Book Crush by Nancy Pearl

Pearl, Nancy. Book Crush. Sasquatch Books, 2007. 304 pages. Paperback $16.95. ISBN: 1570615004. Reference.

A list of books for kids and teens of recommended reading by an expert in the field of reader's advisory. The book is split into three reading groups - youngest, middle grade (age 8-12) and teen readers (age 13-18). Each reading group is divided into subject categories and totaling 118 for the entire book.

What makes this book unique is the author's categories. For example, Thanks for Thanksgiving talks about Thanksgiving, of course, LOL: Laugh Out Loud is the title for humorous books and It Might As Well Be Greek for all books Greek. These categories are representative of the author's thought process when advising readers. I think a new librarian would not find this easy to work with when learning.

It is obvious the author has read a lot over her lifetime! I am a list person so the book provides me more titles to read. I like her conversational writing style. I attended a workshop by her on reader's advisory and can hear saying things just as written in the book.

500 Great Books for Teens by Anita Silvey

Silvey, Anita. 500 Great Books for Teens. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006. 397 pages. Hardback $26.00. ISBN: 0618612963. Reference.

500 Books is designed to be a resource for finding great books among the many young adult books on the shelves. The author worked in publishing, was an editor and is a professor of children’s literature so she is qualified to determine the 500 great books. However, she also polled teens throughout the US and included the ALA awards and honor books in her criteria.

The book is organized into twenty one genres: adventure and survival, autobiography and memoir, edgy trendsetting novels, fantasy, graphic novels, historical fiction, horror ghosts gothic, humor, information, many cultures many realities, mystery and thriller, plays, poetry and poetic novels, politics and social conscience, realistic fiction, religion and spirituality, romance, science fiction, short stories, sports and war and conflict.

Within each chapter, essays containing detailed descriptions of each book so both teens and parents would have a good idea of the content. Along with descriptions, recommended age group, publisher, publication date and page length are included. Award winners are noted. Controversy surrounding a book is included within the essay.

Following the 500 books, the author has listed additional titles for each genre that may be of interest to readers. Lists of titles by geographic location, both US and world, and historical time lines are provided by the author along with recommended audio books. There is one index containing title, author and subject information.

A great book for librarians, parents, teens and gift givers. Years worth of books to read can be found within these pages. I have already started making a list for my next visit to the library!

Teen Genreflecting: A Guide to Reading Interests Second Edition (Genreflecting Advisory Series) by Diana Tixier Herald

Herald, Diana Tixier. Teen Genreflecting: A Guide to Reading Interests Second Edition (Genreflecting Advisory Series). Libraries Unlimited, 2003. 251 pages. Hardback $45.00. ISBN: 1563089963. Reference.

Teen Genreflecting is a resource designed for reader’s advisory with a teen population. Additionally, it could be used as a guide for collection development for a teen library. The author acknowledges this isn’t an all inclusive list though it does contain 2000 books within its pages. The author is a leader in the field having been a reader’s advisory librarian and currently serving on committees for ALA ‘s Young Adult Services Association (YALSA).

The first chapter presents details on serving the teen population including do’s and don’ts in reading advisory, publishing trends, generalizations of teens likes and a listing of awards used in teen fiction.

The next eleven chapters deal with a specific genre including issues, contemporary life, adventure, mystery/suspense, fantasy, science fiction, paranormal, historical novels, multicultural fiction, alternative formats and christian fiction. The author begins each chapter with a definition of the genre and discusses potential confusion or crossovers within the library world and describes the specific types or subgenres under this genre. For example, mystery/suspense splits into suspense, contemporary mystery, historical mystery and paranormal mystery. Annotated bibliographies are listed under each type along with age group, awards won, publication date and labeled Adult when appropriate. Bibliographies are not critical as reader’s advisory is about finding similar books to recommend not choose what is good literature or not.

The author includes an appendix full of resources to help connect teens with books, including websites, books, discussion groups, bibliographies, review journals and professional development resources. A second and third appendix list titles for epic fantasy and reluctant readers respectively. Finally, there are three indices for titles, authors and subjects.

An excellent resource for those advising teens or those wanting to read teen fiction. I didn’t use this resource when I chose my books for this contract. However, I wish I had!