Teen Lit for Moms

Welcome and thank you for visiting my blog.  A few thoughts about what I hope to do here: 

First of all, I am a mom of six kids, ages 16 down to 6.  Five girls, one boy . . .and so, I am always trying to keep up on the things they are reading.  In this blog, I hope to point out great literature for kids, but particularly for teens to read.

That's because I am, secondly, a teen librarian at a small public library in northeastern Wyoming.  Now, don't think that our relatively rural location means I'm just reading Laura Ingalls Wilder . . .as any teens in this age, our patrons are very connected to the rest of the world via the Internet, and they want to read what other teens are reading, nationally and internationally.  As a result, I read a lot of teen literature, and have some thoughts about current trends, connections to "classics," and books I hope to see more kids reading.

 . . . And books I hope more adults read!!  So much teen literature offers great story lines, believable characters, and important themes.  This isn't just fluff, so I hope there are many mom and dads who will sample some of the books reviewed in this blog.  When possible, I will make connections between teen literature and adult literature, as well as connections between contemporary novels and classic works.  (That's because my third motivation is to satisfy the former English teacher that I am.)

Finally, as a mom and a librarian, I realize that the world of Young Adult literature -- the professional term for teen lit -- can overwhelm adults who aren't familiar with it.  Thus, I hope this blog offers guidance  about what books are a good match for certain age groups, and what books aren't.  I don't censor . . . but I do feel that content and reading level are an important part of reading satisfaction, so making an appropriate match makes sense. My greatest wish is that you as parents may have the pleasures I've had with my kids -- that of finding a great book, reading it (together or separately) and having exciting conversations about the literature, the characters, and the ideas. 

Please feel free to give comments, suggestions, and ideas for books!