We live in what a growing number of scientists call the Anthropocene. Combining the Greek root word anthrop- (human) and the suffix -cene (new or recent), the Anthropocene is a period of time in which human activity is understood to have grown so impactful as to alter Earth's conditions. Examples of these planetary changes include (but are not…

The five young adult "Honor List" books of 2023 are all visual texts. These award-winning books offer tremendous stories in both pictures and words in the genres of realistic fiction, memoir, and historical nonfiction.

In this article, the authors work to illustrate how "Miles Morales Suspended" by Jason Reynolds, an author whose work has been targeted by book ban efforts (Knight, 2022), can be positioned in English classrooms to teach about contemporary attacks on Black literature through book bans. The teaching outlined in this article is part of a…

Adolescence is complex and confusing. Identity development during the transition from adolescence to adulthood, or coming of age, is unique and is strongly influenced by each individual's gender and social class, as well as factors relating to culture and the social, physical, spiritual, and economic resources all used to survive. The author read…

The 2018 "English Journal" young adult honor list selections are an amazing mix of truth and fiction, fact and fantasy. The protagonists, five females and one male, all demonstrate what it means to follow your heart and speak your truth. Consideration of young adult books for inclusion in the 2018 Honor List begins in January and…

In this article, the authors demonstrate how the reading of a novel along with culturally sustaining and responsive instruction can enhance students' sense of agency and advocacy along with their literacy development. The characters in the young adult (YA) novel "All American Boys" grapple with police brutality, as the novel's authors…

To combat the inevitable intellectual fatigue that autobiographical essay assignments often engender and, more importantly, to provide students with an authentic audience and purpose for their writing, the author designed an autobiographical assignment that liberates students from the traditional essay format while empowering them to envision…

The science of artificial intelligence, or AI, is leaping ahead as more resources are focused on its promise. In this article, the authors discuss the ways in which we have explored significant, critical questions about AI in a college literature course through reading young adult (YA) novels. Although it's improving, AI or machine intelligence is…

This article details a project that centered on perceptions of Islam, teacher development, and student engagement, all through the use of young adult (YA) texts containing characters that self-identify as Muslim. It created a space and opportunity to engage in discourse that has the potential to challenge and expand understandings held by…

For almost thirty years, Alleen Pace Nilsen, in collaboration with an illustrious cast of scholars, including Kenneth Donelson, James Blasingame Jr., and Don Nilsen, have authored the yearly Honor List for prize-winning YA books. Their contributions have helped thousands of teachers and librarians select appropriate quality literature for their…

In this article, the authors describe how an embodied arts-based approach to teaching the story of Anne Frank enhanced eighth graders' experiences in three middle school classrooms. The article begins by framing the theories that guide the authors' perspectives on embodiment and drama-infused instruction to promote literacy learning. This is…

Texts that challenge the narrative status quo -- from introducing new ways of authoring to showcasing historically overlooked experiences - have garnered increasing notoriety, specifically through literary prizing. Altogether, these books not only diversified the form of the awards' histories but also the characters, content, and authors. As…

Young adult literature (YAL) provides readers with a multivoiced palette that embraces cultures, genders, ages, sexualities, and experiences. Within this array are stories that feature characterswho deny elements of their identities or experiences that they find challenging or difficult. Multivoiced literature's treatment of these attempts takes…

This reoccurring column describes innovative methods for engaging students in reading, writing, and discussing contemporary and classic literary texts written for adolescents. As this column comes to a close, rather than try to cram in a few "last minute" suggestions, the author decided he would instead let some young adult literature…

The authors examine photovoice projects created by students and teacher candidates who explored issues of gender in response to a young adult novel and co-researched that process. In this article, the photovoice projects the authors feature emerged from an ongoing initiative between the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University…