sibert Award
|
Award for author and
illustrator of the most distinguished informational book published in the US
in English
|
Annually in January
during ALA Midwinter Meeting
|
|
Stonewall Award
|
Award for exceptional
merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience
|
Announced in January
and presented at the ALA Annual Conference in June or July
|
Wow! There are a lot of literary awards/lists. How wonderful! I think the best way for me to learn them all is to read selections from each. I definitely think that reading 10 books which received the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Pura Belpré, and Geisel awards for my LSSL 5360 course helped me to understand and remember those awards. Of course, with the number of awards/lists included here, reading selections from each will take a lot of time...so that is a long-term goal. For now, I will be more attuned to listening for the mention of these awards and will look for them when I receive my School Library Journal and American Libraries Magazine. Once I have a library to oversee of my own, I will know where to go when seeking books to add to our collection. In addition, after reading descriptions of these awards/lists, as well as the most recent recipients of each, I feel more equipped to help students find books of interest within our school library. Now, when a student says they enjoy mysteries, I can pull up the Edgars website and connect them with Edgar Award for Mystery winners.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 9
Poetry
This chapter is chock-full of content. Here is a summary:- Poetry is a form/format, but not a genre. It can be found in fantasy, historical fiction, realistic fiction, and traditional literature. It is the most neglected form, probably due to fear or negative experiences. There are no rules for writing poetry. Research with elementary students shows that kids prefer narrative poetry; poems where rhyme/rhythm/sound devices are present; poems that are funny, about familiar experiences, or about animals; contemporary poems; and those that contain visual images/imagery. Kids tend to dislike free verse and haiku poems.
- Jean LePere's reasons for sharing poetry:
- For enjoyment
- Provides knowledge of concepts
- Increases vocabulary
- Helps identify with people and situations
- Helps understand feelings
- Grants insight to feelings and universal emotions
- Evaluation criteria for children:
- Needs to be a familiar subject
- Should have accessible imagery (sights, sounds, tastes, smells, textures)
- Rhyme is necessary for the young
- Rhythm used that fits the subject and is natural
- Sound and language play a role (ex: alliteration, consonance, assonance, onomatopoeia, repetition)
- Contains humor
- Has emotional intensity
- Has quality of imagination
- Has substance
- Achieves a purpose
Even as an adult, I prefer the types of poetry that elementary school children enjoy to more abstract poetry. This is probably because the latter was read in my high school and college courses for evaluation, not for enjoyment, as mentioned in the video. I think that the research shared regarding types of poems that children prefer ties into Piaget's intellectual stages. Because younger children are sensorimotor or concrete learners, poems that relate to those stages appeal to them because they can understand the content. When poems do not rhyme, I feel like it is important for them to still have a pleasing rhythm/sound. The poem which Dr. Perry read at the end of the video by Judith Viorst ("Our Mom's a Real Nice Mom But She Can't Cook") did not have a pleasing rhythm/sound to my ear, even though Viorst is an amazing writer. Every 5th line sounded like it ended too abruptly and seemed forced. It might have sounded better if the 5th line rhymed with the 4th, rather than the 1st. When I oversee a library of my own, I think it will be fun to read poetry to and with the children all year long, but especially for fun if they are doing a poetry unit...to give them a breathe some air back into it in case their teacher spends too much time removing the fun from it. :-)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 10
Historical Fiction
Historical fiction is set in the "past," but this is a term which is relative to the age of the reader. So we have to be careful when we classify literature as historical fiction. Historical fiction allows its readers to live vicariously in a past time and place.The criteria for evaluating historical fiction (from Barbara Z. Kiefer and Cynthia A. Tyson) includes:
- Book tells a good story and effortlessly blends history within
- Contains accurate historical facts
- Values of the time are brought to life
- Consistent with social milieu
- Theme relates to contemporary readers (universal)
