From Elizabeth Kennedy,
Your Guide to Children's Books.
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If your children are getting old enough for young adult books (YA books) or are already reading young adult books, you need to know about the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). It is the fastest growing division of the American Library Association (ALA). According to the ALA, “YALSA advocates, promotes and strengthens service to young adults, ages 12 through 18, as part of the continuum of total library services.” In addition to providing services to member libraries and librarians, YALSA also shares resources with the general public through its website.

YALSA Awards and Booklists

The Alex Awards: According to YALSA, “The Alex Awards were created to recognize that many teens enjoy and often prefer books written for adults, and to assist librarians in recommending adult books that appeal to teens.” Each year ten adult books are selected for Alex Awards.

Best Books for Young Adults: This annual booklist of close to 100 books includes both adult and young adult books that are recommended for ages 12-18.

The Margaret A. Edwards Award: YALSA administers this award, which is a lifetime achievement award for authors.

The Michael L. Printz Award: This annual award recognizes “a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.”

Outstanding Books for the College Bound (OBCB): Here you will find annotated booklists for students in grades 9-12; YALSA also recommends these booklists for lifelong learners. The booklists are updated by YALSA every five years. The current five OBCB booklists, which were updated in 2004, are History, Humanities, Literature and Language Arts, Science and Technology, and Social Sciences.

Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults: Each year, YALSA accepts nominations for paperbacks in four different categories. Previous categories included All Kinds of Creepy, If It Weren’t for Them: Heroes, On That Note…Music and Musicians, Relationships: Friends and Family, Guess Again: Mystery and Suspense, Simply Science Fiction, Flights of Fantasy: Beyond Harry and Frodo, and This Small World: A Glimpse at Many Cultures. While they are not annotated, all of the booklists since 1997 are available online.

Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers: If you are looking for recreational reading for a 12-18 year old who, for some reason, just doesn’t like to read, try these books. The long list includes both fiction and nonfiction.

Great Graphic Novels for Teens: YALSA provides both annotated reading lists and top ten lists of graphic novels that teens will enjoy.

Teens’ Top Ten Books: Each year, selected teen book groups nominate a large group of books that meet specific criteria. Then, all teenagers are encouraged to vote for their top ten.

YALSA and Teen Read Week

Teen Read Week is celebrated annually the third week in October at libraries across the United States. Teen Read Week 2008 will be Books with Bite @ your library and will be celebrated October 12-18, 2008.

In Summary

As you can see, the Young Adult Library Services Association provides a wealth of resources for young adult readers between the ages of 12 and 18. I highly recommend the YALSA website for librarians, parents, teenagers, and teachers.