ALAN v25n3 - THE MEMBERSHIP CONNECTION
THE MEMBERSHIP CONNECTION
Chris Crowe, Editor
Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah1998 ALAN Workshop, Nashville, Tennessee
ALAN President Lois Stover has been working diligently to prepare the lineup for the annual ALAN Breakfast (Saturday, November 21) and Workshop (Monday and Tuesday, November 23-24), and she has a terrific program in place. The speaker at the annual ALAN Breakfast will be Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, author of more than 50 books, including the 1992 Newbery winner, Shiloh .
The keynote address at the ALAN Workshop will be delivered by Linda Rief, middle school teacher, co-editor of the NCTE’s Voices from the Middle , and author of Seeking Diversity: Language Arts with Adolescents .
The two-day ALAN Workshop will also feature a number of popular, award-winning YA authors including Karen Cushman, Sharon Creech, Jim Murphy, Suzanne Fisher Staples, Bruce Colville, Jane Yolen, Angela Johnson, Jacqueline Woodson, Richard Peck, Lurlene McDaniels, Louise Plummer, and Dean Hughes. In addition to the authors at the general sessions, teachers and YA experts will present 15 small-group sessions on a variety of topics related to YA literature. You need not attend the NCTE convention in order to attend the ALAN Workshop, although registration for the Workshop may be completed on the NCTE Convention registration form which will be mailed to NCTE members in September. For more information about registering for the ALAN Workshop, call NCTE at 800-369-6283.
ALAN Award
If you would like to suggest candidates for the ALAN Award, given annually to an individual who has made a lasting contribution to the field of young adult literature, contact the ALAN Award Committee Chairperson, Suzanne Reid, by email at <sreid@ehc.edu> or by mail at PO Box FFF, Emory, VA 24327.
ALAN Elections
The ALAN Nominations Committee, chaired by Ted Fabiano, has prepared an election ballot for members. You are asked to select one candidate for the position of President-elect and three candidates for the Board of Directors. Please return your ballot as soon as possible. If you are a member of ALAN and have not received a ballot, contact Fabiano at Blue Valley Northwest High School, 13260 Switzer, Overland Park, KS 66213 or by email at <tfabiano@hotmail.com>
Membership in ALAN
ALAN continues to be one of the best deals in our profession. For only $15 you become a voting member and receive 3 issues of The ALAN Review . Membership has remained constant over recent years, which suggests that many teachers and librarians haven’t yet heard of ALAN. Take the time to encourage a colleague to join – or better yet, consider giving a colleague a gift membership in ALAN. Membership is open to NCTE members and nonmembers, especially to anyone with an interest in young adult literature.
VOYA : A Journal You Should Get to Know
Long known for its fair and honest reviews of YA books, VOYA : Voice of Youth Advocates, now enters its 21st year under the direction of a new editor, Cathi Dunn MacRae. In addition to its book review section, VOYA publishes columns and articles about YA literature and related issues. Last year’s August issue (volume 20, number 3) has at least two articles worth reading or rereading: Sharyn November’s "We’re Not ‘Young Adults’ – We’re Prisoners of Life," which reported results of a survey of teenagers about the term "young adult;" and VOYA ’s annual "Nonfiction Honor List," which was compiled by a committee of five teachers and librarians, including ALAN members Bill Mollineaux and Sara Herz.
VOYA is published bimonthy. An annual subscription costs $38.50; subscription information may be obtained by calling VOYA at 888-486-9297, by email at <voya@scarecrowpress.com> or by writing Linda Benson, VOYA, Scarecrow Press, 4720A Boston Way, Lanham MD 20706.
amazon.com
If you’re a compulsive book buyer, you may want to avoid the hot new "virtual bookstore" amazon.com. The on-line bookseller boasts more than 2.5 million titles, including some out-of-print or hard-to-find books. Their address is http://www.amazon.com , and once on-line, you can follow the icons to the young adult books section. If you’d like to go directly to the YA section, try this address:
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/browse/young-adult/index/001-0364011-6131122
You’ll find comprehensive lists of YA books, many of which include excerpts from published book reviews along with short reviews submitted by Amazon.com customers. It’s a virtual goldmine for book lovers.
On-line Guide to Award-Winning Books
Jane Stemp recently announced her discovery of a useful guide to children’s literature prizes on the Web at
http://www.ccc.govt.nz/Library/Lit_Prizes/#child
The following awards are listed at this site. Lists of previous winners are also available:
Aim Children’s Book Awards
Carnegie Medal
Coretta Scott King Award
Esther Glen Award
Guardian Children’s Fiction Award
John Newbery Medal
Kate Greenaway Award
Te Kura Pounamu Medal
New Zealand Library and Information Association Children’s Book Awards
New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards
NZLIA Non-Fiction for Young People Award
Randolph Caldecott Medal
Russell Clark Award
Whitbread Prize for a Children’s Novel1998 Newbery Awards
Since 1922, the American Library Association has annually recognized authors of books that its committee determines have made the "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." The winner of the 1998 Newbery Medal is Karen Hesse for Out of the Dust . In describing this year’s medal-winning novel, Ellen Fader, 1998 Newbery Committee chair, said, "Hesse’s painstaking first-person narration of Billie Jo’s withering and, finally, taking root is spare and gritty. She creates a stark and piercing rhythm in a free verse form that naturally and immediately communicates this story of Billie Jo’s fierce spirit and growing self-understanding."
This year’s committee also awarded Newbery Honor Book status to three books: Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine; Lily’s Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff; and Wringer by Jerry Spinelli.
Summaries of the books and more information on the Newbery Award can be found at the ALA’s Newbery website:
http://www.ala.org/alsc/newbery.html
1998 Coretta Scott King Awards
The American Library Association has announced its 1998 Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner: Forged by Fire by Sharon M. Draper. Honor Book awards went to Bayard Rustin: Behind the Scenes of the Civil Rights Movement by James Haskins and I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl by Joyce Hansen. For more information about this year’s winners and the Coretta Scott King Award, go to the ALA’s website at http://www.ala.org/srrt/csking
Pura Belpre Award
The Pura Belpre Award honors Latino writers whose work best portrays, affirms and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in the work of literature for youth. Victor Martinez won the ALA’s Pura Belpre Author Award for Parrot in the Oven . Belpre Honor Books were Spirits of the High Mesa by Floyd Martinez and Laughing Tomatoes and Other Spring Poems by Francisco X. Alarcon.
Madeleine L’Engle Named Edwards Award Winner
Madeleine L’Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time and other popular books for children and young adults, was named the 1998 recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award, honoring her lifetime contribution in writing for teens. The award, sponsored by School Library Journal, is administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). L’Engle will receive $1,000.
Considered one of the foremost American creators of fantasy and science fiction as well as a perceptive writer of realistic family stories, L’Engle is the author of more than 40 books for young adults and children. A Wrinkle in Time won the 1963 Newbery Medal.
"L’Engle tells stories that uniquely blend scientific principles and the quest for higher meaning," said Jeri Baker, chair of the Edwards Award Committee. "Basic to her philosophy of writing is the belief that ‘story’ helps individuals live courageously and creatively."
L’Engle was cited for the Austin Family Series, which includes Meet the Austins and A Ring of Endless Light ; and the Time Fantasy Series, which includes A Wrinkle in Time and A Swiftly Tilting Planet .
ALA Best Books for Young Adults 1998
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), has announced its 1998 list of Best Books for Young Adults.
The list includes 84 titles – 58 fiction, 4 poetry anthologies and 22 non-fiction works – published during 1997 and the last four months of 1996, which meet the criteria of literary quality and appeal for readers between age 12 and 18. A wide variety of subjects are represented from adventure to history to romance.
"The current interest of teens in poetry is reflected in the committee’s choice of four anthologies plus four other works in verse. Serious memoirs about the Chinese Cultural Revolution and the Holocaust will satisfy an interest in history by teens," commented Karlan Sick, chair of the YALSA Best Books for Young Adults Committee.
This year a mother and daughter, Norma Fox Mazer and Ann Mazer, both have books on the list. Walter Dean Myers’ Harlem is illustrated by his son Christopher. Mel Glenn has two books on the list in verse format. There were four unanimous selections by the committee: Growing Up in Coal Country by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause, Swallowing Stones by Joyce McDonald, and Harlem by Walter Dean Myers.
Alexander, Lloyd. Iron Ring.
Appelt, Kathi. Just People & Paper/pen/poem
Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. Growing up in Coal Country .
Berg, Elizabeth. Joy School .
Bernstein, Sara Tuvel. Seamstress .
Bitton-Jackson, Livia. I Have Lived a Thousand Years.
Bloor, Edward. Tangerine.
Brooks, Martha. Bone Dance
Buck, Rinker. Flight of Passage
Carroll, Joyce Armstrong, and Edward E. Wilson. Poetry after Lunch:
Poems to Read Aloud
Carter, Alden R. Bull Catcher
Chadwick, Douglas, and Joel Sartore. Company We Keep: America’s Endangered Species
Chang, Pang-Mei Natasha. Bound Feet and Western Dress
Cook, Karen. What Girls Learn
Cooney, Caroline B. What Child Is This?: A Christmas Story
Corbett, Sara. Venus to the Hoop
Cormier, Robert. Tenderness
Creech, Sharon. Chasing Redbird
De Lint, Charles. Trader
Del Cazo, Nick. Triumphant Spirit
Deuker, Carl. Painting the Black
Dorris, Michael. Window
Draper, Sharon. Forged by Fire
Dyer, Daniel. Jack London: A Biography
Elders, Joycelyn, and David Chanoff. Joycelyn Elders, M.D.
Fleischman, Paul. Seedfolks
Fogle, Bruce. Encyclopedia of the Cat
Fradin, Dennis B. Planet Hunters
Gallo, Donald R. ed. No Easy Answers: Short Stories about Teenagers Making Tough Choices
Giblin, James Cross. Charles A. Lindbergh, A Human Hero
Glenn, Mel. Jump Ball: A Basketball Season in Poems
. The Taking of Room 114
Greenfield, Susan, ed. Human Mind Explained
Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Leaving Fishers
Hayes, Daniel. Flyers
Hesse, Karen. Out of the Dust
Hogan, James P. Bug Park
Howe, James. Watcher
Jiang, Ji Li. Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution
Kelton, Elmer. Cloudy in the West
Kerner, Elizabeth. Song in the Silence
Kindl, Patrice. The Woman in the Wall
Krisher, Trudy. Kinship
Klause, Annette Curtis. Blood and Chocolate
Krakauer, Jon. Into Thin Air
Lantz, Frances. Someone to Love
Lee, Marie G. Necessary Roughness
Levenkron, Steven. The Luckiest Girl in the World
Levine, Gail. Ella Enchanted
Maxwell, Robin. Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn
Mazer, Anne, ed. Working Days: Short Stories about Teenagers at Work.
Mazer, Norma Fox. When She Was Good
McDonald, Joyce. Swallowing Stones
McKinley, Robin. Rose Daughter
McLaren, Clemence. Inside the Walls of Troy
Meyer, Carolyn. Jubilee Journey
Myers, Walter Dean. Harlem
Napoli, Donna Jo. Stones in Water
Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Outrageously Alice
Nix, Garth. Shade’s Children
Nolan, Han. Dancing on the Edge
Nye, Naomi Shihab. Habibi
Orr, Wendy. Peeling the Onion
Oughton, Jerrie. War in Georgia
Paulsen, Gary. Schernoff Discoveries
Penman, Sharon. The Queen’s Man
Philip, Neil. In a Sacred Manner I Live: Native American Wisdom
Pullman, Philip. Subtle Knife
Reynolds, Marjorie. The Starlite Drive-in
Rinaldi, Ann. Acquaintance with Darkness
Rochman, Hazel, ed. Leaving Home
Shoup, Barbara. Stranded in Harmony
Shusterman, Neal. The Dark Side of Nowhere
Skurzynski, Gloria. Virtual War
Soto, Gary. Buried Onions
Steger, Will. Over the Top of the World: Explorer Will Steger’s Trek Across the Arctic
Sullivan, Charles, ed. Imaginary Animals
Tate, Sonsyrea. Little X
Thomas, Rob. Doing Time: Notes from the Undergrad
Tillage, Leon Walter. Leon’s Story
Wersba, Barbara. Whistle Me Home
Williams, Carol Lynch. True Colors of Caitlynne Jackson
Yee, Paul. Breakawayr1998 Quick Picks for Young Adults
The 11-member YALSA committee selected 68 titles – 32 fiction and 36 nonfiction. According to the committee, small press, mass market, and adult books are actively sought, and several appear on the list. This list offers selections for a wide range of interests: from the classic to short stories, poetry, books about animals, comics, thriller, killers, and vampires. Except where noted, all titles were published in 1997 and selected by the committee with input from teen reluctant readers across the country who reviewed and evaluated books throughout the year.
Nonfiction
Aaseng, Nathan. Poisonous Creatures
Adoff, Arnold, ed. I Am the Darker Brother: An Anthology of Modern Poems by African Americans
Blum, Mark. Beneath the Sea in 3-D
Branzei, Sylvia. Grossology Begins at Home: The Science of Really Gross Things in Your Everyday Life
Canfield, Jack, Mark Hansen, and Kimberly Kirberger. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul: 101 Stories of Life, Love and Learning
Coville, Bruce. William Shakespeare’s Macbeth
Fletcher, Ralph. Ordinary Things: Poems From a Walk in Early Spring.
Fogle, Bruce. Dachshund. (Dog breed handbooks)
Fogle, Bruce. Poodle . (Dog breed handbooks)
Fogle, Bruce. The Encyclopedia of the Cat
Gates, Phil. Medicine. (The history news)
Glenn, Mel. Jump Ball: A Basketball Season in Poems
Glenn, Mel. The Taking of Room 114: A Hostage Drama in Poems
Greenfield, Lauren. Fast Forward: Growing Up in the Shadow of
Hollywood
Hampton, Wilborn. Kennedy Assassinated! The World Mourns: A Reporter’s Story
Hirsch, Karen D. Mind Riot: Coming of Age in Comix
Janulewicz, Mike. Yikes! Your Body up Close!
King, Martin Luther. I Have a Dream
Kleinbaum, Nancy H. The Magnificent Seven: The Authorized Story of American Gold. 1996
Kramer, Stephen. Eye of the Storm: Chasing Storms with Warren Faidley
Kwan, Michelle. (told to Laura James) Michelle Kwan: Heart of a Champion
Marschall, Ken. Inside the Titanic. (A giant cutaway book)
Morgan, Rowland. In the Next Three Seconds
Myers, Walter Dean. Harlem
O’Grady, Scott. Basher Five-Two: The True Story of F-16 Fighter Pilot Captain Scott O’Grady
Peters, Mike. Grimmy: King of the Heap!
Platt, Richard. Stephen Biesty’s Incredible Everything.
Polk, Milbry. Egyptian Mummies: A Pop-Up Book
Rees, Dafydd. Encyclopedia of Rock Stars
Schroeder, Russell. Mickey Mouse: My Life in Pictures
Stine, R.L. It Came From Ohio: My Life as a Writer
Tanaka, Shelley. Discovering the Iceman
Thomas, Velma Maia. Lest We Forget: The Passage from Africa to Slavery and Emancipation
"Whaddaya Doin’ In There?": A Bathroom Companion (for Kids)
Willson, Quentin. Classic American CarsFiction
Alten, Steve. Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror
Anderson, M.T. Thirsty
Carter, Alden. Bull Catcher
Cole, Brock. The Facts Speak for Themselves
Cooney, Caroline. The Terrorist
. Wanted!
Cusick, Richie Tankersley. The Harvest. (Buffy the Teenage Vampire Slayer)
Draper, Sharon M. Forged by Fire
Duncan, Lois. Gallows Hill
Fleischman, Paul. Seed Folks
Gallo, Donald, ed. No Easy Answers: Short Stories About Teenagers Making Tough Choices
Giberga, Jane Sughrue. Friends to Die For
Hogan, James P. Bug Park
Jenkins, A.M. Breaking Boxes
Klause, Annette Curtis. Blood and Chocolate
Levine, Gail Carson. Ella Enchanted
Mazer, Harry, ed. Twelve Shots: Outstanding Stories about Guns
Morris, Winifred. Liar
Paulsen, Gary. Sarny: A Life Remembered
Paulsen, Gary. The Schernoff Discoveries
Petersen, P.J. White Water
Qualey, Marsha. Thin Ice
Rochman, Hazel and Darlene Z. McCampbell. Leaving Home
Shusterman, Neal. The Dark Side of Nowhere
Skurzynski, Gloria. Virtual War
Sleator, William. The Beasties
Soto, Gary. Buried Onions
Stoker, Bram. Dracula. (Eyewitness classics)
Thomas, Rob. Doing Time: Notes from the Undergrad
Vande Velde, Vivian. Curses, Inc. and Other Stories
Wersba, Barbara. Whistle Me Home
Williams, Carol Lynch. The True Colors of Caitlynne Jackson.The Young Reader’s Choice Award
The Young Reader’s Choice Award (YRCA) was established in 1940 to promote reading for enjoyment. It is the original children’s choice award and is sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Library Association. The books are voted on by children and young adults of Alberta, Alaska, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, from books published three years previously, and nominated by librarians, teachers, students and others. The Youth Division award goes to a book for grades 4-8. In 1991, a Senior Division (grades 9-12) was added to the program.
Information about Current Nominated Titles, Participating in the Program, Nominating and Voting, State and Provincial Representatives and Committee Chairperson, Ongoing Nomination Site, Scholarship for Conference Attendance, History and Rationale, Selection Policy, Handbooks (Sample entries and Ordering information), and Support Materials can be accessed at
http://www.beyondbasals.com/yrca.html
Nominated Titles For 1998. Students from Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Washington who have read (or listened to) two books in either or both categories vote for their favorites.
Youth Division (Grades 4-8)
Avi. Poppy
Curtis, Christopher Paul. The Watsons Go to Birmingham–1963
Furlong, Monica. Robin’s Country
Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Running Out of Time
Kehret, Peg. Danger at the Fair
Mikaelsen, Ben. Stranded
Park, Barbara. Mick Harte Was Here
Rubinstein, Gillian. Galax-Arena: A Novel
Sachar, Louis. Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger
Smith, Roland. Thunder Cave
Wynne-Jones, Tim. Some of the Kinder Planets
Yep, Laurence. Later, GatorSenior Division (Grades 9-12)
Cormier, Robert. In the Middle of the Night
Cushman, Karen. The Midwife’s Apprentice
Haywood, Gar Anthony. Bad News Travels Fast
Lynch, Chris. Slot Machine
White, Ellen Emerson. The Road HomeHeartland Award
The Writing Conference is pleased to announce the winner of the 1998 Heartland Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature: Karen Hesse for her book Phoenix Rising . Karen Hesse will accept her award at the 1998 Literature Festival in Lawrence, Kansas, on October 16.
Nominations are being accepted for the 1999 Heartland Award. Nominations may be mailed or e-mailed to John H. Bushman, Director
The Writing Conference, Inc.
PO Box 664
Ottawa, KS 66067
E-mail: jbushman@writingconference.com1998 Garden State (NJ) Teen Book Award
Chris Lynch’s Slot Machine is the winner of the 1998 Garden State Teen Book Award. This award is presented annually to the book on a masterlist of 20 titles voted the favorite by a majority of New Jersey students in grades six to eight. The award is sponsored by the New Jersey Library Association. For information about his award, contact Bonnie Kunzel, New Brunswick Free Public Library, 60 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901; 732-745-5116.
1998-99 Texas Lone Star Reading List
The 1998-99 Texas Lone Star Reading List was recently announced. The list is selected for middle school/junior students grades 6 through 8 in the state of Texas by the 1998-99 Texas Lone Star Selection Committee of the Young Adult Round Table, Texas Library Association.
Barron, T.A., The Lost Years of Merlin
Bunin, Sherry, Dear Great American Writers School
Cooney, Caroline B., The Voice on the Radio
Creech, Sharon, Chasing Redbird
Cushman, Karen, The Ballad of Lucy Whipple
De Vries, Anke, Bruises
Defelice, Cynthia, Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker
Deuker, Carl, Painting the Black
Dorris, Michael, Sees Behind Trees
Heisel, Sharon E., Eyes of a Stranger
Hesse, Karen, The Music of Dolphins
Hobbs, Will, Far North
Konigsburg, E.L., The View from Saturday
Paterson, Katherine, Jip: His Story
Plummer, Louise, The Unlikely Romance of Kate Bjorkman
Powell, Randy, Dean Duffy
Randle, Kristen D., The Only Alien on the Planet
Sleator, William, The Night the Heads Came
Spinelli, Jerry, Crash
Thesman, Jean, The Ornament Tree
by TG