From Twitterbots to VR: 10 of the best examples of digital literature
These days all text is digital. From writing an email to publishing a new edition of War and Peace, text nearly always exists on a computer first. Yet there are writers who take full advantage of the computer’s possibilities, utilising new technologies to broach complex subject matter. Electronic or digital literature does not refer to e-books, but to works that depend on electronic “code” to exist.
Checklist: 8 Steps to Creating a Diverse Book Collection
It’s not easy to create an inclusive book collection. Whether you’re a librarian creating a collection for an entire community, a teacher creating a collection for your classroom, or a parent creating a collection for your children, choosing books that reflect the diversity of human experience can be a challenging job. That’s because creating a diverse book collection is about more than just making sure X, Y, and Z are represented. It’s not a matter of ticking off check boxes or making sure quotas are filled. For those committed to doing it right, building a diverse book collection requires contemplation, research, and awareness.
Stop Rushing Kids out of Graphic Novels
The books have been flying off our shelves once again in room 203. So many titles that barely get to rest for a moment before another eager set of hands attached to an even more eager reader grabs the book, so happy they finally got it. This book they have been waiting for, this book that everyone seems to be clamoring for.
Book bento boxes: Creative reading response
References and further reading Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2019). Critical and creative thinking. The Australian curriculumExternal link. Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2019). General capabilitiesExternal link.
YA and Middle Grade Reads for Game of Thrones Fans
This week, Game of Thrones fans the world over are wondering what will happen on the show's Sunday finale. Will Danaerys ultimately assume the Iron Throne? Will Jon Snow's true parentage become public? And whatever happens, will it be any good?
Fostering empathy in kids and teens
We need empathy more than ever in our current world, and we think books are one of the best tools for understanding another person’s perspective. We highly recommend you read our original deep dive into children’s books that teach empathy for detailed recommendations based on age groups, but we’ve also taken a fresh look at some recent and favourite books that encourage empathy in babies, kids and teens. Ten Little Fingers & Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox & Helen Oxenbury This modern classic uses sweet rhyming text to introduce babies in contrasting pairs – starting out with just two – which results in the cutest baby gang ever.
Using Graphic Novels in Education – Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
Using Graphic Novels in Education is an ongoing feature from CBLDF that is designed to allay confusion around the content of graphic novels and to help parents and teachers raise readers. In this column, we examine graphic novels, including those that have been targeted by censors, and provide teaching and discussion suggestions for the use of such books in classrooms. The list below includes all of the titles we’ve covered so far, but we add two to three titles per month throughout the year, so come back to discover more amazing graphic novels to use in your classroom! Some teaching suggestions follow, but the sky’s the limit when it comes to graphic novels! Many of the books listed under one heading below would suit another, so visit your local library or comic book shop to explore these amazing classroom tools!Books for elementary school readers:
International Literacy Association
For more than 20 years, ILA has published the What's Hot in Literacy survey findings to take the temperature of the literacy dialogue and to note the changing trends from year to year. A closer look This year, we examined how the topics relate to one another to emphasize not just what's hot but also what matters most in literacy education. Read our coverage of the report and its implications in the January/February issue of Literacy Today, ILA's bimonthly member magazine. Not a member? Join now to access this and other valuable resources.
Putting an End to Fake Reading
All English teachers want their students to develop a love of reading, but this is anything but a simple endeavor. Although I used to give students time to read once a week in my English classes for several years, I always knew I wasn’t making the impact I was aiming for. After a few years, I was able to get the whole class to be silent during the reading period, but I realized that not all of the students were actually reading—and that my reading program was anything but a success.
Adventures in Literacy Land: 10 Ways Teachers Kill a Love of Reading
We used to do our reading block in the morning, every day, but our library time was scheduled on Thursday afternoons. So, in the morning, I worked so hard to foster a love of reading. And then on Thursday afternoons, we came back from library and I told my kids to put their new books away because it was math time. The books they had just searched through the library to pick. The books they were so excited to read. And I made them immediately put it inside their desks or backpacks.
The kids are alright: young adult post-disaster novels can teach us about trauma and survival
COVID-19 is changing the way we live. Panic buying, goods shortages, lockdown – these are new experiences for most of us. But it’s standard fare for the protagonists of young adult (YA) post-disaster novels.
Young adult fiction's dark themes give the hope to cope
Problem or issue-based young adult novels are not new occurrences. From John Green’s Fault in Our Stars (2012) to Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why (2007), books aimed at readers as young as 12, and as old at 35, have long been exposing and exploring adult themes, at detriment only to characters on the page. S.E Hinton’s The Outsiders (1967), sometimes considered the first young adult novel, dealt with the darker side of adolescent life showing the violence of America’s gang culture.
Friday essay: why YA gothic fiction is booming - and girl monsters are on the rise
An 18-year-old girl prepares to die to enable the birth of her half-vampire baby. Her spine is broken in the process, and the fanged baby begins to gnaw its way through her stomach before the girl’s husband performs a vampiric Cesarean section. This is a crucial moment in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight novel series, published from 2005 to 2008.
LoveOzYA Indigenous Reads Classroom Posters
To help you discover more work by First Nations authors, we’ve gathered the Indigenous Reads posters in our Resources bank in one place for easier access. These posters showcasing YA titles from First Nations authors are available for download to display in your library or classroom. If you have a title to recommend that hasn’t yet been featured, let us know via Twitter: @LoveOzYA or our Contact page and we’ll add it to a future poster.
