Hi, everyone! I’m Anne Heidemann, Children’s, Tween & Teen Services Department Head at the Canton Public Library in Canton, Michigan. I’m a member of YALSA’s Outreach to Young Adults with Special Needs Committee, and an outgoing member of ALSC’s Membership Committee. I’m also a member of PLA and LLAMA. Today I attended a YALSA preconference, and here are my impressions.
Got Tweens? Serving Younger Teens & Tweens
A YALSA Preconference
ALA Annual Conference, Anaheim CA
Friday June 27, 2008
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The Basics: Who are Tweens/Early Teens?
Booktalks:
Encyclopedia Horrifica
Stanford Wong Flunks Big-time
Millicent Min, Girl Genius
So Totally Emily Ebers
Lisa Yee brought her peep, Peepy, with her (as she usually does), and introduced him to the crowd (look for photos on her blog in the next few days). She reminisced about when she was a kid and she used to look for books with cracked spines to know that they were enjoyed by others. She also looked at the check-out cards to see who else had enjoyed them, and often found that her own name was there, because she checked out the same books over and over.
Before writing books for tweens, Lisa wrote ad jingles (Pass the Old El Paso - that was her!). Before that, when she was in middle school, she kept a very secret set of journals that were very serious and dramatic. She told us about a show called Mortified, where people get up on stage and read from their tween- and teen-hood diaries. She decided she wasn’t going to audition for that show but she did read us an excerpt as an illustration of how awkward you feel as a tween, how you feel that nothing is quite right with your appearance and your body. A lot of this stuff is funny, but when she writes, she tries to include the sad, scary stuff as well as the funny things. With the help of her editor Arthur Levine, she realized while writing from a boy’s perspective, that she was writing too much about feelings - boys don’t really talk about their feelings explicitly. Boys communicate, of course, but not in the overt ways that girls do.
The quickest way to turn off your audience is to not be authentic. Lisa read us a bit of a letter she received from a tween reader, who started out by telling Lisa that she enjoyed reading her book, but she didn’t finish it because she had an assignment, which she then asked for Lisa’s help completing. Lisa gets a lot of letters like this.
One of the attendees asked how Lisa thinks that public librarians can connect with tween boys, and Lisa said that for her son, it was getting the first right book in his hands. He needed to realize that books weren’t scary and weren’t his enemy. Books were a struggle and some kids need to know that it’s okay to put a reading-for-pleasure book down if it’s not engaging. She also makes a point of talking with him about books.
Lisa has a new book coming out for teens called Absolutely Maybe. She will be signing at Scholastic’s booth Saturday (6/28) from 10-11am and will present as part of LAYAPALOOZA Saturday from 2-3pm.*
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Teri Lesesne, author of Naked Reading: Uncovering What Tweens Need to Become Lifelong Reading introduced and delivered a presentation on behalf of Stacy L. Creel, who couldn’t be here (she’s expecting and could not travel).
“Tween is a fluid definition: meaning that different cognitive, emotional and social developments happen at different rates in different adolescents. Some 10 year-olds may have begun physically developing while others may not see these changes until they are 13.”
Physical aspects:
* bombarded by hormones, hormonal roller coaster
* beginning reproductive development
* growth surge
Psychological aspects:
* reasoning capacities rise to new levels of complexity
* learning how to handle adult responsibilities
* ability to think about possibilities, consider hypotheses, think ahead, consider the thought process, think beyond conventional limits
* ability to use abstract verbal concepts
* ability to engage in abstract thought
* moral development evolves
* increased awareness of the relationship between the individual and society
Social development:
* expected increase in freedom
* move away from family toward peers
* likely to have friends of similar social and cultural backgrounds, similar attitudes and values
* increased importance of peer approval and acceptance
* rely on friends for everything
* more pressure from peers = greater likelihood of going along with it
Libraries are often a welcoming place to those without a place: tweens, who are self-identified as too mature for children’s area and too young for teen area.
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The Basics II: Tweens/Early Teens in your library
Booktalks:
Beowulf: A Hero’s Tale Retold by James Rumford
The Ashwater Experiment by Amy Goldman Koss
Side Effects by Amy Goldman Koss
Amy Goldman Koss is the author of the two books above as well as The Girls, The Cheat, and Poison Ivy. Amy doesn’t like the word “tween” and has been trying to understand why we use it (her prevailing theory is that it’s an awkward word for an awkward time). (NOTE: At my library, the tweens like the word, and actually voted to name their dedicated area the Tween Scene.) She spoke about the physical awkwardness of being a tween, which clothes shopping still brings out for her, even as an adult.
She talked about the difficulty we have remembering the intensity of things that happened in the past, and how it’s crucial to find and evoke that intensity when writing for tweens. She tells her (grown-up) students to write for themselves at the age they’re writing for. She writes for “that moody, cranky, shitty little kid who was secretive, a bad student, but fearless and terrified.” She wants to write books that will entertain that girl.
Amy Goldman Koss may be signing in the exhibits at point in time (if anyone knows more specifics, please comment!).*
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Booktalks by Jerene Battisti, Education and Teen Services Coordinator for the King County Library System:
The Clique by Lisi Harrison
Lisi Harrison did not attend a posh private school like her characters. She used her experience working with young women at MTV as her basis for the Clique girls, particularly her coworkers desire to do and wear and have whatever was necessary to be cool. She spoke about her characters and the impact they’ve had on readers who’ve contacted her.
Lisi will be signing at the Little Brown booth Saturday from 11-12pm.*
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Teri Lesesne presented (her own PPT this time), speaking about illiteracy and reluctant tween readers. The recent/current movement of focusing on standardized test scores leads to an increasing number of young people who can’t read critically and don’t enjoy reading (but who have been taught to pass tests).
Research
Q: What makes you want to read?
A: (students K-12) being allowed to choose any book you want
A: (students K-12) having a classroom library
A: (students K-12) having the teacher read aloud
A: (students K-12) having the teacher take you to the school library
A: (students K-5) being allowed to read somewhere comfortable (floor, beanbag chair, etc.)
A: (students K-5) being allowed to buy your own book at a book fair
A: (students K-5) being allowed to participate in a reading competition
A: (students K-5) seeing the movie or TV production of the book after reading it
A: (students 6-12) having the author come to the school
A: (students 6-12) seeing the movie or TV production of the book before reading it
T-tweens need to Trust that we have fun books, tough books
A-tweens need Access to books
R-tweens need books that evoke a strong Response
G-tweens need books that provide Guidance
E-tweens need Enthusiasm for books
T-tweens need books with Tween appeal (and another and another)
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The Info: Resources to Serve Tweens
Jon Scieszka is the author of many awesome books including Guys Write for Guys Read, Knucklehead (forthcoming), and my personal favorite Squids Will Be Squids.
Jon’s presentation was (as usual) terrific, with lots of brilliant ideas as well as hilarity. Librarians have the power to mediate the relationship between tweens and books, especially for tween boys. Tween boys are developmentally separating from their mothers, and most teachers (primary reading advocates in their lives) are mom-like figures, so that’s why reading drops off dramatically at that age. By making materials that tween boys want available and accessible, we can help.
Tween boys also need role models and while as a majority, we’re out of luck here as we’re predominantly female, we can help make male role models available in places where tween boys can connect with them. We as librarians need to embrace technology, including video games, because tween boys are interested in technology. We as librarians need not to look at things in terms of value judgments - materials are different, and that’s fine. (Totally! Like John Green said when I heard him speak earlier this year, it’s only as adults that we learn to judge things as either high culture or low culture, and we would all do well to forget how.)
Knucklehead is a collection of stories about Jon and his brothers growing up and includes his own illustrations and family photos from his childhood. Jon read some excerpts, and this book is hilarious! Hearing him read from it reminded me of hearing Chris Crutcher read from King of the Mild Frontier. I’m not going to retell butcher any of Jon’s stories here, but suffice it to say, growing up as one of six boys, he’s got a lot of fodder and really makes the most of it in Knucklehead.
Jon Scieszka’s Knucklehead will be released in the fall. He’ll be signing at the Simon & Schuster booth Saturday from 3-4pm. He’ll be signing at the Penguin Booth Saturday from 9-10am.*
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Bruce Hale is the author of the Chet Gecko Mysteries (including The Malted Falcon and The Hamster of the Baskervilles) and the Underwhere series (including the Prince of Underwhere and the Pirates of Underwhere).
As a child, Bruce did not care for books. He loved the movies, comics, and TV, and found lots of inspiration for his imagination in those three avenues. His childhood career ambitions included pirate, gladiator, knight, and Daniel Boone. When he was around 8, their TV died, and his parents comforted and distracted the fam by reading books aloud. When his parents read Tarzan of the Apes, Bruce had an epiphany: “if this is what books about, I love books!” His father made a point of telling him that Edgar Rice Burroughs was the author, the man who used his imagination to come up with Tarzan, and suddenly Bruce realized that he wanted to be an author. His local public library became his home away from home and the librarians kept coming up with more choices for what he could read next. (Bruce actually got a little choked up telling us this - aww!)
As a teenager and twenty-something, he got distracted by several sidelines including acting, playing the guitar, and girls, but he kept running into meaningful books and getting a little closer to his goal of writing a book.
Bruce read from The Malted Falcon, and noted a number of other books he recommends for reluctant tweens, book that hook you with fantasy, action, the promise that something will happen, series, graphic novels, and books in which they see themselves. His recommendations include Captain Underpants, Matilda, Millicent Min, Girl Genius, My Teacher is an Alien, Battle of the Labyrinth, Ella Enchanted, The Lightning Thief, Because of Winn-Dixie, Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, Animorphs, Redwall, Alex Rider, Artemis Fowl, Holes, Chasing Vermeer, Bone, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Esperanza Rising, Bucking the Sarge, and Monsoon Summer.
Bruce finished his talk with examples of some letters young readers have sent him, which were funny and sweet and touching (lots of awws there). His final sentiment really sums up what several of the speakers have said today: “It only takes the right book to make a reader.”
Bruce Hale will be signing at the Harper Collins booth Saturday from 9:30-10am and at the Harcourt booth at 11:30am*
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Booktalks:
The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd
The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry
Savvy by Ingrid Law
Ingrid Law spoke about the ways that tweens start to show the changes they experience as they grow up, and illustrated with examples read from her book Savvy. Writing Savvy, she wanted to read a book about magic (without using the word magic) because young people need to be encouraged to look at themselves and ask, “what’s extraordinary about me,” and “what talents do I have?”
She comes from a long line of anxious women and has come to the conclusion that anxiety is just imagination misused, so she decided to use her imagination to ask “what if” something good happened, rather than something bad.
Ingrid Law will be signing at the Penguin Young Readers booth
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The Panel: Programming for tweens
Natalie Hoyle, Lamont Elementary School, Illinois
- Natalie started an audio discussion group for her students, which meets at lunch time during the school day.
Catherine Schaeffer, King County Libary System, Seattle, Washington
- Catherine is running a program called Science Alive this summer. Local university science students, a bioengineer, and several other science professionals visit the library for these programs. Teen volunteers help run the program.
Jerene Battisti, King County Library System, Seattle, Washington
- One of their branches has a tween gaming program. It started as a teen gaming program, and the teens volunteered to run the program for tweens instead.
- This summer tweens (and teens) can Read Three, Get One Free. They read three books, answer some questions, and have the chance to win prizes.
- This summer tweens (and teens) can Read, Flip, Win, which is a video contest using YouTube. Teen librarians will judge.
Mary Burkee, middle school librarian, Columbus, Ohio
- Mary displays books and other materials on table tops. She did one display of books that relate in some way to Guitar Hero, which was very popular.
- Every month she takes a group of her students to Barnes & Noble and get to pick out any books they want for the library collection. Each book is then tagged with a bookplate indicating the student who picked it out.
- She runs Free Read Fridays, where teachers can bring their students in and read for pleasure.
- She has a suggestion box and she promises her students she’ll buy any item they suggest. Empowering students is her best bet for encouraging students to read.
Jenine Lillian, University of Washington Information School professor & part-time private school librarian grades 4-12
- Jenine recommends talking to your tweens and asking them what they want/like/think. She also recommends year-round programming, no matter what type of library, to provide consistency and the expectation that there’s always something to do there.
- Her teens have been excited to share their expertise and interests with tweens (knitting and anime club members especially). They have also helped run programs including bowling night.
- She used a scavenger hunt to gather information on what her patrons liked and didn’t like about what they saw at the library.
- Her tweens did not want to do a book club, so they did read-the-book, watch-the-movie instead.
The panel fielded questions from the audience, many of which related to how to define tweens (define by age? grade? either way, what range?). The consensus of the panelists is that it will vary according to community.
Several of the panelists run tween advisory or similar groups, mostly as feeder groups for their teen advisory boards.
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*all book signing information subject to change, error, and me being just plain wrong. Corrections are welcome in the comments!
