Introduction:
This page will contain my summaries of professional readings I have done concerning tweens, materials and literature for tweens.
# 1: Sweet Valley Twins: Reading to Understand Contemporary Social Networks by Dharmishta Rood
Author Dharmishta Rood paints in interesting parallel between paperback serials for tweens and modern day social networking. I find some of her comments clever and insightful, however I must take her notes on the subject with a grain of salt. The glaring observation my mind concerning this essay was, although Rood sites several other sources, the majority of her conclusions came solely from her own childhood experience. Furthermore, her experience is one of a bookish child, something that I might argue is a slight anomaly among tweens. There are many tweens who would never have imagined finding themselves, comforting or identifying with a book. They would have done it with other groups of friends, movies, television or sports. She also mentioned that she did not like most young adult classics as they were too old fashioned for her and she could not identify with them. This is also not the case for many tweens. I, along with many of my friends, fell in love with Louisa May Alcott and many other classic authors around the same age this author was enthralled in the world of Sweet Valley Twins. Also, Rood almost admits that she was awkward socially. Although this is common for tweens, it is also not the case for every tween. I had hoped that there would be more research and that Rood’s essay would be a little more objective.
Notwithstanding, she does, as I stated above, paint a very interesting parallel. The first observation is the idea of finding a representation of ourselves. Rood writes:
I was both identifying as the twins yet also watching them, finally at peace with social interactions I couldn't seem to figure out at school, while negotiating the confusion between the side of me that could talk all day to strangers and the side that can barley leave the house. The twins in the series came to be a representation of myself
She then goes on to explain how modern day social networking accomplishes this same feat. She describes it as “many faceted representations of ourselves".
This is an interesting concept. So is the idea of gossip and observation. Rood explains that the idea behind our fascination with gossip is in part to learn something about someone, but also to learn about social norms and how we measure up to them. Sweet Valley Twins was Rood’s form of gossip. She read and imagined and learned about these sisters while reflecting how she fit into the patterns of society. Social networking can do this same thing. We read words and look at pictures, all the while gaining knowledge about another human being while remaining anonymous and feeling safe as an outside observer. I would argue that this is not entirely healthy. Anytime there is no repercussion or consequence, we as humans tend to follow our own selfish desires, often at the expense of another. Consider the idea of “Formspring” (http://www.formspring.me), where tweens can say whatever they want, regardless of how hurtful or untrue, about a person anonymously and have no fear of retribution or consequence. This is more along the lines of cyber bullying than it is of normal psychological development. Rood could not do this with her books. There was no 2.0 interaction, and that is a huge difference in my mind.
Overall I found Rood's ideas to be original and thoughtful, however I felt they were far to focused on her own experience to be applicable to a large number of people.
Rood, Dharmishta. Sweet valley twins: reading to understand the contemporary social networks. May 29, 2009. Retrieved online June 12, 2010 at
# 2: What YA Is and Isn't by Mary Pearson
I began reading this article hoping to find a clear definition of YA (Young Adult) literature truly was. More specifically, how does a book wind up on the juvenile section of a bookstore or library. Who makes that determination? The publishers? The librarian? A consultant? How do they do this? Is it based on complexity of plot? Reading difficulty? Length? Content/subject matter?
I was disappointed to realize that this author was not interested in deciphering a definition. In fact, she was adamant about just the opposite. She made a point that got me thinking (but still did not answer my question) in this way:
Why do those writers write stories about adults? Science ficiont? Shouldn't those adults grow up and read real fiction? Hemingway is just watered-down ficiton when adults should be moving on to complex stuff like Kafka and Tolstoy. Do adults really need to read McCarthy when we have Dickens? It was good enough for our grandparents.
True, Pearson has a point. However, I am not sure I see the problem. YA literature IS unique. It is different from adult literature, and it is not children's lit. It is YA. It is aimed at a specific time in human development, and should be treated as so. We would not give a child a book with graphic images of rape or violence, and for good reason. The child is still developing emotionally and psychologically. So is a tween and a teen.
I think what had Pearson wired up is the idea that YA material is a "watered down version" of adult literature. I can understand how this would be frustrating for those of us who truly understand what an art it is to write for an age group. Not just anyone can do it. I get that.
So what makes it YA lit? The subject matter is across the spectrum. It can be anything from animals, fantasy, biography, political thrillers, to mysteries and love stories. Size does not matter, as some books are fifty pages while others are 500. Reading level can vary as well, although most YA lit is purposefully easy to grasp from the get-go and moves fairly quickly into the plot with only an easy to moderate level of complexity. Furthermore, the verbiage of YA lit tends to be more current.
The only concept I retrieved from Pearson's ramblings is that she is upset many people do not see YA as a legitimate form of literature, that stands alone. She does not think it should "guide" readers to more adult books or be done away with. She sees it as a something not to be lesser or greater than any other kind of literature. I also grasped from her writing that YA has to do with a time of life. The protagonist must be identifiable with tweens and teens, usually around the same age with similar issues, concerns or stages in life.
Beyond that, I am still left pondering my earlier questions. I can now appreciate that it is a much more tricky subject to discuss than I previously thought. Many people have many opinions about it, and no one seems to have really defined it. Perhaps this is why I, and many others like myself, love it so much?
Pearson, Mary. What ya is and isn't. September 10, 2009. Retrieved June 11, 2010 online at http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=54897
# 3: Dozens of Teens/Tweens in the Library at One Time? Why Not? By Sian Brannon
This article is a practical, experience-wrought discussion about the actual results of what would initially appear to be every teen or tween librarian's dream: dozens and dozens of youth in the library every day! An opportunity was given to build a new public library right next to an elementary school, middle school and alternative school. A city employee suggested the site, and people readily agreed to it, not understanding the full impact of what that would actually look like upon implementation.
As school let out for the day, the library became a tween hang-out. Two hour waits for the Internet, loud and disruptive behavior, leftover trash from snacks that were sneaked in, and reading rooms being turned into make-out rooms were just a few of the issues these librarians began to face. Not to mention complaints from the regular patrons.
There were many attempts at a solution; like partnering with the school to send a letter home to the parents, and offering story hours, movie showings and other activities, which worked only temporarily before the teens got "board" and began to simply "hang out" once more.
Finally, some simple solutions were thought of that began to make a difference. Firstly, purchasing a school yearbook, learning the students names and getting to know them was the most important step. Closing the reading room from 3 to 6 pm eliminated the isolated mischief, sectioning off "adults only" rooms for the Internet, and then having "all hands on deck" during those hours to be stationed in different sections of the library to supervise.
The key was the realization that the library was not part of the parks and rec. department and was not designed to be an after school program. Students should be allowed to browse and wander as they please, just in a non-disruptive manner (however, the only library offered activity that did maintain interest was offering video games!).
This is an interesting look at what many librarians would consider to be a god-send: automatic young patrons! I still must make the argument that this is a good problem to have. I know of a library in my own city that closed because of lack of patronage, and I know of libraries that are not able to hire children's and youth specific librarians because of the same issues. As difficult as the situation was for this library, it is still a good problem, and the regular patrons are smart enough to know not to come during the hours of 3-6 on a school day.
I guess, however, that this article could be considered the representation of the old adage: "be careful what you wish for."
Brannon, Sian. "Dozens of Teens/Tweens in the Library at One Time? Why Not?". Texas Library Journal, Fall 2009 Vol 83, 3. Retrieved online via EBSCOhost on June 25, 2010.
# 4: For Students, A Right to Be Mean Online? By Victoria Kim
This article in the Los Angeles Times discusses a "hot" topic in today's emerging cyber culture. Many of us remember the news stories of the young girl in Missouri who committed suicide after being bullied online. It is the natural, human instinct to want to intervene in situations like this, protecting the victim and punishing the bully. However, is this natural instinct indeed the wisest choice to make? By allowing school officials and other authority figures the ability to punish what many see as free speech, what will we as a society be forced to give up instead?
Michael Savage, the incredibly controversial radio talk show host is often quoted as saying "Polite Speech does not need protection." In essence, there would have been no need for the First Amendment if our Founding Fathers envisioned a future where no one ever disagreed with another person. Just because someone is in authority, it does not give them the right to ultimately decide what can and cannot be said, when voiced as a personal opinion.
However, the problem lies when this free speech causes a substantial disruption to the function and services of the school. Before the world of online social networking, a student had to be bold and brazened. He or she had to do something on school grounds in order to catch the attention of the student body. This was easier to manage, as it happened within the walls of the school facility and therefore was within the laws and rules that governed said space.
Online space, however, is fluid and not contained by physical walls. Although harmful and negative speech may be spoken and recorded away from the school grounds, due to the omnipresent abilities of the internet, it can be viewed, accessed, and shared nearly anywhere, and will not reach just as many students as a nasty article in the school newspaper would have done in the past.
This, understandably, is a sticky situation. On the one hand, school officials have a duty to protect the students entrusted to their care. This involves both physical and emotional protection. On the other hand, no one wants to see free speech disrupted or banned. According to our Founding Fathers, it would be terribly unwise to give ultimate decision power to one body of individuals to determine what speech it acceptable and what is not.
Kim, Victoria."For Students, A Right To Be Mean Online?" Los Angeles Times, December 13, 2009. Retrieved online July 5, 2010 via http://articles.latimes.com/2009/dec/13/local/la-me-youtube-schools13-2009dec13/2
# 5 Betwixt and Be'tween': How Publishers are Reaching Out to a Vast Demographic of Eight to 14-Year-Olds by Shannon Maughan
"Tween" is a difficult term to define, even by the very professionals at publishing companies who market to them. There are a few things that they can all agree on, however: the opportunities are endless.
The market is "exploding" says Susan Katz of HarperCollins Children's Books, and even giants like Disney are riding the new Tween reading wave. Maughan gives a little insight as to why:
Kids in the eight-to-14 bracket have become independent readers, and are at varying levels of mastering and refining their skills (and their attitudes about reading). Simultaneously, this group is undertaking more intensive school studies and more assigned reading. In addition, they are discovering their tastes as consumers and, for the first time, spending their own money at their discretion.
The Harry Potter books are pointed at, by many publishers, as helping to start the wave of today's rise in tween reading. Tweens who enjoyed the series were more likely to seek out other hardcover titles and to continue to appreciate reading for fun. Another dimension is the current trend of Hollywood turning best selling tween books into major motion pictures. Revivals of reading the The Chronicles of Narnia by a whole new generation, as well as reading modern tales like Holes have all been helped by the big screen. In this sense, publishers who who have a tie-in with large media corporations have an advantage in the arena (HarperCollins and Fox, S&S and Nickelodeon).
Another marketing ploy publishers are using to ride the tween reading wave is to have well-known adult fiction writers pen YA books as well. The idea behind this is that a parent will buy a book for their tween from an author that he or she already knows and loves. (However, as anyone who has read extensively in the YA genre knows, just because someone can write well for adults doesn't mean he or she will be adept at writing for tweens).
Publishers have been aggressively marketing to tweens. Everything from magazine ads, website campaigns, free "goodies" like body art, stationary and CD's all play a role in reading this demographic. However, the typical tween still seems elusive:
Despite a good number of success stories, marketing and advertising to tweens is not a walk in the park. The tween age group is most closely associated with the societal phenomenon that marketers call KAGOY (kids are getting older younger), meaning it's often difficult to judge what will be considered age-appropriate...there is a gap between the sophistication of the issues and images that tweens face in soceity and the level of maturity that tweens posses to deal with such images and issues...
Who are these tweens? Pleasant Company, like other publishers, shies away from the term "tween" and states it is easier to see them as a "mindset" rather than an age. Younger girls may like more fantasy and older girls may be searching for self-discovery, but these two things can fluctuate on nearly an hourly bases across the eight-to-14 range. However they are defined, as of 2002 they made up 8% of the population and spend over 30 billion dollars in direct purchases in 2002 alone.
So what can librarians, teachers and parents take away from this? An awareness needs to be had of the fact that tweens ARE being marketed to aggressively. Furthermore, publishers that have partnerships with major media corporations are getting the advantage. One needs to remember that just because a book is made into a TV series or a major motion picture does not necessarily mean it is the best book published that year. Furthermore, there may be many wonderful books that, for whatever reason, did not get the publicity they deserve. I am not one who wants to fight the tween media craze. I think it is doing books and libraries a world of good, but it is also doing an "injustice" to many literary works that we need to continue to be familiar with and promote.
Publishers Weekly, 249(45), 32. Retrieved from MAS Ultra - School Edition database.
# 6 Where Are All The Teens?: Engaging and Empowering Them Online by Laura Peowski
Peowski raises a very interesting point in this article for Young Adult Library Services journal. The point she makes is not that teen ARE online (we all know this, right? Facebook, blogs, games, entertainment, etc.), but that teens are ACTIVE online. Following celebrities on Twitter, creating an album on Facebook, taking personality quizes...all of these are active, interactive things teens and tweens to online.
So, with this view in mind, how are we designing our library's outreach to the online tween and teen sphere? Sure, there are blogs, Facebook groups and the like, all aimed at raising literary awareness for this group...but are they working? Peowski mentions that the reason a local library's Facebook group may have low membership may be twofold: poor advertising and no interaction or ownership of the site. Peowski calls it the "teen voice."
Just because a library has a teen section dedicated to it's official website does not mean it is meeting the intended need of online teens. Teens want to be creative, interactive and have ownership of online space. They want to see their friends there and they want to BE seen there. This will require a lot more work...but may very well be a small stepping stone in reaching this next generation of library patrons.
Peoski, L. (2010). "Where Are All the Teens?: Engaging and Empowering Them Online." Young Adult Library Services 8, no. 2:26-8. Library Lit and Inf Full Text, WilsonWeb (accessed Aug. 1, 2010).
# 7 Peer Influences on Young Teen Readers: An Emerging Taxonomy by Vivian Howard
Publishers Weekly/Institute for Publishing Research Book Sales Index reports that juvenile book sales are increasing. Obviously, they are the future of the reading world, but little is known about this generation. Vivian Howard does a literature review and study of a sample group from the tween/teen age and reports some interesting findings.
Some of it is not news: teens with parents who are highly educated and strong readers, who read to them in their preschool years, are more likely to be avid readers themselves. People in the library and education world have known this for a long time. What IS interesting is the social aspect of reading for teens/tweens.
Although males were underrepresented in this study (not surprising, giving the trend of tween/teen boys being reluctant readers), both boys and girls exhibited strong desires to read for social reasons, actively seeking to read the same books their peers were reading, in an effort to "stay informed" and not be left out of the conversation. The test group was broken down into sections: Social communal, Detached communal and Solitary readers. Within each of these categories they were further categorized as Avid, Occasional or Reluctant.
Therefore, someone who is a Social communal Avid Reader is someone who constantly reads, but always within a social context (what are my friends reading? What can I share with my friends? What serials do we want to experience together?) and a Solitary Avid Reader would be a person who often purposefully goes out of his or her way to NOT read what everyone else is reading. They find their taste in books as a reflection of themselves, and want to be an individual. If they share a book and someone does not like it, they take it personally, and they have a broader range of taste (often avoiding predictable serials).
Another interesting observation was made: Solitary Avid boys nearly always were influenced to read by a parent, where as Solitary Avid girls often were the only avid readers in their entire family.
I never saw myself as fitting into a category before. I would be considered a Detached communal Avid Reader (someone who enjoys the occasional book club or recommendation from a friend, but also broadly reads alone) and never considered the fact that people could see reading so different from myself. As a librarian, I may recommend a serial to a teen, thinking he or she will like it's entertainment and predictability, but if that teen is a Solitary Avid Reader he or she could be utterly offended. On the other hand, it may JUST be what a Social communal Reluctant reader need.
For some reading is an identity (Solitary Avid), and for others it is a way to fit in (Social Readers) and for others still it is a chore (Reluctant readers). In this case, for the Reluctant reader, it may be important to determine if he or she would relate better as a Social communal (what are my friends reading?) or a Solitary (I want to be different!). When helping an Occasional Reader to become an Avid reader, knowing what road (Social, Detached or Solitary) to steer he or she down may be just the key to progress.
This is a very enlightening study that I suggest every Children's and YA read! It may just make the difference in helping a blossoming reader grow into a lifelong, fluent one.
Howard, Vivian. "Peer Influences on Young Teen Readers: An Emerging Taxonomy." Young Adult Library Services 8, no. 2: 34-41. Library Lit & Inf Full Text, WilsonWeb (accessed August 5, 2010).
