First Part Last

When I finished reading The First Part Last I hated it.  The ending just ruined me.  I was so mad at the book.  I had invested myself in the story.  I was really understanding their emotions and the little sweet baby was just that, so sweet.  I could almost picture her in my head.  Spoiler alert, if you have not read the book, don't continue to read my post.  The young man, Bobby goes through so much and then he finally thinks everything is going to work out and BAM, the baby's mom, Nia, ends up in a vegetative state.  Of course it does work out, just not like I wanted.  After I looked back over the book, I don't hate it anymore.  It is well written.  I love how the story goes back and forth and the reader has to piece the parts together before everthing is clear at the end.  I loved the visuals the author paints in the reader's mind.  I didn't like the end, but it was a good book, I suppose (I'm still a little upset). 

Booktalking

The best booktalker I ever heard was one of my professors at UAB.  Her name was MaryAnn Manning.  I had her for Children's Literature.  Before each class she would perform a booktalk or share an entire book with us.  I use the word perform because her booktalk was just that, a performance.  Actually any good booktalk should be a mini performance.  That is what any good commercial is and a booktalk is a commercial for a book.  You have to have just enough information to grab the readers interest.  Most importantly you can't give the ending away!!! Being creative in the booktalk is the best.  You could use puppets or an artifact from the story to help.  You can dress in character or bring in someone dressed as a character.  The idea is to keep it fresh, keep the books circulating, and keep those students reading. 

Who are young adults?

Young adults are hard to put into a specific category.  There are different genders, ages, colors, and religions of young adults.  They live in different areas.  They have different  likes and dislikes, as well as different hobbies.  Some drink alcohol, some may be experimenting with sexual acts.  Drugs may be a threat to their lives.  They may have home problems or school problems.  The YALSA defines young adults as youth aged 12 through 18 years.  The librarians special role is to carefully select a variety of books and materials that meets the needs of such a diverse group. 

Young Adult Interview

I recently conducted an informal interview with a group of young adult boys.  It was interesting, although not surprising, that the overwhelming reading material of choice was about sports or action characters.  This surveyed group did enjoy nonfiction, but it was about sports, sport figures, and animals.  The group also enjoyed books which were humorous like the Nate books and the Wimpy series.  None of the students used the Internet to read.  Their reading was from hard copies of books and magazines. 

Illustrators

     I have always loved picture books.  It is a great reason to become an elementary school teacher so you can continue to read and share them.  The illustrations in a book help to tell the story.  Some stories don't even have words.  The stories tell the pictures.  Some illustrators are better than others at conveying the meaning of the story through pictures.  One of my favorites is Chris Van Allsburg.  His work has always intrigued me.  I love his work in The Polar Express.  I truly believe the pictures tell the story as well as the words.