Library & Information Science, Course 262: Resources for Young Adults.
Dr. David Loertscher

w4 personal 

• One way to learn about becoming an advocate for teenagers is to read experiences written by successful advocates. Judy Logan's Teaching Stories (Kodansha International, 1997) describes the author's experiences as a teacher in an inner city school. Her caring and excellent teaching strategies not only engage learners but provide guidance to young people at a critical age. Highly recommended.

• Professional article: Wemett, Lisa C. "Librarians as Advocates for Young Adults," Youth Services in Libraries, Winter, 1997, p. 168-76. - Definition of advocacy and advice on becoming an advocate. (w4g.PDF)

• The Teenage Problem Novel (w4a.html)
The CCBC analysis of the problem novels of 1997.

 

General

• Professional article: Carroll, Pamela Sissi. "Today's Teens, Their Problems, and Their Literature: Revisiting G. Robert Carlsen's Books and the Teenage Reader Thirty Years Later," English Journal, March, 1997, p. 25-33. (w4h.PDF) -- The developmental levels of young adults yesterday and today and recommended books dealing with those challenges.

• A good general web site is the Center for Adolescent Studies at Indiana University in the School of Education. It contains a number of links to professional sites dealing with teen challenges and for teachers working with teens.

• Professional article (w4t.pdf): Amey, Larry with Stephen Elliot. "Serving the Cyberteen: Library Service for the 21st Century Adolescent," VOYA, April, 1997, p. 14-20. - Takes the view that the librarian has an important role in helping young people find out who they are and what they stand for.

• Book: CQ Researcher on Teens in America. CQ Press, 2001. Articles covering the issues contronting teens, their parents, and the government.

 

Physical development and Health

General

• Professional Reference Book: Bowman, Cynthia Ann. Using Literature to Help Troubled Teenagers Cope with Health Issues. Greenwood Press, 2000. Articles and annotated bibliographies to build collections. For librarians and health professionals.

Drugs

• For older teens, a recommended source for drug information is: Cynthia Kuhn, Scott Swartzwelder, and Wilkie Wilson: Buzzed: The Straight Facts Aboutthe Most Used and Abused Drugs From Alcohol to Ecstasy. Norton, 1998.

• Book (w4p.pdf): Levant, Glenn. Keeping Kids Drug Free: D.A.R.E. Official Parent's Guide. Laurel Glen Pulishing, 1998. (5880 Oberlin Drive, Suite 400, San Diego, CA 92121-9653) - an excellent guide to the problem and what to do about it. Here is available the introduction and first chapter, "It's Up to You." Purchase is highly recommended.

• Book: Hirshfelder, Arlene. Kick Butts!: A Kid's Action Guide to a Tobacco-Free America. Scarecrow, 2001. Definitely aimed at the teen reader with interesting format and an obvious source for a report.

Sex

Internet Sites

• Porn sites. Just in case you are wondering, Newsweek, June 12, 2000 reports that E-porn remains one of the fastes-growing and most profitable sectors in cyberspace - almost a billion-dollar industry. Visits to porn sites comprise a third of all Internet usage. There are thousands of commercial porn sites, with about 40 new ones added each day. The top sites are:

PornCity
Kara's Plaground
Erotism
Schoolgirls-4U
ErosVillage
Amateur Pages
Ygal
TeenSteam
CunTV
High Society

Interestingly, Newsweek reports that 70 percent of e-porn traffic occurs during the 9=to-5 workday.

• For a web site urging abstinence, try Campaign for Our Children, a non-profit organization in Maryland. Posters, ads, advice, and numerous other resources are presented.

• http://www.positive.org is a site directed at teens to inform them about sexuality. In their own words, this volunteer group says: "Just Say Yes is about having a positive attitude towards sexuality -- gay, straight or bisexual. It's about saying "yes" to sex you do want, and "no" to sex you don't. It says there's nothing wrong with you if you decide to have sex, and nothing wrong with you if you decide not to. You have the right to make your own choices, and to have people respect them. Sex is enjoyable when everyone involved is into it, and when everyone has the information they need to take care of themselves and each other. About our language: We chose words for this guide that we use when we talk about sex with our friends.We're not doctors and we don't pretend to be, so pardon our French!

Professional Articles

• Professional article (w4e.pdf): Webunder, Dave and Sarah Woodard. "Homosexuality in Young Adult Fiction and Nonfiction: An Annotated Bibliography," The ALAN Review . - "This bibliography reviews research articles and young adult titles that are beneficial for gay, straight, and not-so-sure adolescents who may be struggling with their sexuality."

• Professiona article (w4l.pdf): Jervis, Lisa. "Rubyfruit Junglegym: An Annotated Bibliography of the Lesbian Young Adult Novel," Bitch: Still El Nino, vol. 3, no. 1, 1998. - About ten titles old and new and listed and annotated.

• Research article (w4m.pdf): Gross, Melissa. "What Do Young Adult Novels Say About HIV?AIDS?" Library Quarterly, vol. 68, no. 1. p 1-32. - Using a content analysis approach, this investigation systematically studies messages about HIV?AIDS contained in young adult novels by asking: (1) What are the protagonists' fears concerning HIV/AIDS? (2) Who has HIV/AIDS in these books? (3) What is their relationship to the protagonist? (4) How did they get HIV/AIDS? and (5) What is the fate of persons with HIV/AIDS in these stories?

• Research article (w4u.pdf): Jenkins, Christine. "From Queer to Gay and Back Again: Young Adult Novels With Gay/Lesbian/Queer Content, 1969-1997." Library Quarterly, vol. 68, no. 3, 1998, p. 298-334. - One of the most definitive research studies on the topic. Contains a bibliography of 100 gay novels. Excellent.

Books

• Wilcox, Brad. Growing Up: Gospel Answers about Maturation and Sex. Bookcraft, 2000. What Mormon teens shold know.

• Harris, Robie. It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex and Sexual Health. Candlewick Press, 1994. Comic book treatment and anatomically correct.

• Harris, Robie. It's So Amazing!: A Book About Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families. Candlewick Press, 1999. More comic book treatment

Student Projects

• Gloria. Resources for Pregnant Teenagers: Emotional, Physical, Nutritional Well Being for You and Your Baby. w1Pregnantteengers) 2001.

• Gwynne, Melissa. Eating Disorder Resources for Young Adults (w1eatingdisorders). 2001

Disease

• Student project: (w4x.html) Teens with Medical Problems by Laura Haessler.

• Student project: (w4y.html) Mental Illness Resources for Young Adults by Caroline Elizabeth Weber.

 

Emotional Development

 Books

• Daldry, Jeremy. the Teenage Guy's Survival Guide: The Real Deal on Girls, Growing Up, and Other Guy Stuff. Little, Brown, 1999. Pop psychology in teen lingo with a contemporary slant.

• Williams, Terrie. Stay Strong: Simple Life Lessons for Teens. An African-American's hip advices on how to think and act for yourself.

•Professional Reference Book: Kaplan, Jeffrey S., ed. Using Literature to Help Troubled Teenagers Cope with Identity Issues. Greenwood Press, 1999. Essays and annotated bibliographies of books for teens and professionals. For the librarian and the counselor.

Student Projects

• Bucklin, Terri. Helping Teens Cope With Death & Grief. (w1deathgrief). 2001

• Peterson, Elizabeth. The Diary (w1diary). 2001

 

Social Development

Teen Life

• Packer, Alex J. How Rude: The Teenagers' Guide to Good Manners, Proper Behavior, and Not Grossing People Out. Free Spriit Publishing, 1997. Advice. Interesting format.  

• Professional reference book: Carroll, Pamela S., ed. Using Literature to Help Troubled Teenagers Cope with Societal Issues. Greenwood Press, 1999. Essays on problems with annotated bibliographies. For the librarian and counselor.

• Student Mini-Expert Project (w1RealityCheck): Reality Check by Susan Fitzgerald. 2001. Recommendations of materials about real teen lives, real adventures, war stories,

Violence

• Professional article (w4n.pdf): Hepburn, Mary A. "T.V. Violence!: A Medium's Effects Under Scrutiny," Social Education, vol. 61, no. 5, September, 1997, p. 245-49. - Reviews the research on violence and television urging that media literacy be a part of every child's education.

Gangs

• Website: Crews: Gang Members Talk to Maria Hinojosa. Amazon.com's book review of NY Times reporter Hinojosa's discussion of gangs with various gang members.

Gender

• Professional article (w4r.pdf): Houdyshell, Mara L. and Janic J. Kirkland. "Heroines in Newbery Medal Awad Winners: Seventy-Five Years of Change," Youth Services in Libraries, Spring, 1998, p. 252-61. - The authors trace strong female characters over the years to six heroines out of the last 12 years.

The Law

• Drowns, Robert W. and Karen M. Hess. Juvenile Justice. 3rd ed. Wadsworth, 2000. A textbook on the juvenile justice system with an accompanying web site exploring many avenues of teens and the law.

 

Spiritual Development

• Major religions: (w4b.html) Teens can find official sources for most major religions and churches on the web with a little guidance.

• Professional article (w4f.pdf): Mendt, K.L. "Spiritual Themes in Young Adult Books," The ALAN Review, Spring, 1996, p. 34-36. Discusses belief systems, the quest for spiritual knowledge, identity and spirituality, and provides a bibliography of YA books that confront spiritual themes.

• Professional article (w4j.pdf): Roberts, Denise. " A Market Coming Alive: Christian Press Literature," VOYA, February, 1997, p. 315-20 -- a recommended list of titles appealing to teens.

• Professional article (w4s.pdf): Shaw, Dara Gay. "The Treatment of Religion and the Independent Investigation of Spiritual Truth in Fiction for Adolescents," The ALAN Review, Winter, 1995, p. 22. - Takes the view that readers learn much about religion from YA fiction and not all of it bad.

• Student project: (wv.html) Christian Literature for Young Adults by Terresa O'Donley.

• Book: Wilkinson, Bruce. The Prayer of Jabez for Teens. Multnomah Publishers, 2001. A Christian pop-gospel spinnof of an adult best-seller.

• Book: DeLong, Janice and Rachel Schwendt. Contemporary Christian Authors: Lives and Works Scarcrow, 2000. Short biographies and bibliographies of evangelistic authors.

• Book: Robinson, Sharon. Jackie Robinson's Values to Live By. Scholastic, 2001. Covers nine values: courage, determination, teamwork, Persistence, Integrity, Citizenship, Justice, Commitment, and excellence. Mixes a little baseball in with a lot of advice.

 

 

Censorship and Intellectual Freedom

• Report to Congress (w4aa.pdf) Commission on Child Online Protection (COPA. "Report to Congress, October 20, 2000). A report reflecting its study of technologies and methods designed to reduce access by minors to harmful to minors material on the Internet.

• Professional article (w4z.pdf) Small, Robert C., Jr. "Censorship as We Enter 2000, or the Millennium, or Just Next Year: A Personal Look at Where We Are,"JOYS, Winter 2000, pp. 10-23.

 • Professional article (w4i.html): Donelson, Ken. "Filth" and "Pure Filth" in Our Schools - Censorship of Classroom Books in the Last Ten Years." English Journal, Feb., 1997, p. 21-25. - A discussion of the most-reported censorship cases.

• Check out this A Brief History of Banned Music for an annotated list of offensive music to some groups across the decades.

• Professional article (w4o.pdf): Stoehr, Shelley. "Controversial Issues in the Lives of Contemporary Young Adults," The ALAN Review, Winter, 1997, p. 3-5. - Explores the history of controversy and wonders how many YAs really read much of it anyway.

• Professional article (w4q.pdf): Greenbaum, Vicky. "Censorship and the Myth of Appropriateness: Reflections on Teaching Reading in High School," English Journal, Febrary, 1997, p. 16-20. - Combindes ideas for defending controversial books with ideas to help students improve their reading ability.

• Intellectual Freedom Manual. 5th ed. American Library Association, 1996.- - The bible.

• Censorship in Childrenís and Adolescent Literature. Para-Doxa: Studies in World Literary Genres. (Para-Doxa, PO Box 2237, Vashon, WA 98070), 1996.- - More than 25 articles by scholars from around the world discussing the perspectives of censorship. Included authors are: Alleen Pace Nilsen, Ken Donelson, Millicent Lenz, and Ursula K. LeGuin.

• Hit List: Frequently Challenged Books for Young Adults. American Library Association, 1996.- - Book descriptions, challenges around the country, reviews, awards and prizes, references about the author, sources recommending the book, and audiovisual resources. Titles covered include: Huckleberry Finn, Annie on My Mind, The Arizona Kid; The Autobiography of Malcolm X., The Catcher in the Rye, The Chocolate War, Christine, The Clan of the Cave Bear, The Color Purple, A Day No Pigs Would Die, Fallen Angels, Flowers in the Attic, Forever, Go Ask Alice, The Great Santini, Grendel, The Handmaidís Tale, I Am the Cheese, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Lord of the Flies, Of Mice and Men, The Outsiders, Running Loose, Slaughterhouse-Five, The Whatís Happening to My Body Book for Boys/Girls.

• Doyle, Robert P. Banned Books 1996 Resource Guide. American Library Association, 1996.- - How to celebrate Banned Books Week and why. Contains bibliographies of banned or challenged books.

• Bosmajian, Haig A., ed. The Freedom to Read. Neal-Schuman, 1987. - - A good sourcebook of the court cases to the date published. Each case contains enough original source material for a good report.

• web site: "Censorship, the Internet, Intellectual freedom, and Youth" is a web page set up by Dr. Kay Vandergrift at Rutgers University. It contains a good essay concerning children with lots of annotated sources dealing with the problem.. See it at: http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/special/kay/censorship.html

• web site: "Sex, Censorship, and the Internet" is a source created by Carl M. Kadie discussing the issues but also providing a few case studies with real issues and then "what happened in the real world answers." See it at: http://www.eff.org/CAF/cafuiuc.html

 

Parenting of Teens

 Books

Panzarine, Susan. A Parent's Guide to the Teen Years: Raising Your 11-14 Year-Old in the Age of Chat Rooms and Navel Rings. Facts on File, 2000. Advice from a Dr. of adolescent health.

Horn, Wade F. and Carol Kough. Better Homes and Gardens New Teen Book: An A-to-Z Guide for Parents of 9- to 16- Year-Olds. Merideth Books, 1999. A pop-book, easy-to-read, creative format book with common-sense advice

 

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