YA Literature
Summer Session Summary
Posted August 11, 2023 by Magenta Jasinski
As the Summer II session begins to wrap up, an urge to write non-academically has been pushing at me. Writing for this blog in particular has been a source of joy, so I figured I should get back into it! In this post, I’ll take some time to detail both of the summer classes I took during Simmons’ two summer terms, as well as how I experienced academic burnout. I took one class for each summer session this year, which totaled out to five credits. The first class was CHL 424C (Series Fiction – Middle Grade) and it took place from May 22nd to June 28th. This was a rigorous two credit course where we explored five genres of books that make up the foundation of the middle grade category. Not to be confused with middle school, middle grade books are written for a third to sixth grade audience. I enjoyed the depth that our discussion went into each week, but finding time to read an entire series in seven days was a challenge. When…
Book Events in Boston and Baltimore
Posted November 23, 2022 by Magenta Jasinski
As we approach Thanksgiving and eventually finals for the Fall 2022 semester, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the book-themed events I’ve attended this semester. I’d like to highlight the following three: First was the Boston Book Festival, which happened on October 29. (See Claire’s post about it if you’d like another perspective.) I went as an attendee in the morning and a volunteer in the afternoon. I had a chance to go to a comics panel at the Boston Architectural College which I’ve walked past many times but have never gone into. The inside of the building is very visually appealing with displays of architectural models, hardwood, and a spiral staircase. The event space was large despite the small number of attendees, the book sale table was well-stocked, the authors had a great conversation, and the questions asked to the authors were engaging. I ended up buying two young adult graphic novels after this event. Next, I went to the young adult horror event in Teen Central, which is the teen…
Spring Courses!
Posted October 28, 2020 by Amie Grosshans
It may be the end of October, but I’m already thinking about January because the Spring 2021 course list is out! And thus beings my analysis (or over analysis, because I’ll be honest, it could be either one) of all the course listings. First off, LIS 458, Intro to Database Management is indeed being offered online. I’m still undecided about whether I want to give it another chance. I’m leaning towards not taking it, because I don’t think I’m a database person, and because there are a few other options that I think I would enjoy more. There are two classes about digital objects: LIS 448, Digital Stewardship, and LIS 447, Digital Asset Management. I’m not exactly certain what the difference between the two is but they are both taught by the same professor, and I’ll probably send him an email asking for more explanation. I am interested in finding out more about how to manage digital collections, because I took LIS 462, Digital Libraries, last year and really enjoyed it. But that was about creating a digital library, not about managing…
Book Reviews!
Posted October 23, 2020 by Amie Grosshans
This semester we are required to write three book reviews and post them to our class Google site. We can read any YA books we want, but one of them has to feature a minority and/or LGBTQ+ character and one has to be a non-fiction or an informational text. There are two parts to the reviews: the first is a very short blurb, two or three sentences, that explains the gist of the book, and the second is a more thorough review. I have written one review so far and am working on the second. Surprisingly, I had a much easier time writing the small blurb than I did the full review. For me, it was fun to think of how to condense the book down to two or three sentences. It forced me to think of the overarching theme of the book and what the main character is experiencing. I knew I only had a limited amount of space to use and that helped me focus on the most important details and themes. I love playing with words, so I really enjoyed…
Skills learned from SLT
Posted October 21, 2020 by Peggy Hogan-Rao
I am so close to being done with my studies at Simmons. When I look back at my courses at Simmons, I feel like all I want to say is thank you. I have one step into the door of working professional and one foot still in the door of graduate student. As I am slowly creeping into the role of a library teacher, I am using the skills that the Simmons School Library Teacher program has equipped me with to be a library assistant in an elementary school library. In my LIS 406 course Management of School Libraries, I learned valuable skills in outreach to the community. When you work in a school library, it is good to partner with local bookshops for book orders, but most importantly the local public library. In the school where I work now, we are working very closely with the public library’s children’s librarian to give children access to information resources. LIS 461 the Curriculum and Instructional Strategies for the SLT (School Library Teacher) gave an overview of…
Compare and Contrast
Posted October 14, 2020 by Amie Grosshans
I’m still feeling a twinge of disappointment after dropping the database class but overall I’m having a much easier time keeping up with schoolwork, and I’m a lot less stressed. So, yay! I’m also really enjoying being able to focus on a single class. This week’s topic in Collections and Materials for Young Adults was particularly interesting, as we focused on young adult non-fiction adaptations. We had to read Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi and its YA adaptation, Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi, both of which chronicle the history of racism in the United States. While I read a lot of YA fiction, I don’t read YA non-fiction at all. Truthfully, I never gave too much thought to the genre before this week. I thought most young adults would gravitate towards reading adult non-fiction, because that’s what I did when I was younger, but that’s not the case for everyone. I happen to love history and biographies, but I know they can be boring, depending on the author and style. So adapting adult non-fiction for young adults makes a lot of…
A Tough Choice
Posted October 7, 2020 by Amie Grosshans
I made the difficult decision to drop my database class last week. Since I missed the add/drop grace period, I’ll get a “W” on my transcript, but luckily that won’t affect my GPA. It will, however, affect my graduation date because it was too late to sign up for a different class. Instead of graduating in December, I’ll now be graduating in May. I’m bummed about that because I was so excited to be almost done. In the grand scheme of things, waiting another five months to graduate is not a big deal, but I still feel disappointed. However, I know this was the right decision because I was struggling with this class. I could have pushed through, but ultimately I decided that I don’t have the time or energy to do that right now. I am stressed enough with all the COVID stuff and this class was just adding more stress to my life. Even though it stinks, my peace of mind is already better. Now I only have to focus on one class, and I won’t be extra stressed trying to get everything…
Books, Books, and More Books
Posted September 23, 2020 by Amie Grosshans
The semester is still young, but I’ve already read five books for my Young Adult Literature class! I definitely panicked when I saw this on the syllabus. The professor had sent out an email a few weeks before the semester began to let us know that we had to read three books for week 2, but since I signed up for the class late, I didn’t get the news until the first week of class. Thankfully, the books were quick reads, and I had more notice for the two books I had to read for week 3. While it requires a lot of reading, this class has been amazing so far. I signed up for it mainly because I love YA literature, but I also signed up because I wanted to read out of my comfort zone. I’m used to reading books of my choosing. I gravitate towards mysteries, fantasies, and other light reads. This isn’t a bad thing, but I think it’s important as a librarian to be familiar with all types of books. I wanted to get familiar with books and…
Ready to Go!
Posted September 16, 2020 by Amie Grosshans
Classes started last week. I’m excited to get back into a normal routine again, especially since the world is still so uncertain. I might not be able to count on much right now, but I know I can count on my schoolwork and deadlines to give me a bit of normalcy, and I’m grateful for that. My classes run from Tuesday-Monday and Thursday-Wednesday, and I’ve started to plan out the days I work on each class. I like to create my own routine and get a little bit of work done every day so that I am not cramming everything in on the due date. This semester I’m taking LIS 458, Database Management, and LIS 483, Library Collections and Materials for Young Adults. I had intended to take LIS 532R, Reader’s Advisory, but it ended up being a synchronous online class—meaning each session was at a specific time—and unfortunately, the time didn’t work out with my schedule. While I’m disappointed about that, I am very happy with the classes that I chose. I can tell already that Database Management is going to…
Book Bound in Boston
Posted October 10, 2019 by Peggy Hogan-Rao
Perks of living in Boston and being a library school student: meeting famous children’s/YA authors. Just a couple weeks ago, my Writing for Children professor ended class early so a couple students can go meet Rainbow Rowell at Brookline Booksmith. Rowell is the author of Eleanor & Park, Fangirl, and Carry On! About a week ago, Brown Girl Dreaming author Jacqueline Woodson was at Harvard Book Store, and then last Saturday, they hosted R.J. Palacio. If that name doesn’t sound familiar, R.J. Palacio is the mastermind behind the Wonder books, and is known for her character Augie Pullman. Before I was able to meet R.J., I had the privilege of meeting six authors at an amazing awards ceremony and reception for the Horn Book hosted at our very own Simmons University. My Writing for Children professor had strongly encouraged us to attend last Friday, and I’m am so glad she did! While I met so many amazing authors, I unfortunately wasn’t able to meet Angie Thomas, the famous woman behind The Hate U Give. Although…