Young+and+Gifted+Readers

 

A Presentation Given at
The Denver Public School Highly Gifted and Talented Summer Institute Denver, Colorado

Mississippi University for Women
Mancos, Colorado  One of the things that I enjoy most about working with gifted students is sharing their joy of reading. Many, if not most, gifted students are highly motivated readers. For younger gifted learners, their reading may well become their major coping strategy. Through their reading, they learn to deal with a world that is not equipped to deal with gifted persons and that is often hostile to the gifted. If we appropriately challenge our young gifted readers, they will use their self-directed reading to extend their own knowledge bases, to enhance their own skills, and to develop their capabilities in areas of advanced learning. Guiding gifted learners in their learning is both important and necessary. Guiding the young gifted in their //reading// is perhaps even more crucial. Since these students are usually proficient and highly motivated readers, their reading needs and reading instruction are often overlooked or dismissed as “They can handle it on their own.” It is our responsibility to guide our young gifted students into positive reading experiences. In this session, we will review the reading needs of young gifted learners and provide suggestions to help strengthen and motivate these learners in their reading. **Goals of this session: ** 1. To identify the characteristics of the young gifted reader; 2. To suggest approaches and strategies that will involve gifted readers in a variety of responses to their reading. //3. //To review current literature that we find appropriate for young gifted readers. //[As Time Allows] // **Characteristics of the Young Gifted Reader: ** 1. They have a passion for reading; 2. They learn to read earlier often spontaneously in preschool; 3. They learn to read independently soon after classroom instruction begins; <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">4. They read better (advanced reading abilities) and at a faster rate; <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">5. They read materials beyond the norm for their age; <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">6. They have an advanced and large vocabulary; <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">7. They require less drill – **if any** – to master techniques of the reading process; <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">8. They read longer; <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">9. They read a greater variety of literature; <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">10. Their reading interests differ considerably from their age group; <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">11. They are more likely to branch out from realistic fiction to fantasy, historical, fiction, and biography. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">12. They continue to be voracious readers into senior high and adulthood; <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;">From my “Quick” Review of the Literature: Halsted: 2009; Gross: 1994; Hawkins: 1983; Whitehead: 1984 **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Where do we go from here? **  · <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Have large, advanced vocabularies and are able to use them correctly; · <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">May be self-taught, but in any event read early, enthusiastically, and widely, often above grade level; · <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Select reading material purposefully and enjoy challenging books; · <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Understand language subtleties, use language for humor, write words and sentences early, and produce superior creative writing (poetry, stories, plays); and · <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Display verbal ability in self-expression, descriptive phrasing, and ease in learning a second language. <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;">Adapted from Halsted, 2009 <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"> **<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Characteristics of Books for the Gifted ** <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Books that use advanced plot structures, syntax, and vocabulary; <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Books that include supplemental materials, such as pronunciation guides, maps, and glossaries; <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Books that use a full array of literary devices; <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Books that use descriptive words that stimulate strong visual images and express nuances; <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Books that possess language patterns and vocabularies typical not only of the present but of other times and places as well; <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Books that provide settings that evoke an experience of other lifestyles; <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> · <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Books that present unresolved problems and compel the reader to draw some conclusions. Halsted (1988, 2002, 2009) **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Consequences for Reading Instruction: ** //<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">An additional handout on these four approaches is available, please email me. //  **//<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">My Suggestion for Selecting Literature for Younger Readers //**//<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> BUT always remembering that we must first read all literature and remember the interests of the students for whom we are selecting books [Basic criteria: appropriateness and challenge] is to look at Young Adult Literature. We must also recognize that some YA Lit will be inappropriate and that typically YA Lit ranges from about 6th grade through high school. //  **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Seney’s “Stand!” ** //<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">My basic premise is that when you compare the characteristics of the gifted adolescent, especially the verbal characteristics, the characteristics of books most suited for gifted learners, and the characteristics of young adult literature, you have an almost perfect match. This leads me to the conclusion that young adult literature is highly appropriate for gifted learners. // = =
 * 1) <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The verbal characteristics of gifted children provide the first clue. These children:
 * 1) <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">It follows that gifted readers want to read fiction and nonfiction that correspond to these characteristics.
 * 2) <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">More of the same is not the answer. Moore (2005) suggests a minimum of two major components for a “stimulating reading program”:
 * 3) <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Provisions for mastering basic curriculum through curriculum compacting;
 * 4) <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Modification of content and process to explore content.
 * 5) <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Wood (2008) suggests that there are nine (9) key components for a successful reading program for gifted students:
 * 6) <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Assessment
 * 7) <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Grouping
 * 8) <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Acceleration
 * 9) <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Challenging literature
 * 10) <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Discussion
 * 11) <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Critical reading
 * 12) <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Creative reading
 * 13) <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Inquiry reading
 * 14) <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Enrichment
 * 15) <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We must select books which correspond to gifted readers characteristics and interests and which will provide appropriately challenge them. Again referring to Halsted:
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Obviously the basal reader with its word attach skills, vocabulary study, comprehension drills, etc are not appropriate;
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Consider three basic concepts:
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Use literature to supplement or better yet **//replace//** basal texts
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Form discussion groups based on books:
 * <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Go beyond plot and fact questions
 * <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Focus on themes
 * <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Use higher level questioning strategies;
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Follow discussion formats from programs such as the //Junior Great Books//;
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Provide instruction in the study of literature at an early age;
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Teach the //Elements of Literature//
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Discuss the different //Methods of Analysis//
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Use Rosenblatt’s //Level of Responses//
 * <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">//<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Emotive //
 * <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">//<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Interpretative //
 * <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">//<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Critical //
 * <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">//<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Evaluative //
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Teach the //Response Analysis Approach//.
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Provide reading guidance: Students do not often know what is good, appropriate and challenging literature for them;
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Know the reader and know books: //Then Make the Connection//;
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Halsted’s Characteristics suggest literature of a high standard:
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">First response might be to turn to the classics;
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">But the classics do not deal with contemporary issues and interests of our learners;
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Our readers have not had the life experiences to appreciate and interpret these literary treasures fully;
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Remember when and for whom many of the classics were written: highly educated adults at the turn of the 19th Century;
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Remember that children’s classics were often for teaching purposes and that much of so-called children’s classics were intended for older audiences;
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Research has shown that too early an introduction to the classics can easily turn off readers and kill their joy of reading.

** Young Adult Literature: Defined **
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">The term young adult literature refers “to realistic and contemporary fiction which young adults as well as more mature and critical readers can find aesthetically and thematically satisfying, and which is implicitly or explicitly, written for the adolescent.” <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">Mertz and England (1983) <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.5in;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;">Monseau and Salvner **<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In short: ** //<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Young adult novels have come of age because they demonstrate the same skillful craftsmanship employed in all good literature and because they have translated to the world of the young adult the same conflicts and issues with which all humans struggle. // //<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">In addition: since YA Lit speaks to the concerns and characteristics of gifted students, it is highly appropriate for them. By drawing on this genre, parents and teachers can guide their children and students to more complex works, expose them to positive reading experiences, and open up to them a wonderful resource that will further their emotional and social development. //  **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">References ** <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> Brown, W. & J. Rogan (1983). Reading and young gifted children. //Roeper Review//, 5, 6-9. <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> Donelson, K. & Nilsen, A. (2005). //Literature for Today’s Young Adults, 7th Ed//. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. <span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Gross, M.U.M. (1994). The highly gifted: Their nature and needs. In J.B. Hansen and S.M. Hoover (Eds.). //Talent Development: Theories and Practice// (pp. 45 - 68). Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall Hunt Publishing Company. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Halsted, J. W. (1988). //Guiding Gifted Readers from Preschool through High School//. Columbus: Ohio Psychology Publishing. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> Halsted, J. W. (2009). //Some of My Best Friends are Books//. //<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Guiding Gifted Readers From Pre-School to High School, 3rd Ed //<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">. Scottsdale, AZ: Gifted Psychology Press. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Hawkins, S. (1983). Reading interests of gifted children. //Reading Horizons//, 24. <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> Johnsen, S. & J Kendrick, eds. (2005). //Language Arts for Gifted Students//. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press, Inc. <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> Lesesne, T. (2003). //Making the Match//. Portland, MN: Stenhouse Publishers. <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> Mertz, M. & England, D. (1983). The legitimacy of American adolescent fiction. //School Library Journal, 30//. 119-123.  <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Monseau, V. and G. Salvner(2000). // Reading Their World: The Young Adult Novel in the Classroom //, 2nd Ed. <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishers. <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> Monseau, V. (1996). //Responding to Young Adult Literature//. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishers. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Moore, M. (2005). Meeting the educational needs of young gifted readers in the regular classroom. //Gifted Child Today//. Sept. 2005. <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> Probst, R. (1988). //Response and Analysis: Teaching Literature in Junior and Senior High School//. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishers. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Whitehead, R. J. (1984). //A Guide to Selecting Books for Children. Metuchen//, NJ: Scarecrow. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Wood, P. F. (2008). Reading instruction with gifted and talented readers: A series of unfortunate eents or a sequence of auspicious results? //Gifted Child Today//, 31 (3), 17-25. **<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Contact Information: ** <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Dr. Bob Seney <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Professor Emeritus/Gifted Studies <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">892 Second Avenue <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Mancos, Colorado 81328 <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">970 533-9014 <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">bseney@muw.edu <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% #d9d9d9; border: 1pt solid windowtext; display: block; padding: 1pt 4pt 0in;"> // Seney’s Recommended Books for Young Gifted Readers // Dr. Bob Seney // Professor Emeritus // Mancos, Colorado bseney@muw.edu A Note: Books that “make” my list meet the requirements of Halsted’s Books for Gifted Readers and my own personal criteria. Remember: Before recommending any book to a gifted reader, you should read the book first. Keep in mind the reader’s special interests and challenge level. ** Contemporary Literature 2010 - 2005 ** **From 2010 //What’s New List//** Appelt, Kathi //The Underneath// 2008 **2009 Newbery Honor Book** ** 2008 National Book Award Finalist ** Brown, Mary //There Are No Words// 2010 Creech, Sharon //The Unfinished Angel// 2009 Flanagan, John //Ranger’s Apprentice: Book 7 – Erak’s Ransom// 2007 //The Ranger’s Apprentice Series// // Book One: The Ruins of Gorlan 2005 // // Book Two: The Burning Bridge 2005 // // Book Three: The Icebound Land 2006 // // Book Four: The Battle for Skandia 2006 // // Book Five: The Sorcerer of the North 2008 // // Book Six: The Siege of Macindaw 2008 // // Book Eight: The Kings of Clonmel 2010 // Horvath, Polly //My One Hundred Adventures// 2008 //Northward to the Moon// 2010 Hunter, Erin //Warriors: Power of Three:// // Book One: The Sight // 2007 Jacques, Brian //The Sable Quean// 2010 Kelly, Jacqueline //The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate// 2009 **2010 Newbery Honor Book** Korman, Gordon //Swindle// 2008 Park, Linda Sue //Keeping Score// 2008 Paulsen, Gary //Mudshark// 2009 //Woods Runner// 2010 //Masters of Disaster// 2010 Riordan, Rick //The Red Pyramid// 2010 Sampson, Donald //The Dragon Boy: Book One of the Star Trilogy// 2008 ** [A First Novel – Colorado Author] ** //The Dragon of Two Hearts: Book Two of// // the Star Trilogy // 2009 Stead, Rebecca //When You Reach Me// 2009 **2010 Newbery Medal** Stewart, Trenton Lee //The Mysterious Benedict Society and the// // Prisoner’s Dilemma // 2009 Tolan, Stephanie //Wishworks, Inc.// 2009 Mathews, Ellie //The Linden Tree// (ms/e) 2007 **Milkweed Prize for Children’s Literature** Avi //Hard Gold: The Colorado Gold Rush of 1859// 2008 [//I Witness// Series] //Murder at Midnight// 2009 Birdsall, Jeanne //The Penderwicks on Gardam Street// 2008 DiCamillo, Kate //The Magician’s Elephant// 2009 // unger Games // (ms) 2008 Gaiman, Neil //The Graveyard Book// 2008 **Newbery Medal** Hiaasen, Carl //Scat// 2009 Jacques, Brian //Doomwyte// 2008 Korman, Gordon //Zoobreak// 2009 Law, Ingrid //__Savy__// 2008 **Newbery Honor** Riordan, Rick //The Last Olympian: Book// 5 2009 Stewart, Trenton Lee //The Mysterious Benedict Society and the// // Perilous Journey // 2008 Yolen, Jane & Robert Harris //The Rogues// 2007 //Girl In a Cage// [Reread: On 2003 List] 2002 Barry, Dave & Ridley Pearson //Peter and the Starcatchers// 2004 Colfer, Eoin //Half-Moon// 2006 //Artemis Fowl: The Time// //Paradox// 2008 Curtis, Christopher Paul //Elijah of Buxton// 2007 **2008 Newbery Honor** Creech, Sharon //The Castle Corona// 2007 Dowd, Siobhan //The London Eye Mystery// 2008 Hawes, Louise //The Vanishing Point// 2004 Konigsberg, E.L. //The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World// 2008 Lowry, Lois //The Willoughbys// 2008 McGill, Alice //Miles’ Song// 2000 Riordan, Rick //The Lightning Thief: Book 1// 2005 //The Sea of Monsters: Book 2// 2007 //The Titan’s Curse: Book 3// 2007 //The Battle of the Labyrinth: Book 4// 2008 Schlitz, Laura A. //Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices// // From a Medieval Village // 2007 **2008 Newbery Medal** Spinelli, Jerry //Eggs// 2007 Stewart, Trenton Lee //The Mysterious Benedict Society// 2007 Woodson, Jacqueline //Feathers// **2008 Newbery Honor** 2007 Avi //Bright Shadow// 1985/ 1994 (1994 Second Aladdin Paper Back Edition) Colfer, Eoin //Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony// 2006 Cooper, Susan //Victory// 2006 DiCamillo, Kate //The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane// 2006 Holm, Jennifer //Penny From Heaven// 2006 **Newbery Honor** Jacques, Brian //Eulalia// 2007 Lord, Cynthia //Rules// 2006 ** Newbery Honor; 2007 Scheider Family Book Award: ** ** Middle School Division ** Patterson, Katherine //The Same Stuff as Stars// 2002 Pullman, Philip //Lyra’s Oxford// 2005 Patron, Susan //The Higher Power of Lucky// (e) 2006 **Newbery Medal** Paulsen, Gary //Lawn Boy// 2007 Rowling, J. K. //Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows// 2007 Selznick, Brian //The Invention of Hugo Cabret// (ms) 2007 Armstrong, Alan //Whittington// [e/ms] 2005 ** Newbery Honor ** Birdsall, Jeanne //The Penderwicks// (e) 2005 **National Book Award** Birney, Betty //The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs// 2005 Corder, Zizou //Lion Boy: The Truth - Book 3// 2005 Creech, Sharon //Replay// 2005 D’Adamo, Francesco //Iqbal// 2003 Giff, Patricia Reilly //Willow Run// 2005 Gray, Margaret //The Ugly Princess and the Wise Fool// 2002 Haddix, Margaret //Among the Free// 2006 Hale, Shannon //Princess Academy// 2005 **Newbery Honor** Hoeye, Michael //No Time Like Show Time// 2004 //A Hermux Tantamoq Adventure// Jacques, Brian //Voyage of Slaves (Castaway Series)// 2006 Lowry, Lois //Gossamer// 2006 Woodson, Jacqueline //Show Way// 2005 **Newbery Honor** [illustrated by Hudson Talbott] Avi //Poppy’s Return// 2005 Choldenko, Gennifer //Al Capone Does My Shirts// 2004 **Newbery Honor** Freedman, Russell //The Voice That Challenged a Nation:// 2004 // Marian Anderson and the Struggle // // For Equal Rights // ** Newbery Honor ** Jacques, Brian //Rakkety Tam// 2004 //The Ribbajack// 2004 Kadohata, Cynthia //Kira-Kira// 2004 **Newbery Medal** Oppel, Kenneth //Silverwing// [e/ms] 1997 //Sunwing// [e/ms] 2000 //Firewing// [e/ms] 2003 Paulsen, Gary //The Time Hackers// 2005 Rowling, J. K. //Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince// 2005 ** This List is a “Work in Progress.” I intend to extend it next by adding “contemporary classics” such as Patterson’s //Bridge to Terabithia//, etc. ** **//<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Additional References //** **//<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Research on Effects of Using the Classics //** Bushman, J. (1997). Young adult literature in the classroom –Or is it? //English Journal, 86// (3). Bushman, J. & K. Parks-Haas (2001). //Using Young Adult Literature in the English Classroom//. Columbus, Ohio: Merrill, Prentice Hall. Carlsen, R. & A. Sherrill (1988). //Voices of Readers: How We Come to Love Books//. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. Lesesne, T. (1991). Developing lifetime readers: Suggestions from fifty years of research. //English Journal, 80// (6). O’Connor, M. (1980). A study of the reading preferences of high school students. (//ERIC Document Reproduction Service NO. ED 185 524//) U. S. Department of Education (1990). A //profile of the American eight grader//. Washington, DC: Author.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Characteristics of Contemporary Young Adult Literature **
 * <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">YA Lit has <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">complex characters who seek to resolve conflicts of tremendous consequence to themselves and the world;
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">YA Lit has vividly drawn minor characters who provide texture, advance the plot, and serve as meaningful foils and allies for the protagonists;
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">YA Lit has rich settings, both real and imaginary;
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">YA Lit has deft pacing, skillful use of suspense, flashbacks, and other manipulations of time sequence;
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">YA Lit has narratives told from various points of view;
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">YA Lit has thematic issues that matter not only to teens but to everyone, such as the quest for justice, the savagery of war, and the struggle of achieving love, acceptance, and understanding.
 * From 2009 //What’s New List//:**
 * From 2008 //What’s New List//:**
 * From 2007 //What’s New List//:**
 * From 2006 //What’s New List//:**
 * From 2005 //What’s New List://**