Ch.1 "Why Do We Share Literature with Children" discussed important reasons why children should read. The reasons being because for mere entertainment, for pleasure, aids in language acqusition and development, because it develops empathy, because it supports life long learners as students begin to read for unconscious delight, as they read autobiographically in order to identify with others e.g. "windows as mirrors," as Dr. Lesene mentions. Additionally, reading for vicarious experience, reading for philosophical speculation, and reading for aesthetic experiences, and because it develops the imagination and transmits culture. If children are not exposed to literature then they will not have the opportunity to reap the benefits and all the wonderful things that come with reading.
Ch. 2 "Divisions of Young People's Literature" discussed why it is important to know the different divisions , so that they'll be able to point and guide students in their search accordingly.The divisions include Children's Literature (0-8) includes wordless, picture books, easy readers, etc. Middle Grade (8 to 12 ) graphic novels and novels, Young Adult (13-18) due to romance and sexual experiences, and New Adult which was newly created for the late teen/ early adult audience. Again, these it is important to be aware of these divisions so that the content is beneficial and satisfying to the reader.
Chapter 3 "Genres and Formats" discussed the break down in literature beginning with 2 only 2 genres, Fiction and Non- Fiction. Everything else would be considered a subgenre, then subjects/categories, then formats. The subgenres for fiction are realism ( realistic, modern, contemporary and historical) and fantasy ( modern fantasy-soft or hard science fiction, high/low fantasy/traditional fantasy- folktale, ballad, fable, legend, myth, fairy tale. The Non-Fiction subgenre is informational and is broken down into literary non-fiction (biography, autobiography, memoir), narrative nonfiction, and expository non-fiction. Then there are those that are not considered a genre, but rather a subject or category that users can find within the genres of fiction/nonfiction. There are also formats that the two genres can be written in such as poetry, drama, picture books, or graphic novels. Through this chapter I learned and realized I've had it all wrong and thought there were more than 2 genres, I suppose because that's what I was taught and then taught myself, however it does make sense that there are only 2 genres and everything else follows under accordingly.
Chapter 4 discussed what young adult literature is all about and how there is always a youthful protagonist involved with a young adult's point of view as to how things happened as well. How the exposition and confrontation is direct, how it involves a significant change in the highly independent protagonist, mirrors concerns over contemporary issues, the main character reaps the consequences of decisions and action, brief time period, limited setting, and draws upon a sense of how adolescents develop.
Chapter 5 explains how adolescents develop intellectually, morally, developmentally, physically, and as readers. Havighurst explains it by describing developmental aspects/stages. He explains how adolescents learn to get along with peers, having relationships with the opposite sex, working for pay, changing relationships with parents, finding a vocation, developing morals/values adapting to physical bodies and defining appropriate sex roles. Piaget's theory explains how the they develop intellectually beginning with sensory motor skills to concrete and then abstract by the age of the 14. This knowledge suits all educators and librarians in the sense that if we can understand how they develop intellectually and developmentally then we can better understand what and how to teach as well as what we can expect from them. Thus, allowing the reader to move up the reading ladder from pre-conventional to post conventional.
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