Session+1,+Topic+2+Transmission

=Session 1, Topic 2, Transmission: Literary Quality in Young Adult Literature=

Literary quality can be a nebulous thing.

Read the criteria for the Young Adult Services Library Association's (YALSA) Printz Award for Literary Quality in Young Adult Literature and you'll see this open-ended definition:


 * = [[image:printzlogo.gif]] || //The following criteria are only suggested guidelines and should in no way be considered as absolutes. They will always be open to change and adaptation. Depending on the book, one or more of these criteria will apply://

//Story// //Voice// //Style// //Setting// //Theme// //Accuracy// //Illustration// //Characters// //Design (including format, organization, etc.)//

//For each book the questions and answers will be different, the weight of the various criteria will be different.// //The ALA press release announcing the winner should stipulate why the title has been chosen for its literary excellence.// ||

The Printz Committee's definition of literary quality or merit is holistic in nature and leaves the door open to encourage authors to continue to push the envelope for this area of literature that is traditionally the most cutting-edge and evolving.

In fact, the Printz Committee's statement on criteria acknowledges controversy as something to be encouraged rather than avoided:

//"//In accordance with the Library Bill of Rights, CONTROVERSY is not something to avoid. In fact, we want a book that readers will talk about//" (Printz Committee).//

In our collaborative critical inquiry on literary quality, we will bring what we've learned about judging literary quality throughout our experiences as readers and/or teachers to our reading of one of the 2011 Printz Award titles and the Eva Perry Mock Printz Club's Award Winner for 2011, Jon Maberry's Rot and Ruin. Each year, the Eva Perry Club recommends their short list that they've culled from 450 books published in that year that they've read and discussed. The ECI 521 Spring semester class reads these books and then we all get together to discuss our opinions. We ham it up with an Oscars theme and it's always a lot of fun. We streamed this session live and archived it so you'll have the opportunity to hear these teen and teacher readers "stand up for" the books they believe are distinguished by their literary merit and compare opinions.

The winner of the first-ever Printz Award was //Monster// by Walter Dean Myers illustrated by his son, Christoper Myers. It was unique for its multi-genre, image-integral, open-ended style. The perfect example of the Printz Committee's mission to encourage the evolution of young adult literature:

//"//As every reader knows, a great book can redefine what we mean by quality. Criteria change with time//" (Printz Committee).//

What is literary quality in Young Adult Literature? Our quest begins. ..