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Dear Book Lovers, Welcome! I am delighted that you have found The Through the Looking Glass blog. For over twenty years I reviewed children's literature titles for my online journal, which came out six times a year. Every book review written for that publication can be found on the Through the Looking Glass website (the link is below). I am now moving in a different direction, though the columns that I write are still book-centric. Instead of writing reviews, I'm offering you columns on topics that have been inspired by wonderful books that I have read. I tell you about the books in question, and describe how they have have impacted me. This may sound peculiar to some of you, but the books that I tend to choose are ones that resonate with me on some level. Therefore, when I read the last page and close the covers, I am not quite the same person that I was when first I started reading the book. The shift in my perspective might be miniscule, but it is still there. The books I am looking are both about adult and children's titles. Some of the children's titles will appeal to adults, while others will not. Some of the adult titles will appeal to younger readers, particularly those who are eager to expand their horizons.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Teen Read Week 2011



It is Teen Read Week and I want to share some information about this celebration of YA literature with you. According to the ALA website...


"Teen Read Week is held each year during the third week of October. In 2011, it will be celebrated Oct. 16-22.

Teen Read Week is an national literacy initiative of the  Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association. It's aimed at teens, their parents, librarians, educators, booksellers and other concerned adults.

Teen Read Week's theme is Read For The Fun Of It. Each year, YALSA offers a new sub-theme to serve as a basis for developing programs in schools, public libraries, and bookstores. The 2011 sub-theme is Picture It @ your library, which encourages teens to read graphic novels and other illustrated materials, seek out creative books, or imagine the world through literature, just for the fun of it. The event offers librarians and educators a chance to encourage teens to read for pleasure and to visit their libraries for free reading materials. If you have a recommendation for a theme for 2012, please send it to yalsa@ala.org.

Teen Read Week 2011 will be celebrated at thousands of public and school libraries, classrooms, and bookstores across the country. Although teens realize the importance of reading, they have a huge menu of activities to choose from when deciding how to spend their free time, and reading gets lost in the shuffle. Reading skills get rusty when they are not used. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reports that over the last 20 years there have been only modest gains in reading achievement. And although there are many active literacy campaigns, very few efforts focus on teenagers."

The YALSA Teens Top Ten titles for 2011 are:

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (Simon & Schuster)
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick (Simon & Schuster)
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (HarperCollins)
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa (Harlequin)
Matched by Ally Condie (Penguin)
Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson (Little, Brown & Company)
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White (HarperCollins)
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (HarperCollins)
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer (Penguin)


These "teens choice" titles were chosen by teens who are members of book groups in sixteen school and public libraries around the United States. You can see all the 2011 nominated titles here. 


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