How to Choose the Best Books for Kids and Teens
by Janice D’Arcy (The Washington Post)
Yesterday, the American Library Association announced this year’s winners of the country’s most prestigious awards in children’s and young adult literature. (The list of winners is here)
Today, I’m posting my interview with Mary Fellows, president of the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the ALA.
We discussed how the winning books were chosen, trends in young people’s literature and how parents can choose quality books for their kids.
(Full disclosure: My daughters’ birthdays are coming up so I had an ulterior motive in seeking this advice.)
Here’s our edited Q&A:
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I think we’re seeing more books set in dystopian societies, where children struggle to be moral in a world that rewards amorality. We’re also seeing more quality nonfiction — wonderful biographies, history and science books.
How do you think these themes reflect cultural changes as a whole?
Children of today are more knowledgeable about society’s problems than kids of a generation ago. They see more news programs and encounter news on the Internet. Television talk shows plumb family problems. Adults are more open about addictions and issues in their conversations, and kids overhear them.
In terms of nonfiction, information has become a hot commodity with the Internet. I read recently that children don’t have to wonder anymore — they can look up a question on the Internet in seconds. Of course, not all kids have easy access to the Internet, and the answer they find may or may not be accurate. That’s why the top-notch nonfiction being published today for children is such a boost to learning.
Speaking of cultural changes, why are children reading less and why should we be concerned about it?
I think the surveys show that kids are reading fewer books. Rather than books, kids are reading more magazines, Web sites and e-mails. The concern with kids reading fewer books is that they will be less practiced in reading deeply, reflecting, analyzing complex textual information and thinking critically.