Saturday, June 1, 2013

Armchair BEA Day 5: Genre: Children's Literature

So up until now I've only been following others posts on Armchair BEA, which is kind of a virtual convention for those of us who really wish we could be there but are unable to attend for whatever reason. After winning a prize through the Twitter party yesterday, I decided to get more involved.  So today's topic is about children's literature, which I find an appropriate topic considering my blog tends to be mostly YA.
I'm a 40 year old teacher, so why am I almost exclusively reading and reviewing YA?  I like to think back and figure out how did I get started on this.  I mean about 4 or 5 years ago, I occasionally read YA, but was still mostly reading adult authors like Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and lots of what I call Chick Lit.  But then, I started getting involved in my state library association, partly trying to help get myself a library job, and partly to be involved with my students were reading.  And I discovered just how great YA books truly are these days!  I've even gone back to some of my favorite authors, Dean Koontz to be specific, and had trouble getting through the book.  I think maybe what is so great about YA is that the stories usually move pretty fast.  And when you're really busy, it is nice to not always have to read through tons of character background and development, sometimes when it all seems a bit too much or unnecessary for the story.

Okay, let me share a list of my favorite YA books:

1.  Twilight
2.  Harry Potter
3.  Divergent
4.  Rot & Ruin
5.  Hunger Games
6.  The Lightning Thief

As a kid, some of my favorite books/series included:

1.  The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
2.  A Wrinkle in Time
3.  Nancy Drew
4.  The Giver
5.  The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

What about you?  Are you a YA book fan?  I assume many or most of my followers are, as that is mostly what I post about.  But do you, like I do, also read adult fiction?  And how would you compare them?