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Literature for Today's Young Adults, MyLabSchool Edition, 7/E
Kenneth L. Donelson, Arizona State University
Alleen P. Nilsen

ISBN-10: 0205451195
ISBN-13: 9780205451197

Publisher: Allyn & Bacon
Copyright: 2005
Format: Cloth Bound with PIN; 496 pp
Published: 12/22/2004

This item has been upgraded to Literature for Today's Young Adults, 8/E .

With new features and thoroughly updated, the number one book in Young Adult Literature continues to help teachers learn how to motivate teenagers to become life-long readers.

Written with the belief that students will have a better chance of becoming life-long readers if they have choices in what they read and if they enjoy it, renowned authors Alleen Nilsen and Ken Donelson offer a comprehensive, reader-friendly introduction to young adult literature framed within a rich literary, historical, and social context. The authors also provide teachers with criteria for evaluating books of all genres, from poetry and nonfiction to mysteries, science fiction, and horror. Coverage of timely issues such as pop culture and mass media have been added to help teachers connect with students' lives outside the classroom.


  • Packed with pedagogy to enhance student learning. Includes: glossary of literary terms, Internet resources, charts, and tables as well as:

    • Author Boxes acquaint students with prominent writers and their views on current issues as they relate to literature.

    • Film Boxes suggest ways for teachers to make connections between books and film.

    • Focus Boxes provide annotated bibliographies of new books on important topics.

  • Coverage of nonfiction books is incorporated throughout each chapter and focused on in Chapter 9.
  • Recommended readings allow students to move beyond the text and further explore concepts and literature presented.

  • Eighteen New Author Boxes include original statements by such famous writers as Judy Blume, Joyce Carol Oates, and Jack Gantos, allowing students to study their views on current issues as they relate to literature.
  • Enhanced “Honor List” chart presents crucial information on the best three to ten books for young adults published each year since 1967 and shows what characteristics these "best" books have in common (Ch. 1).
  • Thoroughly revised, the “Pop Culture” chapter (Ch. 3) provides background information on how modern Young Adult literature fits in with popular culture and with general adult reading to help students gain respect for the field in general as a subject of scholarship.
  • Coverage of censorship has been increased (Ch. 12) to provide students with arguments to defend themselves if a book they are teaching is censored or questioned.
  • Realistic fiction material has been conveniently placed in one chapter (Ch. 4) for easy reference to students.
  • Material has been streamlined to make it more accesible for students. Some reading, especially in the history of Young Adult Literature and the censorship chapter, now contains timelines and charts.
  • New sections on setting professional goals in Chapters 10, 11 and 12 help build support for future professionals by getting parents, counselors, and students interested in the literature of young adults.
  • Literary terms are illustrated in Appendix A using examples from Young Adult literature.
  • Updated and valuable bibliographies in Appendices B, C, and D cite “best” books and articles from the last few decades to help students with papers, theses, and dessertations.

Most chapters conclude with “Notes” and “Titles Mentioned in the Text of Chapter.”

Specialized Contents.


Preface.

I. UNDERSTANDING YOUNG ADULTS AND BOOKS.

1. Young Adults and Their Reading.

What Is Young Adult Literature.

A Brief Unsettled Heritage.

Today's Authors.

Characteristics of the Best Young Adult Literature.

Stages of Literary Appreciation.

Questions about Gender and Literacy.

2. A Brief History of Adolescent Literature.

1800-1900: A Century of Purity with a Few Passions.

A Sampling of Books Appreciated by Young Adults 1864-1965.

1900-1940: From the Safety of Romance to the Beginning of Realism.

1940-1966: From Certainty to Uncertainty.

3. Pop Culture, YA Lit, Big Business, and Archetypal Images.

YA Lit as Big Business.

A Survey of Students' Relationships to Popular Media.

Archetypes in Literature and the Pop Culture.

II. MODERN YOUNG ADULT READING.

4. Contemporary Realistic Fiction: From Tragedies to Romances.

The Modern Problem Novel.

What Are the Problems.

More Optimistic Novels.

Wish-Fulfilling Stories.

5. Poetry, Drama, and Humor.

A New Day for Poetry.

Making Drama a Class Act.

Humor Matters.

6. Adventure, Sports, Mysteries, and the Supernatural.

Adventure Stories.

Sports and the Game of Life.

Mysteries.

Stories of the Supernatural.

7. Fantasy, Science Fiction, Utopias, and Dystopias.

What Is Fantasy?

Other Kinds of Fantasy.

What Is Science Fiction?

Types of Science Fiction.

Utopias and Dystopias.

8. History and History Makers: Of People and Places.

Historical Fiction.

Westerns.

Books About War.

Literature of the Holocaust.

Books About Vietnam.

9. Nonfiction: Information, Literary Nonfiction, Biographies and Self-Help Books.

Information Books.

Narrative or Storytelling in Nonfiction.

Memoirs and Personal Experiences.

Biographies.

Autobiographies.

Nonfiction to Help Teenagers Learn Who They Are and Where They Fit.

Outstanding Authors of Nonfiction for Young Adults.

III. ADULTS AND THE LITERATURE OF YOUNG ADULTS.

10. Evaluating, Promoting, and Using Young Adult Books.

Evaluating Young Adult Literature.

Deciding on the Literary Canon.

Teaching Ethnic Literature.

Using Young Adult Literature in the Library.

Using Young Adult Books in the Reading Classroom.

Using Young Adult Books in the Social Studies Class.

Parents and Young Adult Literature.

Clarifying Human Relations and Values.

11. Literature in the English Class: Short Stories, Novels, Creative Writing, Film, and Thematic Units.

Principles of Teaching English.

Using Young Adult Literature in English Classes.

Using Short Stories in English Class.

Using Novels in English Class.

Using Young Adult Literature in Creative Writing.

Teaching Film in the English Class.

Using Thematic Units in the English Class.

12. Censorship: Of Worrying and Wondering.

A Sampling of Early Attitudes Toward Censorship.

The State of Classroom and Library Censorship Today.

Some Assumptions about Censorship and Censors.

Attacks on Materials.

Some Court Decisions Worth Knowing.

A New Kind of Censorship.

What To Do Before and After the Censors Arrive.

A Starter Bibliography on Censorship.

Specialized Contents.

Film Boxes.

Focus Boxes.

Author Statements.

Tables and Charts.

Literature for Today's Young Adults Gets Better and Better…

With new features and thoroughly updated, the number one book in Young Adult Literature continues to help teachers learn how to motivate teenagers to become life-long readers. Written with the belief that students will have a better chance of becoming life-long readers if they have choices in what they read and if they enjoy it, renowned authors Alleen Nilsen and Ken Donelson offer a comprehensive, reader-friendly introduction to young adult literature framed within a rich literary, historical, and social context.

New To This Edition!

  • 18 New Author Boxes include original statements by such famous writers as Judy Blume, Joyce Carol Oates, and Jack Gantos allowing students to study their views on current issues as they relate to literature.
  • Enhanced Honor List chart presents crucial information on the best 3 to 10 books for young adults published each year since 1967 and shows what characteristics these “best” books have in common (Chapter 1).
  • Thoroughly revised, the Pop Culture chapter (Ch. 3) provides background information on how modern Young Adult literature fits in with popular culture and with general adult reading to help students gain respect for the field in general as a subject of scholarship.
  • Coverage of censorship has been increased (Ch. 12) to provide students with arguments to defend themselves if a book they are teaching is censored or questioned.

Praise for Literature for Today's Young Adults:

“I truly enjoy using this text.”
Professor Linda Tabers-Kwak, University of Wisconsin, Green Bay

“…students have responded that this is the best textbook they have ever used in any class and that it is one they will not “sell back” to the bookstore.”
Professor Cora Dunkley, University of South Florida

About Your Authors:

Ken Donelson and Alleen Nilsen have a long history of working to promote reading by young adults. In the 1970's, they co-founded what is now The ALAN Review for the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE, and in the 1980's they were co-editors of The English Journal. Although Dr. Donelson retired from ASU in 2002, they continue to work together to make this seventh edition as updated, and as comprehensive and readable as its predecessors.

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