Young Adults' Choices for 2003: A Project of the International Reading Association
Journal article; Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Vol. 47, 2003
Journal Article Excerpt
Young Adults' Choices for 2003: A Project of the International Reading Association. The 2003 Young Adults' Choices list is the 17th that U.S. teenagers have helped create. This project began in 1986, funded by a special grant given to the International Reading Association (IRA) and supervised by the Association's Literature for Young Adults Committee. The goals of the project are to encourage young people to read; to make teens, teachers, librarians, and parents aware of new literature for young adults; and to provide middle and secondary school students with an opportunity to voice their opinions about books being written for them. The 30 books on this year's list are the result of voting by students in five different regions of the United States. Trade books (books other than textbooks) published in 2001 were submitted by more than 50 publishers. Each book had to have at least two positive reviews from recognized sources such as The Horn Book, School Library Journal, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Booklist, Language Arts, or Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA). Submitted books were read by students in grades 7-12 between September 2002 and February 2003 in selected school districts throughout the United States. More than 11,000 ballots were counted for the books submitted for this year's project. Students marked, "I liked the book,' "It was okay,' or "I didn't like the book" The results were announced in May at the 2003 Annual Convention of the International Reading Association in Orlando, Florida, USA. Publishers sent the books to the five team leaders in different regions in the United States. The team leaders' responsibilities included selecting the school districts and schools in which the project would take place; making sure the books were distributed to the schools; and working with the teachers, librarians, supervisors, and principals to implement the program. They were also responsible for collecting the ballots and mailing them to the International Reading Association headquarters for the final tally. The following schools participated in the 2003 project: Team 1: Gretchen Hamilton (team leader): Medford, Oregon; two high schools and two middle schools; suburban/rural. Team 2: Mice Siegel (team leader): Mt. Vernon, New York; two high schools and two middle schools; suburban. Team 3: Barbara Rawls and Jeanne Welt (team leaders): Madison, Mabama; one high school and two middle schools; suburban. Team 4: Stacey Cooper and Val Garton (team leaders): Columbia, Missouri; three high schools, three junior high schools, and three middle schools; urban. Team 5: Geraldine Barnes and Kim Ford (team leaders): Memphis, Tennessee; three high schools, one junior high school, and one middle school; urban, suburban, and rural. The participating schools represented various types of students, economic levels, cultural groups, and geographic regions. The team leaders were enthusiastic and expressed appreciation for the opportunity to participate in this worthwhile and exciting project. The committee wishes to thank Alida von Krogh Cutts and Mary Cash of the International Reading Association staff for helping to coordinate the project. Thanks are also extended to Natalie Babbitt for her logo design and to the International Reading Association for its continued support of the project. Gratitude and appreciation go to all of the students, teachers, librarians, school district administrators, and team leaders who participated in the project and made it a success. The members of the Literature for Young Adults Committee, cochaired by Eva McGuire and Deborah Young, and the team leaders have written annotations for each title. Reviewers who wrote the annotations are identified by their initials following the review. Reviewers include Geraldine Barnes, Stacey Cooper, Kim Ford, Misha Franks, Val Garton, Gretchen Hamilton, Barbara Rawls, Mice Siegel, Jeanne Welt, and Deborah Young. Bibliographic data are supplied for each title including ISBN (International Standard Book Number), number of pages, and price. If a publisher has both a library and trade edition, the ISBN for the library edition is included. Publishers furnished information in May 2003, but prices are subject to change. The annotated 2003 Young Adults' Choices list is downloadable from the International Reading Association website www.reading.org. Single copies of offprints are available for US$1.00 for postage and handling and a self-addressed 9" X 12" envelope from the International Reading Association, Department EG, 800 Barksdale Road, PO Box 8139, Newark, DE 19714-8139, USA, Attention YA Choices. To order bulk copies by phone with a credit card, call (in the United States and Canada only) 800-336-7323, ext. 266, or send order to Order Department, 800 Barksdale Road, PO Box 6021, Newark, DE 19714-6021, USA.By special arrangement, books named ... |
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