Learn YA Lit with Me (Ch.2)

The one where Ms. Shattuck learns "Divisions of Young People's Literature."

I'm taking a class on Young Adult literature this semester at SHSU and am required to blog about each chapter that I read, so I thought I'd create a series to share with my blog friends. Welcome to Chapter 2.

According to the text, the four main divisions of young people's literature is as follows:

1. Children: Ages 0-8 years old

2. Middle/Tween: Ages 8-13 years old

3. Young Adult: Ages 13-18 years old

4. New Adult: Ages 18-30 years old (Can I just say, yay, 30 is "young"?)

Now, the one thing I didn't quite agree with in this chapter is the discussion of Middle School vs. Middle Grade. The chapter narrator believes that Middle School is 11-13 years old, but as a current middle school teacher, I can attest that those are only the ages of incoming 6th graders and current 7th graders. Middle School (if you are a 6-8 campus) is 11 year olds-14 year olds. It also includes any held back student who would then end up 15 years old before they exit the grading group.

With this in mind, it is very important to understand the necessary dynamics of a library in order to meet the reading needs of students of such diverse ages. I feel that should perhaps be updated to include the concept of developing a sorting system that addresses age sensitive topics. Many 14/15 year olds in a middle school setting require reading that meets the "YA" concept and a middle school library should not be limited to middle grade/tween books.

Regardless, this breakdown is helpful when selecting any book for collection, whether library or classroom.

What is your favorite age level to read from?