Thursday, November 1, 2007
By EVELYN SHIH
STAFF WRITER
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| Kindergarten student Tatiana Ayoub reads a book at School One in Clifton. (By Record photographer Beth Balbierz) |
Then the headache sets in: What should their child be reading? Now that Pottermania has had its last hurrah and Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events has found its end, what can parents rely on for book choices?
Here's a quick rule of thumb: Stick to the peer level. "The age of characters is sometimes a good indication of what age kids the books are written for," said Professor A. Waller Hastings, a guest teacher this year at the Rutgers University School of Library Science.
That sounds easy enough. But it's not the end of the story. "If kids find the content level is beyond them, they'll get bored and move on," said Hastings. "If the language level is too hard, they're going to struggle and put it down."
It's tricky. The best thing to do is to know your child's aptitudes and abilities well and work with a good children's librarian, said Hastings. Chasing the book of the week will not do as much for children as a choice that takes into account their personal quirks.
"The right book at the right time can make the most difference in the world," said David Levithan, editor at Scholastic Books and a teen book author.
Picture books
If there's anything certain in picture books, it's that the classics never go out of fashion."Kids still enjoy books like 'Peter Rabbit,' and that's over 100 years old," said Hastings. ("The Tale of Peter Rabbit" was published in 1902.) This year is the 50th year anniversary of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" by beloved rhymester Dr. Seuss. It's also the 65th anniversary of the Little Golden Books series, home to classics like "The Poky Little Puppy."
Not only do the classics transcend time, but they also translate well for young readers, according to Fort Lee children's book writer Beti Rozencwajg. "It's because of the images, and the language is also easy to translate," she said.
The wise simplicity of language and sometimes -- quite literally -- the poetry of their words make the best picture books universal, said Rozencwajg, who with her husband, playwright Peter Hays, co-writes books that aspire to join another trend that Hastings identifies: the introduction of different world cultures through universal themes.
"The Three Snow Bears," a new book this fall by Jan Brett, for example, turns Goldilocks into Inuit girl Aloo-ki and the three bears into polar bears. Instead of getting lost in the European woods of the Brothers Grimm, the main character loses her sled and dogs on an ice floe. The richly illustrated book not only introduces Inuit culture through clothing and household items, but plays into another popular trend: the retelling of tales.
Some stories never get old.
Middle-level books
Like the middle child in the family, this group of books may be the most difficult. The genre spans from the easiest chapter books -- Arnold Lobel's classic "Frog and Toad" -- to books that verge on young adult. Some series, notably the Harry Potter franchise, move from middle level into teen fiction as the characters grow up.Because young kids are just learning to read at this stage, a large group of books written for this level are written as series with repeated characters and plot structures.
"For kids just learning to read ... it's much easier to deal only with learning new words without having to deal with learning new characters," said Hastings. "The fear that some people have is will kids ever get to the stand-alone books, which are much better in a lot of cases."
Even so, books like the "Time Warp Trio" series by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Lane Smith are staples. The ongoing Junie B. Jones series and the Magic Tree House books are also among popular favorites. The best books balance imagination with real talk, said author Nancy Holder. A writer for the Buffy the Vampire and Sabrina the Teen Witch franchise books, Holder penned this fall's new "kidgoth" series, "Pretty Freekin Scary," featuring an undead hero and his adventures as a -- ahem -- regular teen. Although her pseudonymous persona Chris P. Flesh "resides in Shady Grove Cemetery (Row 14, Plot 29), off Exit 160 in Paramus," Holder herself lives in California.
"They are sly," she said of her middle-level readers. "They can watch a monster on TV and know that monsters are not real, but still scream."
The giants of middle-level fiction -- who often have great staying power -- also understand the importance of character, despite the simple language. Elizabeth native Judy Blume, known for her note-perfect renditions of sibling relationships in books like "Superfudge," continues her oeuvre this fall with "Soupy Saturdays With the Pain & the Great One."
Young adult books
If you thought lines were blurry for middle-level books, think again. Young adult fiction has always been an ambiguous genre, and now the age limit is creeping higher."A coming-of-age book is a coming-of-age book," said Levi-than, the Scholastic Books editor and co-author of this fall's "Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List." "There's really nothing to be ashamed of in being an adult reading a teen novel."
Yet teens (and now, increasingly, college students) read young adult fiction for a specific reason. "You're really looking for the answer when you're reading as a teen," said Levithan.
"The teen literature is growing because the teens are actually reading it and buying it for themselves."
The current boom in young adult fiction began about five years ago. Before then, the books were lumped together in bookstores with picture books and middle-level books. But now, with its own dedicated section in most bookstores, teen fiction is coming into its own. It's developed a "pop strand," represented by the enormously popular "Gossip Girl" novels, and a "literary strand," with the likes of S.E. Hinton's "The Outsiders" (a 40th anniversary edition available this fall).
Even the classic young adult "problem novel" is sparkling with new literary trappings. In that subgenre, pioneered in the '60s, an author explored a current teen or social issue. "Characterization and storytelling weren't as important as getting out information about that topic," said Levithan.
But now, teens have all the facts they need at their fingertips on the Internet. "They have the facts; they want reality," he said.
E-mail: shih@northjersey.com
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A list to get you started
Picture books (ages 4 to 8 or younger)
• "The Alphabet from A to Y With Bonus Letter Z!" by Steve Martin and Roz Chast. A best-selling author you may have heard of and a New Yorker cartoonist deliver an alliterative alphabet book that will amuse kids and adults.
• "Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity," by Mo Willems. The author of the enormously popular "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" is back with two familiar characters: Trixie and her stuffed toy rabbit, Knuffle Bunny.
• "Llama Llama Mad at Mama," by Anna Dewdney. The popular character Llama Llama has a new adventure with his mama at a supermarket. Rhymes and expressive illustrations have already made this book a favorite.
Middle-level books (ages 9 to 12)
• "Soupy Saturdays With the Pain & the Great One," by Judy Blume, with illustrations by James Stevenson. Adapted from a picture book Blume published in 1985, this easy chapter book tells seven simple stories about sibling relationships that early elementary kids will appreciate.
• "No Castles Here," by A.C. E. Bauer. First-time novelist Bauer has a scrappy Camden teen learning to deal with a tough life by reading a strangely magical book of fairy tales and trusting those who love him. • "The Magic Nation Thing," by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. The Newbery-winning author of "The Egypt Game" is back with a book about a young witch named Abby who doesn't want her power.
• "The Water Horse" by Dick King-Smith, illustrations by David Parkins. This reissue of a book by the author of "Babe: The Gallant Pig" tells the story of the Loch Ness monster finding his home. The new movie based on the book, out this December, may draw kids' eyes back to the original.
Young adult fiction (age 12 and up)
• "Spanking Shakespeare," by Jake Wizner. This first novel details the senior year of one Shakespeare Shapiro, a teen with an instinct for humorous memoir writing who can't seem to get his life together. Contains plenty of frank talk about a topic that concerns a lot of teenage boys: getting the girl.
• "Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List," by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. A book written in multiple voices, this is the story of two best friends whose relationship goes on the rocks when the openly gay Ely falls for Naomi's boyfriend.
• "The Book Thief," by Markus Zusak. This is the paperback version of last year's hardcover bestseller, but the aftershocks continue. Narrated by Death, the book details the survival tale of German girl Liesel Meminger in Nazi Germany.
Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.
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