Dear friends,
As a lover of literature for young adults and a teacher during this unprecedented time, I want to highlight ways that teenagers and the adults in their lives can keep up with their reading and learning.
Pay it Forward- Only kindness please!
First: Teens and parents, if you haven’t been convinced of the positive impact of social distancing, check out this graphic:
The fewer people who are exposed to this disease, the fewer people who will be infected. Until we have universal testing, assume you might have it and stay home if you can!
In an email to my students, I wrote the following:
I know this is a difficult time for all of us, with the uncertainty of everything going on around us.
This week, we were going to start reading the book Pay it Forward: Young Readers’ Edition. In this book, a young boy, Trevor, comes up with an idea to change the world by doing a life-changing thing for three people, who in turn would each do a great thing for three more people. In this way, the positivity “goes viral.” This made me think of how a virus works- one person gets infected, they pass it on to a few more people who pass it on, etc.
What if instead of passing on a virus, we pass on goodness and kindness?
While you’re staying home and physically keeping away from others to keep the virus from spreading, you can still “pass on” positivity. Maybe you write a note to your grandmother, or send an email to your uncle. Maybe you text friends you haven’t talked to in a while, just to see how they’re doing. Maybe you read to your younger siblings, encourage them to write, or help them with an art project. Maybe you help your parents clean the house if they need to go to work or are working at home. (As a side note… try NOT to spread misinformation.)
How can you pay it forward?
I also encouraged students to participate in 30 days of kindness. You can follow along on Facebook (Character Strong) or Twitter @careacter or @houstonkraft.
Learning opportunities for teens
This past week I posted two timely bookstagrams (@heremireadz) and blog posts.
Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett Krosoczka
After I posted about this outstanding book, I discovered that Jarrett- JJK- was giving daily, live sewing lessons. You can see all his lessons on his YouTube channel (also linked on his website) and also follow him on Facebook and Instagram.
My son and I have participated in all his lessons this week, and it’s fun enough for little kids but advanced enough that it kicked my butt. I learned a lot!
I also posted about Kelly Yang’s middle grade novel. The audience for this book is younger than my typical audience, but I was very moved by the book and thought teens could connect with it as well.
I also thought it was important to post another book by an Asian American writer to do a small part to combat #coronaracism, something the author herself speaks against.
Lastly, Kelly herself is giving writing lessons during this crisis! You can follow them on Instagram live.
Other authors are taking advantage of this time to participate in “quarenreads”- reading aloud their books or answering questions about themselves as an author.
Laurie Halse Anderson is doing a read-aloud of her book, Fever 1793, which is relevant to our current situation. Be sure to listen to her introduction first.
RJ Palacio is also getting into the fun, and will be sharing via Twitter how she is going to read her book, Wonder.
Elizabeth Acevedo is also offering her time and talents online!
Kwame Alexander read his book The Crossover on Instagram and I hear that Jacqueline Woodson and Jason Reynolds will be joining the party over the next two weeks!
Want your writing featured? April Henry has some prompts posted and she will post your writing on her website if you submit it to her! https://www.aprilhenry.com/story-starters.html
Free access to YA lit
Another positive that has come out of this crisis is free books!
First, don’t forget your school library website. They may already have resources available to you, including ebooks.
Teens with a library card can access books and audiobooks through the Libby or Overdrive app. Availability varies by library.
For 30 days, Scribd is offering free access to its library. Teens can sort by category to find young adult books.
Coming up in April, teens can download two audiobooks for free each week throughout the summer through Audiobook Sync. The books are only available during the designated dates.
As always, you can check out these great sites for YA book news, fun, games, and giveaways.
Download the YALSA Teen Book Finder here^
- epicreads.com
- teenreads.com
- yabookscentral.com/blog
- http://www.ala.org/yalsa/products/teenbookfinder
- http://www.penguinteen.com/
- https://bookriot.com/category/young-adult-literature/
- Goodreads- Giveaways & Young Adult books
- https://rivetedlit.com/
- https://www.yabookscentral.com/explore-ya-fiction
Lastly, maybe you can support your local bookstore by ordering a book to be delivered to your house. Many are still open for web/phone fulfillment orders. Barnes & Noble has a teen book club, and your local bookstore might too!
Please explore links with your parents’ guidance. I am not responsible for the content of these websites.
Learning opportunities for teachers
If you are a teacher of young adults and want to promote volume and authenticity in reading and writing, check out these teacher leaders who are giving back to us!
Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher are sharing daily videos with special guest stars starting today to keep teachers engaged, learning, reflecting and sharing. They have started featuring guests as well.
Kylene Beers is also participating in something like this. You can find her videos on Facebook. She also has guests on her program.
Heinemann is giving free access to audiobooks throughout the month of April Access here: http://blog.heinemann.com/all-audiobooks-free-to-download-in-april
Please share!
Know if any other great opportunities for teen readers or the adults in their lives right now? Please comment! I will update my blog with new opportunities as I find out about YA or middle grade authors, publishers, or websites offering them. Or you can follow me on Twitter @heremireadz for the latest updates.
Thank you! Stay safe!
Just Right Books for Teens 